Gamblers Bookeeping has always fascinated me...In fact, I divorced someone who speciallizes in it to this day.  He proved he was  REALLY good at it through bankruptcy too!   Gamblers Bookeeping is where you go into a casino, loose 200 dollars, hit for 50 bucks on the 201st dollar, and (all of a sudden) you're a winner! "Hey look I won 50 bucks!!"  Actually $201.00 less fifty is a $150.00 LOSS.  This got me to thinking about tracking costs to sell on eBay to avoid the same kind of delusion.  I was wondering if everyone is making sure they track their costs so they aren't using "Gamblers Bookeeping."  It is very easy to sell a lot of goods at auction and not have any money left at the end of the month.  If you are going to be successful, it is critical that you track and have good visibility over your actual costs.  For instance, the following are typical eBay costs you should be tracking:

1.  Product cost (including inbound shipping).

2.  Total listing and reserve fees

3.  Feature fees (if you use them)

4.  Final Value fee (assessed only if the item sells).

5.  Auction Management Service (Pro Stores etc., if you use one).

6.  Credit card or PayPal service fees per sale (they do reduce the bottom line)

7.  Internet service or DSL fees

8.  Shipping costs

9.  Shipping and printing materials as well as computer programs for store management.

There are many book keeping programs available but I find the best is Quicken as a very good program for tracking costs.  Quicken has a sub-set for running a business in the home.  As you get more sophisticated, upgrade to Quick Books.

Hope this helps!  Do stop by my other guides -- I share a lot of good information from hard learned lessons there too!  Check out my sales (Pepper120851) -- you won't be disappointed.  Take a visit to my store where YOU name your price too (The Write Place).

If you have found this advice helpful I sure would appreciate a positive vote.  Just scroll down to the bottom of this guide and click "yes."  Thanks in advance for your kindness!