Ebay S&H Charges!!

[NeverlandClub23]

Does anybody else think that S&H charges on EBay are ridiculous? I have seen dozens and dozens of things I would like to buy but will not pay $9-20 to ship (w/o insurance, regular ground mail) a T-Shirt! I found a Disney pin I liked for $1.50 and shipping (w/o insurance) was $9.50! I just bought a huge bedding set from HSN that cost $13 to ship. It's just so irritating! I see so many things I want to buy but refuse to pay so much in shipping.

I do realize some sellers have free shipping or if you buy several things from them you get reduced shipping charges, but the free shipping people are very few or stuff I don't want and I don't want a ton of stuff, just one or two things.

Ok, thanks, I just had to vent.

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

someone will correct me if I am wrong: I have assumed this was to get around fees..I have not sold on Ebay for years - but part of your fee is determined by the price you set the item at/the price it sells at - so if you want to get at least $10 for an item, you would start it at $1 - only pay fees on the low amount - and then charge $9 shipping where you don't pay fees - again, I have seen this alot (also for pins!!!!!) and this is my assumption based on the way things were a couple years ago...lesson, ALWAYS check shipping fees first!!!!

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

someone will correct me if I am wrong: I have assumed this was to get around fees..I have not sold on Ebay for years - but part of your fee is determined by the price you set the item at/the price it sells at - so if you want to get at least $10 for an item, you would start it at $1 - only pay fees on the low amount - and then charge $9 shipping where you don't pay fees - again, I have seen this alot (also for pins!!!!!) and this is my assumption based on the way things were a couple years ago...lesson, ALWAYS check shipping fees first!!!! Luckily, I have always caught this before bidding - luckily, because I often get caught up in "the find!!!"

 

[Toby'sFriend]

Sellers do not have to pay a Commision on the amount they collect for Shipping. About 3 or 4 years ago, EBAY started to dramatically increase the % they charge on commission. That was when the really high shipping charges began to appear - as sellers found a way around it.

If EBAY continues to raise their commission rates, more and more sellers will continue to do this.

I was looking at an auction the other day where the Buy It Now price was $19.95 and shipping was $34.95.

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

someone will correct me if I am wrong: I have assumed this was to get around fees..I have not sold on Ebay for years - but part of your fee is determined by the price you set the item at/the price it sells at - so if you want to get at least $10 for an item, you would start it at $1 - only pay fees on the low amount - and then charge $9 shipping where you don't pay fees - again, I have seen this alot (also for pins!!!!!) and this is my assumption based on the way things were a couple years ago...lesson, ALWAYS check shipping fees first!!!! Luckily, I have always caught this before bidding - luckily, because I often get caught up in "the find!!!"Think of the shipping as part of the cost - and base your decision to buy on that total!!!

SORRY for the double post - darn server is busy stuff!!!! (well, triple - how do you delete mutiple posts!!!!!?????)

 

[caitycaity]

i don't see the big deal. i post my shipping costs upfront. if you don't like it, don't buy it.

 

[Robinrs]

All sellers decide how much they want to charge or extort from buyers when they post them. I sell on eBay and I NEVER try to cheat people in s/h charges, and since I do sell I know how much is reasonable and will not buy from anyone who is trying to be slick.

A dollar or two over the correct price is reasonable for handling, otherwise it's someone trying to make their profit off of s&h. I do not buy from those people and luckily you have the choice.

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

caity: please don't take my posts as implying that!!! You have every right - as long as they are stated up front - no problem there. I can fully understand the why and that you are within the rules and your rights!!!!

I do not feel it is cheating or extorting as long as it is stated and buyer can make an informed choice.

 

[Stitchfans]

Yes, I agree. I have bought numerous things from sellers on Ebay. I have been cheated big time many times on shipping. I understand sellers have to take their time, supplies for shipping into consideration but some really are big scammers. So yes those are the ones I avoid.

 

[KirstenB]

I avoid bidding on anything where the shipping is high. I understand making $1-2 over actual shipping to cover gas, packaging, etc, but anything else is ridiculous.

 

[ThePhantomsGirl]

It is (as others have stated on here) a way to get around the eBay fees. As long as it's stated clearly up front - buyers have the choice of whether or not they want to purchase from someone who does that.

I sell on eBay and I don't do this even though I've gotten frustrated at how they keep increasing the fees. Actually, most of what I sell requires no shipping - so I don't charge ANY shipping fees. Yet, I see many who sell things similar to what I do and tack on HUGE "shipping and handling" fees. I guess again people have a choice but chances are I'd never choose to buy from that person. That bothers me more for some reason.

 

[Laurajean1014]

If you don't like the shipping rate or terms, than you have a choice, NOT to bid on the item. There are many times I see something I like, but do not bid on it because I don't feel the shipping is adequately listed. So, I walk away.

I have no problem with what others want to do. I just care about what I do.

 

[Keli]

I don't ever worry about shipping specifically. I look at the cost of the item plus the s/h and if the total cost is a good deal then I purchase it. If it's not then I pass. It's as simple as that for me.

 

[ktulu]

Alot of times when you're getting something cheap, the seller is not making money on it, but they make their money on shipping. One of my employees has a relative that sells stuff on ebay for a living, they buy bulk lots and then sell the stuff cheap. They make tons of money on shipping.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

i don't see the big deal. i post my shipping costs upfront. if you don't like it, don't buy it.

I don't. That's what I'm saying. I obviously know how much the charge is so I won't buy the item. I'm just venting.

Of course everyone has a choice. I'm not concerned with "what other people are doing", it's just irritating to want to buy an item that looks like a good deal until I look at the shipping.

 

[ZipaDeeDooDah]

I find it irritating too.

Having said that though, I will usually still go ahead and buy the item if it is cheap enough (even if the shipping is ridiculous). I've found (in my ebay purchases) that the total cost usually works out close to the same in the end anyways (low-priced item + high shipping vs. high-priced item + low shipping).

 

[cardaway]

If you see something you want and think the shipping charges are too high, ask the seeler to lower it. I recently got one to lower it on something where I ended up being the only bidder. Some sellers try out higher s/h but will lower it if it means not selling the item at all if they don't.

 

[N.Bailey]

I won't bid on any auction where it's obvious the seller is just trying to get around eBay fees. I'll literally pay more for another item to not support sellers like that.

I also NEVER bid on an item where the S&H is not listed. Once I win, I don't even need a seller to contact me, I head straight to Paypal and send payment out. I always snipe, so I'm always on the computer.

I only buy DVD and video games really, but if I were going to bid on something that's valuable, I would certainly want the seller sending it with insurance and extra packaging to assure that it arrives safely. I would definitely expect to pay more to ship these type of things.

I'd also add, I look for sellers that combine shipping to where it's like $5.00 for the first movie/video game and $1.00 for each additional one. When I find someone I like, I'll make a point of checking their auctions before bidding the next time around too.

I joined eBay in early 2000 and I have hundreds of positive feedback with 0 negative or neutral. I have never given anything but positive feedback either, so it works for me.

 

[rparmfamily]

When I see someone who is obviously padding their wallet by charging huge fees and avoiding paying Ebay fees, guess what I do?? I report them to Ebay.

Down at the bottom of their auction is a link where you can turn them in to Ebay for avoidance of fees. Saw one yesterday, it was $.99 BUY IT NOW on a cute Gymboree dress, with $15 shipping and handling. That dress was worth about $10 and shipping is about $2-4 depending on how you ship.

 

[Towncrier]

It's not only a way for sellers to get around paying a higher commission to eBay, but also a way to get their item to appear on the top of the list when you sort by lowest price. It would be nice if eBay would provide a way to sort by lowest price based on not only the price but also the shipping and handling fee. I was recently searching for an item and ended up jumping to page 20 before I got to a page with reasonable S&H charges (and more realistic prices).

This practice seems prevalent with electronic items being sold from sites overseas. If you want an example of this, look up "LED flashlight". You'll find hundreds of them for sale for a penny. But look out for the S&H charges.