Quite often, though, the shipping charge is stated at the beginning of the auction long before the seller knows the winning bid.
Even legitimate on line retailers like MB Klein, Caboos Hobbies, and Walthers have some fairly substantial shipping charges, even on small orders.
Whether $9.95 to ship one N scale car is excessive could be debatable depending upon the size and weight of the box, where it is being shipped to in terms of location, and the type of shipping (e.g., USPS First Class, USPS Priority Mail, UPS, Fed Ex).
Consider E-Bay shipping for your average Canadian. First, many US E-bay sellers will not ship to Canada or outside fo the US for that matter, so you don’t see those listings. For those that do, some have what I will call decent shipping fees. On the other hand, it isn’t uncommon to see shipping charges of $25+ for a freight car!
I used to the live in the states and shipped items home on a regular basis, so I know that $25 is probably correct for ultra-fast-Mongo-won’t-drop service, but standard rates are not that expensive.
I’m afraid I’m having a little trouble understanding the apparent gnashing of teeth over shipping prices some want to charge. There is more to shipping a package than just the postage. There is the cost of bubble wrap, peanuts, shipping tape, and the gasoline required to get to the PO and back. The impression I get from some is they think that either the shipper has an unlimited supply of this stuff that costs him nothing, or that the same items happen to fall from the sky for free on an as needed basis.
To me the shipping charge is a portion of the total cost to obtain what I want. If I want the item at that total cost, fine. If not, then I would look elsewhere. In case anyone has forgotten, these are hobby items, not life or death necessities.
I also have a little trouble with the term “gouging” that was used by one poster. Gouging to me is charging $4 for a necessity like a bottle of water that normally sells for $1.29 because there is a shortage due to a hurricane. Or charging $4 for that same bottle of water at a ballpark just because there is no other option. When that $9.95 shipping charge is posted for all to see, and other purchase options exist, if someone doesn’t like the total cost they should just move on.
I live close to the PO, but even so, boxes are free, they bring them to your house for free, and they pick them up at your house for free. Most people have old newpapsers and other materials that can be used for packing, or if you ever buy anything yourself instead of just selling, you ought to save that packing - I have 2 large trach bags full os packing peanuts now, and most new things I end up throwing away the packing, because I have too much of it. Even if you had to buy the bubble wrap and/or peanuts - double the cost of the Priority Mail shipping rate for the package plus also having it ship cheaper parcel post IS gouging. With preprinted labels it’s easier to get away with overcharging, since it doesn’t say on the label what the postage cost was, so you have to trust that the seller’s charge was reasonable. But that’s easy to see prior to bidding. It used to be that the amount was right on the label, still is if you take the package to the post office and mail from there, so when you paid $9.95 shipping and then saw that it actually cost $3.55 there was something off.
Also, hard to imagine why anyone bothers with FedUPS, at least for reasonably sized items. Ground shipping, slower than Priority Mail, is typically 2x the cost for similar size and weight, and using one of the service’s faster methods, 2 or 3 day, is easily 3X UPS. Of course it’s also obvious why the USPS is losing tons of money…
I came across one E-Bay store that specializes in carrying out of production, hence rare, items.
Their prices are way over the MRSP. That is not unusual, however, many of these out of production items are to be found in a lot of hobby shops as well as the web.
I wanted to add a few passenger cars to my GN Empire Builder and these cars at this site (Starts with an A and ends with an S) were priced over their retail price. however, the web had quite a few of these cars listed way below the retail price. They also had a number of BLI cars and were asking around $125 for the CZ cars. I was so happy to see BLI release additional runs of the CZ cars,
Yet this site shows a lot of satisfied customers and very few (none at the moment)
Right now they have a Walther’s Roundhouse listed at $89, Walthers normal price is $76, and they have it on sale right now for $61
They also have a Bachmann Bus Depot for $99, retail price is $75, Klien has one at $40
I assume most people look around before they buy, maybe not.
If the seller does this on a routine bases then the packaging is already paid for many times over.As far as gas to go to the post office why bother when you friendly mailman will pick it at your door? You can order USPS boxes on line-no costs.You can even pay the postage on line.
As I alluded to in my earlier post, apparently these folks don’t do their homework and prefer to pay 30% and more over MSRP. It’s their money; not mine.
Apparently this thread has focused on the shipping charges on Ebay.
Just to clarify some of the costs to ship: I was selling custom railroad clocks for several years and I used USPS Priority boxes shipped to my home for free. I bought a 500 foot roll of bubble wrap and a 900 foot roll of brown wrapping paper to properly pack and protect the clocks. I determined that these purchased items would only add about $ .80 to the cost of each clock. With the flat rate boxes I could set my shipping cost for all clocks sold and that included the Delivery Confimation fees. Using regular Priority boxes the cost would vary by $4-$5 depending on where it was being shipped to.
Now I uss newspaper and recycled bubble wrap and foam peanuts.
Some sellers on Ebay charge incredible shipping rates to cover the cost of a low selling price and some of the Ebay and PayPal fees. When I see a high shipping charge I don’t bid unless the total cost is still a bargain.
You are right on sir. As long as the seller is up-front about all the costs involved, how can anyone complain? I don’t care if a seller charges $10 above the actual shipping costs, it’s all part of the total cost and if it’s too much there is a very simple thing that everyone can do… don’t bid on it.
And price gouging? This is a hobby. No children are going hungry because Bob74 is charging over msrp for an F7. It’s his property, he can charge whatever he wants for it.
Shipping costs are listed, so there is no real reason to be shocked or amazed, after all, you haven’t been “taken” until you hit the “BID” or “Buy it Now” button.
I was selling a John Allen book on Ebay years ago back before it was republished. One guy sent me an email about how much I was asking ($50.00) and felt I was taking advantage of people [D)] I simple told him if he was “free” not to bid! It sold in the high $70 range.
I just don’t understand how or why people can actually think this way, apparently we have several generations of people whom believe they are entitled for some reason. [:o)]
How can one seller ship 2 HO cars for $6.95 and another seller wants $9.95 to ship one HO or a tiny feather weight N Scale car? See the point? There are those that try to recoup some of their e-Bay and Pay Pal fees through unrealistic shipping prices.
I have shipped locomotives and cars and only once paid more then $6.95 and that was for a large box and even my largest on line order had $10.95 shipping.
Here’s more realism…I won’t pay unrealistic shipping prices to help off set a sellers e-Bay and pay pal fees.
I just don’t understand how or why people can actually think this way, apparently we have several generations of people whom believe they are entitled for some reason[:o)]
Maybe,just maybe some of us feel we are entitled to realistic shipping costs? [:O][;)]
At some point, that kind of thinking can cost you in another way - - - you lose out on what, overall, could be a great deal.
Let’s say that a used loco goes up for auction with a starting bid of $9.99 and a flat shipping charge of $19.99. You and I both know that $19.99 for shipping is absurd. But that loco might be worth $100 to you. Are you not going to participate in the bidding because the shipping charge is out of line? What if the winning bid turns out to be $80 or less?
So don’t. You have every right to buy or not buy whatever you want from ebay and any other company. And if an elevated shipping cost keeps you from bidding on an item that would otherwise be a great deal, then that just makes it an easier purchase for the rest of us who only care about the overall cost.
If I value an item as being worth $100 and there is $20 shipping, I only bid up to $80. If shipping is $30, I bid up to $70. On what planet does it matter how the $100 is split between purchase price and shipping?
That seems a little foolish to me. The seller cannot reasonably be expected to ship for free. If a reasonable shipping charge is $9.99 and the seller is quoting $19.99, why not bid up to $90?
I see your point. However, I compare everything to what I would have to pay at my LHS or a meet. If I am going to buy online, online retailers need to have an overall price (purchase plus shipping) of less than the purchase price that I would pay at my LHS. Otherwise I will just go to the LHS and save the shipping.
I do not buy high dollar items at my not so local hobby shop when I know what a item sells for on the street and even with that said I still manage to spend several hundred dollars there every year.
Even if the item is extremely rare or hard to find I still won’t pay ridiculously inflated shipping charges since there’s to many other outlets including the local use market…
My post said $9.95 shipping for one n scale car. Somehow you made this into something else. If you want to pay that kind of shipping for a $5.00 car, be my guest.
It’s different for everyone, but in the example you give (6.95 vs 9.95) and depending on what it was, the $3.00 difference would not affect my decision. Now if was $19.95, I would pass.
I base most of my shipping cost expectations on the USPS Flat rate shipping boxes, and HO scale sized equipment. This range is between $6.00-$16.00. [G] [:D]