JohnPhoenix

I think ebay prices are high compared to some places, but hey, most eBay sellers are individuals like myself and don't have the whole volume discount thing going on. I charge for priority mail and a few cents to a dollar extra for all fees that I have to get charged. lets add it up
ebay Listing Fee
ebay Final Value fee
PayPal or other fee
packing materials
tape
etc.

I've never had a winning bidder complain on price of my shipping and I have people not bid because they thought the price was too high, but hey, its your choice. You know the price before you bid.

monkey

I won an auction for a laserdisc, then found out the seller wanted $7.51 (?) for shipping and handling. He promised it would be well-packed and shipped USPS Priority Mail. It arrived yesterday, clumsily thrown in a box covered with packing tape, stamped "Special Standard Mail." So he pretty much took me for $3. What a bastard.

beebs

Man, this has to be the biggest bunch of whiners ever.

As a seller I set the shipping method to Priority and the costs to what they actually are to make things easy. I can quickly and safely pack anything cheaply, buyers get the product quick. The price on the box always matches exactly with what I asked for, or is plainly more.

I neither like nor dislike sellers who charge Priority rates and then slowboat tenth-class media rate as long as the product ships promptly and arrives as described. If it doesn't and they can't or won't replace... negative feedback is the beginning of a process destined for a PayPal or Billpoint chargeback.

Neutral feedback over high shipping charges or poor packing materials would obviously not be a bad thing to do. I've seen these dozens of times. "Charges 3.99, pays .99 to ship!", "Just threw item in a box", etc. Neutrals warn the seller that they are not providing good service.

-Beebs

Duffman

I think it's kind of funny that many sellers come rushing in to defend their practices. Just because some sellers overcharge, it doesn't apply to everyone. Though I do appreciate some people telling us what they charge. A thread like this isn't about whining, it's just a discussion of ebay and it's even in the right forum. It would be nice if one could take some concerns raised here, send it to ebay, and get a nice shipping policy put in place. Problem is that would never happen. Regulating shipping is impossible.

At the very least I'd hope one or two people might read this thread and look out for shipping prices next time they are on ebay, whether a buyer or a seller.

It does suck throwing a few dollars away on certain items. Problem is most items are unique so you don't have alot of power in it. I just hope more e-bay sellers ship for cheaper rates. I know I'd bid on their auctions more.

Startide

Another thing about shipping practices, the seller usually finds that it is easiest to simply toss the small object in a free PRIORITY MAIL shipping box for $3.50 plus confirmation of delivery fee (total $3.85 or so). It's easier than trying to ship the thing for a lower cost fee.

So, the USPS has made it so easy to use Priority Mail as the first choice, that many eBay sellers just gravitate to it automatically, regardless of how little the item weighs. After all, the cost is borne by the buyer and not the seller.

knitewing

The only time someone actually overcharges for shipping is if in the item description it says $2.00, and they charge you $3.00.

If the description states 9.99 S/H for a DVD and you're charged 9.99, you're not being overcharged, even if the package cost $2 to ship. You agreed to the price and you pay it. I agree that it would be expensive, but the words have different meanings.

And although it's been said before, you should set a price on what you're willing to pay for an item and bid, taking into account the shipping fee. No difference between a $10 DVD with $5 S/H and a $14 DVD with $1 S/H, on a DVD I'm willing to pay $15 for.

I never bid on an item without knowing up front the cost and method of shipment. No one should.

CheapBastid

It is I the evil E-Bay OverCharger!

You will all suffer by my hands as you bid without looking at the shipping charge, or asking me what I charge for shipping!

HA HA HA HA!

Not only that! I also evilly state that my shipping charge is $4.00, when instead it is actually $3.90 ($3.50 Priority Mail for a DVD with $0.40 Delivery Confirmation)!

All your dime are belong to me!

TLamm

I bought a few old star wars glasses from a seller (I live in canada) Charged me 8 bucks US for shipping (he checked it out). Once it arrived the USPS price for shipping was actually 15.36 US.. He never complained.

It all balances out. Sometimes you get over charged a buck or two, other times you get under charged (in my case 7.36 US under)..

If you dont like the posted shipping rates dont bid. And in my case I always request they give me the lowest rate to canada with no insurance; 46 transactions and not one seller has said no (usually the rate is less then the sellers US rate)..

I'd say i'm ahead when you deduct my actual payed shipping from the posted shipping rates..

tetsujin

As a seller, I always charge a few cents more that it actually costs me to ship the product. My reason for this, as stated by some others, is b/c of all the fees I must pay these days. I needed some money so I had a big week one time with ebay and I auctioned 44 items. I got about $1000 but I paid about $100 in all the fees. Yes, paypal is a convenience to me, but also to the buyer b/c he/she can get the pakcage quicker. I pride myself as an e-bay seller on mailing the package the same day I receive the payment. I have never had a complaint about a shipping charge and I always state what the shipping charge will be in my auction description. Now if the seller does not state the shipping charge and just says priority mail or something like that and then overcharges, the buyer has a right to complain. I also consider the shipping charge as a bidder when making my bid for the item. If it's too high then don't bid. Just my 2 cents.

apowers

I always figure the shipping into the price of the item, and if they are too expensive, or too close to the "new" price, I don't buy them. I always say if you think the price is too high don't buy. For example: I have been looking for a used copy of Bull Durham on DVD. At one time, both Half.com and ebay had this item priced higher than Amazon or Buy. Just shop around, or wait a few days, you will find a great price. If they are too higi, chances are you are not the only one who thinks so...

cineman

nlane

Long thread already, but.... If anybody is shipping Priority for reasons other than their own convenience, they are wasting buyer's money. I have bought about 150 CDs at eBay, Yahoo, etc., over several years. I started keeping records of when they were mailed, when received, what was spent on postage, and how long it took. First class and Priority took almost exactly the same amount of time on average -- about 3.5 days. What was then fourth class book rate (now special standard?) took about .25 days longer. The first class shipments averaged less than $1.20, fourth class about $.99; priority of course was 3.20 (now 3.50). The buyer receives nothing for the 2.00 or so extra. There was very little breakage with padded envelopes (an occasional case got cracked, but I buy cases for .25 or so). I no longer bid on items for which sellers ship priority, period. I don't argue; I don't even ask. I just don't bid. After some emailing around I concluded that there are several thousand like me, at least. One seller was kind enough to send me a thank you note a month or so later; his average sale (including s/h) (On CDs and DVDs) had gone up considerably since he went to first class shipping with priority as an extra cost option. I do not pay insurance; if the seller insists, I will email him a waiver that if the item is packaged as promised and damaged I will accept the damage. I have never had an item damaged beyond about 4 or 5 CD/DVD cases. I do not wish to pay 1.00 or so in insurance to protect the seller. Do the math. I pay 1.00 to insure a 5.00 or 6.00 dollar item for 4 days. Not so good a deal actuarially. I quite agree that people shouldn't bid on anything if the shipping is too high. I also think that sellers should fess up, as some have above, that many ship priority because it is easier, not to provide any benefit to the seller. The item certainly doesn't get to the seller much quicker. Sorry to ramble, but I thought someone might appreciate some lessons learned the hard way. And yes, about 55% of the people who charged 3.50 or so for s/h shipped cheapest way (small sample size cause I quit dealing with those sorts of folks even when I was stupid.)

Wolfchild

LOL CheapBastid that was some funny shite

nlaneI pretty much agree, although I will say that media mail is definitely the slowest rate....all other parcels are processed first. A lot of them time though, there is plenty of time for all parcels to be processed, so often the delivery time on media mail is not that much worse.

1st class and mm are a good way to go for sending DVDs and CDs....this friend of mine told me that I need to stop fooling around and offering a standard shipping rate as well as priority and just go exclusively to priority. "It's so much simpler" she says. Yeah it's simpler, but when I look at what her DVDs sell for, I typically get a good $5 more for mine! I'll go for the extra complication.

I've shelled out extra of my own $$ from underestimating the shipping more than I've overcharged. Those heavy items are a bitch.

Chrisedge

I use Priority mainly because of the free supplies. A padded envelope can cost $1 (or more) if you aren't buying in bulk. add that to the $1.20 and you are only a buck difference. Plus shipping in a box is more secure and I have never had anything damaged (knock wood).

It has to be included in the auction however.

Startide

Whenever I had to ship items, I just scrounged up some discarded cardboard, cut it quickly with a utility knife, folded it into a boxlike shape around the DVD and sent it off first class. Never a complaint about crushing or spindling. If you tape it up right and the contents are firm, then the little item is very strong and quite crush resistant. And since it is by first class mail, it avoids those parcel post boxes sitting on it.

Just saw another eBay priority mail shipment for a small book of $4.75 for priority mail. UGH. Yes, it is a scarce out of print book, so you can't run to a used bookstore and have a good chance to find it. *sigh*

One would think that the seller has included their "profit" into the item cost itself rather than the surprise shipping and handling fee (which used to be not so often publicized). I remember when it used to be "plus Priority Mail S/H" whose fee was undisclosed until after you won the auction. The seller didn't always answer questions about S/H if I asked prior to the auction, so sending email was not always a reliable thing if you wanted to win the auction.

Wolfchild

One thing, don't forget that the basic Priority Mail rate of $3.50 is for items that weigh 15.xx ounces or less...then it goes up with every pound. Sometimes when you see a shipping quote that looks high, that's what it will actually cost to send.

So while a DVD might cost only $3.50 to send Priority, something like a laserdisc might be $5-6.

Flepper

Another reason for sellers to shift costs to shipping and handling is that it avoids the commission to ebay. Ebay charges the commission based on the winning bid, not the winning bid plus shipping and handling. Though I do believe sellers should post their charges in the listing.

RevLiver

As a long time seller and buyer on eBay, here's a few of my observations.

I always post a shipping price for Media Mail and I add in the cost of the padded envelopes, which I purchase in cases of 25 at OfficeMax for $12. Total shipping for DVDs is normally $1.75. One way to make Media Mail shipping faster is to use the complete ZIP+4 code. Those extra 4 digits can cut a day or two off the delivery time, believe it or not. Try to get your buyers to give you their +4, or you can look it up at http://www.usps.gov

Also, single CDs can usually be shipped cheaper or the same rate at First Class as at Media Mail and will get there quicker.

Priority Mail is almost never worth the cost, as First Class shouldn't take more than 4 or 5 days to go cross-country. The only time I charge Priority Mail is if I'm shipping a heavy book where the weight of the item kicks the price up to that level.

As for Half.com, I have a major complaint with their shipping structure. They charge $2.25 per item for Media Mail. Even if you buy multiple items from the same seller, Half still charges you 2.25 for each one. However, they only reimburse the seller the full $1.75 for the first item. Each additional item is reimbursed at 58 cents. Half.com is making a good portion of their profits right there. Unfortunately, some buyers think it is the seller ripping them off because they paid $4.50 to have 2 items shipped that cost only $1.95 or so. I actually saw a buyer's complaint in a seller's feedback mention this. I know that Half.com use to charge buyers reduced fees for multiple items from the same seller, but I don't know when it changed, nor can I find any reference to it on their site.

Darin

RevLiver

eBay specifically mentions in their rules that this is not allowed. The case mentioned above for the 99 cent calendar with the $9.99 shipping would be a flagrant violation.

Darin

BigDan

I agree with much of what has been said here. As long as the seller lists the shipping charges in the auction, I'm find with whatever he wants to charge since I can adjust my bid to compensate for the shipping. If shipping isn't listed, I don't bid.

I've taken part in auctions where the s&h fees were about twice what the actual shipping and supplies cost, but because I knew ahead of time, I didn't complain because I had factored that cost into my bid price. In the end, the seller is probably getting the same amount regardless of how it is structured.

My only problem is when sellers specify a method of shipping their auction and then don't ship that way. Or when they quote a shipping & handling price and then come up with a higher figure after the auction has ended. But that's pretty rare in my experience.

Avid Fan

considering the fact that you can get stuff so cheap on ebay I think inflated shipping stills gives you quite a bargain. I stay away from high shipping prices anyways.