Ebay sales from Thailand Air Mail

[meechai]

I am wondering as I had a product I thought I could sell on Ebay.
But every which way I look at Air Mail it pretty much kills the deal.
I am talking Economy Airmail (SAL)
Yet when I look on Ebay I see some Thai based sellers with 20k-30k+ feedback
indicating they have sold many things.

I look at their auctions & for example one may be Thai Fisherman Wrap style Pants etc.
With a "Buy It Now" price of 427 baht

These folks always sell with free Thai international economy air ship so I see on the SAL rates
Thai SAL airmail to most USA States is 700 baht per 1000 gr
http://www.thai-info.net/info/postalrates.htm

They are using this SAL service according to their auction info &
Sure the package could be less that 2 lbs so less than 700 baht a little say even half or 1 pound with packaging but still
that is 350 baht & you still need to buy the product,pay for packaging etc.

So can someone tell me what I am missing?
Of course it could be a very low profit but I am having a hard time seeing any at all.

Anyone know why this seems impossible yet they are selling?

Edited November 6, 2013 by meechai

[brit1984]

i doubt anyone would consistently sell at a loss but given the important of reputation it may be rational to sell high volume items at cost (or a very small profit) just to build up the positive reputation, which can then be leveraged to sell higher margin items

sorry i don't have any useful information / knowledge of the specifics on your questions about shipping costs

[Suradit69]

i doubt anyone would consistently sell at a loss but given the important of reputation it may be rational to sell high volume items at cost (or a very small profit) just to build up the positive reputation, which can then be leveraged to sell higher margin items

sorry i don't have any useful information / knowledge of the specifics on your questions about shipping costs

I sell a few relatively expensive items, nothing in volume and not as a business but in terms of a collecting pastime, and I charge buyers (or pay to sellers) $20 to $35 for EMS mailing, depending on where they live, in addition to the amount of the bid on eBay. For one thing I want the tracking report from the Post Office so there's no question that the item has been delivered and it also is safer for both the seller and buyer.

If you're going to sell something in volume from Thailand, you would either have to source it at a sufficiently low price that the postage could be absorbed or else it would need to be something that is distinctly Thai in origin and for which people would be willing to pay enough for you to make a profit ... because whatever you're selling is not found elsewhere, cheaper. And don't forget that both eBay and PayPal will exact their pound of flesh before you see any money in your pocket.

And, of course, if you're hauling hundreds of things to the post office regularly, or buying large quantities of things at wholesale, you might draw attention to yourself as someone running a business , which could be a problem if that's not allowed under your permission to stay in Thailand.

[BKKdreaming]

I have seen the same with sellers from china , giant feedback and super low prices with free shipping ,

I would also like to know as even selling lightweight stuff out of Thailand the shipping really eats into the profits, ,

and people look at the total price when they bid , not just the item price,

I hope we can find out !

[Ragz]

China has a service called 'epacket' which is somehow subsidized by US Post. It gives them super low rates on ebay sales out of both the mainland and Hong Kong. That is why they have all those sellers selling $9 items with free shipping. Impossible to compete with that!

I think the Thai sellers just make do with super slim margins and subsidize their shipping with the margins from the product sale, at least the low ticket item sellers.

[meechai]

I have to assume your right about the Thai sellers Ragz

Because no matter how I look at it that seems the only explanation.

Also like I mentioned they have 20-30k feedback so even 30 baht profit per is

still 20-30k USD