Retail pricing?

I'm hoping someone can help me with Internet to retail pricing. Assuming like condition on an item that sells on eBay for 15$ and 10$ shipping does that equate to a 25$ retail price?
I know there are infinite variables when pricing, but assuming it's a fairly run of the mill item how does online pricing such as ebay or etsy translate to a retail store?

I guess it's obvious I'm new to this Any help is very appreciated.

 

There are many more potential buyers online, compared with a store.

Price the stuff at whatever would give you a moderate profit, unless the item turns out to be a lot more valuable than you thought when you bought it.

 

There is a cost involved in buying from a bricks and mortar store, petrol/gas etc, so some buyers will find it more economical to buy online and have it delivered, happily accepting the postage cost.

 

I know there are infinite variables when pricing, but assuming it's a fairly run of the mill item how does online pricing such as ebay or etsy translate to a retail store?

In a nut shell, not always. Depending on the item there may be either no market or a very limited market for a particular item where your booth may be located. However, in an "ebay booth" you have the entire world potentially looking at this item, so you stand a somewhat better chance of finding the person or people in the market for said item & who are willing to pay for the item.

There have been many things over the last 15 years that I would have either never sold or would have taken me years to sell here locally in Columbia, SC. However on ebay they not only sold but in a few instances sold for prices much higher than I would have ever imagined.

JMHO

Peggy

 

Thank you for the replies. I'm starting to rethink my commitment to a brick and mortar location. I have a sizable amount of furniture which I thought would be difficult to sell online so I chose a retail location. In your experiences is it difficult to sell furniture online? Again, thank you for the help.

 

Peggy, do you have sell locally and online?

 

& how many times have I seen an ebay seller bitch about the buyer needing to pay handling for his or her , time gas, packing, labor, ect ect....!!!

 

Not sure what the issue is here. We sell on ebay and our p& p charges are listed (there is no such thing as free postage) and nearly all buyers are happy with this. As a seller all we want to recover our shipping costs.

 

It all depends on the item and the market. Furniture doesn't move here unless it's painted or priced cheap. The exceptions as usual are the really high end pieces, and even those are a down market. Regional pieces do better in the region they're from, generally, unless it's something small and light. Then you get the nostalgia buyers. I once shipped a small size high school class ring to Japan - it was from a small local town of no particular distinction. I'm guessing it was someone who just wanted and American style class ring.

 

That's interesting and makes me want to take more chances on the items I buy to sell! I guess you just never know. I'm hearing furniture is down on the whole.

 

There are lot of variables to consider.
Location - are you in an area that gets a lot of foot traffic?
How much competition in your area?
City or rural? You'll have a wider variety of tastes in the city than those of us in the rural areas.
East Coast, West Coast? What sells out here in the west may not be what sells in the east and vice versa.

Unlike Book, depending on the item, I often price higher than ebay. There are not as many people shopping on ebay from my area. They rather spend a day out browsing the stores and looking at things in person.
I'm in an area that supports 14 antique stores. We all have different tastes and areas of knowledge.

I love my Brick and Mortar. I have met so many interesting people, and learned so much from my customers and not just about antiques.
When people walk in - Greet them. Make conversation with them. If they feel they are in a friendly place and you have paid attention to them, they are more likely to look for something to buy, even if it is just a post card.

 

I'm going into an antique mall that gets a lot of traffic. I've shopped the mall for years and it's the sort of place where you don't hesitate to buy something you like because it will definitely be gone if you return for it. A lesson I learned the hard way.

When pricing using ebay as a guide do you figure shipping as part of the sales price? Or is it a disregard? Say a bowl sells on eBay for 15$ and 10$ shipping would you then price that same bowl as 15$ in your store or would it be 25$? I don't want to significantly under price all of my smalls.

 

Peggy, do you have sell locally and online?

I gave up my last booth about 5 or 6 years ago. There are no malls that close to me & up until recently I had no desire to start up again. I may do something in the next couple of months, but we'll see if I can get motivated.

It was nice to have some place to sell those things that are too big & heavy for ebay or things that are pretty or good quality, but you can not ID.

Peggy

 

Not a dealer but I consider eBay to be an odd combination of varying degrees of retail and wholesale. Although there are some sellers that ask for and seem to get high retail prices on their goods, there are many more who just dump their goods into the market and let the chips fall where they may using auctions instead of BINs and underpricing their items due to a lack of research.

The latter type of eBay seller, who just wants to rid themselves of the item in an expedited fashion, undoubtedly gets closer to wholesale prices while the seller that carefully researches, photographs, and accurately describes their item gets a more retail price generally. There are sellers that are niche players who know their material well and whom have a loyal following of collectors that are willing to pay retail or near retail prices, compared to the small time low feedback seller who just starts randomly listing their items.

Personally I have long thought that a savvy reseller buying the right eBay material could do very well in an antique mall setting. Very common collectables on eBay see their prices decimated because there might be several dozen of the exact same item offered online at any given time. Those very common items in an antique mall setting may realize much higher prices since that fierce competition is not present on a local level.

 

When pricing using ebay as a guide .......

I wouldn't use eBlech as a guide...

 

I'm open to suggestions.....

 

The idea is to at least double, triple or more what you paid for an item.
It all depends on the item and what people collect in your area.

I always take into consideration what shipping would be. But you have to look at the item and say, "Would I pay that price for it if I wanted it?"

 

You buy something for X
You do a business costing for your expenses.... Y
You figure out what level of profit you need to be sustainable ... Z

X + Y + Z = your retail selling price

You search auction sales, web sites ,ebay & other online sales to see if your retail price is average , high , or low for the kind of item you're selling.

If your price is too high, then you paid too much to acquire the item , & have to buy at a lower cost.
Or...your expenses may be to steep for your business model.

If your price is too low....you can raise it for a higher profit , or to allow a discount at the time of sale.

If it's average......then you know the market & can repeat what you've been doing.

IMHO.