In March, I mentioned that my Etsy fees were nearly as much as my eBay fees. Etsy's fees are lower than eBay's, but for some reason, my Etsy fees are about the same as on eBay.
I finally realized that offsite ads have caused my Etsy fees to be so high. I did not choose to participate in offsite ads. Several years ago, I sold more than $10,000 in items on Etsy in one year. Bear in mind that this was not profit. This was my gross sales before deductions.
Once a seller has reached gross sales of $10,000 in a single year on Etsy, the seller is required to participate in offsite ads for the lifetime of the shop. My current gross sales for the last 365 days is nowhere near $10,000, but I cannot opt out of the offsite ads.
The fees for the offsite ads are steep. Fortunately, the seller only pays a fee for offsite ads when a buyer completes a purchase after having followed the offsite ad. That is, unless that same buyer comes back within the next 30 days to make a purchase. If so, then that buyer's second purchase will also fall under the offsite ads. When the offsite ad fee applies to a sale, the seller still pays the regular Etsy fees and then the offsite ad fee in addition to the regular fees.
These images show my sales from offsite ads during the last month. I underlined the fees to draw attention to them. Click on each image in order to see it at a higher resolution.
I figured out what my total fees were for these transactions (final value fees + offsite ad fees). My total fees were 21%, which is higher than eBay's fees.
For this reason, I must raise prices. I cannot control which listings get sold via offsite ads. I must have my prices set higher in order to offset those additional fees.
Notice that two copies of Thirteenth Pearl sold via offsite ads. This is why I got higher prices for them. The buyers who are using Google and Bing to search for books are willing to pay higher prices.
Moving forward, my prices must be set higher, not only because of the fees but also because postage and handling costs have increased.
On eBay, my biggest change is that I will be running regular auctions. I have been foolish to let many books that are greatly in demand sell at fixed prices when buyers are willing to pay much more.
Most all library editions will be sold via auctions from this point on. If the books don't sell, then they could go to fixed price. It's important that I place the books up for auction first so that interested parties all have a chance at those books. If a certain binding is greatly in demand, then it is to my advantage to auction it off.
I also have quite a few other books that I will send to auctions first. I have some very nice Nancy Drew early and first picture covers that I have upgraded. I want to try those at auction first and then will go to fixed price if necessary.
I will also be starting those first printing picture covers a bit higher than what you might expect. I think that perhaps I should start them at around $35. The books are beginning to get very hard to source in collectible condition. Copies that came from my collection that I've had for 20 to 30 years ought to be priced higher.
One of my favorite holidays is tomorrow. We call it "April Day," and it is basically a fake holiday. We don't have school, which is all that matters. I have a three-day weekend, so I hope to be able to get some more books listed. I've done rather well getting books listed during recent weekends, so I should be able to get even more listed. The goal is to list as much as I can. If the books aren't listed, then they can't sell.
Jennifer's Series Books on eBay
Jennifer's Series Books on Etsy
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