[conduct]

I know I have seen a couple posts on this but man they are really getting carried away with this shipping thing on ebay. I know I should not be complaining about this because if I went to a cell store I would be paying $10 or more for one cell phone clip but still $23.00 for 4 cell phone clips come on and look they even gave me the $7.50 discount.

 

[Rex Grigg]

Happening a lot. And I wish eBay would crack down on it. When this happens eBay actually loses money. They don't take a cut of shipping.

So what is happening is people are selling the product for next to nothing. In your case $0.74 each and hitting you with $3.87 each for shipping. And I know that these items will come in a padded envelope with First Class postage that might total $2.

This is a BIG sticking point with me. But it's eBay's problem and they don't seem to give a rat fart about it.

My goal is to break even on shipping. Not get rich off of it.

 

[Darth Sensei]

As someone who has sold a lot on ebay, who cares?

In the old days buyers would get screwed because sellers wouldn't list the shipping charge and then nail the buyer with it at the end.

However, if you paid $10 for an item + $20 shipping rather than $26 for an item with $4 shipping what difference does it make?

The difference is that ebay makes less money and IMHO that's better for everyone.

 

[distrbd]

It only makes a difference if its shipped to other countries,for example I 'd rather pay lower for the item and higher on the shipping charge so when I receive it in Canada I only pay a small amount for taxes depending on the actual value of the item .

 

[chaznsc]

As someone who has sold a lot on ebay, who cares?

In the old days buyers would get screwed because sellers wouldn't list the shipping charge and then nail the buyer with it at the end.

However, if you paid $10 for an item + $20 shipping rather than $26 for an item with $4 shipping what difference does it make?

The difference is that ebay makes less money and IMHO that's better for everyone.

So if they promised to send you 3 and only send 2, is that ok too? Becasuse, its all lying, and it does matter.

I care, play by the rules, stop gouging money unfairly. I too wish Ebay would put the hammer on these sellers, but they just refuse. Ebay keeeps upping the fees, partly because of this kind of nonsense. It will cost this seller 2 bucks to ship.

Its not right and you cannot justify lying.

 

[Rex Grigg]

chaznsc has it right. eBay won't crack down on the people who are basically scamming eBay but they will raise the fees. It will soon come down to eBay charging 50% of the selling price for their fees. Then you will see everything selling for $0.02 and shipping charges of $30.

The way I look at it is if I pay $8 in shipping charges and the item is sent in a plain paper envelope by First Class Mail and it only costs $1.01 to ship then I have been ripped off.

 

[epicfish]

I actually sold a few phones on eBay and charged $17 for shipping which was for Priority mail + signature confirmation, insurance for $750.00, and packaging...eBay shut my auctions down claiming that I was charging too much for shipping. I had to e-mail them for them to put my auctions back up.

 

[Burks]

My goal is to break even on shipping. Not get rich off of it.

Few people think like that Rex, I am included in that. If they can make an extra buck or two of shipping then they'll do it. Poor customer service if you ask me but people still buy it.

That's why my eBay buying has went down to maybe one or two items a month. I refuse to pay $7 for shipping when I get the coin in something that cost $2 MAX (shipping charges, package, etc).

 

[Rex Grigg]

eBay is pretty much dead for me. It used to be a great place to find odd stuff and older used computer parts for a decent price. Now there are so many people trying to make a "living" on eBay and the Far East chowderheads have flooded the place it's almost worthless.

There is so much CRAP merchandise on there that it's not even funny. 4X65 watt PC fixtures for less than you can get 4 decent bulbs for. PC bulbs for a few bucks each. Of course who knows what the true k and such are on those bulbs.

Look around you people. See what happened with the pet food. Read that it was common practice to add melamine to the wheat gluten to falsely up the protein content. There are no ethical business practices in China. Anything they can do to save a penny or make a penny will be done.

 

[Loyal to the Oil]

I agree but also disagree.

I agree shipping costs are getting out of control on ebay as in the example that started this thread.

But at the same time i DO NOT agree that charging more than it costs to ship the item is "lying" or "scamming". People know the shipping charge before they bid. So how can anyone complain ? If it too high then dont bid. Simple.

If i am selling something it takes my time to list the item, to drive to the post office, to package the item, to answer stupid buyers emailing me 3 days after they won an item wondering why it hasnt made it to them in taiwan yet. Its a "handling" fee also, and its totally up to the seller to decide what their time and effort is worth.

I just dont understand all the complaining when the cost is listed up front ? Would you buy milk listed as expired and then complain when it gets to you after the best before date ?

That all being said some examples of shipping are NUTS. Like the example starting this thread for instance.

But ill say again. You knew the shipping cost prior to bidding right ? If no one bought from these guys that are inflating shipping costs then they would go out of business right ? So obviously the "market" says their shipping costs are not too high.

PS and i also would never buy anything outside of canada, usa, europe, or australia. You are just asking for trouble if you do.

 

[conduct]

Just a note: I ship items all the time at work with UPS we have them pick up and also have UPS world wide shipping program along with thermal printer so we never need to drive somewhere to have the items shipped. But here is the kicker I shipped a laptop out to get repaired the other day to a company and it cost $10.50 ground which is not bad for something that is 16lbs. Well then the company shipped it back to us the cost was $20 flat rate. Well this is interesting because it came back in the same box so I wonder why they charged a extra $9.50 maybe because they needed to drop it off at UPS nope it was picked up there seen that on the shipping label oh maybe it was because it took a whole 2 mins to package the laptop up and tape the box shut.
I am still saving money buy buying from this from the ebay seller because 1 clip at the cell phone store or another retail outlet store would be over $10 on a cell phone clip. I was just pointing out that the shipping cost seems a little high to me and I know the 4 clips I ordered will come in a plain paper envelope if I am lucky I might recieve the padded paper envelope. roud:

I mean seriously I just think the whole shipping and handling thing is a little out of control and this is why I might buy something from ebay once every 6 months. Maybe I am just use to all the great people here at PTF in the swap N shop section not ripping people off on bogus extra charges.

 

[ianiwane]

I agree with that but the only people they are ripping off is ebay. The buyers know before they purchase the item what the shipping cost will be. Ebay should regulate the shipping prices. It would benefit them in the end. If the shipping goes down, the cost of the items will go up and ebay will make more money.

 

[Raul-7]

Looks like they have taken a step to end this.

 

[Gatekeeper]

They should just post the list price as a combined fee. Or...you preset what mailing services you are willing to provide, then Ebay marks it up say 5% for handling fees to the seller. Locking it in would not only weed out these morons who jack their prices, and it would also provide better buying atmosphere.

But i agree with rex, I don't ust ebay anymore except for maybe 3 people who have resonable shipping fees and good products.

 

[Darth Sensei]

So if they promised to send you 3 and only send 2, is that ok too? Becasuse, its all lying, and it does matter.

I care, play by the rules, stop gouging money unfairly. I too wish Ebay would put the hammer on these sellers, but they just refuse. Ebay keeeps upping the fees, partly because of this kind of nonsense. It will cost this seller 2 bucks to ship.

Its not right and you cannot justify lying.

They are not stealing. However, it seems that you want something for less than it costs. I mean sure, I'd like for someone to sell me a $150 regulator for $30, but its not going to happen.

Once again, it's simple math. If you paid $100 for something regardless of how those costs were allocated, who cares? If you want to buy it for $100, then do it. However, someone is going to cover their costs in some way so you are not likely to find it for $50.

Actually the honest truth is that you're getting a better deal from someone who charges high shipping anyway. Take the following example of an item which will sell for a total of $100. Let's say for example that the seller has $75 into this item including what it will cost him to ship to you.

Option 1
Sells for $96 + $4 Shipping. Ebay gets approximately $2.40 (with no fancy auction upcharges for the insertion fee $3.63 for final value fees. Plus this guy has to have a box, packing, and shipping which may total $8 or so.

Option 2
Sells for $50 + $50 shipping. Most of the same above except that the seller saves $1.50 in final value fees.

Now, most things on ebay sell with tight margins because of the tremendous competition on there. If the seller was forced to spend an additional $1.50 in fees just to have an auction that doesn't offend your tender sensibilities, don't you think you're going to pay $1.50 more in the future on all those auctions?

 

[Rex Grigg]

Sorry Darth but this is not my experience.

People either ship in plain envelopes, $0.10 each, padded envelopes (if you are lucky) $0.19 each, or free boxes from the Post Office.

Anyone that charges a shipping fee less than what their actual costs to pack and ship is going to figure that out pretty quickly.

The second case is the ripoff IMHO. They charge $50 and spend $8. There was just a HUGE hue and cry here about some guy selling fertilizers that was doing the same basic thing. Yet when it come to eBay people make excuses.

If you are trying to make a living off of eBay then get a job. And I would rather spend the $1.50 to know I was dealing with an honest and ethical person than with some ripoff artist scamming the system.

Most of the people are at least key stoning the items they sell on eBay (while trying to make a living).

If you pay $100 either way as in your two scenarios how am I getting a better deal? I paid $100. The chowderhead selling the item got the better deal.

And tight margins? Don't make me laugh. I just checked. 50 lbs of KNO3 selling for $49.99 and then a shipping fee of $35.77 (which is actually not bad for a 50 lb item). But that's no tight margin. If you buy the stuff by the pallet which I would guess this guy is doing then you are going to get it for under $15 a bag.

 

[Darth Sensei]

It's very simple. In the second scenario you will pay a total of $101.50 instead of $100 because the seller simply has to recoup costs.

As a business man yourself this can't be that hard to understand. You have to make a certain level of profit to make doing business worthwhile. I am sure that there is some profit margin in all that equipment and such that I am buying from you. You're not building me a regulator as an altruistic gesture.

This is just common sense.

 

[Rex Grigg]

Hmmmm... been a while since I took any math but I'm pretty sure that $50+$50=$100

Option 2
Sells for $50 + $50 shipping. Most of the same above except that the seller saves $1.50 in final value fees.

The seller saves money. You save nothing. You still spent $100.

 

[Darth Sensei]

Rex, you're deliberately trying not to understand.

Let's say you're the seller and they start enforcing those rules or they simply collect fees based on the total sale including shipping. If that happens the seller can no longer afford to sell for $100, he has to sell for $101.50. Therefore, it costs you more money.

 

[thirston]

Darth, none of this matters. The short of it all is that inflating the shipping and handling fees is unethical and it is stealing money from eBay. Ripping off the consumer or the corporation doesn't matter, it's all the same. It's simply not "better for everyone" if eBay makes less money. Not better for their shareholders, not better for their employees, and not better for the people who list items for sale through the site who have to pay increasing listing fees. It's better for you because you think stealing and "beating the system" are appropriate paths through life. I'd venture a guess and say that yours is not the gross opinion around here.