How is it, that shipping will be $3.00. Then when it arrives, the postage was $0.60? The material used to send the product does not cost $2.40. This is happening all to often.

What, if any, recourse do I have. Can I not demand to pay actual shipping regardless of what they put in the ad? Could I demand a refund? I saw one guy who wanted $3.95 for shipping for a single file card. WTF???

Did you not know how much shipping was prior? I never charge less than $5 to ship anything. I also do use Priority with tracking, not padded envelopes & stamps. If the guy shipping the file card is using USPS Priority, then it will cost him $3.85 to ship it so he gets a whopping .10 to cover his time & gas.

You cannot dispute shipping & handling charges... I could be wrong, but feedback is how that is taken care of I guess.

Realize there is also handling involved in shipping fees. If you buy from Ebay's own store they charge you $6 minimum. The actual cost with there volume is probably half of that. Almost all retailers charge handling. Even places that offerf ree shipping inflate the price of some items, so the shipping is actually covered in the buy price. I think that is an awesome marketing tool.

If you think of it in terms of the person selling being a business, which some sellers that is their job, then they do have to pass on materials, gas, & time on to buyers. That is how all retailers operate. It is normal business.

If he charges $3.00.
He paid .60 for the postage
He paid .50 for the envelope if he buys in bulk. They are 1.00 at CVS.
If the PO is 10 miles away he burns at least 1.80 for the round trip.

2.90 total, so .10 is about what he just plain stuck in his pocket. At first even I thought it was high until I broke it down.

[ June 21, 2004: Message edited by: KtownJoes ]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> Did you not know how much shipping was prior? I never charge less than $5 to ship anything. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Same here, I'm not making money with shipping, but I am covering my end with expenses involoved with shipping. If he stated how much he was going to charge for shipping in the auction, you really can't complain too much, or even dispute it.

heres your recourse

DONT BUY IT IF YOU DONT AGREE WITH THE SHIPPING.

its pretty simple. for whatever reason, everyone charges different prices for different reasons. some people charge low to encourage buyers, others charge more to cover thier supplies and time. in either case, its posted on the auction 99% of the time. if you dont agree with it, youre under no obligation whatsoever to buy, so theres no reason to get ticked off.

see how easy it works?

Don't forget the fee's from Paypal & Ebay too, while these shouldn't be recouped with massive fee's after all is said and done they only take home about 85% of the final price on lower priced items.

I recently sold a ton of Joe's on ebay, I charged a flat $3.00 for 1-4 figure, if you bought 1 then it was $3, if you bought 4 then it was $3. I pay $0.64 for the envelope, gas, time, etc....I'm not making much, it all pretty much evens out in the end.

don't buy it if the shipping costs more than the item.....rule #1

Sometimes the seller offers different shipping options. If not, about all you can do is ask if they can save you some on shipping in a bubble wrapper, which is at your risk of course. I emailed a guy on ebay who lived in the same town as me who had a bunch of joe stuff for sale. I asked if I could come take a look at his collection. He said no, that he was busy, but offered to save me on shipping.

Between rising Ebay charges and Paypal fees sellers are getting screwed honestly.


So sellers are starting to make it more of a Shipping AND HANDLING fee.

I won a Strait Arm Cobra in excellent shape. Shipping stated was $5. I assumed it would be priority. My fault. It arrived in a padded envalope with 49 cents shipping. But I only paid 6.01 for the figure. So i was happy overall because I would have paid the $11.01 + shipping for it to begin with.

As for paying more for shipping than the cost of the item. I have picked up some stuff before for a penny or nickle and paid $4-5 shipping but did not bother me a bit. ;)

Thanks K, for braking that down for me. Yeah, I still feel a little taken, but I see that this is the accepted norm for purchase on Ebay or elsewhere.

If you dont ask, dont reach out to other collectors and ask about these type of things, how is someone to know whats right or wrong?

Which leads me to you Zombie. Whats with the attitude? Are you not willing or able to answer the question with some degree of a civil tongue? Why you had to go off on me for learning I dont understand. Frankly, in the future, dont post on my messages if this is your attitude in general. If I am taking your post out of context, then I do aplogize, and would be willing to discuss it further.

As for everyone else who posted, thank you for taking the time to show me the standard in which shipping works.

But how about the people that do not list it and just say shipping will be determind at end of auction? I stay away from those most of the time. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3678611035&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT
Or this one. I bought for my brother. But look at shipping and Insurance. $7! I mean come on how the heck can you require insurance for $7 when it cost you $1.10. He did not see that till we had already bought it.

As a big ebay buyer and occasional seller I tell you ebay really puts the screws to the sellers. First you get charged a fee for listing whether it sells or not, and if you list a ton of items that can be a lot, secondly they take 15% I believe now from the selling price (on top of the listing charge), so like everyone says if you don't like the shipping that is stated don't buy. I state in my auctions this is for shipping with delivery confirmation, plus a handling fee (i.e. percentage share for the hosing I get from ebay as a seller). I agree when they shipping to be determined to stay away as they can jack you, I paid $15 to a guy to ship a Wolf that was marked $6 shipping when I got it.

Usually I'm fine with whatever shipping is...if it's too ridiculous, I just don't bid....

However, the guy who didn't list shipping and then tried to charge me $40 to ship a Night Raven shell................

If I sell anything, I charge exact priority mail (or UPS if it is bigger). I don't charge for gas and handling. Anyway, if someone emails me and asks for other shipping measures to be taken, I will try to accommodate them at cost if it is reasonable. For example, if I sell a loose item, I will ship first class, but I will not ship a carded item anything but UPS or Priority Mail unless they intend to open it.

My bad shipping experience: Recently, I purchased a 2003 Convention Cobra Commander, but it did not have the file card. So, I found one on the internet for sale at Brian's Toys. The card cost me $3.00. Shipping and Handling was $8.00. It is absolutely ridiculous, but I needed the card, and i couldn't find another one.

[ June 21, 2004: Message edited by: cthulhu522 ]

[ June 21, 2004: Message edited by: cthulhu522 ]

$8 to ship a file card?! Wow, you can send those in an envelope!

See, and here I thought I was the only one that was a bit upset about shipping costs.

I thought Ebay banned handling fees anyway? Is that right or wrong?

I am not against anyone making a profit at all! Its just when that profit is padded in with the shipping cost, well, I feel a little taken.

Now of course this is not a blanket statement, and I am sure alot (if not all) of you here on the boards are honest sellers!!!

But if you know you are going to have overhead, then that should be in your starting price. To assume that a buyer is responsible for the cost of gas is a little out there. The cost of shipping, and yes, even the packaging I can see, but gas (and time)?

I dont have a easy answer to ebay charges or to paypal. 15% is steep, and that does kill profit. I dont know what paypal charges, but it is a great tool. I understand that its hard to sell items when you put that cost up front, when others do not. I do see your point about having to add to shipping. And as such, will cont. to roll with it (as it IS the norm), now that I have a better understanding of how it works for the sellers. But I do at the very least get to bitch about it, I have at least paid for that right!

smile.gif

i know this topic all to well. i just sold some stuff on their. i now see why people charge more to ship. first of, you got the supplies. second the auction fees, third... a lot of times people pay with paypal(if you don't take paypal, the item usually doesn't sell for as much. people pay with credit cards. which means the seller has to pay a fee that. i was just charged $18 when some of my s crimson vipers sold for $635. add that to the ebay charges, shipping supplies and acutal shipping, there you go.

Isn't there a way around the paypal fees (which is sort of iffy since eBay owns that too...double charges?!?!) by using a bank/debit card instead of a credit card? Just wondering b/c it's how mine's set up and I'm not too sure about how that part of it works.

Aside from Yahoo, what other auction sites are there to use?

i too am against super high shipping-
BUT - HEAR THIS-
when i have to go into the Post Office to mail a package (figs i can drop in a mailbox, so i chage accordingly)
but if i have to go in the post office-
IT IS A ONE HOUR WAIT!!!!!!!
in my book, that is worth at least a buck, especially when i make a heck of a lot more than that working.
you have to allow people to pay for their packaging and their time,
but people should really also be fair and not charge tons of extra for stuff they can just put a stamp on.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by cthulhu522:
[QB]If I sell anything, I charge exact priority mail (or UPS if it is bigger). I don't charge for gas and handling. Anyway, if someone emails me and asks for other shipping measures to be taken, I will try to accommodate them at cost if it is reasonable. For example, if I sell a loose item, I will ship first class, but I will not ship a carded item anything but UPS or Priority Mail unless they intend to open it.

My bad shipping experience: Recently, I purchased a 2003 Convention Cobra Commander, but it did not have the file card. So, I found one on the internet for sale at Brian's Toys. The card cost me $3.00. Shipping and Handling was $8.00. It is absolutely ridiculous, but I needed the card, and i couldn't find another one.

brian's toys i was going to bid on a air devil just the figure email him what the shipping charge since i seen the 8 and i think it was 3.00 handling fee.emails back saying oh yes thats a mistake it will be 6.00 and a 2.00 handling fee.he gots some nice tuff upand not a bad guy.but i did the right thing and passed and when i click on a auction and it is his back buttom.thats the only way sometimes people get the hint.i dont understand why your just losing money in the long run.last month spent 530 on ebay not a penny with him.if shipping was more fair would of.i dont have a problem if a guy wants to make a dollar or two on shipping thats fine but some people five plus thats wrong.i never ever would do that to anyone i like repeat customers and postive feedback and its the right thing to do.treat others like you would like to be treated. my 2 cents

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Darko:
$8 to ship a file card?! Wow, you can send those in an envelope!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I just got it tonight. It was shipped in one of the square priority mail boxes. In the end, I am happy because my Cobra Commander is now complete.

alot of bidders get mad at the shipping price.all you have to do is ask how the person u want to deal with is going to package and send his item to u.when i sell something on ebay i usually send it priority mail or i buy a bubble envelope..priority mail is usually 3.95 then sometimes u add the delivery confirm and sometimes when the item is packed it come to be more money..most of the time when someone pays 5 dollars for shipping and they get a flimsy envelope and the sticker says 70 cents on it is because the buyer did not take the time to ask the seller how the item will be shipped..the most important thing about ebay is to read the item description and ask the seller questions..every auction i list i tell my potential buyers to please read my listing first before bidding.i state how my item is going to be shipped how much for shipping.and how the buyer will be paying.do u know that i get at least 30 to 40 emails from buyers asking me how much shipping is?!! smile.gif

[ June 21, 2004: Message edited by: wacker23 ]

hi Hama-Eggs good topic u brought up.. do u know that if you win an auction and u pay for it (with the shipping price) thru paypal..paypalwill also take a percentage of that shipping money&gt; do u think thats fair.now if i charged u 5.00 to ship u something with priority mail and paypal took their supposed 3-5 percent (which is bullcrap they take more) do u think i would have made money off the shipping. i cant charge you 6.00 because it isnt fair.but between ebay and paypal the seller gets beat up.i know its still cheaper than doing business in a store but..i thought paypal and ebay were a service for us and not to be ripping the sellers off.just getting sick of paypal and ebay, that i no longer take paypal.hopefully ebay is next.

It amazes me how often I see a threadlike this... not just here, but all over the internet.... “blah blah blah I paid a couple dollars more then I should have for shipping. what can I do!?!?!?”

to echo what has already been said by many:

If it’s not stated what shipping is in the description then ask before bidding.
Check on S&H first...If you don’t like it don’t bid. period. that’s what you do.

I, when selling, add a 1.50 to most things I send (including priority mail, international, first class, etc) this covers the .50 cents for delivery confirmation and adds a dollar for padded envelopes, or whatever else I may spend. Sometimes I may make a few cents... Most often I loose money... but that’s what I do. if someone doesn’t like it then they don’t need to bid.

When I am buying if someone doesn’t list S&H I click that handy little “Ask Seller A Question” button and ask them how much it’ll be...then if it's too much I don't bid...

It's not about whether a person tells how much the shipping is for the item or not.

It's about the people who sell items thinking they are entitled to more than what they should. A filecard selling for $5 is okay. To ask for shipping of another $5 is outrageous. You have to have balls of steel to ask for that.

There is a simple solution to this problem.

#1. Ask how much shipping will be if its not stated.
#2. If you dont like it dont bid, after a while they will understand why nobodies buying from them.
#3. Don't whine about things you can control. It doesnt reflect well on you

:rolleyes:

One shipping practice that I think needs to end is the not-so combined shipping.

Like you buy two figures each with listed shipping of $5 from a guy who says he combines shipping, and then he tries to charge you $9 when it's over.

there are lots of sellers on ebay that use the shipping charges to squeeze more cash out of you. So bid low.

Once I bought a figure for a $1.00 cause the seller was charging like 6 bucks to ship it. He spent less than 2. so he sold it for like 5 dollars.

I know shipping a figure in a padded envelope costs no more than 2 bucks. $1 for the envelope, and a few cents postage.

But sometimes its greed & sometimes its ignorance.

On another occassion I bought a figure from a guy who lived in the same state as me. He sent me a single figure priority mail. It just wasn't necessary. The post office treats a first class and a priority mail package the same way. He could have put that figure in an envelope and saved me 2 bucks.

my gripe is I don't mind paying the postage cost or even the cost of the envelope or box. Hey add a dollar if you like.
But asking me to pay for your gas & time is just too much. what's next? your rent or electric bill?

[ June 21, 2004: Message edited by: Flash ]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> But asking me to pay for your gas & time is just too much. what's next? your rent or electric bill? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes :D

Here is an assignment for everyone that has a problem with paying more than exact "postage" for shipping charges: Go through your house and find 20 things to sell on Ebay (you can use anything, someone will buy it). Report back here in a month (yes, it will take that long to collect on at least 1 item) and let me know how you did. You may realize that adding a couple bucks extra for shipping isn't so bad.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>It's about the people who sell items thinking they are entitled to more than what they should. A filecard selling for $5 is okay. To ask for shipping of another $5 is outrageous. You have to have balls of steel to ask for that.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

One thing to consider in this instance, if I sold a file card I wouldn't want to send it in a padded envelope as it could easily get bent on its own. Which would bring Priority into play, add in delivery confirmation and its $4.30 right there, so the guy could be padding a little bit.

Due to the ease of use a lot of people ship only Priority, for which $5 is a typical price. I've been selling a lot of figures lately on ebay and have offered $3 1st class for $5 priority, a few take priority but most take 1st class.

On any small vehicles or similar lots its the $5 priority option, the box is easy and its easy to just send it out that way rather than hassle with it.

Dont whine, it looks bad?? To whom? You? Whatever. Its my money, and if I feel that I am being taken for a ride, well then I am going to say something.

You as a seller have overhead? Thats ok. You have to recoup some funds for listing, paypal, I can see that.

But to charge me for your time and for gas etc etc?? Now that is bull. You as the seller knew prior to listing that you would have to put some effort into this, and to make your buyer have to pay for you to stand in the post office line is just out of control!! You knew this!! If you feel the need to be paid for this, then put it in your starting price. Give me, the buyer, the option, dont squeeze me under the heading of "handling".

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Hama-Eggs:
See, and here I thought I was the only one that was a bit upset about shipping costs.

I thought Ebay banned handling fees anyway? Is that right or wrong?

I am not against anyone making a profit at all! Its just when that profit is padded in with the shipping cost, well, I feel a little taken.

Now of course this is not a blanket statement, and I am sure alot (if not all) of you here on the boards are honest sellers!!!

But if you know you are going to have overhead, then that should be in your starting price. To assume that a buyer is responsible for the cost of gas is a little out there. The cost of shipping, and yes, even the packaging I can see, but gas (and time)?

I dont have a easy answer to ebay charges or to paypal. 15% is steep, and that does kill profit. I dont know what paypal charges, but it is a great tool. I understand that its hard to sell items when you put that cost up front, when others do not. I do see your point about having to add to shipping. And as such, will cont. to roll with it (as it IS the norm), now that I have a better understanding of how it works for the sellers. But I do at the very least get to bitch about it, I have at least paid for that right!

smile.gif<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I charge a flat 3.50 shipping for the CD's I sell inside the US, outside of the US I charge 7.00. I do combine shipping and usually if a CD I am selling goes over 100.00 I ignore shipping no matter how many CD's i am shipping to that person. I usually only buy from those who list shipping in their item description. So my attitude is, if you dont want to pay the shipping dont bid.. and if there is none listed.. email them and ask.. but make sure and save the emailed response. Chris

We knew what we would put into shipping the same way you knew what the shipping & handling charge was going to be.

I guess all of you guys work for free. Does a mechanic charge for parts & no labor? Why not? He makes money on the parts also. If you do not like my shipping fees, then by all means, do not buy from me. I will not ship in padded envelopes. I will not leave tracking off. If you accept PayPal & sell 30-40 lots a week you will be burned eventually by a dishonest buyer.

Anyways I am done with this thread. Honestly, this is silliness. Tomorrow go into work, but only charge your boss for your lunch for the entire day since that is all you really lost on the day.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> Tomorrow go into work, but only charge your boss for your lunch for the entire day since that is all you really lost on the day. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

lol

Well K, with that idea:

I guess then I should be charging my boss the cost of my driving to work, waiting in line to get on the base, the cost of gas to and from, not to mention the basic use of my vehicle. Ill add it to my time sheet under the heading "handling".

And hey, I should maybe throw in an extra buck just to make sure I dont lose out on the profit.

Further more, I should itemize the expense of plates and city stickers and car insurance for the times that I have to have them in order to get to work.

Oh, and yeah, I have to dress professionaly, so should I be charging my boss the cost of those clothes?

I have an agreement with my employer that I get paid for the hours that I work. It is understood that all other things, car and clothes etc etc are my responsiblity.

The same with buying on ebay. I have an agreement with the seller to purchase a item for the set price. Shipping should never be more then the cost of postage and shipping material. How the seller gets to the post office etc, is thier concern, and should not have to be the buyers finacial responsiblity.

I just finished buying my 82-90 RAH figures these past two months all on Ebay from a ton of different sellers and 3 or 4 dollar is not bad as long as they combine shipping since I bought multiple items from them.

If it's a rare piece I usually request them sent in a box.

I usually ask questions testing the sellers response and service before I buy from them for the first time like Do you combine shipping and do use a box for more than 3 figures.

I don't mind paying 4 to 5 dollars for shipping as long its for Priority shipping and as its shipped in those free USPS boxes.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> I guess then I should be charging my boss the cost of my driving to work, waiting in line to get on the base, the cost of gas to and from, not to mention the basic use of my vehicle. Ill add it to my time sheet under the heading "handling".

And hey, I should maybe throw in an extra buck just to make sure I dont lose out on the profit.

Further more, I should itemize the expense of plates and city stickers and car insurance for the times that I have to have them in order to get to work.

Oh, and yeah, I have to dress professionaly, so should I be charging my boss the cost of those clothes?


<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Exactly, now you've got it :D

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> The same with buying on ebay. I have an agreement with the seller to purchase a item for the set price. Shipping should never be more then the cost of postage and shipping material. How the seller gets to the post office etc, is thier concern, and should not have to be the buyers finacial responsiblity. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

If you can't afford it, maybe you should look into a less expensive hobby, maybe stamp collecting tongue.gif

[ June 22, 2004: Message edited by: Blayloxzuess ]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by thorn:
but if i have to go in the post office-
IT IS A ONE HOUR WAIT!!!!!!!

lol, I thought my post office was the only bad one...

dont forget to pay for his lunch on the way to the post office.
:rolleyes:

1 Hour wait at the Post office? DAMN!!!! When i have sold or Traded I have used 3 different Post Office's. 2 in the city I live in and 1 by the Bank my Old Company used. Longest I ever stayed in the post office was 30 min's. And that's because I was shipping oversea's. I was their 15 min's on that. I've been in behind people mailing almost 100 package's (padded envolope's for his work) And still never waited an hour.

Anyways I think both side's have been stated pretty well. I am both a buyer and a seller. Sorry if people want to run a business they should open their own store. (Even out of the house) Do most of these people report their e-bay selling's on their Taxes? Nope. Illegal? Yes! If you are trying to make a buck then be ready to pass part of it on to Uncle Sam.

I have no problem with paying the stated shipping. And I have no problem with paying whatever shipping it costs to send it. And I have no problem with giving someone a little more than what the item cost them so they can make a little. I'd want the same thing.

But I have to wonder sometimes where these prices come from. If an item costs $5 and shipping is $5, then the most I should pay is $12. Not $15-$20.

Noth that arguing about this matters. You sellers are going to keep going by whatever "code" you use to determine prices. And us buyers will keep buying what we want and can afford.

Business liscensed & tax payer here. You might be surprised how many eBay sellers are liscensed. It is very cheap to aquire a liscense.

Businesses sell on eBay because you will never get that big of a customer base anywhere else, including the biggest of conventions. They even provide a thing called "eBay stores", so it seems eBay wants businesses selling with them. EBay also does courses & conventions to recruit new businesses to sell through them.

This is not an arguement, just letting you know that eBay recruits businesses. I am done with the shipping arguement.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Dead-Eye:
It's not about whether a person tells how much the shipping is for the item or not.

It's about the people who sell items thinking they are entitled to more than what they should. A filecard selling for $5 is okay. To ask for shipping of another $5 is outrageous. You have to have balls of steel to ask for that.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

While I understand where your coming from in the end it's all about one's willingness to pay that. Just because some find it outrageous inclusing myself he reserves that right if he wishes and there may be some who do not mind in the end if they want it bad enough.

Don't bid on something if you don't like the shipping. I don't overcharge but I can guarantee that I've charged $5.00 for shipping and then when I get to the post office it was only $3.50 or $4.00. Who cares, I don't. Its the cost of my time, listing costs, taking the package to the post office, tape, boxes, and whatever else I need. I will agree that overcharging $10 or more dollars is excessive but not a few bucks. I always check shipping and handling before I bid and everyone else should too.

[ June 22, 2004: Message edited by: Neo*Viper ]

i can't believe this thread had gone on this long. you don't like the shipping, don't buy it. plain and simple.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by publicenemy:
i can't believe this thread had gone on this long. you don't like the shipping, don't buy it. plain and simple.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

AMEN! Brother! AMEN...

but guaranteed this thread will roll on for days with all the "victims" of the "evil" eBay sellers, who charge too much shipping, coming out to tell their stories :rolleyes:

[ June 22, 2004: Message edited by: TheReverend ]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> Dont whine, it looks bad?? To whom? You? Whatever. Its my money, and if I feel that I am being taken for a ride, well then I am going to say something. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

It does look bad when you whine. You control what you buy, therefore you control how much shipping you choose to pay. If you want that auction for a figure and shipping is $5 YOU choose to pay it.
You should never get to the point where you feel as if your being taken for a ride, i havent in 2 1/2 years and ive bought and sold a lot of joes

Alright, so is there a justifiable price for shipping? Thinking I may try to sell a few things on eBay. Is it a percentage of what the item is worth, or just what the exact shipping is to any place in the US + a few bucks?

All of u's whine to much. This is my simple soultion and it's worked alot of times. I dont like paying Shipping fee's that are crazy and outrageuos but i still respect the sellers shipping he has stated. I email the seller and ask can u give me a deal on shipping beacuz i feel it wouldent be that much and blah blah i ask nicely and try and work with them. If they cant then thats fine i pay for the full amount of shipping beacuz i bid on it i pay for it. It's that simple u own up to yur debts but people are usually pretty good and wanna help out. I got one negative feedback becuz one seller was clearly trying to rip me off on shipping i tired to work with them they didnt wanna so i got left a neg feedback and i gave them one as well(both our first). All i ask as a buyer is be reasobale with s/h charges becuz a happy customer is a returning customer

if you dont want to pay shipping buy from gijoehq.com he eats shipping. I am sure that some sellers make money on shipping and I know some sellers break even or lose money on it. Bottom line is what most people have said to you. If you don't want to pay the shipping, don't bid.

ehhhhh some of these sites with no shipping are getting pretty good money for what they sell and it evens out if you buy a lot at once- also comparing stores to individuals is
kinda off- most ebay Stores have decent shipping policies

yeah i know(about the 1 hr wait). and we have at least SIX P Officess in berkeley, and they are all the same.

hehe I am more on the side of people complaining about extra high shipping - (ps i am charging $1 extra for stuff that makes me go into the office, on single figs i get an extra 20 cents)
BUT- in my business- (hauling) if someone wants me to go somewhere that is farther than
normal (HAHA normal is whatever i say it is) then they will pay extra $15-20 for my gas and driving time or i will stay home. and most people have no problem with that. in fact its usually their idea.

So wanting a little bit for your time and trouble to ship is to be expected.
I dont complain about $5 for a MOC as long as it comes well packaged, but $5 for a FC no matter what is TOO MUCH and is TOO MUCH for a loose fig also.

[ June 22, 2004: Message edited by: thorn ]

A feedback I just received irked me. I sold about 70 figures last week, flat rate of $3 shipping for 1-4 figures, I didn't dawdle individuals as it was easier to do flat rate for up to 4 and figured it would prompt more bids. I get a feedback from a guy saying I overcharged for shipping but it was ok.

If it was ok then why did you say that in your feedback! At least it was still a positive, just annoyed me.

actaully hq does charge shipping.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> actaully hq does charge shipping. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

No he doesn't. Maybe to other countrys, but not to ship to US.

Because an online store doesn't charge shipping as an extra item, doesn't mean the shipping cost isn't paid by the buyer.

hmmm....interesting how im brought in on this

thx zak for the props!

theterminator69 like i told you i gave you staright cost on items so i had to charge shipping..it was that simple

blayloxzuess has it right i do not charge shipping even to canada unless its an item of large large size! lol

and although i do inflate vehicle prices due to the added shipping cost the figures as you all can see are priced extremely well considering i dont charge shipping

bottom line like everyone has said is that shipping on ebay is way out of hand

but as a seller there i do add an extra 1.00 to my shipping to recoup costs

look at it this way

on my site i sell a lady jaye for 15.00 delivered

on ebay i might only get 12.00 and then i charge 3.00 shipping..hey cool 15.00 for the same item..except on ebay i am charged roughly 1.50 in fees and then add on paypal fees and i lose even more money

so selling on ebay i actually lose money after the fact


to be honest sellers on ebay inflate the shipping to recoup the fees

sad but true and there is nothing ebay has done to remedy it

Sorry u misunderstood me i was not complaing just simply pointing out somethin smile.gif

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Alkie Ewok:
Isn't there a way around the paypal fees (which is sort of iffy since eBay owns that too...double charges?!?!) by using a bank/debit card instead of a credit card? Just wondering b/c it's how mine's set up and I'm not too sure about how that part of it works.

Aside from Yahoo, what other auction sites are there to use?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well when I had Paypal there were 2 different types of accounts. #1 standard one & #2 the business one
I had to get the business one. If I didn't I would have forfeited some amount of money. The standard accounts only had a limit to the amount of money they could receive. This might have changed since eBay bought Paypal. Right then I decided to dump Paypal.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Because an online store doesn't charge shipping as an extra item, doesn't mean the shipping cost isn't paid by the buyer.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

True, and its a important distinction, I've seen some stores where they say free shipping but try and absolutely gouge you with figures & items 2x-3x the price you can get them elsewhere, which makes me wonder how they even sell anything.

GiJoeHQ is not one of those though, if your looking for something Bigfan will find it for you and get it to you cheap. In passing I mentioned I was looking at a TF Pysche Out for $35, after about 5 minutes of talking and a few IM's I get a pair of UK Tiger Force guys for $10 less than list price with free shipping. He's great, nuff said!

Ebay fee's suck, Paypal fee's suck, but its part of the game. I do try and recoup a bit on my shipping costs, then again if people buy in multiples then I don't make anything extra and they save even more. If they buy a single figure I'll make about $1 back which still doesn't cover the fee's so in the end its not like the sellers are all making out like bandits.

Ok, I'll weigh in on this one

1) It is my understanding that if you charge for "handling," then that must be clearly stated in the auction. There are a lot of auctions that will say "buyer pays exact shipping cost" or something like that and then you pay $5 for something that arrives with $.70 postage on it. That is wrong. Columbia House lost a class action lawsuit a few years ago over something similar involving handling fees.

2) I still get irritated when people mention their time, effort, and gas as legitimate excuses to charge a high handling fee. I truky believe that time is money, but there has to be a line there. And gas, though it is expensive, has become a staple expense like food or clothing. You have to eat just like you have to drive, so why not include the price of your lunch in the "handlng."

3) I have no problem with making a little extra on shipping, but it is a matter of scale. Charging $5-10 over on shipping is reasonable for a something like a terrordrome. But charging $8 for a figure that costs maybe $1.50 to send is way out of proportion.

4)If I am paying to have something shipped, I would like to decide how I want it shipped. In my opinion, it is not necessary to send one loose figure or file card in a Priority box for $3.95. If I want to take the risk of having it sent First Class in a bubble mailer, then I will deal with the consequences. I should have the right to decide. This is generally where I make my decision concerning shipping. If I can't negotiate an acceptable shipping method and price BEFORE bidding, I won't bid.

5) Nothing against large scale sellers, but the volume of business a seller does also affects shipping. Large scale sellers do not want to have to trouble with finding the exact cost of each pachage and keeping track of the materials cost, etc. They just have a standard rate that is high enough to cover all items within a certain range. Therefore, at times the shipping method and price aren't exactly appropriate for a particular item.

Personally, I charge exact shipping and materials whanever I sell something, but I only sell occasionally.