How long to sit on items?

Making a profit is about profit margin + volume + turns. The more volume the lower you can sell your material for, the faster you can sell it and "turn" your profits into more material to do the same.

You don't want to sit on any material for too long, unless you are using it as an investment rather that turning a profit on it. Some people keep material that contains precious metals as an investment for example.

I was in the closeout grocery business where we purchased package changes for example, for less than what they were originally sold for, and instead of trying to make as much profit as possible, we would "turn" them fast by lowering the amount we made off each unit, but by selling in volume and then turning that profit into an ability to purchase more profit, we were able to take money out to pay bills because we were "turning a profit" fast enough.

On your equipment, what I would do if I were you is look for a remarketer that deals in exactly your type of equipment. They already have an established customer base, and if you tell them you want x amount of money, and that they can have the rest, they will happily sell it for you. Just don't be too greedy so you not only leave some profit for them, but sell it fast.

If it costs me .25 cents for a candy bar and I sell it for .50 cents, I can by two candy bars right way and then sell those and buy 4, and so on. But if I buy that same candy bar for .25 cents, and I try to sell it for $1 dollar, it might sit on the shelf for a week before someone buys it, or it might never sell at all. I would have made more money off the single sale, but would eventually run myself right out of business because I wasn't able to turn the profit fast enough to purchase more and attract customers, and etc etc etc.

Anyway, I wish you luck and hope this helps

Scott

So...what do you do, if you have four units...that are worth several hundred dollars minimum each, but the first one isn't selling?

If their not selling then how do you know that they are worth several hundred each?? Where are you trying to sell them?? Ebay, it sounds like. How about your C.L. market, you are in the biggest city of Ind. Plenty of TV, PBS stations around there, not to mention all the private movie makers. Heck we have a couple of independent film makers up here making small documentaries.

Originally Posted by NobleMetalWorks

Making a profit is about profit margin + volume + turns. The more volume the lower you can sell your material for, the faster you can sell it and "turn" your profits into more material to do the same.

You don't want to sit on any material for too long, unless you are using it as an investment rather that turning a profit on it. Some people keep material that contains precious metals as an investment for example.

I was in the closeout grocery business where we purchased package changes for example, for less than what they were originally sold for, and instead of trying to make as much profit as possible, we would "turn" them fast by lowering the amount we made off each unit, but by selling in volume and then turning that profit into an ability to purchase more profit, we were able to take money out to pay bills because we were "turning a profit" fast enough.

On your equipment, what I would do if I were you is look for a remarketer that deals in exactly your type of equipment. They already have an established customer base, and if you tell them you want x amount of money, and that they can have the rest, they will happily sell it for you. Just don't be too greedy so you not only leave some profit for them, but sell it fast.

If it costs me .25 cents for a candy bar and I sell it for .50 cents, I can by two candy bars right way and then sell those and buy 4, and so on. But if I buy that same candy bar for .25 cents, and I try to sell it for $1 dollar, it might sit on the shelf for a week before someone buys it, or it might never sell at all. I would have made more money off the single sale, but would eventually run myself right out of business because I wasn't able to turn the profit fast enough to purchase more and attract customers, and etc etc etc.

Anyway, I wish you luck and hope this helps

Scott

Excellent! That is one of the best explanations that I have ever seen.

if you have an item that typically sells for $400 and its not moving i would put them at $299 with free expedited shipping, it seems like buyers only respond/buy if you have the lowest price with free shipping, thats how i do it for quick turnover

1/3 of the items i list do sell within the first week of listing

Originally Posted by ryanw

It looks like they are selling at a bit above 200 with shipping. So, to move them faster, put a fixed price listing in that renews itself at 199 with free shipping. This is how I would list it. You can then put them on sale later. I had some theater equipment awhile back. I listed units that I had multiples of one at a time, spaced apart by a couple weeks. The groups of people that buy these aren't large, so they don't move fast. I sold the last one 6 months after I got them all. I was comfortable listing them at a price that would sell over time. If I had listed them all at $100, I probably would have sold them all quickly to people wanting to make a buck off of them.

If storage is not an issue and material has minimum invested in it , I have no problem doing what ryanw and others stated list till it sells. For me it always seems that an item I think wont sell does sell and the sure thing items just sit.. That said I tend to let items hang around. There is a market for everything it's finding the buyer is tricky. What Noble says about making profit to make profit is great advice also. I stupidly have not sold items on ebay with best offer over 5 bucks by being greedy.

Originally Posted by NobleMetalWorks

Making a profit is about profit margin + volume + turns. The more volume the lower you can sell your material for, the faster you can sell it and "turn" your profits into more material to do the same.

You don't want to sit on any material for too long, unless you are using it as an investment rather that turning a profit on it. Some people keep material that contains precious metals as an investment for example.

I was in the closeout grocery business where we purchased package changes for example, for less than what they were originally sold for, and instead of trying to make as much profit as possible, we would "turn" them fast by lowering the amount we made off each unit, but by selling in volume and then turning that profit into an ability to purchase more profit, we were able to take money out to pay bills because we were "turning a profit" fast enough.

On your equipment, what I would do if I were you is look for a remarketer that deals in exactly your type of equipment. They already have an established customer base, and if you tell them you want x amount of money, and that they can have the rest, they will happily sell it for you. Just don't be too greedy so you not only leave some profit for them, but sell it fast.

If it costs me .25 cents for a candy bar and I sell it for .50 cents, I can by two candy bars right way and then sell those and buy 4, and so on. But if I buy that same candy bar for .25 cents, and I try to sell it for $1 dollar, it might sit on the shelf for a week before someone buys it, or it might never sell at all. I would have made more money off the single sale, but would eventually run myself right out of business because I wasn't able to turn the profit fast enough to purchase more and attract customers, and etc etc etc.

Anyway, I wish you luck and hope this helps

Scott

That's the system that made Sears Roebuck, Montgomery Wards, Penny's, and other retailers what they became in the early 1900s, and which Walmart has now relatively "perfected". Nowdays few have much stock on-hand(if any) or in a warehouse, but order it from the manufacturer(usually in China) as new orders come in(this makes their stock market numbers look better as nothing is invested in stocking a warehouse). If it's a several week "back order" you can know it's coming by ship, only several days then maybe by air. Years ago I noticed a common sight at Nashville Airport to be a large 747, marked "freight", it would arrive heavy laden every 2 or 3 days, and leave empty(or maybe stocked with money ; ) the next morning, taking off as quietly as a butterfly, flying almost over my house. I eventually saw an article in the newspaper about it, it's sole route was China to Nashville, and they probly have a like flight(or several) to each USA city

need to offer cheap price like 199 with free shipping and 30 day return policy

Originally Posted by Enoch43

that are worth several hundred dollars minimum each,

No, they are not. The value of an item is the number at which a buyer and seller can agree and make a transaction. You apparently have not reached that number yet.