Ebay - question about shipping charges

[Seadoobuddy]

Hi all, I've only bought a few things off eBay in my life. I'm getting to be a avid collector of St. Nicholas Square Christmas village items sold by Kohl's.
Since 1998 when I began building a small village scene I now have about 51 buildings and a hundred or so accessories with the area covered by this is now just under 80 sq ft.

I've been looking at eBay and the shipping seems to be outrageously high for most items. A small item that would fit in your palm the guy wants upwards of $12 to ship it...others want about $5.60.

Question is how does the seller determine the shipping cost as listed in the ad? I know it the costs are different to ship to Michigan than across the country to California from NJ or MA, so why do they charge the same amount.

I've just asked a seller "if I buy 3 small items will he ship them together for about the same as one item. ...(have not heard back yet).
Sometime he is selling an item for $3.99 but wants almost $6 to ship it. I've email sellers and offered a different price than what's posted and threw in something for postage but got turned down a few times.

Can any tricks of the trade be given by those who buy/sell a lot on eBay. I would appreciate it.
thanks, SDB

 

[Luv2Camp]

Hi all, I've only bought a few things off eBay in my life. I'm getting to be a avid collector of St. Nicholas Square Christmas village items sold by Kohl's.
Since 1998 when I began building a small village scene I now have about 51 buildings and a hundred or so accessories with the area covered by this is now just under 80 sq ft.

I've been looking at eBay and the shipping seems to be outrageously high for most items. A small item that would fit in your palm the guy wants upwards of $12 to ship it...others want about $5.60.

Question is how does the seller determine the shipping cost as listed in the ad? I know it the costs are different to ship to Michigan than across the country to California from NJ or MA, so why do they charge the same amount.

I've just asked a seller "if I buy 3 small items will he ship them together for about the same as one item. ...(have not heard back yet).
Sometime he is selling an item for $3.99 but wants almost $6 to ship it. I've email sellers and offered a different price than what's posted and threw in something for postage but got turned down a few times.

Can any tricks of the trade be given by those who buy/sell a lot on eBay. I would appreciate it.
thanks, SDB

Whatever your into! Just bustin your chops! I cannot figure it out either. In the past, ebay only charged a final value fee on the sale price and they did not touch the shipping. Years ago, I could see why the shipping would be inflated as that was pure profit. Now Ebay takes a percentage of the entire final amount including shipping but yet I see more and more with higher shipping prices.

 

[Dr Honda]

Whatever your into! Just bustin your chops! I cannot figure it out either. In the past, ebay only charged a final value fee on the sale price and they did not touch the shipping. Years ago, I could see why the shipping would be inflated as that was pure profit. Now Ebay takes a percentage of the entire final amount including shipping but yet I see more and more with higher shipping prices.

The fees are on the total now. The reason is, guys were doing a "Buy it now" for $1... and then charging $300 shipping for something like an xBox.



SDB: There is no way to do it. Some guys use the shipping calculator in eBay's software, and some guys just put a flat rate on the shipping. also... even if you use the calculator, you can add any $$$ to the base.


SO... that's part of ebay when I'm looking for items. I look for the lowest shipping too.

 

[racerxxx]

I'm assuming you looking for older ones you missed. If not and your looking for current ones, you can buy them at Kohls.com and them uses coupon codes and Kohls cash and usually you can google for free shipping. The more you know, the more you Kohls! LOL My wife and I get a kick out of Kohls, they have some ridiculous sales. I got a deep fryer there, original price was $79.99, on sale for $49.99, final price(after 30% off and Kohls cash) WITH tax was just over $18. I actually got shoes to ride in this summer, Black and Yellow Skele-Toes Sports. They're neoprene, Regularly $59.99, on sale for $19.99, wife had $20 Kohls cash. I walked with a pair of shoes, a penny and a pissed of son who wanted the same ones as Dad. Now the downside, my wife hates to waste a coupon so shes always there for something for the kids or me.

SDB, try www.searchtempest.com It will search craigslist for what you put in dependent on mileage, perhaps you could strike a deal that was and not get juiced for fees.

 

[Seadoobuddy]

I am looking for older ones but also newer ones that i don't have but would fit into my "scheme" I got 2 of the original 9 from 1990 and 1 from 1991 last month, the 2 I got off CL and the 1991 one off Ebay for only $12 total w/ shipping from MA. area.

Your right about the coupons, my wife uses them all the time, sometimes even better ones pop up for online use only.

 

[chucked]

I cant ship a box for much less then $10, it might be more now. Im not sure what those things are you have, but the cheaper guy might be shipping in a padded envelope. The other guy a box. I usually have free shipping and build the price of shipping into it to keep people from complaining. I used to part out motorcycle, I would ship fairings and it would cost $60-$80 just to ship. People would whine that some other guy is only charging $20-$30, well he is in for a surprize when he goes to ship and the shipping is more then the total he got for the fairing.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

Kohls sends us stuff weekly, friggen coupons, and emails my wife I think daily I put a stop to the emails asap myself.

that aside, I just deal with the varied shipping issues on Fleabay, and i tend to blow off people that want to charge me $20 shipping when I dam well know it will fit in a medium flat rate. I sell about 150 items a year on EBAY, and charge about $2 more the the actual shipping price (and I figure that out ahead of time) to cover time/materials, etc. As a seller, having been caught w/o the right box handy, or quoting too low on shipping, what I do now is when I photograph and list the item, I have the box ready, and pack the item in the box and label it with a post it, and put it in my stack of things for sale. Then i'm not scrambling for a box at 4pm trying to ship something out in a timely fashion. Since i'm prepared ahead of time, I can usually ship my package same day, at the very latest next day.

honestly, if it doesn't fit in a flat rate (which I use a LOT), the shipping can be a little crazy, and varied, especially for priority mail, I use USPS 80% and ups 20%, ups generally gets my larger heaver packages too big for flat rates.

The ones that irk me are the ones that i KNOW will come in a padded envelope for $2, but they want $7, I can deal with $4.50 for that deal, but not $6-7.

 

[RodInEscondido]

This has been a real pet peeve (they are back Jake and Lou) for me since first days of ebay. Like I have told a bunch of sellers: there is an awful lot of "handling" included in the "shipping and handling" charge ... almost to the stage of molestation.

Latest example for me is from Amazon; ordered 4 of the same item at about $4/each. They advertised s&h of $5. I inquired if there was reduced s&h charge for 4 of the same thing. They said no (probably as Doc said above). One package arrived, 7 ounces usps first class ($2.75), tracking ($.90). I would just send it back except, even with the molestation charges, the total is still about 75% of the cost of acquiring locally.

I am not a seller, but maybe as a business the product itself hits the revenue side of the books and the s&h may disappear somewhere on the expense side?

Maybe, as usual, I have expended too many words to say "I dunno"!

Merry Christmas to all

Rod

 

[chucked]

As a seller, also keep in mind that someone has to box and package it up so it doesn't get damaged, drive to the post office and stand in line for who knows how long. Although this morning I went to a small post office in a small town, the woman behind the counter boxed everything up, she did all the work. All I did was hand her the part. Then on top of that it was only like seven bucks total. Priority

 

[Spimothy Leary]

As a seller, also keep in mind that someone has to box and package it up so it doesn't get damaged, drive to the post office and stand in line for who knows how long. Although this morning I went to a small post office in a small town, the woman behind the counter boxed everything up, she did all the work. All I did was hand her the part. Then on top of that it was only like seven bucks total. Priority

these days with "click & ship" its pretty simple... I package it up, walk right past everybody in line, and put it on the counter. I never wait in line anymore. and if I wanted to I think I could just put it in my box for pickup as well.

however, its a pain to box & ship, although in reality it takes about 3-5 minutes if you have done it before, have the supplies necessary. for a small package it takes about 1-2 minutes. (I know this because I just put a small part in a padded envelope, it took less than two minutes from the time I clicked the email, logged in, printed the label, stuck it on, etc)

 

[racerxxx]

This has been a real pet peeve (they are back Jake and Lou) for me since first days of ebay. Like I have told a bunch of sellers: there is an awful lot of "handling" included in the "shipping and handling" charge ... almost to the stage of molestation.

Latest example for me is from Amazon; ordered 4 of the same item at about $4/each. They advertised s&h of $5. I inquired if there was reduced s&h charge for 4 of the same thing. They said no (probably as Doc said above). One package arrived, 7 ounces usps first class ($2.75), tracking ($.90). I would just send it back except, even with the molestation charges, the total is still about 75% of the cost of acquiring locally.

I am not a seller, but maybe as a business the product itself hits the revenue side of the books and the s&h may disappear somewhere on the expense side?

Maybe, as usual, I have expended too many words to say "I dunno"!

Merry Christmas to all

Rod

I'll assume this was from a 3rd party seller on Amazon. I'll always pay a $1 or $2 more just to get it from Amazon direct. For 1 reason, I have a Prime account--free 2 day shipping, the other--I'm dealing direct with Amazon, not some guy in his undies behind his computer. And when there is something not available from Amazon directly I always go over all the charges and if somethings out of place I look else where. I think Amazon may have a say in the shipping "fee" but that is on ONE item, multiples may go in the favor of the seller, meaning they don't have to give you a reduced rate for multiples. I always remember to rate the customer on Amazon so people can check their seller review. The last two items I bought were 3rd party sellers but offered Prime shipping since it was shipped through Amazon, a much better way to deal with 3rd parties on Amazon.


If you buy a lot on Amazon you might want to look into a prime account. Put the account in your name (so you can stream the movies) and then share the account with a family member. But ask your family member to split the cost, but they can't stream video content.


Just like on an Ebay auction I saw the other day, this big azz long "READ ME" below the auction. Low and behold the guy charges a $2 handling fee for him to go to the post office and "supplies". Sad part is the guy probably uses the USPS boxes which come "free" with If it fits it ships postage. So basically he charges $2 to drop your package off. I skipped that auction. Guys are getting tired of Ebay and Paypal snagging 13% of their sale, so they're adding it on with a handling charge.

Yes, printing the USPS postage on line is so much better. I like to add my customers email so they are notified when it ships, make you look like a top notch guy, then add the tracking into Paypal. Like Spim said, walk in and drop it off. I don't even have to wait in line. I love the looks I get, like "How's this dirt bag get to jump the line", LOL---See ya Bishes! I try to avoid my Post office as it's the big and fancy one, two others are little shanties and there are never any lines and the folks are super nice. I have a little scale in my shop, I buy my boxes from Uline and ship my stuff out of super clean boxes I get from work(not often). I ship a foot rest fairly often that I have custom made for me. If it fits it ships is $12.35, I can do it with my own supplies from coast to coast for $3 cheaper. I just can't justify charging a guy 150 miles from me that same price when I can get it to him for less than $7. I don't charge to go to the post office, I have 3 post offices less than 3 miles from me. Now, If it fits it ships is great for a box you're going to max out with goods.

 

[Seadoobuddy]

Nice info....

is there a way to retract an offer on Ebay if you decide not to buy it after you bid or made an offer?

 

[chucked]

Also, packing peanuts and tape cost money.

 

[Dr Honda]

Nice info....

is there a way to retract an offer on Ebay if you decide not to buy it after you bid or made an offer?

Yes. You can retract a bid, as long as the auction hasn't ended. But since I haven't done it in a very long time, I'm not sure how. There use to be a drop down box, if you look in "My eBay" for that auction.

 

[LouDoo]

Over the years I have sold a few things on Ebay, when I have sold on Ebay I have always included the shipping charges. I think this is fair to both the buyer and the seller. I have lost a few dollars and made a few this way but I figure it balances out. But I don't do this for a living I do it mainly to sell something I no longer need.

I don't buy much on Ebay any more, Seadoo parts I get from seadoo warehouse, or Nick and Jess. Other stuff I use Amazon a lot, Amazon has a major facility here in Lexington so I usually get one or two day service with their regular free shipping.

Lou

 

[Seadoobuddy]

A few of you have already seen these pics on facebook but for those who PM'd me here is my Christmas Village by St. Nicholas Square.

New 60"x43" addition
I added 18 inches to the front of the layout of the original 4x8ft.....

.....holes for the light wires

Bigger Nicholas Lake and river

EDIT: having trouble loading i keep getting an error message....will try again after work tonight.

Seems to be working better today...thursday

 

[racerxxx]

Yes. You can retract a bid, as long as the auction hasn't ended. But since I haven't done it in a very long time, I'm not sure how. There use to be a drop down box, if you look in "My eBay" for that auction.

I just burned a guy on this a year or so ago. He wanted to retract his bid in the last 2 hours of the auction ending, he actually can't do it with 12 hours or less left. The only way you can is if you just bid and the auction has less than 12 hours left----but you have to do it within an hour of placing your bid.

I hung the kid (college kid) out to dry and made him pay for it. No way was I letting $60 for a Wii Nunchuck slip through my fingers. Yes, it was a limited edition only available to Club Nintendo Members. I got mine real early, and once everyone else started getting theirs and listing them the bids didn't reach that high I wasn't about to let this guy weasel out. I was nice and gave him 3 weeks to pay, and he did.

 

[Seadoobuddy]

A few more wide angle pics.
old historical town 3 buildings from 1990-199 (on the far left side)...
Left side of lay out..
Center of town..
Right side of Town..

 

[racerxxx]

Looks good SDB, I like how the PWC is larger than the boat--how true and life like these days.

 

[biffdotorg]

As a seller on Ebay, I can confirm that the amount of shipping is based solely on the seller. It's all in how lazy they care to be about it.

1. They could use the calculators built into Ebay. Then it may be inflated and based on location. But it's all automated and the customer is lead to believe it is Ebay screwing them and not the seller.

2. They could charge a flat fee and hope that actual shipping charges are somewhere in between.

3. They could charge the USPS Priority Mail flat rate box/envelope. Then they know the cost to ship, as it fits in the package. Again, the blame for the high shipping is passed on to USPS and not the seller again.

4. Or they can negotiate the shipping, or allow the buyer to contact them for a total. This option is hardly ever posted anymore, as most buyers want to know shipping up front. And most sellers realize that potential buyers will search for "lowest price including shipping" and their auction will not come up in that search as often as they have not listed shipping.

My suggestion is to always search for the "best offer" options, as that means they are willing to negotiate. And also watch for items listed for extended periods of time, or have had little action in bidding or watchers. That will leave all parties open to negotiation. I have negotiated shipping many times. Many times my message to them is, : I am very interested in your product, and you have it at a fair price, but I am only willing to pay actual shipping. or $X.XX for shipping. And then the conversation starts.

It's not up to Ebay to negotiate or set your shipping. It's up to Ebay to offer the path of least resistance to make transactions as that is when they get paid. Due to most buyers and sellers lack of ambition, those pre-set shipping systems are more expensive but used most often.

It does suck that ebay put the fees on top of the shipping. But it did stop the yahoos as explained above from charging $300 shipping. It also encouraged the sellers to be more fair on shipping, as their fees are higher.

Good luck though! It's still a good system.

+1 on Search Tempest. Watch the IOS apps like Craigslist Pro, they are updated real time unlike Search Tempest which can be delayed by days.