Shipping is OUT OF CONTROL

[StanJr]

What is this crap of $5 shipping for ONE LOOSE atari cart? It costs 85 cents to ship a lone loose cart, I know I do it all the time. What a rip. I see some really cool stuff sometimes, but I don't want to pay more in shipping than I do for the item (like that Shark Attack I won for like $3 and the shipping was $3.50) so I don't bid.

 

Some sellers are out of control. Why not just be honest about it? Is it really worth a couple of dollars to lie about shipping costs?

 

What a rip.

 

[CPUWIZ]

You know, it is really difficult to please everybody, I for instance prefer to ship stuff in boxes via priority mail because I have had smashed carts delivered to me in cheezy envelopes (mind you I paid $3.50 for an actual price of $0.90 in most cases). The cost for a priority box (no matter if it's only 1 cart) is now $3.85,- in the U.S. so I don't know why you are upset.

 

Perhaps you should ask the seller to ship it in bad packaging that will arrive weeks later before you bid. Just a thought

 

And also for you international eBay buyers, it actually does cost more money to ship to the U.K. for instance. I just paid $6.40,- for shipping 1 cart to the U.K. even though I only charged that person $5.00,- !

 

It is an interesting subject ... I wonder how everybody else feels about it.

[oesii]

Both of you have good points, I think shipping is higher these days but its mainly because of the increased costs from USPS, UPS, etc. I also usually prefer priority mail (~$4) and if the seller mentions that its for shipping and handling I factor it into the price. For example, if there's a common cart that I wouldn't pay more than $2 at Goodwill, I'm not going to bid $1 plus $4 shipping for it. That's why I prefer to look for bigger lots of carts, the shipping for the extra carts usually works out.

 

The whole system does suck for someone who wants a $1 item because of the realities of shipping. Probably sucks for the seller too with a small profit margin and all.

 

-O

[StanJr]

But see, I think the SELLER should absorb some if not all boxing costs. I use boxes I have here at the house, or I buy them at the PO at my own cost. I don't ASK or expect people to ship it in a $4 box and rarely do they (usually I pay my $3 and they still ship it in a plain yellow envelope.)

 

The average I spend to ship a LONE LOOSE cart is $2. I send them in high quality padded envelopes or a small box I find here at the house. I'd feel weasely asking for $2 to ship an item. Unless its something BIG I usually absorb the shipping cost myself as part of the price of doing business and as a courtesy to the person buying my stuff (or as in most cases getting my stuff for free)

 

 

Maybe this is just me, or does EVERYONE love to pay outrageous shipping costs on a $3 item?

[CPUWIZ]

It's not the boxes that cost money, they are free at the post office, it's the postage !

[CaliColts]

I'd be damned to absorb the cost of buying packaging for a specific item, If the item requires extra packing, the cost will be passed on to the buyer.

 

I think the charges from eBay and Paypal are all I should have to absorb, they are bad enough.

 

I have sold over 400 items on eBay and have had little or no problem with the shipping costs.

 

Bottom line, if you think its too much to ship it, dont buy it.

[fmctm1sw]

Well, there's a couple ways to look at it. Parcel post mail is cheap. However, the USPS delivered so many priority mail boxes to my front door one time (free BTW) that I try to use them. I guess I'm th only one who didn't know prices were on the way up and had to absorb a 35 cent hit the last time I mailed something. In order to make it easy, I'll just charge $4 for priority or about $2 for padded envelope. I leave it all up to the bidder really, I never make money on shipping......

[bjybjy]

As a seller on eBay I've noticed the following:

1. To avoid any problems send stuff in boxes if it can be broken in mail.

2. Priority mail now costs almost the same as parcel post. Look it up. I went to send a 5 or 6 pound box the other day and the difference between parcel and priority was like 45 cents.

3. If you want to make a profit consistantly calculate postage before giving total to bidder, and then just charge exact shipping. I post right in my auction : "Buyer to prepay plus exact shipping costs, will probably be around $4 or so". Anymore if you are just 1 or 2 pounds off in calculating the total, or if you are a couple zones off, you might end up having to absorb a $4 or $5 lose. I know, because I did this the other day.

 

Tad

[krisjohn]

I stopped selling stuff on eBay when I got a full-time job. Mostly because the amount of time buyers were consuming was insane, but also because costs were making the interesting stuff not worth bothering about. Check out how complicated the costs got:

 

* "Handling" is A$0.25.

 

* Postage rates are as follows;

o Under 250g

- Australia: A$2.75

- New Zealand: A$4.50

- Asia/Pacific: A$5.50

- US: A$6.50

- Europe: A$7.50.

o 250g to 500g

- Australia: A$3.61/$3.75

- New Zealand: A$7.50

- Asia/Pacific: A$9.50

- US: A$11.50

- Europe: A$13.00.

o Very small items can be sent as a "large letter" (A$0.98 within Australia)

o Small-medium sized items under 3kg can be posted within Australia using a A$7.30 "Satchel".

o Large items will be taken to the post office to check costs. My postcode is 6151.

 

* US$ PayPal payments attract 4% ON THE TOTAL AFTER POSTAGE IS INCLUDED plus a US$0.35 flat fee.

 

* I accept personal and bank cheques (A$ only), but the item will not be posted until the cheque clears.

 

* I accept Direct Deposit (AU only).

 

* Add US$3.50 for a Western Union money order.

 

* I can't accept a US Postal Order.

 

Notice how I don't say anything about US$ cash? I still got sent US$69 total in notes by three different people. It costs A$5 flat to bank US$ into my bank account. Meanwhile, I'm absorbing the increasing eBay costs.

 

(I still have half a dozen $3.61 500kg satchels that I never used.)

[StanJr]

It's not the boxes that cost money, they are free at the post office, it's the postage !

 

Yeah, but I just got a loose cart in the mail last week that I paid $3 shipping for, postage on the package was 85 cents.

 

When I mail loose carts first class it only costs me $1.10 in the padded envelope. Unless things changed last Thursday (and they damn well could have ), I'm getting ripped off.

 

Sadly, the attitude "If the shipping is too high, don't bid," is one I have to adopt. Hurts the sellers more than the buyers way I see it.

[Rick Weis]

personally i would use priority mail!! why? for 2 or 3 more bucks you can increase your chances that the game gets to you all in one piece... i got this one cart and instructions in a bubble mailer..i always open these as close to the end... in this case even though i open it as close to the end i still managed to rip a small part of the instructions!! (big manual!!) if they would have used priority mail in a box i would have not had that problem!!

 

i just sent 3 loose carts out and charged 5.00 the 3 games and 5.00 for shipping (priority mail w/ Delivery Confirmation i hate to charge 5 bucks but i bet it gets there all in one piece!

 

also if it gets lost in the mail i have always had a policy for refunding the money or giving something else in trade!

 

take care,

 

Rick

[holygrailvideogames.com]

The Post Office really jacked up the prices for priority items weighing more than a couple of pounds. If you send a Vectrex from one coast to the other coast your looking at a good $35-$40 to ship it now. Almost everything I sell I send out priority and at minimum it is $3.85 to send the package and $.45 for delivery confirmation. If I add $50 ($1.30) or less of insurance coverage the total is $5.60. I have had people charge me $5 only to send in a regular envelope using media mail. It doesn't make me real happy to pay a premium for a good box only to have it destroyed because it was sent in an envelope.

[Philflound]

Ok, since I mail tons of packages and have been doing this now for at least 2000 auctions between me personally and my friend's, here is my two cents.

 

1. ALL video games are media mail. Media mail is CHEAP! To send a cart media mail (weighs under 1 lb) with a delivery confirmation is under $2.00 for the most part. If across country, you may reach the $2.50 line. Add $1.30 for insurance, but if you pay $2.00 for a game, then you won't bother with insurance. As a seller, I ALWAYS DO DELIVERY CONFIRMATION! This can insure that the package has arrived and that as a seller, you are no longer responsible if it got lost/stolen. I've never had a package NOT arrive, though there were times when they said it was delivered and was in fact sitting at the post office of the buyer without a notice saying it was there.

 

2. Though priority boxes are free, priority mail on a cart is $3.85 plus 45 cents for delivery confirmation. I charge $4.75 for cartridges I sell only if they are boxed or sealed. They fit perfectly in a large video box. So I make 35 cents on the handling part. Again, insurance is an option I offer if the buyer wants it at $1.30 for $50 or less.

 

3. Packing material is FREE! You get packages in the mail, SAVE THE PACKING MATERIAL! You get newspapers? Don't recycle, get a paper shredder for $20 at Odd Job and there you go, instant packing material. If you don't buy newspapers, find the FREE ones at your local supermarket (maybe a little unethical), or on recycle night, take a bundle from your neighbors sidewalk. I took a whole bundle from my landlord on my own sidewalk just for shipping purposes.

 

4. Boxes CAN be free! Though I can't guarantee this, if you have local Dollar Stores, Odd Jobs, Supermarkets etc, ask them for spare boxes. Most are willing to part with them since they don't have to put them out or break them down. Jewelry stores are also good for smaller boxes. My mom is manager of one, so I get many small boxes. Also, save your boxes if you buy from someone. Reuse them and you save time and possibly money.

 

5. Tape is free or relatively inexpensive. If you are using priority mail, tape is free. If you need clear tape, goto the dollar store, or try to find a place online selling bulk. I just got 36 nice rolls of clear packing tape for $15.00 from a clearance dealer I know.

 

6. Labels are free or relatively inexpensive. Again, priority mail labels are free. In fact, if you contact the post office with the 800 number, you can have your labels pre-printed with your address. Though unethical, you can also cut the top part of the priority label and use the rest if need be. My father hooked me up with a few boxes of computer labels a few years ago, so I don't think I'll ever run out of them.

 

7. Invest in a stamper. Though it's nice when Easter Seals or someone sends you your own return address labels in the mail once in awhile, it is very time consuming to write your address on each box you mail. You can go to your local staples or other office supply place and get a stamper with your address for about $15.00. Just don't plan on moving too soon. Again, do this if you are shipping many packages.

 

Ok, it's late and I need to get to bed. I may add some more ideas, but these are good ones. I would recommend not using the post office for heavier packages that you can't send media mail. Media mail covers any type of reading material including comic books and magazines, videos, cds, dvds, video games and much more. All you need to do is check out Half.com and see which merchandise is covered under this. I think everything listed there can be sent via media mail. Just note that any delivery confirmation costs 55 cents if it uses the package services vs the 45 cents for priority mail, so factor that in, but all video games will be under 1lb.

 

Phil

[Philflound]

Forgot a couple of things before I goto bed. Stan mentioned paying $3.00 and then getting his cart with an 85 cent sticker. This I think totally sucks, but if it wasn't a cartridge, the sender may actually lose money shipping something any other method.

 

Of course, if the auction states your package to be sent priority and they stiff you on it by sending it cheap, contact the seller and request a refund. If you paid for insurance, do the same. In fact I paid for insurance with someone and they didn't insure my item. The guy was nice enough to not only give me back my insurance, but also give me the whole shipping price as a refund. But try and be nice the first email, then if they are a jackass, you can always leave them a negative fb. Also, if your package arrived damaged, contact ebay and state that you paid $3.00 and they didn't insure your package when they should have. You may be able to get refunded your money. Safeguard yourself. Ok, talk to you guys later.

 

Phil

[MacGurl]

I've gotten jipped on shipping charges as well in the past. I won't bid on anything that I feel the shipping is too much.

 

I roughly estimate shipping costs when posting an item on eBay and if it ends up costing me less, I send the buyer the difference back to them.

 

I've gotten packages in the mail that I paid $4+ shipping and they cost less than $1 to ship...

 

I guess people just wanna make a little more money.

[Snider-man]

I see Stan's point, but he's angry for the wrong reasons. He paid for "Priority Mail" (or atleast he paid that much), but he got it shipped First or Last Class for 90 cents. yes Stan, you got ripped by an unscrupulous seller.

 

However, I ship *everything* - even if it's one lousy Atari 2600 Pac-Man cart - via Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation. I charge $4.30, 'cause it costs $4.30. I make nothing extra on shipping, handling, or any of that other bullcrap.

 

Why? Well, the boxes are sturdy and will not crush in. The boxes are also free for me, the shipper, so I don't have to charge more to the buyer to recupe costs. PM delivery is usually within 2-3 days rather than the 2-3 weeks I've experienced with Media/First Class Mail. And, with Delivery Confirmation, I no longer get the 0 FB newbie screaming he didn't get his package. I can see exactly when it arrived at his front door.

 

Bottom line, if someone asks me to ship Media Mail in a padded envelope, no problem. Happy to oblige. I, however, ask them to send me a letter stating that they will not hold me responsible if the item is lost or damaged in the mail. (Though this has not happened.) As the seller, the way I most comfortably ship is stated in my ad. If anything is lost or damaged under *my* terms, I will happily refund your $$$, get you a replacement, whatever it takes. However, if you wish to take a risk of something cheaper that I don't approve of, no problem. But I refuse to take extra responsiblity for your (as I see it) bad decision.

 

I guess it also depends what you won. If it *was* a Pac-Man cart, Media Mail would be fine. Easy to refund or replace. But I'd never ship a loose Glib, Tomarc, or MagiCard in an envelope. No siree.

 

Just my 1/50 of a buck.

[Mayhem]

Shipping prices here in the UK recently went up also... but they aren't as high as they are in the US. Which makes my foreign buyers a little happier to say the least

 

I have got a great stash of boxes and padded envelopes from items I've received waiting for items I may want to sell. I generally charge for postage and materials associated with sending (address labels, tape etc) only...

[Albert]

I've had people ship me items via first class mail, in a padded envelope, after explicitly paying for Priority Mail. I've also had people charge (for instance) $4 shipping and upon receiving the package (usually not well packaged) seeing that it only cost $1 for them to ship. When this happens I am also generally ticked off.

 

When I'm selling loose carts on eBay, I usually offer two methods of shipment. The first is your standard Priority Mail, which now costs $3.85 for one pound (or anything you can fit in a priority mail envelope, I believe), and an expensive zone system for anything above that weight. The second is shipping in a padded envelope via first class, which I think costs somewhere around $1.30, although it's been a while so I don't remember the exact cost. When shipping via first class, I would usually pass the cost of the padded envelope, which I purchased new and in bulk, so they didn't cost very much (maybe 30 cents each). My reasoning is that I get the Priority Mail packaging (boxes, mailing labels, tape) for free, so if I'm going to offer the buyer the opportunity to save on shipping, I don't think it's unreasonable to include the cost of the padded envelope for first-class.

 

Most people chose Priority Mail, but this was back when you could send a two pound Priority Mail package for $3.00. Now that a two-pound package costs quite a bit more, I bet more people would opt for the bubble envelope. I'll probably get the opportunity to find out soon, as after CGE it's time for me to start shoveling stuff up onto eBay.

 

..Al

[StanJr]

yeah, most of this is coming from that $3/85 cent deal and the fact that I went looking for something (1 loose cart) on ebay yesterday, found it for cheap, was ready to bid and saw that the shipping was $5. The item was going to cost me half that. No way in hell.

 

I just needed to vent and maybe see what legitimate ebay sellers had to say about how they obtain their shipping costs. It just seems weasly to me in some regards, but I do now understand it a little better. I personally shall NEVER charge anyone shipping for a single loose cart cause I think that's kinda silly. Larger items probably, but the small stuff I can certainly swing.

 

Thanks peeps!

 

[Albert]

I personally shall NEVER charge anyone shipping for a single loose cart cause I think that's kinda silly.  Larger items probably, but the small stuff I can certainly swing.

 

Do you mean that you won't charge people more than it costs to ship, or that you won't charge *anything at all* when shipping someone a single cart they have won from you on eBay? I don't think anyone has a problem with paying the actual shipping costs, it only becomes a problem when shippers overcharge you (sometimes considerably) for shipping, lining their pockets with the difference. No one is going to expect you to ship them their eBay winnings for free!

 

The larger problem is that every year it's costing more and more (especially through the USPS) to ship merchandise, making it less attractive to purchase inexpensive items on eBay. The solution is to use cheaper shipping methods (parcel/media mail), alternate carriers (UPS, FedEx, etc.), or just not buy items where the shipping ends up costing more than the individual item. This is one reason I like buying large lots of items, at least then the shipping per item is considerably less than if I bought them all individually.

 

..Al

[holygrailvideogames.com]

Would you really classify all videogames as falling under "media mail". I could see this for cd's or disk, but what about cartridges? I don't the Post Office would find out if you send cartridges using "media mail", but if they did would they consider this mail fraud?

[Albert]

Would you really classify all videogames as falling under "media mail".  I could see this for cd's or disk, but what about cartridges?  I don't the Post Office would find out if you send cartridges using "media mail", but if they did would they consider this mail fraud?

 

Here is the definition from the USPS website:

 

Used for books, film, manuscripts, printed music, printed test materials, sound recordings, play scripts, printed educational charts, loose-leaf pages and binders consisting of medical information, videotapes, and computer recorded media such as CD-ROMs and diskettes. Media Mail cannot contain advertising.

 

I certainly would consider videogame cartridges to be "computer controlled media". I don't see why a read-only cartridge that stores digital information should be considered any different from a CD-ROM that does the same thing, but in a different form factor.

 

..Al

[Albert]

Also, here is a quote from Half.com's help desk:

 

All sellers listing in Half.com's Books, Music, Movies or Games categories must use, at a minimum U.S. Postal Service Media Mail to ship orders.

 

This implies that all these items can be shipped using Media Mail. Half.com includes several cartridge-based systems in their line-up, including Gameboy, Nintendo 64, Genesis and Super Nintendo.

 

..Al

[Room 34]

Yeah, but I just got a loose cart in the mail last week that I paid $3 shipping for, postage on the package was 85 cents.

Most of the time when I buy or sell on eBay, Priority Mail is what's used, so $3.85 + is a going rate. But I have bought things before where the seller charged Priority Mail rates for shipping and then just sent it regular mail and pocketed $3 or more of the difference. That kind of ticks me off.

 

I e-mailed one of them, and she responded that she has to pay the people she sends out to the post office to ship this stuff, so that gets added as a handling charge. (Suspend for the moment the natural argument about someone selling enough on eBay that they hire someone to take the stuff to the post office.) It's a reasonable argument, if the seller clearly states two things:

 

1. The shipping method that will be used.

2. That charges are for shipping and handling.

 

When I sell on eBay, I just guess approximately what the shipping will be. I always use Priority Mail. Sometimes I'm a little off in my shipping estimate, so I make a note that the buyer will not get the difference back, but it is always less than a dollar.

 

I could charge handling. After all, I usually extend my lunch break from work to go to the post office to send this stuff out, since the PO is never open when I'm out of work. I basically lose $10-$15 of work pay for going out and sending this stuff, but of course I do not add that to the items as a "handling charge!" Maybe I would if it were commensurate with the price of the item I was selling, but surely not for a few games or CDs that a person buys for $10 or less.

 

In short, it all comes down to communication. A lot of sellers are really sloppy about what they put into their auctions. "Let the buyer beware." You are given an opportunity to contact the seller and get the information from them. Granted, I usually neglect to do this when I really should, and those are the times when I get burned. Obviously, if the seller lies then it's a different matter. I guess these are the risks we take with eBay. You just have to decide if, overall, it's worth it.

 

Oh and yes, I do enjoy seeing my own lengthy, boring replies to posts.

[Rick Weis]

i've had 5 packages lost by media mail in the last 18 months!! will never use media mail again!! never had a PM package lost!!!

 

Take care,

 

Rick