Upselling Rae Dunn and Why It Doesn’t Bother Me
I have heard some Rae Dunn fans express their irritation with people who sell Rae Dunn goods online for large amounts more than the original price of the item. I’m going to explain why I don’t see this as a problem:
First of all, when demand is high and supply is low, naturally the prices will go up and that is for ANYTHING. If you are upset that you can never find it in your stores, maybe you should contact corporate and complain about it instead of feeling envious of those who find it easily. I have noticed that it seems to be distributed in heavy amounts in the southeast. Not sure why, but that’s where it seems to first come out, especially if it is seasonal. So, go out there and make some noise! Squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Secondly, when people find it and know that it is a hot item – or “unicorn” as lots of people refer to their hard to find items like the Cookies jar – they will post it on eBay to auction to those who are willing to pay more and more. That amount typically isn’t set by the seller, but the seller will research and see what they’ve been selling for on there. Did you know that eBay charges 10% selling fees plus 10% of the shipping fee? And if you go through PayPal – as most do – then they take 2.9%? Let me break that down for you:
If someone sells a Rae Dunn Cookies jar on Ebay for $100 + $25 for shipping, eBay charges a sellers fee of $10 for that item and $2.50 for the shipping. This doesn’t come out immediately, so the amount PayPal takes a fee from is still that $100, which means that the rate winds up being more than 2.9% since you technically aren’t profiting 2.9%. PayPal’s fee winds up being $2.90.
So…seller paid $14.99 for the Cookies jar up front (plus taxes). Once they sell it, they lose $15.40 in sellers fees plus they get back their $15 they paid up front. Together that is $30.40 that is technically NOT PROFIT. They profited a total of $69.60. It’s a nice little chunk for not a whole lot of work, but that is something else you have to consider: gas to drive to the store and buy the item(s), taking photos then uploading them and creating the listing, then carefully packaging the item(s) and gas for driving to the store to ship them. Let’s assume all of this takes two hours and $3 in gas. So, for each hour of work, they make $33.30. That’s pretty good, but that’s if you sell a high-priced item. The Cookies jars are the only ones that sell for $100+ individually. So, for everything else, the profit is much, much less.
I think eBay’s fees are outrageous and that’s where the true ripoff is. But, it’s the most popular avenue for selling online and they do it because they know people will put up with it. We could sell things for less if their rates weren’t so high.
I have sold RD on eBay before because we are not rich and I have 3 kids whose birthdays are all within a month of Christmas, plus I have a grandson whose birthday is just two months later. I sold items and made a small profit to help pay for presents and to put a little extra on my credit card. I also am willing to help find items for those who have been a support and I have made a connection with that are kindred spirits and to get nothing out of it other than making them happy. I am not one of those people who goes to the store and grabs up everything Rae Dunn that I see because my goal is not to make a business out of selling it for more online.
I know people are upset mostly because they feel it’s unfair, but as with all things that become trendy, they become more valuable to those who really want them. It’s a natural process since you always have those willing to pay a higher price to ensure that they get what they want.
