eBay shipping: how much is too much?

[+LS650]

I recently won a bid for an item on eBay. Before I put in my bid, I asked the seller (a prominent high-volume seller) if he could provide me with an estimate for shipping to my country (outside the USA). He sent back a message that shipping would be $30 US. I thought the charge was kind of high, but put in the bid. After winning, I promptly paid the total with $30 for shipping.

 

The item arrived today. According to the postmark, the postage was $13.35 US. The package was well wrapped with some bubble-wrap and a small secure cardboard box, so materials cost this seller a bit. Still, it isn't $16.65 worth of packing and handling.

 

I've noticed this with several auctions. Since I live outside the USA, I always ask for a shipping estimate, and pay it when I win - but I've noticed that the shipping "and handling" charges people ask seem to be really high. If it costs $13.35 to ship, I think asking $30 is a bit unreasonable.

 

What do you think?

[Jacob Rose]

I recently won a bid for an item on eBay. Before I put in my bid, I asked the seller (a prominent high-volume seller) if he could provide me with an estimate for shipping to my country (outside the USA). He sent back a message that shipping would be $30 US. I thought the charge was kind of high, but put in the bid. After winning, I promptly paid the total with $30 for shipping.

 

The item arrived today. According to the postmark, the postage was $13.35 US. The package was well wrapped with some bubble-wrap and a small secure cardboard box, so materials cost this seller a bit. Still, it isn't $16.65 worth of packing and handling.

 

I've noticed this with several auctions. Since I live outside the USA, I always ask for a shipping estimate, and pay it when I win - but I've noticed that the shipping "and handling" charges people ask seem to be really high. If it costs $13.35 to ship, I think asking $30 is a bit unreasonable.

 

What do you think?

 

Absolutely. They do this to prop up low prices and avoid paying eBay fees, and I think it's dishonest. A seller COULD justify the cost of his or her time to pack and ship the package, but that's not $16.65 (especially if they're selling a lot).

 

eBay should charge fees on costs above the actual calculated shipping cost (with perhaps a 10% buffer to allow some reasonable protection), and it should be mandatory that handling charges are entered up-front. Optional services like delivery confirmation should be selectable by both seller and buyer to indicate whether they are included or desired. Falsification should be penalizable. As an option, the total calculated cost should be displayed as the primary indicator of how much an item costs, not the bid price.

 

Or they could just halve their fees but apply them to the shipping costs as well as the bid price...but as it stands eBay's getting screwed, and prices look a lot lower than they really are, which undoubtedly gets many newbies into bad deals.

[Albert]

Yes, that's high but there's not really much you can do since you agreed to the shipping cost up front (and paid it!) You can go to the usps.gov website to calculate international shipping from the US to any country. Even if you guestimate the weight a bit high, you can generally tell if someone is padding their shipping. You can perhaps use this in the future to try and negotiate a better shipping price if you think it's too high.

 

..Al

[DreamTR]

Simple logic: Add the shipping and handling to the cost of the auction since it is posted so you know what you are paying beforehand.

 

Also, a lot of businesses pay hourly wages to people packaging the thing and taking it the post office and all that. I am not getting in an argument about this because I did before once, and I noticed a lot of people selling here on the eBay forums charge just as much as I do for boxed games ($5 to ship one, combined shipping on others) and everyone was ok with their costs (and some were even higher with MANDATORY insurance) and quick to berate me on mine.

 

In any event, about it being "dishonest", eBay and PayPal are pure eveil. They do not help you when you are burned on auctions that you purchase. I've lost a lot of money due to PayPal's negligence of trying to obtain the money back from people (even if they have bank account info, they won't go back to try and obtain it)

 

eBay goes up one better. Sometimes they don't automatically give you insertion and final value fees back unless you specifically go into the options after you file a claim against another buyer and "request" it.

 

We all know a lot of people will set a lower price with a higher value on shipping/handling to make up for the cost. There are a lot of people that would lose money on eBay if they did not make it back on shipping, it's plain and simple. I am not condoning those people that charge $10 a game to ship, but those that charge 0.99 (0.20 insertion) and $5 shipping kind of need to because if they charged 3.99 as a starting bid, it is highly unlikely it will sell in the first place.

 

It's basic addition and subtraction here on shipping/handling to how much you have to pay in accordance to the product you want. If there is a morality issue about making sure eBay gets every cent they can, just ask any major seller that has to deal with eBay what they think of the necessary evil of selling products on that website, not counting the ultra competitive nature of people that have to deal with the same items from another seller.

 

All I can say as a finality to this is ANY product you purchase off of a major retailer, home phone order, whatever, will have a set price that is sometimes higher than the overall shipping charge because they will base some of their profit on that. This has been going on forever, and eBay is no exception.

[jetset]

You've been duped. He didn't disclose he was charging you double the shipping cost for so called "handling" fees.

I would politely ask for a reasonable refund, and if you dont get something back, neg him then report him to ebay. They have a policy against excessive shipping. Problem is, people who get duped rarely do anything about it, so these buzzards get away with it.

Sorry to hear you get ripped.

[wrldstrman]

The only way to put a end to high shipping is for people not to bid on auctions with inflated shipping..

[Albert]

The only way to put a end to high shipping is for people not to bid on auctions with inflated shipping..

I generally agree with this statement and I avoid sellers who obviously inflate their shipping. Especially with classic gaming stuff where, unless it's a rare item, it's usually easy to find many sellers putting the same items up for auction. If it's a rare item that you're paying quite a bit for, the shipping is less of an issue.

 

..Al

[Scihorror]

I tend to do a lot of eBay sales to overseas bidders (mostly records, CDs and t-shirts), and I always try to keep the shipping reasonable. For example, I charge $8.00 for records and t-shirts overseas and the cost is usually between $6 and $10. But $30 - that's WAAAAYYY out of hand...

 

While I agree that the best way to avoid paying for overly inflated shipping prices (I've seen one guy charge $8.00 domestic for a game and $7.00 domestic for a CD!) is to avoid bidding on the item, it usually doesn't work. I think that most people jack up their shipping costs because they know that it you really want the item, you'll pay for the shipping to get it to you house. The lesson today: Caveat Emptor...

[Phantom]

As a past seller at Ebay, and this was a few years ago when it wasnt as bad as im told it is today, Ebay is the one that robs the Sellers in many ways. I dont agree that you should pay the fee if it doesnt sell but thats just the tip for me. Thats why I dont sell on Feebay anylonger. any doubles of mine will just be that with an occasional sale here and there or a trade. The seller pays atleast 3 fees to ebay for every sale and they keep taking a bigger % every 6 months. I agree that you paid too much in your personal case but I dont blame any seller for trying to get some of the $ Ebay robs them of. From now on, take into account the price for shipping and the price youre willing to pay total for an item and there is your total youre willing to pay regardless of the shipping price. If its to high move on or get a definate quote ahead of time if its out of US and such. I hope Ebay goes down the tubes, as a past seller, you have not only Ebay against you with fees but then complaining customers. Go sell on Ebay and tell me Im wrong. Im not looking for an arguement but whomever suggest you slight the guy a negative for a price you agreed to pay is about as wrong as wrong can be. Thats the other bad side to selling, you always get a newbie or a revengeful person that doesnt even contact you about an issue they may have had and they rush out a negative. Now negatives should be handed out more if you ask me, to the sellers that mis represent and sell garbage but usually the person buying fears a retaliatory negative FB. But the guy who sold you a good item, Im assuming it is, and you paid too much for shipping wise, well he doesnt deserve one. Maybe a note asking for a credit or refund but even if he said no gives you no right for a negative. After all, you agreed to it when you paid for it. I wish ebay would just die completely...people think it would be harder to find games then but I dont care since I dont buy from there. Go to a yard sale and look for them like sellers and collectors do. Yea its some work but then you wouldnt have these shipping issues. Anyone suggesting that ebay is getting ripped off by sellers should try to sell on there and maybe your eyes would open.

 

As far as ebay buyers go, I believe that Ebay will eventually drive most of the Smaller sellers away so if you buy your games mostly on ebay, you should be glad there are people willing to waste hours finding games that you (ebay Buyers as a whole, no one person) werent willing to get off your butt to find yourself and make piddlings doing so. I also got tired of testing and cleaning , which you do if youre a real honest good seller which eventually leaves you with lil time or urge to play games for fun, atleast in my case, and it was only about 4-6 months i sold and I was wore out. Id rather work at McDonalds then ever attempt to sell anything on ebay again. Even part time.

Ebay should lower fees and someone suggest that ebay is getting screwed in fees? You sound like an Ebay rep whomever stated that. Figure out the fees sometimes, it wouldnt be hard to figure since the fees are available. Then dont forget the Paypal fee which is all the sellers cost. Paypal is Ebay afterall, one wonders if they could ever imagined the behemoth they've become when they first started. Anyhow, if youre mad at anyone, it should be at Ebay for killing the seller at every turn to where its almost impossible to make any profit. Enjoy and no hate mail, im entitled to my opinion and ive been on both sides of it with ebay, as a buyer, i was sold junk so I figured It would be appreciated if someone were to actually sell clean working stuff is why i became a seller in the first place and now Im neither and it suits me. So im babbling here from experience, just dont be so ready to kill the sellers, where would you find your games if they left?

Edited October 18, 2006 by Phantom

[Christophero Sly]

They do this to prop up low prices and avoid paying eBay fees, and I think it's dishonest.

I completely agree.

 

In any event, about it being "dishonest", eBay and PayPal are pure eveil. They do not help you when you are burned on auctions that you purchase. I've lost a lot of money due to PayPal's negligence of trying to obtain the money back from people (even if they have bank account info, they won't go back to try and obtain it)

 

eBay goes up one better. Sometimes they don't automatically give you insertion and final value fees back unless you specifically go into the options after you file a claim against another buyer and "request" it.

You are utterly mistaken if you believe an absurd notion like ebay and Paypal are "pure evil" justifies dishonesty on your part and entitles you to fleece your buyers.

 

There are a lot of people that would lose money on eBay if they did not make it back on shipping, it's plain and simple.

If they can't honestly make money on ebay, then they shouldn't be selling on ebay, plain and simple.

 

I am not condoning those people that charge $10 a game to ship, but those that charge 0.99 (0.20 insertion) and $5 shipping kind of need to because if they charged 3.99 as a starting bid, it is highly unlikely it will sell in the first place.

If it won't sell for an honest price, why try to sell it in the first place?

 

If there is a morality issue about making sure eBay gets every cent they can, just ask any major seller that has to deal with eBay what they think of the necessary evil of selling products on that website, not counting the ultra competitive nature of people that have to deal with the same items from another seller.

I don't even begin to understand your logic here.

 

All I can say as a finality to this is ANY product you purchase off of a major retailer, home phone order, whatever, will have a set price that is sometimes higher than the overall shipping charge because they will base some of their profit on that. This has been going on forever, and eBay is no exception.

Even if this were true, it wouldn't justify anything.

 

The only way to put a end to high shipping is for people not to bid on auctions with inflated shipping..

I agree. I won't bid on any auction that I perceive to carry an inflated shipping charge. Edited October 19, 2006 by Christophero Sly

[Jacob Rose]

Ebay should lower fees and someone suggest that ebay is getting screwed in fees? You sound like an Ebay rep whomever stated that.

 

I didn't represent my meaning well if that's how it read. The problem is this: higher fees (which I, as a seller, agree are hurting honest sellers) lead to more dodgy activity like boosting shipping charges, which cheats eBay of fees, which leads to higher fees. It's a vicious cycle. They need to square things by lowering their fees - significantly - and either lowering them so much that they can be applied to the shipping charges without raising anyone's ire, or figuring out what the actual cost to ship is, and "taxing" the ridiculous overcharging.

[Phantom]

Fleecing? How so when you are aware of the price ahead of time? Also, whats a fair price? what you are willing to pay?/ You set the guidelines? Heres what happens, for example, a set of paddles is really worth 15$ to a seller, at auction, that costs him .60 more cents to go from 9.99 to 14.99 so if he were to inflate the shipping to offset the real price and be charged .60 cents less than good for him. How is that Fleecing when A: you know up front the prices for all and B: the worth of an item is correct even if it is divided among actual price and shipping. If you think its not worth the combination of the 2, then move on but i'd love to see where all the lazy people would buy their games from? Go spend your gas looking for games and your time and then make sure it works and nd clean it if neccessary and take the loss on everything you buy that doesnt work and then sell that game for .99 and pay ebay and all their fees even if it doesnt sell til the 5th time and then pay paypal fees since somehow thats a sellers advantage when its really the buyers advantage to get what they want quicker and not get off their ass once again and go to the post office and pay for a money order, somehow thats the sellers fee? and then tell me if it was worth it. Ebays the only place where you are not a true owner because Ebay is always telling you what you can and cannot do no matter how retarded their answer to the issue is. its like Ebay has no Common sense on may issues between sellers and themselves.

And then all the buyers want to set the starting price and tell you how much they want to pay and I'll tell you what i used to tell them, piss off and please go elsewhere and then Id block em. Can you tell youve put me in a bad mood tonight? You've made me remember the root of why i hate ebay sooo, and thats the truth, every word of it. Just because you think you have a right(as most ebayers do) to buy something thats worth 10$ for .99 and get free shipping doesnt make youre calls of fleecing right. Are Sellers adjusting pricing so they may combat ebays fees if ever so slightly? yes and good for them. Move on to someone elses auction and get off your high horse. If shippings too high move on and quit all the bitchin.

[Phantom]

Ebay should lower fees and someone suggest that ebay is getting screwed in fees? You sound like an Ebay rep whomever stated that.

 

I didn't represent my meaning well if that's how it read. The problem is this: higher fees (which I, as a seller, agree are hurting honest sellers) lead to more dodgy activity like boosting shipping charges, which cheats eBay of fees, which leads to higher fees. It's a vicious cycle. They need to square things by lowering their fees - significantly - and either lowering them so much that they can be applied to the shipping charges without raising anyone's ire, or figuring out what the actual cost to ship is, and "taxing" the ridiculous overcharging.

 

Jacob, i completely agree. And heres another point that i failed to mention, maybe the biggest ripoff! And it has to do with shipping! Did you know PAypal, Ebays sister, takes their fee not only out of the cost of the item, but OUT OF THE TOTAL. Which means for EVERY sale, the seller gets SCREWED AGAIN! They take a % out of your shipping fees! How is that right? But then Ebay is saints, lmao, To all: stop thinking from just one side of an equation all the time.

PS: The topic starter got robbed a bit yes but as a whole, its the seller who gets robbed by ebay often and they lose money on many items. Cheers

[+LS650]

Go to a yard sale and look for them like sellers and collectors do. you should be glad there are people willing to waste hours finding games that you (ebay Buyers as a whole, no one person) werent willing to get off your butt to find yourself

You have some valid points - but some of us are unable to find "yard sales" and what not. I live in a small village about 12 hours south of Mexico City; I'm not going to find too many yard sales here!

[Phantom]

Go to a yard sale and look for them like sellers and collectors do. you should be glad there are people willing to waste hours finding games that you (ebay Buyers as a whole, no one person) werent willing to get off your butt to find yourself

You have some valid points - but some of us are unable to find "yard sales" and what not. I live in a small village about 12 hours south of Mexico City; I'm not going to find too many yard sales here!

Is650, i know some cant find yard sales as easily and its not easy on any level to find games even at yard sale, its alot of work unless you want to pay someone else to find it. Im not talking about space invaders or ET, you guys get my drift. Too many people complain about shipping prices when they can just move on and not buy, The buyer has all the power. You did get screwed a bit but when you decided to pay, thats was agreeing to bite the bullet on this one. I didnt even look at what you purchased but i assume it wasnt ET. this thread makes for good debate. The truth is, im a collector 1st and foremost, even when I sold, but people give lil thought to what the sellers are up against and frankly, unless youve tried it, you just dont know. I wont buy from Ebay and i sell once in a blue mon at my friends store but Id never want to deal with Ebay or its customers again. Im a collector that like things as cheap as i can get them so I spend my time looking for them in the"wild". The problem is most people are as cheap as me but they expect to get something for nothing on Ebay and thats not right. If the Ebay sellers that sell classic games closed up shop, alot of people would find it much harder to find games. I would love it since Im sure the values would go back up and Id find a way to sell my doubles at a fair price. Fact is, people treat Ebay sellers of classic games as if they magically bought their games from a Retail Outlet, well thats not possible yet the buyers on Ebay think of Ebay as their own retail store. You cant find these games at any retail outlet for 99% of them, and by the off chance some store has old stock? well thats even more work to find out. What im saying is the sellers get a raw deal when it comes to public perception and fanagling the where of the value of an item gets placed in conjunction with shipping and actual price shouldnt be a concern of the buyer, they should make a decision based on what theyre willing to pay including the shipping. If an item is .99 and you paid 8.01$ to ship well then that cost you 9$. On the other hand a 2nd sellers selling the same item sells it for $10 and free shipping, now of course the 1st guy gets the grief but even a child knows the 1st guy has the better deal. Thats about a good an analogy as i could make and the 1st guy saved .15 on his listing and good for him. This notion that that is fleecing a customer is Bunk. And for as much as Ebay screws their sellers, sellers should try to cut costs where ever they can. In your case, you over paid , plain and simple and i dont agree with that but you should have discussed that before you sent payment, not after. I dont know how much you over paid but I think once you paid and you got what you wanted, its time to move on.

Im kinda surprised that no sellers on here have backed me up but maybe theyre afraid it would hurt sales where in my case, I dont care about that, I just speak my mind because whether you think I'm right or wrong, atleast i gave you all something to think about. Im not saying to buy if you think shipping is high, im just saying dont bother the seller with petty issues, Ebay does that for them enough. Unless its way out of whack, just move on until you see it for a price youre comfortable with. It cant sell if you dont bid/buy. Cheers

Edited October 19, 2006 by Phantom

[Zwackery]

I recently won a bid for an item on eBay. Before I put in my bid, I asked the seller (a prominent high-volume seller) if he could provide me with an estimate for shipping to my country (outside the USA). He sent back a message that shipping would be $30 US. I thought the charge was kind of high, but put in the bid. After winning, I promptly paid the total with $30 for shipping.

 

The item arrived today. According to the postmark, the postage was $13.35 US. The package was well wrapped with some bubble-wrap and a small secure cardboard box, so materials cost this seller a bit. Still, it isn't $16.65 worth of packing and handling.

 

I've noticed this with several auctions. Since I live outside the USA, I always ask for a shipping estimate, and pay it when I win - but I've noticed that the shipping "and handling" charges people ask seem to be really high. If it costs $13.35 to ship, I think asking $30 is a bit unreasonable.

 

What do you think?

I try to be as accurate as possible with shipping quotes, which means I tend to be within 1 dollar (+/-) of the actual cost. Since I recycle as much shipping materials as possible (boxes, bubble wrap, etc.) from stuff that I buy, I don't factor this into any sort of cost, nor do I include things like price of gasoline, wear and tear on my car, or the compensation factor of occasionally having to wait in line at the PO.

 

Having said all that, sometimes shipping costs from the US to another country have surprised me in the past (things going 1 ounce over a weight range and putting it into a much more expensive category, ditto for a box that is 0.5 inches longer a specified range [sorry for the non-metric measurements]), so I tend estimate a little high in case there is a surprise, but I've never had need to practically double the shipping costs.

 

If anything, I have had int'l buyers flip out at shipping costs because I'm a one-man side-operation and I don't have a corporate account to steal from and these buyers have gotten mysteriously low shipping fees in the past. Seriously. I've gotten packages in the past from people who were clearly using their employer's UPS or FedEx account to ship stuff to me and pocketing 100% of the fees. One dipshit from Texas got into serious trouble because the shipment got damaged and in the process of getting it sorted out he got busted for stealing shipping services from his employer.

 

If you feel strongly about it, I would go ahead and contact the seller, but also have in mind what sort of refund on the overage that would take to make you happy (i.e., do you want all the extra back or just $5?).

Edited October 19, 2006 by Zwackery

[scott21]

Oh yeah. For example today I had a empty jaguar cd box i gave away for free on the condition the person would cover shipping. So a guy msg'd me and it cost 6.50 to ship it to him, he sent it via paypal and off it went.

When I got home and double checked my paypal account, paypal charged me 49¢ to make the 6.50 transaction, so I actually lost a little to get rid of it.

 

It's not the biggest deal, but when you consider sellers have a listing fee, final selling price fee, and paypal transaction fee, those add up quite a lot trust me. Just looking at my last 14 paypal transaction, i've lost 22.31 in paypal fees. Ebay takes 5% of each transaction under $20, and 2.5% of anything over $20 iirc, not to mention the 35¢ _minimum_ auction style listing fee, which doesn't include any of the extra options such as additional pictures or bold print ect ect.

 

I agree ebay should definitely get some sort of percentage or fixed price for their services, but to get tax'd 3 times per auction is a little pricy. This is why many sellers jack up their shipping cost because it isnt taxed through ebay (only on the paypal transaction) and helps cover fees. But again there are limits to this too. I dont mind paying $5-6 for shipping when I know it cost 2-3 to ship, but when shipping is closer to the $10 mark for one game I pass without even looking at the auction.

[Smitty]

Here's a free quick ebay fee calculator. See for yourself, as a vendor ePay is a rip-off.

 

http://www.ebcalc.com/

[Phantom]

I recently won a bid for an item on eBay. Before I put in my bid, I asked the seller (a prominent high-volume seller) if he could provide me with an estimate for shipping to my country (outside the USA). He sent back a message that shipping would be $30 US. I thought the charge was kind of high, but put in the bid. After winning, I promptly paid the total with $30 for shipping.

 

The item arrived today. According to the postmark, the postage was $13.35 US. The package was well wrapped with some bubble-wrap and a small secure cardboard box, so materials cost this seller a bit. Still, it isn't $16.65 worth of packing and handling.

 

I've noticed this with several auctions. Since I live outside the USA, I always ask for a shipping estimate, and pay it when I win - but I've noticed that the shipping "and handling" charges people ask seem to be really high. If it costs $13.35 to ship, I think asking $30 is a bit unreasonable.

 

What do you think?

I try to be as accurate as possible with shipping quotes, which means I tend to be within 1 dollar (+/-) of the actual cost. Since I recycle as much shipping materials as possible (boxes, bubble wrap, etc.) from stuff that I buy, I don't factor this into any sort of cost, nor do I include things like price of gasoline, wear and tear on my car, or the compensation factor of occasionally having to wait in line at the PO.

 

Having said all that, sometimes shipping costs from the US to another country have surprised me in the past (things going 1 ounce over a weight range and putting it into a much more expensive category, ditto for a box that is 0.5 inches longer a specified range [sorry for the non-metric measurements]), so I tend estimate a little high in case there is a surprise, but I've never had need to practically double the shipping costs.

 

If anything, I have had int'l buyers flip out at shipping costs because I'm a one-man side-operation and I don't have a corporate account to steal from and these buyers have gotten mysteriously low shipping fees in the past. Seriously. I've gotten packages in the past from people who were clearly using their employer's UPS or FedEx account to ship stuff to me and pocketing 100% of the fees. One dipshit from Texas got into serious trouble because the shipment got damaged and in the process of getting it sorted out he got busted for stealing shipping services from his employer.

 

If you feel strongly about it, I would go ahead and contact the seller, but also have in mind what sort of refund on the overage that would take to make you happy (i.e., do you want all the extra back or just $5?).

 

 

Oh yeah. For example today I had a empty jaguar cd box i gave away for free on the condition the person would cover shipping. So a guy msg'd me and it cost 6.50 to ship it to him, he sent it via paypal and off it went.

When I got home and double checked my paypal account, paypal charged me 49¢ to make the 6.50 transaction, so I actually lost a little to get rid of it.

 

It's not the biggest deal, but when you consider sellers have a listing fee, final selling price fee, and paypal transaction fee, those add up quite a lot trust me. Just looking at my last 14 paypal transaction, i've lost 22.31 in paypal fees. Ebay takes 5% of each transaction under $20, and 2.5% of anything over $20 iirc, not to mention the 35¢ _minimum_ auction style listing fee, which doesn't include any of the extra options such as additional pictures or bold print ect ect.

 

I agree ebay should definitely get some sort of percentage or fixed price for their services, but to get tax'd 3 times per auction is a little pricy. This is why many sellers jack up their shipping cost because it isnt taxed through ebay (only on the paypal transaction) and helps cover fees. But again there are limits to this too. I dont mind paying $5-6 for shipping when I know it cost 2-3 to ship, but when shipping is closer to the $10 mark for one game I pass without even looking at the auction.

 

I agree with both of these posts most sincerely. The joke of intl shipping is just what you stated, that if youre over by an ounce, you get creamed in a higher fee and i've lost 10$ on my first intl. shipment but went ahead with it because A: I wanted it out of my hair and b: I would have to go to the post office AGAIN which is a waste of time and gas. Unless a ellers shipping is ridiculously overpriced, its a non-issue as far as im concerned. And very good point about the stealing of shipping funds from an employer, Ive often wondered in the past where and how these people got such great deals in shipping also. Thanks

[madhatter667]

$30 for shipping is too high, when the cost was $13 and change. Everyone agrees that point.

The padding of shipping is a tough one. On one hand, eBay makes money of of fees...but with millions of sellers, and buyer equaling just as many transactions, they are making their money. So if someone has an item I want, and the cost + inflated shipping = standard going rate for said item, I don't sweat it.

 

But I have been on the receiving end of shipment padding and it really irks me. So, I typically make sure I know what my shipment charges are going to be before hand. If it is something I really want, I can handle a little high on shipping, but I enter into such transactios with that knowledge.

[jetset]

Oh yeah. For example today I had a empty jaguar cd box i gave away for free on the condition the person would cover shipping. So a guy msg'd me and it cost 6.50 to ship it to him, he sent it via paypal and off it went.

When I got home and double checked my paypal account, paypal charged me 49¢ to make the 6.50 transaction, so I actually lost a little to get rid of it.

 

It's not the biggest deal, but when you consider sellers have a listing fee, final selling price fee, and paypal transaction fee, those add up quite a lot trust me. Just looking at my last 14 paypal transaction, i've lost 22.31 in paypal fees. Ebay takes 5% of each transaction under $20, and 2.5% of anything over $20 iirc, not to mention the 35¢ _minimum_ auction style listing fee, which doesn't include any of the extra options such as additional pictures or bold print ect ect.

 

 

True, but honest ebay sellers build those costs into the price of the item. Using the shipping to cover paypal and ebay's fees is not only dishonest it's against ebays TOS. You can charge reasonable handling fees, but not to cover the cost of using ebay and/or paypals service.

It's sellers like this guy who FORCE ebay and paypal to keep hiking thier rates. It's sealing from both them and the buyer plain and simple.

And this crap about "well you agreed to the shipping charge" is too just that...crap. He agreed to pay $30 bucks and trusted that $30 was the cost to ship, not $13 for shipping and $16 to pad the sellers wallet because "I to recoup the $4.00 in ebay fees so I'll make that up 400% and you won't figure that out until I have your $$ and its too late."

 

Thank you for shopping, please come again.

Edited October 19, 2006 by jetset

[Phantom]

$30 for shipping is too high, when the cost was $13 and change. Everyone agrees that point.

The padding of shipping is a tough one. On one hand, eBay makes money of of fees...but with millions of sellers, and buyer equaling just as many transactions, they are making their money. So if someone has an item I want, and the cost + inflated shipping = standard going rate for said item, I don't sweat it.

 

But I have been on the receiving end of shipment padding and it really irks me. So, I typically make sure I know what my shipment charges are going to be before hand. If it is something I really want, I can handle a little high on shipping, but I enter into such transactios with that knowledge.

Exactly. But to some, it seems a though they think Ebay is the good guy and what they fail to recogize is that Ebay is the one that indirectly hurts the Buyers and the fault is wrongly blamed on the sellers. Now sure there are just ridiculous shipping prices and thats not what Im talking about, they are ripping you off unintentionally or not but just stay away from them auctions then. The problem is one guy gets a bad deal and all of a sudden, all sellers are being ridiculed for the fault of a few. If the guy made an extra $2 on shiping, he probably earned it and more disheartening, Ebay probably took most of it . For example: the Pictures, does .35 for a company that supposedly wants you to sell items for showing the said item, should it cost an extra .35? thats ludicris, that should already be included in the listing fee. The fact is they could care less whether you sell or not, as long as they pocket the fees and if you have to list it 3 x's , even better for Ebay so they actually hinder the process to their own benefit by making you pay for extras that really arent extras in any common sense business way. They shoudl be more of a partner so everybody wins but theyre greedy and i hope someone knocks them off their pedastel. Like X-box trying to take down Sony in a way, or atleast compete for their market. Thats whats needed, A real threat of competition for Ebays Auction Buisness. I mean if you have a store, dont ya think since youve invested more than a fly by night seller, that theyd give you free gallery or atleast a discount? I could go on and on but you get my point. Someone said in another post they arent a monopoly, that maybe true in the exact definition sense but not in the practical business side of it. They most definately operate as one and they could give a shit about sellers or buyers, just their money. As a buyer, ever get anything bad, misrepresented, or not at all? Goodluck having ebay help ya. Oh yea they will help ya, if you pay them $25. LOL what a bunch of dirtballs anyone associated in the hierarchy of ebay must be. Cya

Edited October 19, 2006 by Phantom

[DreamTR]

Phantom: I completely backed you up. Check my posts. It's Christophero Sly that seems to have a problem. "Fleecing my customers?" For what, charging $5 to ship a boxed freaking game? I got in this argument once before. A bunch of people on THIS FORUM told me it is my JOB to pay for packing material and not include it as part of the "handling" charge when I send out items.

 

Most of the people complaining buy less than 10 things off eBay in a year, and expect you to ship it and lose even more money after PayPal and eBay rape you in the process.

 

If this is about "dishonesty", then you need to go right to the source, which is eBay/PayPal, not the sellers. We LIST how much the item is and it is the buyer's responsiblity to decide whether to purchase the item with the shipping cost.

 

Also, I don't exactly have room for tons of bubble wrap and mailers, so when I was suggested once before to buy them in bulk, that's asinine. I have to get them at wholesale or retail in smaller increments, which costs more, and adds to the handling fees, but in NO WAY am I fleecing anyone for $5 shipping on boxed games by any means. CSly, you are way out of line for suggesting that. YOu need to hit up those eBay sellers that charge $25 for "drop shipping" and $10 for a freaking CD. Go after them, and not the people that go out of their way to try and sell items at a decent price.

 

I have amazing prices when I sell my stuff. I sell em mostly at 0.99 and no reserve, or 9.99 on new games. This INCLUDES rarer Atari 2600 stuff as well when I have it. I don't try and sneak out overpriced items unless it is something completely out of the ordinary like a one-of-a-kind prototype or something, and even THEN my prices are still better than 99% of everyone else's.

Edited October 19, 2006 by DreamTR

[DeusExMachina]

I believe that a seller can charge whatever they want for shipping and handling. t is only "too much" if no one is willing to pay the charge. A handling charge is no less ethical than the buyers premium that most auction houses charge. Of course, eBay passes that charge onto the seller instead.

 

In the days of rising ebay and paypal fees, many sellers pass on the costs to the customer. Set your price to low and you go bankrupt. Set it to high and no one will buy from you. That's how it works in the business world.

[gannon]

I know I was selling some heavier items that were costing $20-$30 to ship. I was charging $25 yet ebay ended all my auctions of that type and accused me of overcharging