[BurlyShirley]

To charge people more for the cost of shipping than what the courier charges is just stupid IMO. When you're auctioning something, you should take into consideration that part of the payment you recieve for an item covers YOUR OWN handling of it. Otherwise you're just making up arbitrary numbers in order to profit.

 

[narlus]

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

yes. i am agreeing w/ you. if someone is upfront about the shipping charges when the auction starts, they don't have a legit beef to cry when hit w/ these things.

 

[binary visions]

To charge people more for the cost of shipping than what the courier charges is just stupid IMO. When you're auctioning something, you should take into consideration that part of the payment you recieve for an item covers YOUR OWN handling of it. Otherwise you're just making up arbitrary numbers in order to profit.

First off, I don't profit on my S&H charges. I'm charging for specific costs that are associated with shipping the item.

If I were running an online retail business, I might agree with you - I could set my prices accordingly and sell like that.

With an eBay auction, it's a little different. People have the opportunity to get a great deal, and I'm not going to take it in the ass on shipping just because someone scored a good deal on whatever I was selling. That's the nature of eBay, sometimes your items go for less than you want. But shipping is a direct cost to me, it comes out of my pocket and I'll bill for it accordingly.

 

[binary visions]

yes. i am agreeing w/ you.

Ah, gotcha. Sorry, I read it wrong.

 

[Slugman]

Wow ... you people who charge the person based on the time it took you to pack it and the gas used to pick up supplies are ridiculous.

If I bought something from you; I am buying that item - not the time it takes you to pack and ship it. That is something you assume by selling.

Are you going to charge me for the time it took you to write the listing too? Am I going to get a follow up bill for the listing charges later? Do I have to pay a portion of your bill for internet service? That's some petty BS. Grow the F up and understand that you assume a certain amount of the cost in order to sell something to someone far away.

And you really need to be more efficient in your trips. You are trying to sell an item, and not until AFTER it is sold do you think about how to ship it. Did you not leave the house during the entire week that this thing was listed? Pick that stuff up when you’re doing other errands, or take a quick side route when going to work (or home).

However I always check the shipping BEFORE I bid – too many people out there charge a VERY low price for an item, then overcharge for shipping to make some extra $$$.

 

[narlus]

However I always check the shipping BEFORE I bid – too many people out there charge a VERY low price for an item, then overcharge for shipping to make some extra $$$.

bingo. for a lot of the stuff i bid on, that's the 1st thing i check.

fwiw, i've never factored in anything other than direct postal charges for my ebay sales, but i've not sold all that much either.

 

[Slugman]

fwiw, i've never factored in anything other than direct postal charges for my ebay sales, but i've not sold all that much either.

Me neither... I get boxes for free, the amount of tape I use is not enough for me to consider. It's the item + actual shipping.

I can see if you had to buy a box specifically for an item (although I can't think of when that would ever happen), then charge them for the box... but the gas to get it

 

[jimmydean]

Wow ... you people who charge the person based on the time it took you to pack it and the gas used to pick up supplies are ridiculous.

If I bought something from you; I am buying that item - not the time it takes you to pack and ship it. That is something you assume by selling.

Are you going to charge me for the time it took you to write the listing too? Am I going to get a follow up bill for the listing charges later? Do I have to pay a portion of your bill for internet service? That's some petty BS. Grow the F up and understand that you assume a certain amount of the cost in order to sell something to someone far away.

And you really need to be more efficient in your trips. You are trying to sell an item, and not until AFTER it is sold do you think about how to ship it. Did you not leave the house during the entire week that this thing was listed? Pick that stuff up when you’re doing other errands, or take a quick side route when going to work (or home).

However I always check the shipping BEFORE I bid – too many people out there charge a VERY low price for an item, then overcharge for shipping to make some extra $$$.

That is sort of my original point. I figured the guy was going to the post office to send the package, would it be a bother to mark it Priority while he was there? Based on his response, I guess it was. I didn't ask him to take a vacation day off work, so to more than double the shipping seemed odd to me.

When I sell crap, I do all the prep and stuff either before I place the ad, or durring the time it's posted.

 

[JRB]

How many companies don't charge for special shipping???

 

[Toshi]

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?

it did say "Condition: New", but i was dubious as well. that's why i posted the thread on cameracourage at the time of bidding. that and also because i wanted to show off that i'm a mod and can make announcement threads

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.

i already made and withdrew a paypal complaint for the item* so don't have any recourse through paypal. between the ebay "item not as described" process and american express leaning on everyone i'm sure that i'll get my money back.

that's not the real issue: i want to see this guy banned from ebay, and would love if apple went after him for selling pirated copies of their software.

* - the claim was for non-receipt, made after i received this message from ebay (it has my real name and showed up in my My eBay mailbox, too, so isn't a spoof):

Subject: Important Message from eBay Loss Prevention Department
Received: Feb-11-06
From: eBay
Expires: Apr-14-06

You acted on this alert in My Messages, but it may still require your attention.

Dear [my real name here] ([my real email address here]),

The following is a notice from eBay Trust & Safety regarding:

Item Number - 5864206549

Item Title - Apple Aperture - 1st all-in-one tool for photographers

Our records show that you were a bidder or buyer of one or more of this seller's items. We recently removed this seller's active listings and suspended the seller's trading privileges. Due to privacy concerns we cannot share further details about this seller.

If the seller asks you to complete this transaction outside of eBay, we strongly recommend that you do not proceed with the transaction. Transactions for items listed on eBay but then completed off of the eBay platform are not covered by buyer protection programs offered by eBay and can be highly indicative of fraud. For more information on Offers to Buy or Sell Outside of eBay, copy and past the following Help Page link into your browser: http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/rfe-spam-non-ebay-sale.html.

If you have already paid for this item but have not received it, you should take all possible steps to receive reimbursement.

1. Stop payment with your bank if you paid by check.
2. Contact the Security Department of your credit card company to file a chargeback if you paid via credit card.
3. If you paid via Western Union or MoneyGram, contact the company directly (Western Union 800-325-6000 or MoneyGram 800-926-9400).
4. If you paid with PayPal, you may be eligible for up to $1,000 USD coverage at no cost. To file a claim with PayPal, login to your PayPal account and copy and paste the following link into your web browser:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_protections-buyer-outside Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the File a Claim link. PayPal claims must be filed within 45 days of the close of the listing. It may take at least 30 days to complete the investigation and resolve the dispute.
5. If you did not pay with PayPal and would like to file a claim with eBay, please initiate the Item Not Received Process online directly from the Security and Resolution Center at the bottom of the eBay.com page.
6. eBay claims must be filed within 60 days of the end of the listing.

Our goal is to ensure that your eBay experience is safe so that you can buy confidently. It is rare that something goes wrong with a transaction on eBay. However, in the event it does, we would like to provide as much assistance as possible to help resolve the issue.

Please do not respond to this email, as your reply will not be received.

Regards,

Customer Support (Trust and Safety Department)
eBay Inc

i basically received the above, verified it was real, freaked out, filed the claim, then withdrew it after the seller emerged from his hole and held me hostage with bad feedback (which he retracted after i withdrew the complaint).

 

[maxyedor]

I have to bitch about the guys I have shipped stuff to. Every other Ebay auction goes fine. I always have the stuff boxed up and ready to shipp before the auction even starts, and shipp the next bis. day. I also always email over a tracking number. Latley I have gotten a few angry emails from guys I shipped to telling me that basicly I defrauded them. Every time there complaint is that stuff hasn't arived yet or didn't arive when I said it would. Every time without fail the package has arrived and been signed for, yet they still complain that it isn't there. Those are the people that piss me off. Situations like that have happened with my Land Rover bumper, some bike frames, and tons of camera gear. It is effing stupid.

 

[blue]

Let us put it this way...if you walk into a Kinko's or UPS Store and have them pack a bike for you, the packing job ALONE will probably cost at least $50.

Agreed about the small items...It's kinda ridiculous to charge more than actual shipping on such stuff. It's like posters on eBay...the poster sells for 2$, but shipping is 9$ even though the postage cost $1.83 and the tube was a buckfitty. Easy sleazy way to make a buck off of stuff you sell cheap on eBay.

 

[blt2ride]

Did you tell him not to cry? What a loser, his girlfriend has to pick him up...

 

[GumbaFish]

Off topic sort of, but I saw bike decals on ebay for like 6 bucks but the shipping was 10 dollars! Unless I am ordering like 5,000 decals I can't imagine the shipping being more then like a buck or 2 to get one of those envelopes with the cardboard so the decals don't get bent.

 

[JRB]

Quit being such pussies about shipping.

 

[BMXman]

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

That was a cheap one....I have spent a lot more in the last year...but about 90% of them I re-sell later on....click below I made over $1000 off of this one...D

http://cgi1.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemWithCategory&item=6598793386

 

[BMXman]

oh and back to the topic. Anyone can order many different sized boxes from USPS absolutely free and they deliver them to you...I do it all the time...D

 

[jimmydean]

oh and back to the topic. Anyone can order many different sized boxes from USPS absolutely free and they deliver them to you...I do it all the time...D

They also sent me a ton of Priority Mail tape that works very well (also free). The post office is only about 6 blocks from my house, so I just walk down there and ask if I don't have a box the right size.

I also don't understand why some people get pissy if you ask what the reserve price is. I use a reserve when I have a price in mind, but it's no secret. If something has a reserve that is more than I'm willing to pay, then why waste time bidding? So I ask up front.

But I know some people get all in a bunch if you ask about the reserve.

 

[hooples3]

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.

the way I look at it Its not right to tack on additional fees to the item up front because not everyone pays with paypal. so i let them know up front.. sure you can pay with paypal.. but there will be additional fees added for using that luxury.. why should I lose money because someone wants to pay me faster??? ill wait for your check or money order..

 

[jimmydean]

the way I look at it Its not right to tack on additional fees to the item up front because not everyone pays with paypal. so i let them know up front.. sure you can pay with paypal.. but there will be additional fees added for using that luxury.. why should I lose money because someone wants to pay me faster??? ill wait for your check or money order..

I didn't say it was right, I said it was a violation:

ebay
Payment Surcharges

Sellers may not charge eBay buyers an additional fee for their use of ordinary forms of payment, including acceptance of checks, money orders, electronic transfers (PayPal is considered an electronic transfer) or credit cards. Such costs should be built into the price of the item.

Violations of this policy may result in a range of actions, including:

Listing cancellation
Limits on account privileges
Account suspension
Forfeit of eBay fees on cancelled listings
Loss of PowerSeller status


So if you don't want to pay the fees, don't offer the service.

 

[bushwacker]

Let us put it this way...if you walk into a Kinko's or UPS Store and have them pack a bike for you, the packing job ALONE will probably cost at least $50.

Agreed about the small items...It's kinda ridiculous to charge more than actual shipping on such stuff. It's like posters on eBay...the poster sells for 2$, but shipping is 9$ even though the postage cost $1.83 and the tube was a buckfitty. Easy sleazy way to make a buck off of stuff you sell cheap on eBay.

Go buy a $2 tube at Jenson.com, $6.00 shipping.
Go buy a bottle of Bayer from costco.com. $9.00 shipping.
A $2.59 toothbrush from Walgreen's, $5.89 shipping.

$9.00 shipping for dealing with people on Ebay for a $2.00 item? That seems pretty reasonable.

 

[hooples3]

I didn't say it was right, I said it was a violation:

ebay
Payment Surcharges

Sellers may not charge eBay buyers an additional fee for their use of ordinary forms of payment, including acceptance of checks, money orders, electronic transfers (PayPal is considered an electronic transfer) or credit cards. Such costs should be built into the price of the item.

Violations of this policy may result in a range of actions, including:

Listing cancellation
Limits on account privileges
Account suspension
Forfeit of eBay fees on cancelled listings
Loss of PowerSeller status


So if you don't want to pay the fees, don't offer the service.

that doesnt make sense to me.. so anyone who pays by check has to pay more money just incase someone might pay by paypal...
im adding another charge in there.. price haggle fee...
muyy price goes up $5 everytime someone asks for a lower price on the item of shipping

 

[jimmydean]

It's a service, for the seller AND the buyer. Again, if you don't want to PAY for the service, don't use it. Just put in all your ads:

"I don't take PayPal"

I have had at least 2 people ask if they can pay with a check or money order when all my ads say "PayPal Payments Only". But I guess you would have to read the ad to see it.

 

[JRB]

Wow - life really is tough for jimmydean.

 

[jimmydean]

Wow - life really is tough for jimmydean.

Such value and insight contained in yet, another amazing post.


:bye:

 

[JRB]

Such value and insight contained in yet, another amazing post.


:bye:

Ahhh - I am really just pulling your string. Sorry.

 

[robdamanii]

Ahhh - I am really just pulling your string. Sorry.

Tampon string?

Generally, I don't mind paying a little extra for shipping. BUT.....when there is a 22.50 shipping charge on a pair of gloves, or a 19.50 charge to ship a headset, that's a little ridiculous.

 

[JRB]

Tampon string?

Generally, I don't mind paying a little extra for shipping. BUT.....when there is a 22.50 shipping charge on a pair of gloves, or a 19.50 charge to ship a headset, that's a little ridiculous.

Don't encourage me. :nonono:

 

[robdamanii]

Don't encourage me. :nonono:

You KNOW you want to....

 

[spookydave]

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.

And that's about that it cost me to take a credit card payment over the phone. Much less if I can swip the card directly in the card reader. I use paypal all the time too.

Shipping USPS priority is no more hassle then mailing a letter. USPS will even give you the boxs 100% fee. Print out the lable on your computer and set it with the rest of your daily mail. I've been using thier flat rate boxes alot. I shipped 57 pounds from CA to VA in 2 days and it only cost $8.10.

 

[jimmydean]

And that's about that it cost me to take a credit card payment over the phone. Much less if I can swip the card directly in the card reader. I use paypal all the time too.

Shipping USPS priority is no more hassle then mailing a letter. USPS will even give you the boxs 100% fee. Print out the lable on your computer and set it with the rest of your daily mail. I've been using thier flat rate boxes alot. I shipped 57 pounds from CA to VA in 2 days and it only cost $8.10.

The fact still remains that shipping ANYTHING is a pain if you have to wait for your girlfriend to pick you up

 

[JRB]

The fact still remains that shipping ANYTHING is a pain if you have to wait for your girlfriend to pick you up

hahahahaha

 

[bushwacker]

You guys pay what you want.
Ever since I've had not one, but 2 people threaten to leave negative feedback for packaging that they thought was inferior, I now package everything extremely securely and charge appropriately for it.

Half of my feedbacks from customers start: Excellent Packing!, or something similar. It means a lot to quite a few people I've found.

Don't charge $15 for shipping and handling when you are only using the free boxes from USPS and you'll be fine charging a bunch.

 

[hooples3]

It's a service, for the seller AND the buyer. Again, if you don't want to PAY for the service, don't use it. Just put in all your ads:

"I don't take PayPal"

I have had at least 2 people ask if they can pay with a check or money order when all my ads say "PayPal Payments Only". But I guess you would have to read the ad to see it.

so whats wrong with saying i will take paypal if you are willing to pay their fees???? besides in ebays eyes that is
im givingthem a choice.. paypal doesnt help me at all.. i will sit and wait until a check clears.. it helps the buyer get their stuff quicker is all

 

[Angus]

To charge people more for the cost of shipping than what the courier charges is just stupid IMO. When you're auctioning something, you should take into consideration that part of the payment you recieve for an item covers YOUR OWN handling of it. Otherwise you're just making up arbitrary numbers in order to profit.

That's capitalism at it's finest....

 

[jimmydean]

so whats wrong with saying i will take paypal if you are willing to pay their fees???? besides in ebays eyes that is
im givingthem a choice.. paypal doesnt help me at all.. i will sit and wait until a check clears.. it helps the buyer get their stuff quicker is all

Because in ebays eyes, it's the same as a business.

Look at it this way:

If you run a store, you can take cash or checks without bother, right? But as a service, if you want to expand your business to other customers by offering credit cards as a payment type, you will pay the credit card processor a fee for this service, correct?

So would as I understand it, if you charge the customer extra for this service, it may not be legall. So to do the same on ebay is the same result.

I work on the software that runs Verifone credit/gift card processing, so it makes sence to me why there is a service charge. If you want to offset the cost of goods to all customers to cover you for fees of some customers, that's your call. But to ask the customer paying by a service your offering (ie PayPal) to pay for the service AS WELL AS GOODS is not only bad business, but goes againt the usage policy you agreed to when offering the service.

 

[hooples3]

Because in ebays eyes, it's the same as a business.

Look at it this way:

If you run a store, you can take cash or checks without bother, right? But as a service, if you want to expand your business to other customers by offering credit cards as a payment type, you will pay the credit card processor a fee for this service, correct?

So would as I understand it, if you charge the customer extra for this service, it may not be legall. So to do the same on ebay is the same result.

I work on the software that runs Verifone credit/gift card processing, so it makes sence to me why there is a service charge. If you want to offset the cost of goods to all customers to cover you for fees of some customers, that's your call. But to ask the customer paying by a service your offering (ie PayPal) to pay for the service AS WELL AS GOODS is not only bad business, but goes againt the usage policy you agreed to when offering the service.

if i had a store and you paid cash.. i would save you the tax.... if you charged it I wouldnt

 

[BMXman]

yeah the last bike shop I managed we definitely cut different deals depending on how the customer paid....cash was the best deal followed by MC and Visa, then AMEX, Discover...and finally checks.

Discover and AMEX take a large percentage compared to MC and Visa so we couldn't be as flexible with pricing...D

 

[Kopiklokoli]

The son of the owner of Ebay is in my class, he is possibly the most racist, antisemitic person I have ever met. Since no one likes him he was going to have a party at his house in an effort to gain friends. Although this didnt happen people were talking about stealing the deed to Ebay and selling it on Ebay.