I had registered for this site a while back, but didnt use it for a while. I log in today and I am shoked! Girls selling like 3 pairs of panties for 25 credits which is only $15. I dont get it, why are they underselling themselves so much?
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ELM Giving it al away for peanuts?
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No matter the product there will always be people competing to have the lowest prices, even when it's not really in their best interests.
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If you spend $3 or $4 on underwear and $2 or $3 for shipping, you're still making eight to ten dollars.
Buying bulk panties and mailing them out seems like a pretty easy way to make money, especially if no custom video or photoset is attached. If these models are selling a few sets a day, I'd say that's some nice pocket money.
Some members want to buy expensive sex. They don't want ten exclusive shows at a dollar a minute; they want one exclusive show at seven dollars a minute. Some members are going to seek out a model with high-priced, "classy" underwear; some members are going to look for the cheapest discount panties they can find.
Sometimes it feels frustrating - how can we compete with those prices? But in reality, I think many members do not want bottom line prices. Many models find that they sell more shows when their prices increase, after all. Some models will find that what is easiest for them is selling bulk underwear at markup prices, but that doesn't mean any of us have to do that to compete with them. In the end, there will always be a market looking for the cheapest at cost of quality; I think it is a smart plan for models to target that group.
Buying bulk panties and mailing them out seems like a pretty easy way to make money, especially if no custom video or photoset is attached. If these models are selling a few sets a day, I'd say that's some nice pocket money.
Some members want to buy expensive sex. They don't want ten exclusive shows at a dollar a minute; they want one exclusive show at seven dollars a minute. Some members are going to seek out a model with high-priced, "classy" underwear; some members are going to look for the cheapest discount panties they can find.
Sometimes it feels frustrating - how can we compete with those prices? But in reality, I think many members do not want bottom line prices. Many models find that they sell more shows when their prices increase, after all. Some models will find that what is easiest for them is selling bulk underwear at markup prices, but that doesn't mean any of us have to do that to compete with them. In the end, there will always be a market looking for the cheapest at cost of quality; I think it is a smart plan for models to target that group.
JessiJayde said:
I posted something last week and I wanted it priced at 250 credits only to find out the max is set at 200. Thats crap, oh well. I dont think I will be sticking around there either.
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PlayboyMegan said:
I have lots of panties I sell that never cost me any more than $5 out of pocket. I can ship them for around another $5 or less. Granted I don't personally sale mine that cheap, but I can definitely vouch for Evvies math.
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Isis29 said:
Some of these girls may be looking at the big picture vs each individual sale. Lets say you sale one pair of panties each week for $40 so $160/month. Other girls sale there panties for $15 and they sale 3 pair per week so that makes $45/week or $180/month.
Edited to add: Im not saying you should be giving your panties away (I agree with your theory on that being to cheap) but I am playing devils advocate and I am sure these girls are doing what they think is best for them.
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I don't really know, but I'm pretty sure Megan also includes things like taxes and savings when she accounts for her sales? Just going from my original post, if the profit was $8 and you took away extra money for taxes, savings, cam funds, or anything like that, it probably would take away any profit. But if women are just looking at pure returns, I feel there is probably going to be a surplus.ElaySmith said:
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Evvie said:
I hope she is considering all that, otherwise those are some expensive ass panties out of pocket.
Even by Megan's example I don't feel it's enough profit to justify the trouble and personal-ness (word?) of selling someone ones panties. At 1000 tokens, after the taxes we pay on the tokens (or $ from elm @ $50 a pair) plus shipping and the cost of the panties themselves, we come away with maybe 24 bucks in pocket on a cheap pair and closer to 15 bucks in pocket on an average/nice pair, PLUS the time effort it takes to get an address, package, and ship. That's if you put it in a first class small padded yellow envelope. Priority mail or UPS/FedEx would leave you with even less in pocket.
I know that amount may be ok for some, but I'd not feel right making that little when sending someone a pair of panties that's touched my vagine.
I know that amount may be ok for some, but I'd not feel right making that little when sending someone a pair of panties that's touched my vagine.
Copied and pasted from my blog.ElaySmith said:
Breaking down the cost of panties since some girls sell them for less and some guys think mine are too expensive.
1000tokens for panties
After MFC takes 50%
$50, another 50% goes to taxes/savings.
$25
Packaging & shipping $5
$20
Buying panties $5
$15
Gas to go far to ship them $3+
=$12 in my pocket
That’s what we make off our panties. Ladies and buyers, consider this.
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Nordling said:I don't think you can subtract "savings" from your "in pocket" income though. Savings, though wise and prudent, is a personal choice, just like spending on a 50 gallon drum full of gummy bears.
When you talk about your paycheck, do they count the retirement fund money? Do they count the insurance money? We have to pay that for ourselves. So 50% taxes/savings are taken out before determining what we get, just like they are taken out of your paycheck before it ever reaches your bank.
Before you go on about how you don't have your paycheck's equivalent for those things, consider that both insurance and medical bills are more expensive for anyone who is self-employed, and as an independent contractor we have to pay double on unemployment taxes and social security. Not to mention we don't have an employer matching our 401K deposits, so we have to deposit everything into our retirement account ourselves. If you had to pay all that, it would easily equal what you actually take home.
Even without savings, if you sell you panties for $10, you would still end up in the negatives. And IMO, with a job as up and down like Camming in an unstable economy, savings is not a choice but a necessity.Nordling said:I don't think you can subtract "savings" from your "in pocket" income though. Savings, though wise and prudent, is a personal choice, just like spending on a 50 gallon drum full of gummy bears.
I think Evvie's/Elay's points still stand. While it might not be something that's gonna work/be something that's appealing to every model, the opportunity to make a few hundred extra bucks a month is gonna be attractive to many.
Shit, if I could find ten people a month willing to buy a pair of my boxer shorts at $12 profit to me each time, I'd sure as shit take advantage of that. That's $120 a month extra for what amounts to maybe a couple of hours work :twocents-02cents:
Shit, if I could find ten people a month willing to buy a pair of my boxer shorts at $12 profit to me each time, I'd sure as shit take advantage of that. That's $120 a month extra for what amounts to maybe a couple of hours work :twocents-02cents:
The problem is, you are NOT making a few extra bucks. You are SPENDING a few extra bucks.mynameisbob84 said:
Edit: by "you" I mean the girls selling their panties for $10
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Good points, and I won't belabor it...lol...because you're right. But I have a feeling that a large number of cam models don't save...they don't make enough money to save. Every company is different. If you work for Walmart, you may not get a retirement fund taken out of your pay check. I don't mind thinking of saving for retirement a "necessity," fine. But then you should also subtract food, shelter, utilities, clothing...everything but gummy bears.LadyLuna said:Nordling said:I don't think you can subtract "savings" from your "in pocket" income though. Savings, though wise and prudent, is a personal choice, just like spending on a 50 gallon drum full of gummy bears.
When you talk about your paycheck, do they count the retirement fund money? Do they count the insurance money? We have to pay that for ourselves. So 50% taxes/savings are taken out before determining what we get, just like they are taken out of your paycheck before it ever reaches your bank.
Before you go on about how you don't have your paycheck's equivalent for those things, consider that both insurance and medical bills are more expensive for anyone who is self-employed, and as an independent contractor we have to pay double on unemployment taxes and social security. Not to mention we don't have an employer matching our 401K deposits, so we have to deposit everything into our retirement account ourselves. If you had to pay all that, it would easily equal what you actually take home.
PlayboyMegan said:
I appear to have confused the $12 profit you mentioned from charging 1,000 tokens on MFC with the profit made from selling panties at 25 tokens on ELM. You're right. After you take away the cost of the panties, plus shipping, plus taxes, there's not gonna be much left out of that $15.
That said, if you sell enough of them (and procure the panties cheaply enough), eventually you'd make a profit (which I think was Evvie's original point). But yeah, you'd have to be selling a whole lot of panties to make it worthwhile.
Just in case anyone is interested though, you can still buy a pair of my boxers for $12 if you pay for shipping yourself :thumbleft:
How do a bunch of negatives ever become a profit? Even if you could find panties for $1 a piece, I still don't think there could be a profit if you sell them for cheap. I'm in the car, but I'll do the math when I get home. Pretty sure it will still be a negative....which will never become profit no matter how much of the product you "sell."mynameisbob84 said:PlayboyMegan said:
I appear to have confused the $12 profit you mentioned from charging 1,000 tokens on MFC with the profit made from selling panties at 25 tokens on ELM. You're right. After you take away the cost of the panties, plus shipping, plus taxes, there's not gonna be much left out of that $15.
That said, if you sell enough of them (and procure the panties cheaply enough), eventually you'd make a profit (which I think was Evvie's original point). But yeah, you'd have to be selling a whole lot of panties to make it worthwhile.
Just in case anyone is interested though, you can still buy a pair of my boxers for $12 if you pay for shipping yourself :thumbleft:
PlayboyMegan said:How do a bunch of negatives ever become a profit? Even if you could find panties for $1 a piece, I still don't think there could be a profit if you sell them for cheap. I'm in the car, but I'll do the math when I get home. Pretty sure it will still be a negative....which will never become profit no matter how much of the product you "sell."mynameisbob84 said:PlayboyMegan said:
I appear to have confused the $12 profit you mentioned from charging 1,000 tokens on MFC with the profit made from selling panties at 25 tokens on ELM. You're right. After you take away the cost of the panties, plus shipping, plus taxes, there's not gonna be much left out of that $15.
That said, if you sell enough of them (and procure the panties cheaply enough), eventually you'd make a profit (which I think was Evvie's original point). But yeah, you'd have to be selling a whole lot of panties to make it worthwhile.
Just in case anyone is interested though, you can still buy a pair of my boxers for $12 if you pay for shipping yourself :thumbleft:
If you sell a pair for $15, that's $7.50 after taxes/savings. Minus $5 for shipping = $2.50. If you buy panties in bulk, you could likely pay as little as a dollar per pair, so you'd wind up with $1.50 per pair. Which obviously wouldn't be worth selling just the one. If you could sell a hundred a month though, that's $150 a month.
But I concede that it's ultimately not worth selling panties at $15 a pop.
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Isis29 said:
If I'm gonna part with/mail a pair of panties I liked enough to spend money on, I am charging at least 750 tokens on MFC ($75) for them. I'm thinking of raising it to 1,000 tokens ($100).
The good thing about ELM is that you can sell a variety of items at the price that you choose. Yup, you'll probably get e-mails from guys expecting you to make them a custom video for a measly 5 bucks, but you are allowed to decline and tell them "I charge __ credits for a custom video." If they won't pay your price, no biggie. I'm sure someone else with money will come along and buy from you.
From the original post, $15 for 3 pairs of panties, even at $1 a piece, would be very little money in my pocket. ELM charges 5 credits ($3) to cash out for a check or direct deposit, and 20 ($12) or 40 ($24) credits for wire transfer.
$15 - 25% for taxes (no savings) = $11.25 - $5 (minimum for postage and mailer envelope) for shipping = $6.25 - $3 for 3/$3 panties = $3.25 - $3 for direct deposit = $0.25 for 3 pairs of panties.
If I had added even $1 in for gas used to get to the post office, I'd be paying to send those panties.
I can see the appeal if someone needs cash fast and they aren't thinking about the taxes, etc., but it's going to be negative amounts if they do it like that frequently.
$15 - 25% for taxes (no savings) = $11.25 - $5 (minimum for postage and mailer envelope) for shipping = $6.25 - $3 for 3/$3 panties = $3.25 - $3 for direct deposit = $0.25 for 3 pairs of panties.
If I had added even $1 in for gas used to get to the post office, I'd be paying to send those panties.
I can see the appeal if someone needs cash fast and they aren't thinking about the taxes, etc., but it's going to be negative amounts if they do it like that frequently.
Thank you Allison. I don't have an ELM account and you added costs that even I didn't know about! I would add gas, since that's part of it, proving my point that you would end up in the negatives and never make a profit from that price.AllisonWilder said:
AllisonWilder said:
Okay, further revision: if gas costs a dollar, and it costs $3 to cash out, you'd have to sell 19 lots of 3x panties to make a $0.25 profit... if you don't put any money for savings aside - if you do, then yeah, you're losing money :?
mynameisbob84 said:
Haha, yeah. That's not taking into account that most of these panties are requested as wet/worn so there's a whole lot of time being spent for 19 lots of 3 pairs of panties to just earn a quarter.
I don't sell panties, but the person selling panties, as referenced by the OP, that cheap would have an easier time walking down the street to find said quarter, imo.
I have to say you can get underwear for just $1 on Ebay. No shipping either. But as stated even getting them for that cheap of price youre not making it worth it really. Put in the time youre doing posting them to sell, packaging, wetting them, going to the post office, etc.... Not worth it any day of the week.
There has to be ways to make this cheaper though. Buying the undies in bulk would be a given, but you could also have the guy buy you the underwear first off your wishlist and then you wear it when it arrives before mailing it to him for the agreed upon token price. I read the $3+ gas per pair but if you made the trip for mulitple pairs all at once that'd cut down on it some right? Just make 1 trip every week or two weeks to ship stuf out. Also, is it cheaper packing the stuff and printing the shipping labels at home vs bringing the stuff in to have it done for you?
Are there any intangibles to consider like repeat business from the guy just coming back to your room. As a viewer of models I know i'd be much more likely to keep coming back to a girl's room if I owned something personal of hers. Perhaps even only offer the option to regulars who have tipped big in the past or taken you private many times. A perk to being in your club if you have one. Any extra incentive to get a guy to join your club/team/army/whatever has to be worth it as long as you break even or above I would think.
Sorry to bump a slightly inactive thread but I'm always trying to convince some of my favorites to try new ideas in hopes of shaking things up and getting more regulars/tips. Selling clothes was one of them I've tried to suggest. Input from the models lends way more weight to any suggestions I might have.
Are there any intangibles to consider like repeat business from the guy just coming back to your room. As a viewer of models I know i'd be much more likely to keep coming back to a girl's room if I owned something personal of hers. Perhaps even only offer the option to regulars who have tipped big in the past or taken you private many times. A perk to being in your club if you have one. Any extra incentive to get a guy to join your club/team/army/whatever has to be worth it as long as you break even or above I would think.
Sorry to bump a slightly inactive thread but I'm always trying to convince some of my favorites to try new ideas in hopes of shaking things up and getting more regulars/tips. Selling clothes was one of them I've tried to suggest. Input from the models lends way more weight to any suggestions I might have.
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