Help with Figuring out an eBay Financial Return

[ibuysportsephemera]

So I am trying to figure out if my calculations are correct or if eBay is correct?


When I make a sale I track the following (for example)


Purchase Price- $20
Shipping Charged- $5.95
Total Collected- $25.95
Less: eBay FVF- $2.98
Less: Managed Payment Fee- $.30
Total eBay Fees: $3.28
Actual Shipping: $3.95
Net Shipping Plus: $2.00
Total Expenses (Expenses less positive shipping): $1.28
Net to Me: $18.72
Total return ( $20.00 divided by $18.72) = 93.58%


When eBay tracks my sale this is the way they treat it:


Total Sale: $25.95
Less Fees Charged: $3.28
Less Label Cost: $3.95
Net Sale- $18.72
Total Return- ($25.95 divided by $18.72) = 72.1%


My breakdown is much more detailed and I believe the true net should only be on the purchase price without the shipping since I am netting the postage.


I hope this make sense. What do you think I am missing? Is eBay correctly saying my return is only 72% or am I handling this correctly and saying my return is 93%?


Thanks in advance.


Jeff

[swarmee]

I guess my question would be: for what purpose? For taxes or to make you feel better?

[ibuysportsephemera]

Good question...self edification. I never used to look at the eBay reports but now with managed payments I am paying more attention. In business I prepare and oversee million dollar budgets. I am the treasurer of my Volunteer Fire Company, so I am no stranger to numbers. I just can't seem to figure out which is correct and it is making me nuts. Any thoughts?

Jeff

[oldeboo]

What if you offered free shipping?

I'm pretty sure the Ebay calculation is right, your net divided by total brought in. Of course you can figure out a way to twist any number however you want to.

Much like when I'm a buyer on Ebay. My purchase price is item price+shipping+tax. Some people want to ignore that they paid shipping and tax, not how I see it.

I'm no finance guy though. (Maybe I'm thinking about this wrong too)

[D. Bergin]

I'm no accountant but I think you're overthinking things. You took in $25.95 total and after you paid for shipping and fees, you saw $18.72. End of story.

Not sure why you're giving yourself more credit for the shipping overage. It's pretty irrelevant to the total.

You're sticking it to yourself come tax time, if you keep your logs like that.

........................I think.......

[D. Bergin]

If I cleared 93.58% on every Ebay sale I made, I'd never complain about Ebay ever again!

[CTDean]

Both sets of figures are right.

You are doing the total return on sale price and shipping profit.

Ebay is doing the total return on the total collected - $25.95

[Jewish-collector]

Does it matter how much you paid for the item you're selling ?

[ibuysportsephemera]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

If I cleared 93.58% on every Ebay sale I made, I'd never complain about Ebay ever again!

Dave..for the last 4 years (on my calculations) I average around 90% (without factoring in the monthly store cost).

Jeff

[ibuysportsephemera]

Originally Posted by oldeboo

What if you offered free shipping?

I'm pretty sure the Ebay calculation is right, your net divided by total brought in. Of course you can figure out a way to twist any number however you want to.

Much like when I'm a buyer on Ebay. My purchase price is item price+shipping+tax. Some people want to ignore that they paid shipping and tax, not how I see it.

I'm no finance guy though. (Maybe I'm thinking about this wrong too)

I absolutely agree with you as a buyer that the total cost including the shipping and tax is the purchase price.

Jeff

[ibuysportsephemera]

Originally Posted by Jewish-collector

Does it matter how much you paid for the item you're selling ?

I keep detailed records of all of my purchases...but for my question above the purchase price is not a factor.

Thanks,

Jeff

[D. Bergin]

Link to Ebay Fee Calculator, which takes into account Ebay fees for shipping and Sales Tax, Shipping Costs, whether you are a Top Rated Seller (assuming your listings qualify for the discount), what category you are listing in, and other factors.

Don't know how exacting it is beyond that, but it's worth a spin.

https://www.ebayfeescalculator.com/usa-ebay-calculator/

[oldeboo]

Originally Posted by CTDean

Both sets of figures are right.

You are doing the total return on sale price and shipping profit.

Ebay is doing the total return on the total collected - $25.95

This is the answer above IMO, apples to oranges. They are calculations for two very different things depending on what you are trying to figure out. Neither number really has much value to a seller without calculating in item cost and other expenses, but if you are looking to isolate either of the above, that would do it.

[Gorditadogg]

So I figure I spent $62,000 on cards in the last year and wasted 1600 hours browsing online card sites, including Net54.

Do I multiply those 2 numbers together to get dollar hours wasted, or divide to get dollars per wasted hour?

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by Gorditadogg

So I figure I spent $62,000 on cards in the last year and wasted 1600 hours browsing online card sites, including Net54.

Do I multiply those 2 numbers together to get dollar hours wasted, or divide to get dollars per wasted hour?

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

What about times spent explaining to your wife buying cards/memorabilia for you is like putting your funds into a money market account (instead of actually putting it into a money market account), divided by the number of times she gives you that funny scrunched up face look, times the number of times she tells you you're full of total crap?

[Gorditadogg]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

What about times spent explaining to your wife buying cards/memorabilia for you is like putting your funds into a money market account (instead of actually putting it into a money market account), divided by the number of times she gives you that funny scrunched up face look, times the number of times she tells you you're full of total crap?

That is a formula I am very familiar with. I used to be able to subtract the times I took her to dinner but since COVID the math is not as good.