Ebay buying habits (1 Viewer)

N

nmrocks

2nd Lieutenant
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Just wondering guys,
I buy alot on ebay and some thing that has always bugged me is exorbident postage fees.
I won't even bid on an item that is say, 1 to 2 lbs. with postage fees of $20.00 or more, regardless of the price.
I kind of feel it's kinda dishonest to charge that much to put an item in a box and pay $8.95 for priority postage, I feel there actually trying to hiding part of the cost of the item in postage.
Your thoughts?
Ray
 
I always look at the postage rates before I bid. Nothing bugs me more than people who over charge on postage. That being said, I did bib on 2 different items from an eBay selling service in the UK. They set postage at 21 pounds on 1 item and 28 on the other. No knowing what shipping via air from Britian I bid and won on the items. Actual shipping was less then half of the rate charged, which ment that I over paid buy more than $20 on each. Never again will I do anything that stupid.:D
 
With the US post office putting up there prices this year , ive found that a lot of
ebay sellers in the USA are over charging up to $20.00 over the top :mad:
 
I always factor shipping costs into any eBay purchases. I will not bid on (at least I haven't up to now) on anything I believe has exorbitant shipping charges. Auction houses seem to be particularly bad players in this regard. I believe $8.50 is a reasonable charge in the USA for one set of figures with Delivery Confirmation.

I just had an unusal experience with an eBay purchase. The description area below the Current Bid area said that the shipping was $7.00 in bold print and there was a link in that same area to the postal service charges for the item to my zip code also for $7.00. When I got the invoice on-line the shipping was higher---$9.00. I asked the seller if he had made a mistake, he said no, and refered me to the small print about when payment was expected,etc. which said that the shipping was $8.00 or higher. He said that it was expensive to ship this set. What he didn't know was that I had just won 10 sets of these very same soldiers, Richards AWI, from a New York location (like him) which were shipped for $30.00. Even more ironic, I won these 10 sets from the same seller that he had originally purchased his from and was now reselling. I have bought 18 more sets directly from the original owner---shipping is $40.00.
 
uksubs said:
With the US post office putting up there prices this year , ive found that a lot of
ebay sellers in the USA are over charging up to $20.00 over the top :mad:
Click to expand...

The new rates are based as much on size now as weight, I've had problems quoting weight shipping only to have the clerk measure the parcel and up the cost. I end up eating the difference, that sucks so beware, espcially when shipping multiple items!
Ray
 
Agree on Ray's take on these rates. Even on the old rates, if I was shipping something like a four figure set or a vehicle over to Europe, it's not going to be less than $20. Now, it's actually more difficult because the post office has eliminated sea mail as an option so it's first class (up to four pounds) or priority. Even a four pound box to the UK is about $29. So, it can get expensive. Sorry, mate.
 
I buy a fair bit from both the UK and the US. I have nearly always found that US sellers charge at cost or even below cost with regards to shipping.

UK sellers, I find, are a bit more of a lottery, but as Mike says, I always factor it in to any bid I make and if it's obvious that the seller is taking the p**s with the postage, I'll leave it alone.

Simon
 
As selling on eBay becomes more of an online business and less a way of disposing of unwanted items, the more you will see inflated postage charges. Many sellers add on some type of service charge for wrapping you package or taking it to the post office or what ever. I agree that you just need to add the shipping cost to your bid amount and then figure if it's a good buy. Remember that some brick and mortor shops charge little or nothing for postage. Our host at Treefrog only charge $4.00 for a package regardless of the number of items in the shipment.
 
Just my 2 cents here.

Shipping is expensive - no doubt. You would be surprised how much in shipping supplies and how much time it takes to ship a few packages.

Domestic, my rates are pretty fair - reasonable, but international? I have to pack using extra supplies, I have to include exact measurements of the package, fill out the customs forms by manually copying/pasting information from the payment form, sign off on each of the 5 customs forms attach the customs envelope and take that package to post office for inspection. Now imagine having to do 5 of these a day on top of the domestic shipping.

Shipping is expensive in more ways than just the postage. I'm not saying that $20 for a 2 pound package going to California from New York is proper but $12.00 for 4 pounds for the same distance is about what it costs if not more. I go through this all the time sometimes having to bite the bullet and lose a little.
 
There are times, when my set shipping price turns out to be much higher than the actual, when shipped....Usually, I have in the past paypalled the overage back to a customer......depends on the excess...Michael
 
as long as they are upfront about shipping costs I dont mind,
then I can decide if its worth bidding or not. For new items
like K and C ,I always use a dealer as the shippng rates etc
are better for me. I still think shipping rates from the US to here
are reasonable.
We get absolutely fleeced on international postage here , If
I sell on e bay I always take a big hit on shippng as thier is no
way I could charge the actual cost.
 
vandilay said:
as long as they are upfront about shipping costs I dont mind,
then I can decide if its worth bidding or not. For new items
like K and C ,I always use a dealer as the shippng rates etc
are better for me. I still think shipping rates from the US to here
are reasonable.
We get absolutely fleeced on international postage here , If
I sell on e bay I always take a big hit on shippng as thier is no
way I could charge the actual cost.
Click to expand...

Same here - if I were to charge the actual shipping cost then I'd never sell a thing, so I often flat-rate it to allow for a greater degree of transparency for the buyer. Here in Ireland the postal services charge for a "dimensional weight", which I gather means trebling or quadrupling the postage price on account of the parcel being a rectangle instead of a cube.
 
I always ask for a shipping quote in advance and (if it's a overseas (US) item) to mark the item as a gift, otherwise I'll lose a ton on import duties/taxes.

BTW, I usually ask online retailers the same, not just Ebayers.
 
The auction houses usually charge double or triple the going rate and call it shipping and handling. Always check the shipping costs first, then bid. I usually now pass on ebay auction houses.
 
Cheers Squadron Forum Members:

When considering the postage rates make certain you factor in and or consider the insurance rates for these items. I will not buy a single item over $20.00 that is not insured especially Toy Soldiers. Think about it, an extra $2.00-$5.00 added to the cost is worth your piece of mind and or investment. Each & every item I sell on eBay is insured-MANDATORY. Besides, it covers my tail as well. However, some buyer might look at my postage rates & think they are higher without reading the listing properly and factoring the fact that the insurance coverage is included in said price. Here are the USPS domestic rates listed below...
Fee . . . . . . . . . . Insurance Coverage
$1.65 ................ $0.01 to $50
$2.05 ................ $50.01 to $100
$2.45 ................ $100.01 to $200
$4.60 ................ $200.01 to $300
$5.50 ................ $300.01 to $400
$6.40 ................ $400.01 to $500
$7.30……………$500.01 to $600
$7.30 plus $0.90 per $100 or fraction thereof over $600 to $5,000.

Happy Hunting,
Beau
 
CannonFodder1971 said:
Same here - if I were to charge the actual shipping cost then I'd never sell a thing, so I often flat-rate it to allow for a greater degree of transparency for the buyer. Here in Ireland the postal services charge for a "dimensional weight", which I gather means trebling or quadrupling the postage price on account of the parcel being a rectangle instead of a cube.
Click to expand...

Ours is by weight until the parcel gets quite large and then it becomes dimensional.The difference between sending air or surface is only a
couple of dollars so i,ve no idea how they justify that.
The joys of running pretty much a monopoly I guess ,its like it or lump it.
 
Hi from Australia,
Postage always a big issue. A few years ago a USA T-shirt place wanted to charge me US$30 to send 3 t-shirts to Australia. Really liked the T-shirts but our $ much weaker then and I had the impression a lot of "handling" fees in their postage cost. If he had been reasonable he would have made the sale.
I aim to get the postage charge as close to cost as possible but my Ebay experience is that the biggest/heaviest item will always be bought by the guy furthest away. Biggest error was listing a 1/6 M/C combo at A$50 overseas postage when it actually cost $140 to UK. Not only that it arrived damaged so ended up losing money.
Whenever my local post office guy gets out his tape measure I get worried. Not sure if you guys have standard size boxes you can buy from your post office but they have several different sizes here. However I think it is a little bit of a scam as those boxes are based on cubed size which is more expensive. So if it is not a heavy item you are actually paying a lot more for the convenience of a Post office standard box.
Have underquoted sometimes and even had a couple of guys who noticed and Paypalled me the difference !
Brett Williams
Brisbane Australia
 
I always ship priority within the states and as fast as economically possible international...My stuff is professionally packed with bubble wrap and peanuts strategically placed within the wrap to protect the most vunerable parts of a soldier or vehicle........those members here, who have bought from me can attest to the wrapping care and safe delivery..and no one gripes about my shipping charge...Michael
 
I always ship within the US via UPS and follow the same procedures Michael does. It always amazes me how dealers and sellers do not follow this when it comes to toy soldiers. Also, as K & C used to do, I put straw pieces over exposed points. I think the key is to making sure there is no movement in whatever you ship. So, I shake the job. If there is movement, I redo it. The tighter the better.
 
maddadicus said:
I always ship priority within the states and as fast as economically possible international...My stuff is professionally packed with bubble wrap and peanuts strategically placed within the wrap to protect the most vunerable parts of a soldier or vehicle........those members here, who have bought from me can attest to the wrapping care and safe delivery..and no one gripes about my shipping charge...Michael
Click to expand...

I can attest to Michael's packing skills. Absolutely bulletproof. The thing that let it down for me was the note on the side of the packaging, addressed to my wife saying 'Extremely expensive K&C goods contained within'. I must get myself a PO box....:D
 
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