Thread: Shipping is cost of item

Why would a Japanese seller on Ebay have buy it now prices of like .99 and a $1.00, but shipping costs of $200.00 - $800.00? Obviously the shipping cost is the cost of the item, but what is the purpose of doing this?

It used to be the bay didnt charge a fee on shipping but thats what everybody was doing selling computer parts for 50 cents and charging $20.00 for the part,, Till they caught on,, Now I dont know why you would do it today unless somebody thinks there getting a good deal then Kaboom.. Ty

I know the ebay loophole has been plugged, but could it be for tax purposes? If the item is sold for $1, could they claim less profit, or even a loss, if they pretend the rest actually is shipping costs?

That would work on taxes, but you have to have documentation if the costs of. Shipping to get a deduction on the expense side Tc

Japanese tax law could be different than ours. They might just be trying to hide profit on the sale.

In the unlikely event he offers returns, it could be 14 day returns, buyer pays shipping.

Could be marketing.

Listing an item he doesn’t have any more to get people to check out his other stuff.
Low item cost catches the eye of the buyer, outrageous shipping guarantees that the (non existent?) item won’t be purchased.

Good point. Tc

Well if a guy sells an item for $1.00 but charges $200.00 shipping, and the buyer returns it, the seller keeps the shipping, the buyer pays return shipping, and is refunded his $1.00 paid for the item. I had a guy wanting to charge $80.00 to ship a tobacco pipe that was selling for $10.00. It was worth the total, but if I had bought it and wanted to return it I'd be stuck.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Well if a guy sells an item for $1.00 but charges $200.00 shipping, and the buyer returns it, the seller keeps the shipping, the buyer pays return shipping, and is refunded his $1.00 paid for the item. I had a guy wanting to charge $80.00 to ship a tobacco pipe that was selling for $10.00. It was worth the total, but if I had bought it and wanted to return it I'd be stuck.

THAT makes a lot of sense. It's an effective way to take advantage of a sleazy sale.