Ha, thank you for your quick response!  I've read some of your other responses and I love them.  I just don't think most people understand what goes into it (or they don't want to understand).  I even saw the posting where someone got all out of sorts b/c they felt like we are all price gougers.

#8

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/topic/Trading-Assistant/How-Much-Should/510152830

I've been working on coming up with a commission scale and spelling out the specifics. I think once I can tell people the minimum price at which I'll see somehting and exactly how much I'll charge, it'll be much easier.  Plus at that point the ball will be in their court.  I'll give them my pricing and they can either let me sell it and let me make us both money or just decide it's not worth it.

I hate to tell people, "This isn't worth my time," b/c it sounds arrogant, but the truth of the matter is that I can find items on Craiglist and sell them for a higher margin, then selling certain things for friends and family, and ultimately my time is a limited resource!

Thanks again.

...

Re: OP  "My goal is to make my fees very reasonable but I just can't be making $5 an hour.  I'd rather just get a part time job!"

&

Re:  OP"I hate to tell people, "This isn't worth my time," b/c it sounds arrogant, but the truth of the matter is that I can find items on Craiglist and sell them for a higher margin, then selling certain things for friends and family, and ultimately my time is a limited resource"

.....Very logical argument by OP but without a proper context for Us it's a bit leading....We don't know if OP is currently employed full-time or part-time....(or at all?) Is OP a student or a stay at home parent..or what? Crying "No Time" or "Ain't worth my time" may be a legitimate response for a Full Time ebayer who supports themselves & their family off their ebay sales....But if OP is a unemployed individual living at home the matter clearly requires a different look.................

What I do offer though is free appraisals

We offer free evaluations if an item is worth putting on ebay or not. An appraisal would require us to put an actual  value on an item and we dont have time for that kind research while the consignor is standing there. So we will evaluate if an equivalent item has sold on ebay recently and if its worth us taking that item for cosignment.

We solicit for items worth at least $300 on ebay and we wont accept consigned items worth less than $200 on ebay.

Since all the other listing services near us closed up, we no longer even have a place to refer people with items worth less than $200.

Michael J... If you're talking, you're not listening....If you're not listening, you're not learning.

You can charge a flat rate rather than a percentage commission. Figure out how much of your time it wil take, and what you want to make per hour. Selling a $100 watch takes the same amount of time and effort as selling a $500 watch.  I would tell them that you want $30 upfront plus all your expenses (fees, shipping, etc.) for each item.