Thread: A bit annoyed

As someone who sells on ebay occasionally I know that shipping costs have increased. Also if the item is lost or damaged the seller is out item and payment for same since the buyer will notify paypal and get a refund. So it adds up. OTOH, there are sellers who look to make a buck off of the shipping and that is not right IMO. Ebay says they will take action against sellers who charge an inordinate amount for shipping. I've not had this happen as a buyer so I don't know how to inquire about it but if you think the shipping cost is unfair notify them to that effect and perhaps they will have the seller correct the charges.

That last couple times I've sold razors, Ebay had a set price I could charge for shipping. That being said I haven't sold any in the last few months.

wait till you see what CANADA CUSTOMS does to shipping costs, if the seller provides them with how much you paid for it. heh offtopic sorry

Originally Posted by joshb1000

I picked up 4 razors, at the charge of $8.95 for postage. I dont have a problem paying for the auction at all...very satified with the razors. Just a little annoyed at how mucht the postage really is, thats all. I understand i should have done more research on the shipping, just complaining i guess.lol.

Thats actually not that bad for shipping. I just sent out a razor and with the bubble envelope and everything it was around $7. The ones that surprise me are when it's over $20 to ship one razor!

4 Razors, at about 3 oz. a piece + bubble wrap and a box, usually will net out to over 13 oz. Once an item is over 13 Oz, there is no choice but to send priority, so, actual shipping cost here is $5.80 with delivery confirmation.. I dont see how $8.xx is much of a stretch..when you consider not all sellers have zero cost for packing materials, etc, plus, the trip to the post office should be considered too....

I dunno, being a seller, I like to cut people some slack when it comes to shipping charges because I know how expensive / annoying it can be

If sellers list items with free shipping, I think they will usually wind up making as much money as if they charge for shipping... But... the downside is that E-bay will chew their 9% of that extra amount. Large shipping charges is one way to "stick it" to E-bay..as they don't get their percentage on shipping charges Its one reason that E-bay has started limiting how much you can charge for shipping in certain categories...

If it is "shipping to be determined by location" then it is the bidder's responsibility to contact the seller. If you do not, then you can't compain.

Sorry to sound harsh, but that's the way it is.

Originally Posted by joshb1000

I picked up 4 razors, at the charge of $8.95 for postage. I dont have a problem paying for the auction at all...very satified with the razors. Just a little annoyed at how mucht the postage really is, thats all. I understand i should have done more research on the shipping, just complaining i guess.lol.

LOL. You think $8.95 for 4 razors is expensive? You should live in Australia. Almost every razor I buy in the US, gets shipped in a cardboard box that would fit 10 razors in and they charge me $13.95. Yes, that's $13.95 per razor. Obviously nobody in the US has heard of small padded envelope. You'll forgive me if I don't feel sorry for you.

Originally Posted by johnmrson

Yes, that's $13.95 per razor. Obviously nobody in the US has heard of small padded envelope. You'll forgive me if I don't feel sorry for you.

I think the problem is that the cheapest international shipping with delivery confirmation is actually the small flat rate box. An envelope is perfectly fine if the seller is willing to take on the risk of the buyer 'not receiving the item'. Ebay's rules that it's the seller's responsibility to deliver the item to the buyer and if that doesn't happen the buyer gets back their money from the seller, and the seller deals with the shipper. It makes sense because the shipping contract is between the seller and the shipper.

I usually don't have a problem with sending inexpensive razors cheaply and taking the risk. The worse that can happen is I loose the razor and the shipping charges and I never deal with that buyer again.

As far as 'handling' fee goes, I don't have a problem with few dollars. After all the seller's time to package and mail it, as well as the packaging materials are worth something. FREE is usually nothing more than a marketing term, at the end of the day the costs are real and got paid one way or another.
From purely economic point of view the only number the buyer needs to worry about is the total cost of the item including shipping, handling, and taxes. How it's split among those is irrelevant because it doesn't involve the buyer in any way.

Ebay does present all different pieces on the page where you confirm the bid. Ideally they should present you with the total, but they know that people are easy to manipulate and prefer to show them three separate smaller numbers instead of one big one.

Now if a buyer decides to bid blindly without knowing the final price, they've taken a gamble that they didn't have to.

I definitely appreciate all the information about the shipping side of eBay, now that I understand I dont feel so bad paying for the shipping, I just can't wait to get my hands on those razors, thanks again everyone