ANSWERS: 2
  • The "average" is not particularly meaningful. Do you mean the average person who uses online auctions as a kind of garage sale? or do you mean the average person who tries to start an online retail business using auction sites as their storefront? Surely you would want to exclude existing large businesses who use online auctions as one of many outlets for their already reputable products and services. Obviously the car broker who is a regular seller on online auctions will have a much higher profit level than the retired couple who sell their arts and crafts through auctions... I don't know if anybody actually knows enough to answer this question as asked - after all, the amount of sale does not tell you how much someone makes because he might actually lose money on each sale - but I hope this perspective helps.
  • I'm guessing that you might be interested in the net amount that a seller gets, after all of the auction site and pay site expenses. For me (selling electronic parts and equipment), eBay costs me an average 5-6%, and PayPal 3-4%. eBay provides a large customer base, PayPal a degree (some say a small degree) of security. That's why I'm willing to pay for those services. It's hard to be exact, since there are so many variables. The size of a final bid determines how much commission eBay takes; if a bidder sends an e-check instead of using a credit card, the PayPal charge to me is smaller. I'm small scale in the Auction Sales Pantheon, mostly emptying out my basement. If I had a large flow of merchandise, I would look much more closely at even the smallest costs.

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