[jimmydean]

I was looking at a set of pedals for my road bike. Nothing fancy, they are toe clips from the 80's to use on my commuter. The auction is ending today, so I asked the guy if he could ship Priority VS regular mail so I might get them by Saturday.

He says, sure, he'd do it for $6 additional on top of the $5 shipping in the ad. I look on USPS.gov and it says Priority would only cost $6, so I told him I would do it for $10 shipping.

It's a buck, I just wanted easy math, but he gets WAY to pissed that I even ask for a buck off. Here's the email he sent me after I told him I would do it for $10:

I will NOT send them out priority mail at all. I was going to leave
work early, have my girlfriend pick me up ( because I do not drive ),
rush home, rush to the post office so it would ship today, all so you
could get them by the weekend. You asking for a big favor and then
asking for a buck off shipping is insulting. I would not do it for
$100.

Keep in mind, the pedals are $5, my high bid is $12. It's not like he's selling a live organ or something. Why do people get so pissed off?

 

[gangstamaxx]

Wouldnt you be pissed off if your girlfriend had to drive you to work as a janitor at the local gyno!

 

[N8 v2.0]

You paid $12 for $5 pedals???

 

[gangstamaxx]

You paid $12 for $5 pedals???

and that's without shipping

 

[macko]

I've run into a couple of real jacks on eBay, though I haven't really used it all that much. I recently picked up a Cannondale frame on Sunday I think it was, I immediately paypal'd the guy his money and sent him an email asking if he got it and everything was okay. 3 days later and still no response. Hmmm.

 

[jimmydean]

You paid $12 for $5 pedals???

ebay has this thing called a "proxy bid"...

Some people know how to use this feature, my wife is not one of them and thinks people are waiting for her to bid, then like a flash BAM! She is out bid, how can that be?

And yes, I would be willing to pay as much as $12 for said pedals because they fit the era of my bike AND would work well for my commuter.

 

[Angus]

I have a real nice set of suntour cylone pedals from 1985 that came off a Trek 560 if your interested......

 

[hooples3]

so I told him I would do it for $10 shipping.

maybe you should have asked instead...
emails are black and white.. i have written things that did not intend to insult but the way the could be read may be insulting...

i have sold a lot of things on ebay the way I look at things is this... things are only worth what you are willing to pay...
he estimated $1 more for shipping than it should be.. there are plenty of time I under-estimate shipping costs.. either way its a dollar. for the same reason you asked if he could take off a dollar , its the same reason he is keeping it on.

 

[stinkyboy]

Some people know how to use this feature, my wife is not one of them and thinks people are waiting for her to bid, then like a flash BAM! She is out bid, how can that be?

 

[jimmydean]

maybe you should have asked instead...
emails are black and white.. i have written things that did not intend to insult but the way the could be read may be insulting...

i have sold a lot of things on ebay the way I look at things is this... things are only worth what you are willing to pay...
he estimated $1 more for shipping than it should be.. there are plenty of time I under-estimate shipping costs.. either way its a dollar. for the same reason you asked if he could take off a dollar , its the same reason he is keeping it on.

My point was the original email was more like this. "Hey, could you ship Priority, I'll pay the extra..." His reply was "sure, for an extra $6, I will do it..."

I just wanted easy math, $10 to ship. I didn't know he had to quit his job, steal a donkey, then ride 100 miles to the nearest town in order to do it. Hell, for all I know, he works at the post office.

By I understand your point. I guess a simple "no" would have been ok too.

 

[hooples3]

My point was the original email was more like this. "Hey, could you ship Priority, I'll pay the extra..." His reply was "sure, for an extra $6, I will do it..."

I just wanted easy math, $10 to ship. I didn't know he had to quit his job, steal a donkey, then ride 100 miles to the nearest town in order to do it. Hell, for all I know, he works at the post office.

By I understand your point. I guess a simple "no" would have been ok too.

i understand yours too..

if he told you $11 to ship.. why would you even mention the $10 though..??
i dont know sometimes it bothers me when people try to bring down my prices..
if you go to the store and by milk and its $1.85 do you ask the clerk to give it to you for $1.50??
whats happens in turn I sell something that I know i want to get $20 for it I then I have to ask $25 for it because i know people are going to ask for it for less..

 

[jimmydean]

i understand yours too..

if he told you $11 to ship.. why would you even mention the $10 though..??
i dont know sometimes it bothers me when people try to bring down my prices..
if you go to the store and by milk and its $1.85 do you ask the clerk to give it to you for $1.50??
whats happens in turn I sell something that I know i want to get $20 for it I then I have to ask $25 for it because i know people are going to ask for it for less..

Again, I just wanted simple math

If I bid $12 + $10 = easy math. Throw an extra buck in there and now I have to think and stuff...

Besides, USPS said it would be no more than $6, so he would be making $5 on the shipping for a pedal that might only sell for $5. I hate when people want to overcharge for shipping, but he does need to buy his own car some day, so I understand.

 

[binary visions]

Frankly, I'd suggest that nobody argue over shipping charges.

The seller quotes a shipping charge. That shipping charge may include a number of things, including inconvenience and packaging materials. If you don't like the shipping charge, don't buy the item.

I understand your frustration - I think most peoples' shipping charges are unreasonably high - but I generally either pay up and keep my mouth shut or avoid the issue. You never know why the shipping charge might be what it is - for example, I used to live in a town where the post office kept very short hours and making it into the post office required major inconvenience. I'm not going to drive 15 minutes each direction on my lunch break for the exact shipping fee, so that got built into my quoted shipping cost.

Sounds like this guy had something lodged in his butt, though, to fly off the handle over a buck.

 

[Hawkeye]

Remove your bid and buy the item from another seller.

You are getting negative feedback from this jag anyway.

 

[Toshi]

Frankly, I'd suggest that nobody argue over shipping charges.

 

[-dustin]

i had a lady bitch for including a $1.-- paypal charge that i said, in the item description, would be included if buyer used paypal.

 

[hooples3]

i had a lady bitch for including a $1.-- paypal charge that i said, in the item description, would be included if buyer used paypal.

yes i learned to charge for paypal the hard way... after selling my first frame it was a $43 paypal fee.. now i accpet paypal.. but the buyer pays for that luxury

 

[jimmydean]

yes i learned to charge for paypal the hard way... after selling my first frame it was a $43 paypal fee.. now i accpet paypal.. but the buyer pays for that luxury

You have to be careful with that though. If you charge for PayPal fees, it goes against the PayPal usage agreement. If you overcharge to compensate for the charges, then your fine.

I myself like PayPal because when I sold my Stinky to a guy, he paid through PayPal and then after 2 weeks, he tried to reverse the charge to his credit card. PayPal saved my ass becuase I shipped the item to the verified address for his PayPal account. I don't know why he tried to reverse charges, he never said anything to me about it. So the fees i paid were worth it rather than not having a bike or the dough for it.

 

[-dustin]

i stopped doing that for cheap stuff. if i'm shipping a frame, though, i do it as a means to deter the person from using paypal, because i never remember to take off the paypal option.

 

[Curb Hucker]

Frankly, I'd suggest that nobody argue over shipping charges.

The seller quotes a shipping charge. That shipping charge may include a number of things, including inconvenience and packaging materials. If you don't like the shipping charge, don't buy the item.

I couldnt agree more with that statement. I wish people would realize that sometimes you are being charged for more than just what the shipping service is paid.

A classic example was when I had to ship out a rear bumper for land rover. Fedex charged $62 to ship it, I charged $85 and the buyer went apesh1t on me. He just wouldnt listen to me through email so I just had him call me and explained it to him. I had to drive to a bike shop 3 miles away to get the boxes. At the time, that was $2 of gas. It took 2 rolls of $5 tape to pack it up. Now were at $12. Then it took 45min to box it up. I make $21 an hour, so if i spent that time at work rather than boxing his bumper I'd have made $15, now were at $27, plus another $1 of gas to get to fedex. He finally got he picture.

Sometimes, especially on large items, or ones requiring special packaging some extra shipping charges make sense. But on 2 pedals you can wrap in newspaper and throw in a pre-labeled priority mail envelop i dont see the need for handeling charges.

 

[-dustin]

A classic example was when I had to ship out a rear bumper for land rover. Fedex charged $62 to ship it, I charged $85 and the buyer went apesh1t on me. He just wouldnt listen to me through email so I just had him call me and explained it to him. I had to drive to a bike shop 3 miles away to get the boxes. At the time, that was $2 of gas. It took 2 rolls of $5 tape to pack it up. Now were at $12. Then it took 45min to box it up. I make $21 an hour, so if i spent that time at work rather than boxing his bumper I'd have made $15, now were at $27, plus another $1 of gas to get to fedex. He finally got he picture.

i'm going to say $23 is quite an upcharge.
you get ****ty gas mileage. why'd the buyer have to pay for that? or, why didn't you have a box already?

would you have spent that 45mins at work?

and would fedex not pick up the package?

 

[Curb Hucker]

i'm going to say $23 is quite an upcharge.
you get ****ty gas mileage. why'd the buyer have to pay for that? or, why didn't you have a box already?

would you have spent that 45mins at work?

and would fedex not pick up the package?

they would pick it up, so i can take off $1 from $28. The Fedex store quoted me $65 for the materials, and labor to package up that bumper. Had the shop not had 2 bike boxes to pack it up, I would have had to buy 2 boxes from fedex each at $15. And yes I took the time off work, it was the only way I could get the the fedex store before they closed.

 

[BMXman]

yeah lately my Ebay selling has been fvcked...I had a guy bid on an expensive bike after being told not to...he used BIN and then left a neg because I wouldn't sell to him...plus I have to pay Ebay comission...D

 

[binary visions]

i'm going to say $23 is quite an upcharge.
you get ****ty gas mileage. why'd the buyer have to pay for that? or, why didn't you have a box already?

would you have spent that 45mins at work?

and would fedex not pick up the package?

You clearly do not ship much. Why didn't he have the box already? Do you just have a million empty boxes in the house? I scrounge up boxes from my local stores but I'm sure as hell going to charge the buyer for me to drive to two or three stores looking for a free box for him. Still won't be the $10-20 that Mailboxes, Etc. will charge for a box, though.

And my time is worth money. I don't charge based on how much I would have made at work, but if it takes me a significant amount of time to package and ship an item, the shipping charge is going to be higher. And packing materials cost money, you want me to supply 10ft. of bubble wrap, packing tape and whatever else out of the goodness of my heart?

My shipping charges run a LOT less than most people's, but I charge for my time and my materials.

 

[BMXman]

yeah I agree...I typically charge exact because I can get all my shipping supplies free from work so no extra trips are involved...although I hate paying Paypal fees. I think Paypal should at least allow the seller to split the fees with the buyer...D

 

[Toshi]

i pretty much only get paid by paypal, so it's just part of the cost of doing business. its convenience is worth 30 cents + 2.9% imo.

 

[JRB]

Wow - you are calling him pissy when you tried to get him to eat shipping costs. Who are you to specify shipping??? I was using an oversize box to ship a frame to stinkyboy, and it was going to cost over $70. I cut it down and did it for $30 and some change, but it shows there are instances. Not to mention - if you buy something on Ebay, you are being irrational if you think you are going to get the product expedited. I don't think the seller got overly pissy, and I have discovered here that you like things to go very much your way.

*it's rich that you started a thread to whine about ebay sellers.

 

[jimmydean]

i pretty much only get paid by paypal, so it's just part of the cost of doing business. its convenience is worth 30 cents + 2.9% imo.

I agree with that. I like PayPal because i am protected to a point either buying or selling. Plus I get a little cash back when I use my card for things as well, so it sort of offsets the charges.

I also got a refund when I bought my laptop keyboard. It was listed as the wrong part number and the seller said "no refunds". It was his mistake for the faulty listing, so PayPal refunded my purchase with shipping, I just had to pay to ship the keyboard back. I would rather do that then be stuck with a keyboard I can't use or have to resell.

 

[JRB]

I'll also mention that if you can add $10 for shipping, you can add $11 for shipping. How stupid is someone that they can't add $1??? This is the worst excuse for trying to haggle I have ever seen. :nononon:

 

[Toshi]

i actually have a legit ebay gripe, for those of you who are bored (read the comments in the second to last post from bottom to top):

http://cameracourage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=7725

 

[Curb Hucker]

You clearly do not ship much.

BV is right again. When you ship alot, it starts to get irritating very fast. mid janurary Ive sent out the following stuff, and I tell ya, it becomes quite the pain in the ass


Bike Parts:

X7 Shifter
X9 Rear Mech
2005 Boxxer World Cup
Road Cassette
Ringle Hubset
Evil DOC
Carbon Bars
Seat and Post
Tires

Truck Parts:
32" BFG Mud Tires (5)
16x8" Land Rover Rims (5)
Air Suspension Ride Height Sensors
Onboard Air Compressor
Foglight assembalies (2)
Front Coil Springs
Rear Coil Springs
Gas Shocks
Steering Damper
Bottle Jack
Battery Wiring Harness
Bumper
Washer fluid Bottle Assembaly
CD changer wiring harness
Rear Audio controls
Factory Amp
Factory Sub Assembaly
Factory Amp Wiring harness
Spare Tire Carrier
Lug Nuts
Rear Quarter pannel Trim
Taillights
Headlight Brackets
Rear Interior mounting plates
I-Pod integration kit for Factory Stereo

And Im sure im missing about 2-3 bike parts, and probably 6-10 more truck parts.

Thats a list of 34 parts, all of which went to different buyers. And right now Ive got 5 more parts which still need to be pulled from the truck and shipped, and ive got a few bike parts going out on friday. Its gotten to the point where Ive been making trips to the post office every other day to mail something out. Sure, I do it because I need the money, but it becomes a real pain in the ass to find time and matreials to ship all of this crap. There is a purpose for handeling fees, and when I tack them on, its usually with good reason.

 

[Toshi]

BV is right again. When you ship alot, it starts to get irritating very fast. mid janurary Ive sent out the following stuff, and I tell ya, it becomes quite the pain in the ass

cry me a river

 

[beestiboy]

Again, I just wanted simple math

If I bid $12 + $10 = easy math. Throw an extra buck in there and now I have to think and stuff...

Besides, USPS said it would be no more than $6, so he would be making $5 on the shipping for a pedal that might only sell for $5. I hate when people want to overcharge for shipping, but he does need to buy his own car some day, so I understand.

OK i broke out the old HP 48g and ran the algorithm. 12+10=22 12+11=23.

Hope that helps out.

 

[jimmydean]

OK i broke out the old HP 48g and ran the algorithm. 12+10=22 12+11=23.

Hope that helps out.

It does, thanks. I ran out of toes as it was.

 

[-dustin]

wah wah. if you're selling something, have a box. if you're selling a lot of ****, pick up the boxes right away. it's not rocket science. grocery stores give out boxes, bike shops give out boxes. all it takes is a phone call, not driving around in a gas guzzler, then charging the buyer for your wasted gas.

 

[narlus]

newsflash!!!

if you are a seller on ebay, chances are high that you have to ship stuff.

factor that time/effort into either yr starting auction price, reserve, or shipping costs.

 

[narlus]

bmxman, you spent $170 on a comic book? damn.

 

[-dustin]

i actually have a legit ebay gripe, for those of you who are bored (read the comments in the second to last post from bottom to top):

http://cameracourage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=7725

damn, that sucks. i'm surprised you went for that. i notice he has no items for sale currently...were they taken down by ebay?

 

[jimmydean]

Toshi,

If you paid through PayPal, just claim the item as "not as described" and you will be refunded the purchase price plus the shipping you paid. You would have to pay shipping to ship it back, but it's better than nothing.

Good luck with that, it sucks for sure.

 

[binary visions]

wah wah.

Who's crying?

I'm not complaining here. I'm stating facts. Fact: shipping stuff requires boxes. Fact: I don't have boxes the size of everything I need to ship. If I drive to a grocery store to get a box (and no, you can't always tell over the phone if boxes will work for certain purposes - usually nobody will look, they'll tell you to come down and pick through their boxes), and spend money on packing materials, then I charge for it. Period.

factor that time/effort into either yr starting auction price, reserve, or shipping costs.

Did you, uh, read the thread? We're talking about factoring time/effort/materials into shipping costs.