"How can you sell genuine gemstones and jewelry with $.99 starting bids?"

I get this question ALL THE TIME! I figured a lot more people have to be
asking the same and not emailing us, so I decided to explain it to you:

First and foremost, there is the economics of scale. Because selling on eBay
allows for a constant cash flow I buy VERY large quantities of stones at a
time, in fact when we sort through parcels for listing, we will often list up to
three years in advance of when the item will go live. This gives me an amount
of leverage when buying that only a hand full of people have.

Next, believe it or not, after eBay fees we lose money on about 25% of all
the $.99 that we put out. The problem is that it is pretty unpredictable as to
which auctions will make money and which ones will lose money on any
given day. For example, a similar item may sell for a 100% profit on one
day, and the next day sell for half my cost, regardless of how much an
item sells for it is always cash flow coming in.

I think that about explains how we do it, and most other sellers who sell
just about anything starting at $.99 will tell you the same thing, although
percentages will vary from product line to product line.

Enjoy and Happy Bidding!
David Saad
Skyjems