Learn to buy and sell antiques and collectibles

Figuring eBay Consignment Fees

How Should You Charge For Consignment Listings?

This is a common question. Let's start by looking at some common ways eBay consignment sellers charge for their services. There are two basic ways - flat fee or percentage fee.

Most eBay consignment fees are based on a percentage of the selling price. I know of eBay consignment fees ranging from 10 percent to 50 percent with the average fee being about 30 percent.

There are also some flat rate eBay consignment businesses. These charge amounts between 10 and 20 dollars per auction. There are few of these flat rate consignment businesses.

For some consignments you may be able to get a flat rate and a percentage of the selling price. Some eBay consignment sellers charge a listing fee and a percentage of the selling price. Some do this on all auctions, some charge the listing fee only on items with reserves. I charge a flat non-refundable fee of 5 or 10 dollars for auctions with reserves if the seller specifies the reserve. Sometimes for large collections requiring sorting and cleaning I also charge an hourly fee.

Some consignment sellers charge the percentage on the selling price, some charge after the eBay fees are deducted. I figure my commission on eBay consignment items from the ending price. For example, if an item sells for $100, I get $30, and pay the eBay fees from my commission. This makes the math easier.

When I wrote my eBay consignment manual, my average eBay fees ran just under five percent. Now they are a bit higher due to eBay fee increases. If you factor in Paypal fees the number will go up by about two percent.

Currently the maximum eBay fees are 5.5 percent of the selling price plus the listing insertion fee. The final value percentage goes down as the price increases. I list everything starting at 3.99, so the insertion fee is always 35 cents.

With a 30 percent consignment fee, I net about 24 percent of the ending price of each auction. This includes PayPal fees. Most of my buyers pay by check or money order so PayPal has little impact. Depending on what you sell your PayPal fees may be higher as a percentage of all sales.

After saying all this, don't get caught up in the percentage. Focus on the amount earned per item or per hour. You don't spend percentages, you spend cash.

If you charge a 30 percent commission on a $70 item, you will gross $21.00 before fees. The eBay and PayPal fees run about $4.80 on average, so you will net about 16.20 per item on average.

If you figure the time spent listing and packing is about 10 minutes per item, it works out to $97.20 per hour. Depending on what you sell, your time should run from between 5 and 15 minutes per item.

I use a 70 dollar item because this should be a good average selling price for eBay consignment sales of antiques and collectibles. Antiques and collectibles take more time to list and research. You need to restrict your consignment sales to items selling for higher prices. I suggest trying for a minimum selling price of 30 dollars.

If you are selling large quantities of items with the same listing and picture, you could possibly make a similar hourly dollar amount with a lower selling price. For example, I am considering selling an item for $9.99 each. If I can sell enough of these in fixed price auctions, I can still make 30-50 dollars an hour selling them. It will be difficult to make 90 dollars an hour, but it would be a constant stream of income, not requiring finding new consignors.

eBay consignment selling is a great way to get started selling on eBay. Consignment sales allow you to make money while you learn. For more information about starting your own eBay consignment business check out the other pages on this site.

Terry

PS Also check out my eBay Consignment Manual for an in depth explanation of consignment sales.

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Terry Gibbs has taught over 7,000 people how to make a good living on eBay. Terry's most recent eBay instruction manual is The Auction Revolution . The Auction Revolution is your guide to eBay and beyond. Here on Iwantcollectibles.com, you will learn about buying and selling antiques and collectibles, and about eBay.