Ebay Question - Non Receipt of Item

[Mom2Madi]

I wanted to post a thank you for those of you who responded to my original post - it did move off-topic, but I gathered useful information from that discussion as well.

So, from the consensus... I will patient awhile longer - and file with Paypal if necessary on June 11 (@29 days).

I just started selling on eBay - and try to charge as close as possible to actual shipping charges. However, the first items I sold were sets of china - for which I had to purchase special boxes and bubble wrap... I broke down these costs for the buyer - which added approximately $2 to the actual shipping amount. The buyers were fine with the charge.

Thanks again for your responses.

 

[epcotfan]

Your time and materials should definitely not be free. I just prefer to work those charges into my item prices, not tack them on separately.

I initially thought about doing that but if you tack on your packing/handling fees into your item prices then EBAY is getting a percentage of that money in the final value fee. I don't think Ebay should make a profit on the cost of my shipping supplies.

 

[disneychrista]

In response to the original post. Media Mail can be slow. The first things loaded on the truck are priority items, then first class, then parcel post and media items. So if the PO is having a busy day or week with priority and first class items it might take a few days for the item to get on the truck. And mail does not go straight from point A to point B but could have many other stops along the way. So yes give it a few days but deffiently be ready to file on day 28.

As for the postage VS shipping charges, IMO these are two different things. I charge a handling fee to all packages. This fee covers my fees, packaging materials, time, ink, gas, paper for invoices and shipping labels etc, etc. I list my shipping (and handling) fees in each auction. I never call it postage because it is deffiently more then that. If a buyer does not think the shipping charges are worth the item then they are free to pass on the item. eBay allows sellers to charge "resonable" handling.

Personally I look at the shipping and handling, as well as item price to determine which auction to bid on and for how much. I would rather win a $.99 item with $3 shipping charges then a $4 item with $1.95 "postage." For me it is all about the bottom line, meaning total cost including shipping. NOT just item price or shipping charges.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by disneysteve
I don't know if that's true or not, but I've been selling for just over 7 years now and have done quite well even though I don't specifically charge a handling fee. And I was in business for 11 years before ebay came along - didn't charge a fee then either.

I have many expenses associated with selling on ebay: internet access, computer costs, printing (ink cartridges, paper), time spent shopping for merchandise, cleaning it up, sometimes repairing items before sale, auction registration fees, time spent researching values, digital camera and scanner costs, accountant fees, etc. I don't single out any of these expenses as a line item cost to the buyer. Why would I single out the cost of bubble wrap or envelopes? Its all part of the global overhead. When you go to the supermarket, they don't charge you extra for the bags or to use the shopping cart or for the styrofoam tray the meat is packed on. Those costs are figured into the prices. I do the same thing.

When I purchase an item for resale, I figure all of my overhead into the asking price for the item. If I know it will need special packing, I work the cost of those materials into the price.

Obviously, this isn't how everyone does it but it has been working for me and my customers since 1986. It does take some extra work on my part to calculate exact postage costs for each item, but I prefer to do that than to have my customers feel I'm overcharging them. So the bottom line is I DO charge for handling and for my time and materials. I just don't itemize that charge. I include it in the cost of the item.

since 1986? wow, was ebay there then?

Steve, frankly, I refuse to give EBAY a percentage of any part of my shipping costs. I am not selling something for .99 and charging 19.99 for shipping. I charge the cost of the item and a VERY reasonable shipping, my latest item was shipped for free (a 12 coupon book for drink coupons for SWA). I had a huge package of envelopes and a .37 stamp won't break me.

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by GAIL HAYDEN
since 1986? wow, was ebay there then?

Steve, frankly, I refuse to give EBAY a percentage of any part of my shipping costs. I am not selling something for .99 and charging 19.99 for shipping. I charge the cost of the item and a VERY reasonable shipping, my latest item was shipped for free (a 12 coupon book for drink coupons for SWA). I had a huge package of envelopes and a .37 stamp won't break me.

Gail - I don't have a problem with sellers charging a fair and reasonable amount to cover shipping costs.

It just seems that a great many auctions I see charge well beyond what I would consider reasonable. A couple of others have given examples, like that $19.99 deal. If I buy something on ebay and pay $4 postage, I expect the box to come with close to $4 in postage on it. I won't complain if it is off by 25 or 50 cents, but I will complain if its much more than that unless the packaging clearly shows some money was spent in packing. I just think a lot of folks abuse the "handling" charge to boost their profits and evade ebay fees. Not everyone does it and I certainly didn't mean to accuse anyone here. It has just been an ongoing problem since ebay began 9 years ago.

BTW, I've been selling on ebay since May 1997. For 3 year prior to that I sold via other online sites and starting in 1986 I had a mail order catalog that was 42-pages long at its peak before I shifted over to Internet sales.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by disneysteve
Gail - I don't have a problem with sellers charging a fair and reasonable amount to cover shipping costs.

It just seems that a great many auctions I see charge well beyond what I would consider reasonable. A couple of others have given examples, like that $19.99 deal. If I buy something on ebay and pay $4 postage, I expect the box to come with close to $4 in postage on it. I won't complain if it is off by 25 or 50 cents, but I will complain if its much more than that unless the packaging clearly shows some money was spent in packing. I just think a lot of folks abuse the "handling" charge to boost their profits and evade ebay fees. Not everyone does it and I certainly didn't mean to accuse anyone here. It has just been an ongoing problem since ebay began 9 years ago.

BTW, I've been selling on ebay since May 1997. For 3 year prior to that I sold via other online sites and starting in 1986 I had a mail order catalog that was 42-pages long at its peak before I shifted over to Internet sales.

with that I totally agree. Cell phone accessories are a big offender of selling low and shipping high.

 

[Boardwalk Tigger]

You only have a limited time to file a Paypal claim. To protect yourself you must file within that time period. Check out paypal site.Good luck