DSF

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PERSONALISED- ... 20d1d97539

How on earth do they do this for this money
stu

They don't. They are probably making a loss right there on their mugs. (also note - No Restrictions !! You Can Get Printed Anything You Want On Your Mug.. (brand names, Logos, Any Wording..... Any Image... Anything means Anything)....

so how do they money, it can't be on postage

Their P&P charges must eat up all the postage cost inc box.

Mugs are around £1ish, paper & ink - another 50p or so.... Not to mention eBay & PayPal fees which will take 15-20% off the top.

It's a loss I think

I pointed this one out a short while ago.

No one goes to that much trouble and not make money, there has to be something in it for them, unless they are collecting emails and address maybe that's how they make their money. Just a thought

I'd guessed that they're selling cheap to begin with to get their sales figures and feedback up and quickly get their PowerSeller and Top Rated Seller statuses. Also, if they have another main non-Ebay business printing up mugs and are already buying in in bulk direct from China/Thailand, and have wide format inks etc, then their cost per unit will be a lot less, potentially already have a trade account with Royal Mail or someone else to get their delivery costs down.

You can get a printed mug down to a very low cost if you wanted. There are seconds out there on blanks etc. coupled with if you don't care how the print comes out so you never get wastage. How much is 2nd class postage (I know 1st is £3)? Assuming it is roughly covering the postal charge I reckon if they have access to the cheapest options out there then they can scrape a 50p profit if they were doing some high volumes. As their volumes are rubbish, not really sure what they are trying to do but I think listings like these prove that price isn't everything as this listing was highlighted a while back and sales obviously haven't been good.

Gets there product noticed, moves up the listing, quick feedback and top seller status. Changes the price later on then hopes for return customers, new customers due to feedback and amount sold.

That's my understanding of doing something like this.

Thanks Mossy - that's what I was trying say, but you did a better job!