I'm generally new to BrinkLink as a buyer (less than 6 months), and have
currently opened my own BL store with current inventory of new/sealed and working
on getting some of my old childhood sets online. I have a two part question
I'm hoping the forum could assist. I've typically only focused with
local social media F2F sales (cash).
1) As a seller, what fees am I expecting to pay or receive invoiced. I see
that BL charges 3% of purchase total (item, shipping, tax). I have PayPal set
up as only form of payment. Per PayPal G&S schedule, they charge 3.49% plus
.49 cents per transaction. Does this mean that with each sale I should be expecting
almost 7% eroded in fees?
Exp: Item 100.00. Tax (7%) 7.00. S&H 10.00. Total 117.00. Fees collected:
BL 3.51. PayPal 4.57.
Is this example correct?
2) How do other sellers combat sale fees, or do you even try? I see that
there is an option for a pay handling fee to be included in the S&H (As well
as other options). If you have done something like this, is it received well?
Hurt sales potential? I'm toying with the system and currently have like
4.19% built in (Over half of what I think fees would be) to combat the erosion
of fees.
I literally just opened the store today after approval from admins. I have sets
priced high as I'm not wanting to get an uber influx of sales just yet.
I just wanted to gain some knowledge from other users before getting my store
to competitive.
I'm generally new to BrinkLink as a buyer (less than 6 months), and have
currently opened my own BL store with current inventory of new/sealed and working
on getting some of my old childhood sets online. I have a two part question
I'm hoping the forum could assist. I've typically only focused with
local social media F2F sales (cash).
1) As a seller, what fees am I expecting to pay or receive invoiced. I see
that BL charges 3% of purchase total (item, shipping, tax). I have PayPal set
up as only form of payment. Per PayPal G&S schedule, they charge 3.49% plus
.49 cents per transaction. Does this mean that with each sale I should be expecting
almost 7% eroded in fees?
Exp: Item 100.00. Tax (7%) 7.00. S&H 10.00. Total 117.00. Fees collected:
BL 3.51. PayPal 4.57.
Is this example correct?
something like that. you have bricklink fees, PayPal fees, and the "merchant
fee" on the Paypal invoice which is just where bricklink removes the collected
tax money (I'm pretty sure you pay the normal % Paypal fee on the taxes but
I might be mistaken). bricklink fees only apply to the base order and dont apply
to the shipping/additional fees categories.
2) How do other sellers combat sale fees, or do you even try? I see that
there is an option for a pay handling fee to be included in the S&H (As well
as other options). If you have done something like this, is it received well?
Hurt sales potential? I'm toying with the system and currently have like
4.19% built in (Over half of what I think fees would be) to combat the erosion
of fees.
in general that is against Paypal tos (and some laws) to charge for payment fees.
just raise your prices by the % you want and then charge no fees. buyers will
be happier and you wont risk breaking any tos/laws.
I literally just opened the store today after approval from admins. I have sets
priced high as I'm not wanting to get an uber influx of sales just yet.
I just wanted to gain some knowledge from other users before getting my store
to competitive.
Thanks in advance.
best of luck! just remember to properly read Paypal tos fully (for the things
like not charging fees, the seller is fully responsible for package until marked
as delivered regardless of insurance/tracking (and if over like $500 or so is
signed for), and similar things) and you should be good to go!
Thank you. I’ve got rereading PayPal TOS bookmarked for tomorrow.
In Selling, Nubs_Select writes:
In Selling, hanniba writes:
Good Evening,
I'm generally new to BrinkLink as a buyer (less than 6 months), and have
currently opened my own BL store with current inventory of new/sealed and working
on getting some of my old childhood sets online. I have a two part question
I'm hoping the forum could assist. I've typically only focused with
local social media F2F sales (cash).
1) As a seller, what fees am I expecting to pay or receive invoiced. I see
that BL charges 3% of purchase total (item, shipping, tax). I have PayPal set
up as only form of payment. Per PayPal G&S schedule, they charge 3.49% plus
.49 cents per transaction. Does this mean that with each sale I should be expecting
almost 7% eroded in fees?
Exp: Item 100.00. Tax (7%) 7.00. S&H 10.00. Total 117.00. Fees collected:
BL 3.51. PayPal 4.57.
Is this example correct?
something like that. you have bricklink fees, PayPal fees, and the "merchant
fee" on the Paypal invoice which is just where bricklink removes the collected
tax money (I'm pretty sure you pay the normal % Paypal fee on the taxes but
I might be mistaken). bricklink fees only apply to the base order and dont apply
to the shipping/additional fees categories.
2) How do other sellers combat sale fees, or do you even try? I see that
there is an option for a pay handling fee to be included in the S&H (As well
as other options). If you have done something like this, is it received well?
Hurt sales potential? I'm toying with the system and currently have like
4.19% built in (Over half of what I think fees would be) to combat the erosion
of fees.
in general that is against Paypal tos (and some laws) to charge for payment fees.
just raise your prices by the % you want and then charge no fees. buyers will
be happier and you wont risk breaking any tos/laws.
I literally just opened the store today after approval from admins. I have sets
priced high as I'm not wanting to get an uber influx of sales just yet.
I just wanted to gain some knowledge from other users before getting my store
to competitive.
Thanks in advance.
best of luck! just remember to properly read Paypal tos fully (for the things
like not charging fees, the seller is fully responsible for package until marked
as delivered regardless of insurance/tracking (and if over like $500 or so is
signed for), and similar things) and you should be good to go!
1) As a seller, what fees am I expecting to pay or receive invoiced. I see
that BL charges 3% of purchase total (item, shipping, tax). I have PayPal set
up as only form of payment. Per PayPal G&S schedule, they charge 3.49% plus
.49 cents per transaction. Does this mean that with each sale I should be expecting
almost 7% eroded in fees?
Exp: Item 100.00. Tax (7%) 7.00. S&H 10.00. Total 117.00. Fees collected:
BL 3.51. PayPal 4.57.
Is this example correct?
More or less yes, so make sure you know your real costs before running any deep
discount sales or offering coupons.
2) How do other sellers combat sale fees, or do you even try? I see that
there is an option for a pay handling fee to be included in the S&H (As well
as other options). If you have done something like this, is it received well?
Hurt sales potential? I'm toying with the system and currently have like
4.19% built in (Over half of what I think fees would be) to combat the erosion
of fees.
Buyers don't like "hidden fees", and they don't like when you
state in your terms you're taking on 4% handling to cover PP/BL fees (I think
it's against the rules, no?). And think about how that scales using your
above example. Take your A-Wing for example. Sure you have it priced high like
you said, but even if you drop it to $300 that's $12 in fees your passing
along to the buyer and when they see that and ~$16 shipping fees, most people
will empty the cart and keep going down (up?) the list willing to pay a little
more for more realistic S&H fees.
It's consumer psychology. People will feel like they're getting ripped
off when they buy something at $300 and then pay $28 for S&H, but won't be
bothered as much paying $315 and $16 in shipping. They'll feel even better
paying $330 and getting free shipping. I forget the term for this and I'm
really curious to go pull out my old textbooks/notebooks because this is bugging
me.
It's consumer psychology. People will feel like they're getting ripped
off when they buy something at $300 and then pay $28 for S&H, but won't be
bothered as much paying $315 and $16 in shipping. They'll feel even better
paying $330 and getting free shipping. I forget the term for this and I'm
really curious to go pull out my old textbooks/notebooks because this is bugging
me.
gpt says
"price framing" or "partitioned pricing."
Price Framing: The way a price is presented to consumers can influence their
perception of value and their willingness to purchase.
Partitioned Pricing: This involves dividing the total cost into a base price
and additional fees, such as shipping or taxes. Consumers often react differently
to these separate components than they do to a single all-inclusive price.
Decoy Pricing: This strategy involves offering a slightly less attractive option
at a higher price to make the target option seem more attractive by comparison.
Anchoring: A cognitive bias where individuals rely heavily on the first piece
of information (the "anchor" ) when making decisions. In this context,
the base price can act as an anchor.
Free Shipping Psychology: The concept that consumers perceive "free shipping"
as a significant value, even if the total cost is higher than a comparable offer
with paid shipping. This often leads to a perception of getting a better deal.
It's consumer psychology. People will feel like they're getting ripped
off when they buy something at $300 and then pay $28 for S&H, but won't be
bothered as much paying $315 and $16 in shipping. They'll feel even better
paying $330 and getting free shipping. I forget the term for this and I'm
really curious to go pull out my old textbooks/notebooks because this is bugging
me.
gpt says
"price framing" or "partitioned pricing."
Price Framing: The way a price is presented to consumers can influence their
perception of value and their willingness to purchase.
Partitioned Pricing: This involves dividing the total cost into a base price
and additional fees, such as shipping or taxes. Consumers often react differently
to these separate components than they do to a single all-inclusive price.
Decoy Pricing: This strategy involves offering a slightly less attractive option
at a higher price to make the target option seem more attractive by comparison.
Anchoring: A cognitive bias where individuals rely heavily on the first piece
of information (the "anchor" ) when making decisions. In this context,
the base price can act as an anchor.
Free Shipping Psychology: The concept that consumers perceive "free shipping"
as a significant value, even if the total cost is higher than a comparable offer
with paid shipping. This often leads to a perception of getting a better deal.
[crotchety old man voice, clutching cane and pumping angry fist in the air]
"Back in my day we had to read the book and look things up in a card catalog!"
It's consumer psychology. People will feel like they're getting ripped
off when they buy something at $300 and then pay $28 for S&H, but won't be
bothered as much paying $315 and $16 in shipping. They'll feel even better
paying $330 and getting free shipping. I forget the term for this and I'm
really curious to go pull out my old textbooks/notebooks because this is bugging
me.
gpt says
"price framing" or "partitioned pricing."
Price Framing: The way a price is presented to consumers can influence their
perception of value and their willingness to purchase.
Partitioned Pricing: This involves dividing the total cost into a base price
and additional fees, such as shipping or taxes. Consumers often react differently
to these separate components than they do to a single all-inclusive price.
Decoy Pricing: This strategy involves offering a slightly less attractive option
at a higher price to make the target option seem more attractive by comparison.
Anchoring: A cognitive bias where individuals rely heavily on the first piece
of information (the "anchor" ) when making decisions. In this context,
the base price can act as an anchor.
Free Shipping Psychology: The concept that consumers perceive "free shipping"
as a significant value, even if the total cost is higher than a comparable offer
with paid shipping. This often leads to a perception of getting a better deal.
[crotchety old man voice, clutching cane and pumping angry fist in the air]
"Back in my day we had to read the book and look things up in a card catalog!"
Nubs, the thoroughness is appreciated. I never took marketing or sales courses
in college, but the terminology makes absolute sense. I was bouncing ideas off
my wife tonight regarding all these fees and see how “she would feel” about changes
in S&H with the added “hidden” fee. She put it back to me and reminded me I
haven’t been to a concert or venue event in almost a decade because I can’t stand
all the TicketMaster add on fees
In retrospect, I think I’ll be going the way of free shipping with elevated prices.
It all makes since if I just get out of my own head and think like a consumer,
not the seller.
In Selling, Nubs_Select writes:
In Selling, Ziegelmeister writes:
In Selling, Nubs_Select writes:
It's consumer psychology. People will feel like they're getting ripped
off when they buy something at $300 and then pay $28 for S&H, but won't be
bothered as much paying $315 and $16 in shipping. They'll feel even better
paying $330 and getting free shipping. I forget the term for this and I'm
really curious to go pull out my old textbooks/notebooks because this is bugging
me.
gpt says
"price framing" or "partitioned pricing."
Price Framing: The way a price is presented to consumers can influence their
perception of value and their willingness to purchase.
Partitioned Pricing: This involves dividing the total cost into a base price
and additional fees, such as shipping or taxes. Consumers often react differently
to these separate components than they do to a single all-inclusive price.
Decoy Pricing: This strategy involves offering a slightly less attractive option
at a higher price to make the target option seem more attractive by comparison.
Anchoring: A cognitive bias where individuals rely heavily on the first piece
of information (the "anchor" ) when making decisions. In this context,
the base price can act as an anchor.
Free Shipping Psychology: The concept that consumers perceive "free shipping"
as a significant value, even if the total cost is higher than a comparable offer
with paid shipping. This often leads to a perception of getting a better deal.
[crotchety old man voice, clutching cane and pumping angry fist in the air]
"Back in my day we had to read the book and look things up in a card catalog!"
Glad I could help! Tho as mentioned that was courtesy of Chat GPT. Just a tip,
if you do go down the free shipping route make sure to mention it in the items
listing so others can at a glance see why its price is higher so if they read
“free shipping and no fees (aside from tax)” or something that could help sales
as otherwise if it’s priced higher customers might not give it a look just to
figure out it’s free shipping only by reading your tos
In retrospect, I think I’ll be going the way of free shipping with elevated prices.
It all makes since if I just get out of my own head and think like a consumer,
not the seller.
This discourages larger orders since the more someone buys, the more they are
paying in the added on postage fees.
In retrospect, I think I’ll be going the way of free shipping with elevated prices.
It all makes since if I just get out of my own head and think like a consumer,
not the seller.
This discourages larger orders since the more someone buys, the more they are
paying in the added on postage fees.
Indeed, that's how it comes across.
As a buyer, I would prefer a flat rate shipping fee above free shipping.
In retrospect, I think I’ll be going the way of free shipping with elevated prices.
It all makes since if I just get out of my own head and think like a consumer,
not the seller.
This discourages larger orders since the more someone buys, the more they are
paying in the added on postage fees.
Indeed, that's how it comes across.
As a buyer, I would prefer a flat rate shipping fee above free shipping.
Indeed, tho that would only apply to lower value items, if your selling items
such as several hundred $+ sets that in general people only buy that for the
order then it should work
In retrospect, I think I’ll be going the way of free shipping with elevated prices.
It all makes since if I just get out of my own head and think like a consumer,
not the seller.
If you take that route, my suggestion would be only to offer free shipping for
orders over a certain amount (eg. $35 or $50 or $100).
Thanks to you as well for the price framing and other talking points. Again,
reinforcing the “don’t nickel and dime.” Just list and move on.
Great advice and thanks for contributing.
In Selling, Ziegelmeister writes:
In Selling, Nubs_Select writes:
It's consumer psychology. People will feel like they're getting ripped
off when they buy something at $300 and then pay $28 for S&H, but won't be
bothered as much paying $315 and $16 in shipping. They'll feel even better
paying $330 and getting free shipping. I forget the term for this and I'm
really curious to go pull out my old textbooks/notebooks because this is bugging
me.
gpt says
"price framing" or "partitioned pricing."
Price Framing: The way a price is presented to consumers can influence their
perception of value and their willingness to purchase.
Partitioned Pricing: This involves dividing the total cost into a base price
and additional fees, such as shipping or taxes. Consumers often react differently
to these separate components than they do to a single all-inclusive price.
Decoy Pricing: This strategy involves offering a slightly less attractive option
at a higher price to make the target option seem more attractive by comparison.
Anchoring: A cognitive bias where individuals rely heavily on the first piece
of information (the "anchor" ) when making decisions. In this context,
the base price can act as an anchor.
Free Shipping Psychology: The concept that consumers perceive "free shipping"
as a significant value, even if the total cost is higher than a comparable offer
with paid shipping. This often leads to a perception of getting a better deal.
[crotchety old man voice, clutching cane and pumping angry fist in the air]
"Back in my day we had to read the book and look things up in a card catalog!"
Technically New Palestine. We live a little ways out past there, but that’s
what’s on the address sheet. I’ve been to a rodeo down that way a time or
two. Double B with my wife and kids.
Technically New Palestine. We live a little ways out past there, but that’s
what’s on the address sheet. I’ve been to a rodeo down that way a time or
two. Double B with my wife and kids.
I could practically throw a rock from my backyard to yours!
I have PayPal set up as only form of payment. Per PayPal G&S schedule, they charge 3.49% plus .49 cents per transaction. Does this mean that with each sale I should be expecting
almost 7% eroded in fees?
Yes/no, see above.
Eroded isn't the proper term.
You're using BrickLink service, they pay staff, devs, servers.
Costs and people working for you have to be paid.
PayPal provides another service you're using, they've to be paid.
Taxes have to be paid as your government very probably offers you services in
exchange.
If your calculation's right - like 93% - then simply consider you'll
making 93% of the planned profit and be happy of having 93%.
You're free to increase your prices, but buyers seeing hidden (and even announced)
fees and tricks will probably run away.
Shops in BrickLink are generally dedicated to a passion, buying, selling, sharing
and helping others the best they can.
Here it's kind of the exact opposite scheme of make quick money and run
If you have ever sold on amazon or ebay with their extremely high fees (15-20%)
then you will come to appreciate the VERY reasonable BL fees of 3% (for first
$500 of an order, then lower after that) ONLY on product sales price (no fees
on shipping and taxes). The paypal fee is very standard on any credit card processing
merchant type fees (maybe s bit on the high side by .5 - 1% but still reasonable).
If you used stripe or your own merchant account, you will still have to same
somewhere in the 2.2-3.5% range anyhow.
In Selling, hanniba writes:
Good Evening,
I'm generally new to BrinkLink as a buyer (less than 6 months), and have
currently opened my own BL store with current inventory of new/sealed and working
on getting some of my old childhood sets online. I have a two part question
I'm hoping the forum could assist. I've typically only focused with
local social media F2F sales (cash).
1) As a seller, what fees am I expecting to pay or receive invoiced. I see
that BL charges 3% of purchase total (item, shipping, tax). I have PayPal set
up as only form of payment. Per PayPal G&S schedule, they charge 3.49% plus
.49 cents per transaction. Does this mean that with each sale I should be expecting
almost 7% eroded in fees?
Exp: Item 100.00. Tax (7%) 7.00. S&H 10.00. Total 117.00. Fees collected:
BL 3.51. PayPal 4.57.
Is this example correct?
2) How do other sellers combat sale fees, or do you even try? I see that
there is an option for a pay handling fee to be included in the S&H (As well
as other options). If you have done something like this, is it received well?
Hurt sales potential? I'm toying with the system and currently have like
4.19% built in (Over half of what I think fees would be) to combat the erosion
of fees.
I literally just opened the store today after approval from admins. I have sets
priced high as I'm not wanting to get an uber influx of sales just yet.
I just wanted to gain some knowledge from other users before getting my store
to competitive.
also since you are new to shipping orders, make sure to look into using a discounted
shipping service like paypal's built-in shipstation or PirateShip (the one
I prefer).
In Selling, stranqe writes:
If you have ever sold on amazon or ebay with their extremely high fees (15-20%)
then you will come to appreciate the VERY reasonable BL fees of 3% (for first
$500 of an order, then lower after that) ONLY on product sales price (no fees
on shipping and taxes). The paypal fee is very standard on any credit card processing
merchant type fees (maybe s bit on the high side by .5 - 1% but still reasonable).
If you used stripe or your own merchant account, you will still have to same
somewhere in the 2.2-3.5% range anyhow.
In Selling, hanniba writes:
Good Evening,
I'm generally new to BrinkLink as a buyer (less than 6 months), and have
currently opened my own BL store with current inventory of new/sealed and working
on getting some of my old childhood sets online. I have a two part question
I'm hoping the forum could assist. I've typically only focused with
local social media F2F sales (cash).
1) As a seller, what fees am I expecting to pay or receive invoiced. I see
that BL charges 3% of purchase total (item, shipping, tax). I have PayPal set
up as only form of payment. Per PayPal G&S schedule, they charge 3.49% plus
.49 cents per transaction. Does this mean that with each sale I should be expecting
almost 7% eroded in fees?
Exp: Item 100.00. Tax (7%) 7.00. S&H 10.00. Total 117.00. Fees collected:
BL 3.51. PayPal 4.57.
Is this example correct?
2) How do other sellers combat sale fees, or do you even try? I see that
there is an option for a pay handling fee to be included in the S&H (As well
as other options). If you have done something like this, is it received well?
Hurt sales potential? I'm toying with the system and currently have like
4.19% built in (Over half of what I think fees would be) to combat the erosion
of fees.
I literally just opened the store today after approval from admins. I have sets
priced high as I'm not wanting to get an uber influx of sales just yet.
I just wanted to gain some knowledge from other users before getting my store
to competitive.
USA, Indiana
Canada, Ontario
United Kingdom, England
Netherlands, Groningen
France, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur