How Can They Do It?

[Peter Gilley]

Just wondering, how can some of the online retailers and ebay sellers afford to sell brand new oakleys for sometimes 100 dollars less than what they retail for? Seems very suspicious

 

[tedinblack]

Hi! I just responded to your other post before I saw this one.

eBay retailers who sell huge amounts of stuff usually only make about five dollars per sale. They are also not paying retail like you or I, they are paying wholesale prices. Going by Oakley SI's prices and what I see on eBay, I'm guessing Oakley charges their distributors about half retail. I have a tiny bit of experience with wholesale and retail, and it seems like a big markup for a product made in the US. usually you see 50% markups on stuff made overseas.

As far as being suspicious, its a good idea. However, a little research and the security of PayPal can ease your suspicions. I also used to serve civil seizure warrants (confiscating counterfeit products) and have seen zillions of fake Oakleys. It helps to spot a fake if you already own a real pair of what you're looking for. Sometimes the glasses don't look real, sometimes the box, bag and papers don't look quite right. There are a few online tutorials on how to spot fakes. Generally, as we all know- real Oakleys are impeccable. There are no rough edges, asymmetrical lines, crooked icons. The stitching on the microfiber bags are precise.

I recently bought a bunch of Half X's on eBay. Already having a real pair, I could compare the pics- fit, finish, hardware in the proper places, right color box, etc. And if I did get a fake pair, I'd get my money back from paypal. Before I bid on anything, I googled fake Oakley Half X. Fake Half X's look terrible! It seems they don't even try! I guess its way easier to fake O-Matter than metal.

Sorry for the long winded post, hopefully it helps!

 

[Menendez1293]

I heard for a pair of frogskins a store pays 50 bucks and seeks them at 100. I could be wrong it's just what I have heard since I snt work at a store I can not confirm. So as tedinblack said about a 50% markup when you buy from a delear

 

[jk-27]

As already stated, Oakley don't sell their sunglasses to retailers at RRP, they sell it at wholesale prices which will be way less than retail. If for example the RRP is $100, the dealer will have bought them from Oakley at $50, so they double their money (100% mark up). As with most things, the more you buy the cheaper it will get so larger Oakley dealers will probably be buying them for less than $50 so can make even more money or sell them for less than RRP and still make profit while at the same time the customer gets a deal as they are being sold below RRP. Some dealers will discount heavily but then it all becomes a case of selling high volume as the profit is much lower.

What I don't understand is how eBay sellers are getting their hands on bulk Oakleys. I would assume Oakley sell wholesale to authorised Oakley dealers or recognised chain stores only. However, there's a few eBay sellers who are neither but who have the latest Oakley frames at heavily discounted prices. I have no idea how they got their hands on such a large amount of stock, unless they know an Oakley dealer who can buy for them wholesale from Oakley, and then sell them on to the eBay guys for a little profit.

 

[jiveSEVEN]

Good information on this thread. I kind of figured that's what was happening but like jk-27 said some of the ebay sellers with this kind of stuff just seem like average joes.

 

[Peter Gilley]

Ya, it's the ebay guys that make me wonder, I know if I wanted to buy 20 pairs of oaks, OAKLEY would probably be happy to sell ME them at full retail price. But maybe there is a way to buy in bulk...it just makes me wonder why oakley would sell to somebody knowing that they will be able to outsell oakleys own online price.

 

[Menendez1293]

Ya, it's the ebay guys that make me wonder, I know if I wanted to buy 20 pairs of oaks, OAKLEY would probably be happy to sell ME them at full retail price. But maybe there is a way to buy in bulk...it just makes me wonder why oakley would sell to somebody knowing that they will be able to outsell oakleys own online price.

It could be a possibility that the people selling on eBay work at a authorized delear purchases the glasses at a discount and break the rules and sell them a little higher than what they paid to make a profit. It gets me all the time. I'm not sure how they do it

 

[xmetalmaniac]

As already stated, Oakley don't sell their sunglasses to retailers at RRP, they sell it at wholesale prices which will be way less than retail. If for example the RRP is $100, the dealer will have bought them from Oakley at $50, so they double their money (100% mark up). As with most things, the more you buy the cheaper it will get so larger Oakley dealers will probably be buying them for less than $50 so can make even more money or sell them for less than RRP and still make profit while at the same time the customer gets a deal as they are being sold below RRP. Some dealers will discount heavily but then it all becomes a case of selling high volume as the profit is much lower.

What I don't understand is how eBay sellers are getting their hands on bulk Oakleys. I would assume Oakley sell wholesale to authorised Oakley dealers or recognised chain stores only. However, there's a few eBay sellers who are neither but who have the latest Oakley frames at heavily discounted prices. I have no idea how they got their hands on such a large amount of stock, unless they know an Oakley dealer who can buy for them wholesale from Oakley, and then sell them on to the eBay guys for a little profit.

You are on the right track.

Think of it this way. Authorized Oakley sunglass shop sells X Metal/Ruby Juliets in the store for MSRP of $350.00 Not everyone who comes in there will pay that much. Now same retailer buys 5 pairs at their cost price of $175.00 Then sells them on Ebay for $225-$250 plus a few bucks to ship, minus some fees and they make a profit, and move them faster......