First, is that the right 'principle'?
Second, would you pay an outrageous shipping price for an item even if the total still comes out to be less than the average price?
I guess I'm struggling with it because what was a 'great deal' is kind of spoiled knowing the shipping is at least doubled.
It's not a hard item to pack, I understand 'handling charges' when necessary...
Shipping prices vs principle.
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mooseheadm5
- Beamter
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Quite often, no, I will not. Sometimes it's their business model, but usually if I feel I'm being gouged on shipping I won't pull the trigger on that purchase. It depends on how bad of course and sometimes they're just lazy and have one shipping method that works for them so they charge twenty bucks for something that could fit in a small flat rate box, which irritates the hell out of me too. But if they're just gouging, probably no.
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unt0uchable
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I tend to look for the free shipping when trying to pay close to or below average price for an item.
For instance, I bought an iPad 2 last week for $172.50 on eBay with a screen issue. Free shipping kept me under my personal $200 rule. For some reason, I flock to "shipping included" or "free shipping" moreso than paying the freight costs on top of the purchase price.
(PS: iPad showed up. I tapped on the screen a few times near where the LCD connector is inside and boom, fixed. Practically brand new iPad 2 32gb for $172.50.
)
For instance, I bought an iPad 2 last week for $172.50 on eBay with a screen issue. Free shipping kept me under my personal $200 rule. For some reason, I flock to "shipping included" or "free shipping" moreso than paying the freight costs on top of the purchase price.
(PS: iPad showed up. I tapped on the screen a few times near where the LCD connector is inside and boom, fixed. Practically brand new iPad 2 32gb for $172.50.
)Yeah, when they're paying the shipping they usually make sure it's the most cost efficient way so even though they build shipping into the price it's usually at a minimum.unt0uchable wrote:I tend to look for the free shipping when trying to pay close to or below average price for an item.
For instance, I bought an iPad 2 last week for $172.50 on eBay with a screen issue. Free shipping kept me under my personal $200 rule. For some reason, I flock to "shipping included" or "free shipping" moreso than paying the freight costs on top of the purchase price.
Hijacking slightly, I don't know how some places, Amazon among them, manage so much free shipping. Sometimes there will be 3 or 4 boxes in a $30 order coming from different places.
uh-oh, I just got paid by the buyer...he's from CA.WilNJ wrote:Funny you mention this. I put up an item of clothing that cost $125 new, worn 3 times and sold it ebay for $1.04. I chose the shipping method that would be easiest for me and the buyer is asking if I'll reconsider my shipping so that it's less for him.
eBay.uk.mooseheadm5 wrote:Is the item on ebay?
I had to ask for a shipping quote, as its obviously not local...
Due to my eensy weensy bit of shipping experience
(and getting multiple quotes for the same item from other sellers), I know he's just spouting of a 'safe' number. It's a bit insulting knowing that he wants £40, when air freight via Royal Mail is £13...
I'm just going to have it shipped local to a friend over there for free, and it'll come over in a big box of other parts already slated to be collected soon
50cm3. I don't know how much room will be left, but sure. It gets a bit complicated with my friend packing it, me receiving it, then shipping to you, but if it works out...WilNJ wrote:Oh really? How big a box, got room in exchange for a share of the shipping costs?cddallara wrote:I'm just going to have it shipped local to a friend over there for free, and it'll come over in a big box of other parts already slated to be collected soon
Shipping really isn't that hard (or expensive, really) depending on if you get gouged by the seller or not
Most of the time I arrange it myself unless its something small going Royal Mail...-
Tammer in Philly
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Most importantly, yes that is the correct form of 'principle' to use. :-)
On Ebay, this sort of thing is usually the result of someone trying to skirt Ebay fees. Depending on the item and the overall deal, I'll let it slide or move on. If it's pretty clear that someone just doesn't know the shipping cost and is covering their tail, I'll offer to pay actual shipping.
As a seller, I can and have given a high shipping quote with a promise to refund the delta between quoted and actual shipping. It adds a minor extra step, but ensures I don't lose my shirt as shipping sometimes gets surprisingly pricey, particularly to Canada. I haven't had a buyer balk at that yet.
-tammer
On Ebay, this sort of thing is usually the result of someone trying to skirt Ebay fees. Depending on the item and the overall deal, I'll let it slide or move on. If it's pretty clear that someone just doesn't know the shipping cost and is covering their tail, I'll offer to pay actual shipping.
As a seller, I can and have given a high shipping quote with a promise to refund the delta between quoted and actual shipping. It adds a minor extra step, but ensures I don't lose my shirt as shipping sometimes gets surprisingly pricey, particularly to Canada. I haven't had a buyer balk at that yet.
-tammer
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stuartinmn
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Another thing to consider is there's more to shipping than just paying the postage. They have to package the item (and depending on the item this can be a fair amount of work) and then take the time to bring it to the post office or UPS or wherever. I think it's reasonable to include the cost of those things in the total shipping price.
It is a very real expense to the seller, which is why I won't sell anything for less than $20 as a rule. On the other hand, I see that as being part of the purchase price, not shipping. Ebay in particular can get complicated with a lot of the sellers being Joe Blow who isn't in business and doesn't have an efficient model for packing and shipping, but to me it's part of the item cost, not part of the shipping cost. Just my .02.stuartinmn wrote:Another thing to consider is there's more to shipping than just paying the postage. They have to package the item (and depending on the item this can be a fair amount of work) and then take the time to bring it to the post office or UPS or wherever. I think it's reasonable to include the cost of those things in the total shipping price.
I had a similar experience: I was looking at a NOS fuel pump and it was priced pretty cheap but had a high shipping cost ($30). But the overall purchase still made it cheaper than buying it new online so I went for it. I figured I would give them the benefit of the doubt considering it was a store/shop and took into account packing, processing, etc. I was also thinking it would be packed pretty well.Mike W. wrote:It is a very real expense to the seller, which is why I won't sell anything for less than $20 as a rule. On the other hand, I see that as being part of the purchase price, not shipping. Ebay in particular can get complicated with a lot of the sellers being Joe Blow who isn't in business and doesn't have an efficient model for packing and shipping, but to me it's part of the item cost, not part of the shipping cost. Just my .02.stuartinmn wrote:Another thing to consider is there's more to shipping than just paying the postage. They have to package the item (and depending on the item this can be a fair amount of work) and then take the time to bring it to the post office or UPS or wherever. I think it's reasonable to include the cost of those things in the total shipping price.
When it arrived it was simply thrown into a USPS Flat Rate box with one bubble pillow; that's it, nothing else. I was willing to accept it if it had been more thoroughly packed or at least in their own box. But seeing the box, I knew instantly how much they actually spent on postage. I immediately wrote him back and cried foul and threatened to report them to ebay for gouging on shipping. He refunded $10; but at $20 it was still way more than it should have been.
This I understand, as stated abovestuartinmn wrote:Another thing to consider is there's more to shipping than just paying the postage. They have to package the item (and depending on the item this can be a fair amount of work) and then take the time to bring it to the post office or UPS or wherever. I think it's reasonable to include the cost of those things in the total shipping price.
The item in question is simple to pack in a box, which the seller would have to do for his '£10 shipping' anyway. It also goes Royal Mail so no hassles with FedEx, couriers, etc.
Meh, it's done anyway and will get here eventually.
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bsacks810860
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Shipping can be more than u think. I run a Ebay store and anything over 13 oz is a min of 5.50 to ship parcel post. Thats with a ebay discount. 2 pounds or more and shipping will be a min of around 10 dollars, give or take. Also anything going to the west coast cost much more for me. Many times i have shorted myself on shipping. Also you can no longer get around Ebay fees, as they now charge a fee on shipping, which means you have to charge more than it cost to ship just to break even. They wan t you to give free shipping, but there i really no such thing, as someone has to pay for it. Most people do not know the rise in shipping cost this year, and starting this year anything overseas went up a lot. I no longer ship out side the USA because of the cost. And you do have to take in account the time and effort to box something up, time and gas to drive to the postal office. You have to run it as a buiss, and everyhting is an expense.
I agree there's more to it than the straight shipping cost.
However: one seller checked rates and quoted/charged me £12.60. For air shipment via Royal Mail.
The next seller, for similar if not smaller sized item quoted me £40.00 but didn't state what carrier. I see quite a difference seeing as they both have to pack, label, etc.
However: one seller checked rates and quoted/charged me £12.60. For air shipment via Royal Mail.
The next seller, for similar if not smaller sized item quoted me £40.00 but didn't state what carrier. I see quite a difference seeing as they both have to pack, label, etc.
Size makes a difference. Correct me if I'm wrong, but flat rate applies to business too.bsacks810860 wrote:Shipping can be more than u think. I run a Ebay store and anything over 13 oz is a min of 5.50 to ship parcel post. Thats with a ebay discount. 2 pounds or more and shipping will be a min of around 10 dollars, give or take. Also anything going to the west coast cost much more for me. Many times i have shorted myself on shipping. Also you can no longer get around Ebay fees, as they now charge a fee on shipping, which means you have to charge more than it cost to ship just to break even. They wan t you to give free shipping, but there i really no such thing, as someone has to pay for it. Most people do not know the rise in shipping cost this year, and starting this year anything overseas went up a lot. I no longer ship out side the USA because of the cost. And you do have to take in account the time and effort to box something up, time and gas to drive to the postal office. You have to run it as a buiss, and everyhting is an expense.
That's not a large box, but if you can fit 5 pounds in there it's the same price. I bought 4 paving bricks one time with my family name on them, over 40 pounds and they went in a flat rate box for less than a Jackson. I can understand an individual not being shipping savvy, but anyone doing it regularly probably knows and should if they don't. Adding on a handling charge is like being charged extra for the cashier to ring it up in a store.Priority Mail 1-Day™ Small Flat Rate Box
USPS-Produced Box: 8-5/8" x 5-3/8" x 1-5/8" Thu, Aug 8 $5.80 $5.15
My bad, 50x50x50cm. I was trying to shorthand it and didn't quite realize the end resultWilNJ wrote:50 cubic centimeters?cddallara wrote:What are you looking for?WilNJ wrote:Hmmm...not as big as I was hoping for.cddallara wrote:50cm3.
That's big enough to hold a sport seat or several sets of headlights, grills, etc
People who charge a "handling" fee on Ebay is pretty much my number one peeve in the whole wide world. If you need a handling fee, set your starting bid accordingly. 
Speaking of handling fees, I received my Monterey packet from BMWCCA in South Carolina today. It would have cost $3.32 to send it First Class mail and $5.70 to send it 2 Day Priority. They charged $18.00 and sent it by truck.
Speaking of handling fees, I received my Monterey packet from BMWCCA in South Carolina today. It would have cost $3.32 to send it First Class mail and $5.70 to send it 2 Day Priority. They charged $18.00 and sent it by truck.