I am someone who models American RR practise(UP). What I want to know is the American Postal System , To give you an example I went on ebay(I know many of you hate this site but if you life in UK it is the only way to acquire American rolling stock). My question is one site (for a 40ft boxcar) the postage was $10.76 on another site the postage for the a similar boxcar was $38.89. My question is why the difference? I find it some what difficult to understand but am I missing something?
That’s “evilbay” for you. People set their own prices for shipping, and sometimes charge more to try to stick it to you even more. That’s why you have to keep an eye on the shipping details on the auction.
You may get the item for dirt cheap, but then spend more in shipping that ends up being a not so great deal.
Ebay does not have software that automatically calculates the appropriate best shipping rate to you from each of its many thousands of sellers. Instead, it leaves the seller and the buyer to agree. That can be negotiated, or you lump it and either elect to decline the sale or pay the shipping.
First, look at the seller’s ratings…is he getting 98% positive feedback or better? Over how many transactions? If fewer than about 10 or 20, it isn’t much of a track record.
Second, look at what he charges for shipping. You may find a better rate, or if he will negotiate with you, offer you a better rate. I won’t buy anything from any outfit, let alone an eBay seller, who refuses to ship USPS. UPS and the others charge me close to CDN$40 for “customs brokerage fees”, meaning if I want the thing to actually get to my door they’d like about 140% of the shipping the sender paid…oh, wait, I was the one who pays for shipping! Why am I paying another 140% fee for completion of the delivery??? Answer: I won’t.
So, to keep this short…barter. Plead. Or move on and change your druthers.
Crandell
Check www.usps.com for international shipping prices. It will give you an idea of cost, but remember, the seller usually lists the price as shipping and handling, which adds whatever they wish to charge to the cost. Also, if they ship with insurance, the price will increase. Check the insurance rates at usps also. Hope this helps.
While charging someone to ship is a legitimate expense, it has evolved into a scam to hide real prices and to avoid some sales taxes, since most states don’t tax on shipping charges.
“Free refills for life … just pay shipping and handling”
“…and well throw in a second one absolutely free, just pay separate shipping and handling”
“30 day free trial, just pay shipping and handling”
Etc.
Following your post went onto the USPS.com website and on there it says that International service up to 1 lb is $11.95 so were do these ridiculous figures come from, more likely dealers trying to rip people off.
It’s the same peopel that charge $10 in the continental US for shipping a Blue Box kit - and then ship it parcel post. The ones that admit it, I avoid at all costs - they do sell their items though, so either peopel don;t look or don’t car. At the same time I’ve had people complain at my charging $5 to ship Priority from PA to CA.
There ARE issue with international shipping, like Customs at the destination country, and depending on the item or exactly how it’s labeled it can be cheap or it can be expensive. I’ve only brought stuff into the US, never sent anything out, but in all those cases there was never an issue
–Randy
One would wonder if E-Bay will ever review some vendor’s outrageous S&H charges. Some vendors add a premium for the hassle of shipping to Canada,
Came across a site for decoders and the vendor wants $20.00 for S&H charges for a decoder mailed to Canada.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200543717337&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123
Vendor was contacted and quoted that is what it cost to ship to Canada.
It really is just that, though. “Shipping and Handling”. These days, that translates into “Advertise Low Price; make it up in shipping and handling.”.It’s legitimate, if shady, in that they can claim that the “handling” covers the cost of picking and packaging… including the labor of the guy that does it.
I was rather rudely shocked to discover that I bought something from one e-tailer for about $10 less than I could find it anywhere else (and about $100 less than MSRP), only to get smacked with a $19 S&H fee, which took the price well over what I could have gotten it for elsewhere (even including S&H). It was shipped FEDEX Ground, so their actual shipping cost as about $8.00 plus a dollar for the box and newspapers.
I’m hoping (against hope) that this was an anomaly, because these guys have great prices. But another whack like that and they’ve lost my business.
LIke Randy, if I see someone charging an inexorable price for shipping - even on something that I would really like - I don’t even bother bidding on the item. I generally look at the item, S&H, and the seller’s % to determine whether I will bid on an item or not. If any one of the three is skewed, I don’t bid.
Tom
A friend at work is an Ebay addict. He bid and won a military uniform button for $2. It cost $18 shipping and took 2 weeks to get it. It came in a business size envelope with a 42 cent stamp and a piece of card board. I laughed and said why on earth would you pay that much for shipping? I told him if he is ever in the market for a bridge to talk to me first. Ebay is like the circus. Barnum once said there is a butt for every seat.
Pete
As a part time seller who was willing to ship overseas, the US Postal Service does not make life easy. The commercial services - UPS, FedEx, etc - are far, far worse unless you do enough business to have a corporate account.
A quick gander at the USPS charts for the UK comes up with the following:
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if the item can fit in a small flat rate box the cost is $13.45. If not, the cost is $43.45. Longer cars and locomotives will not fit in a small flat rate box. A standard Athearn Blue Box will fit in a small flat rate box, anything even slightly bigger generally will not. I prefer USPS flat rate boxes when practical because the item gets there a little sooner, and delivery confirmation (domestic only) and insurance are available. As a seller, not using delivery confirmation is asking to be taken unless the buyer has an excellent track record. Insurance is a buyer option for me.
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First Class International Small Package costs from $10.36 to $19.39 depending on weight. Neither insurance nor delivery confirmation are available, which means the seller’s money depends upon the good will of the buyer. I’ve had a Canadian delivery take over six weeks, with suspicion mounting on both sides as time went on.
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There are many higher priced services available - and pushed at the Post Office. The Post Offices will also return or non-deliver packages if it even comes close to a dimension limit or anything else that might bounce the charges up. I had the Canadian Post Office return an item because the Customs form was missing and no duty was paid. The US Post Office returned a padded envelope they claimed was a package because it was over 3/4" thick - I measured it at 9/16" thick. The difference in postage between the padded envelope and a package to that address was 28 cents!
Bottom line - if the seller doesn’t work at keeping postage to a minimum, the shipping charges will get very high very fast.&
Good idea to look at postage amounts in USPS website …
Ebay’s sellers may include more than postage in Shipping and Handling to include their cost of selling and shipping the item. Ebay and Paypal fees may add up to about 15% of the total amount paid by the buyer including S&H. That’s rather steep, and some sellers could factor that into their S&H. There may be other costs, too. For instance, the seller may need to drive to his post office, and the driving expenses may be a large amount. There may be numerous other costs that we would not be thinking about ordinarily.
I don’t think it would be fair to the seller to only pay the postage.
Always contact the seller to verify the shipping cost. IF the seller himself doesn’t indicate the shipping cost, there’s an application on ebay during the process of creating an ad that will automatically estimate the shipping cost to your destination.
This automated calculator does not use the cheapest options for its calculations as ebay would prefer you use insurance and signature for shipments for your own protection. Those methods are considerable more costly, but those will be the default shipping charges if the seller hasn’t specified the shipping cost themself.
It doesn’t cost anything to contact the seller. Numerous times I’ve gotten a reply back stating they don’t know why the shipping cost indicated is so high … again, ebay themselves at work.
Mark.
the bottom line is this:
1}if you live overseas, shipping from the USA to you can be expensive. Even Canadians complain about how shipping costs can get up there and we share a border.
2} many sellers, even to those in the USA, will charge a set fee for teh most expensive shipping, then compare all options and then ship it the cheapest way they can.
3} many will add shipping and “handling”- that being eveything from buying or procuring a box to put it in, to bubble wrap to wrap it in, to “foam peanuts” to a wad of kleenex or paper towel, delivering it to the venue to ship it, and time, labor and gas to do all the above.
4}Shippers also know if you really want the item, you will pay it. If you don’t want to pay it, move along to something else or another seller.
5} USA residents know Ebay can be a rip off.
6} you can always model something from your own country or continent that is cheap and easy to get for you, you don’t have to model Any US RR, Anytown, USA 1952.
One more point from a small seller’s (and buyer’s) perspective:
If flat rate is specified within the US, eBay software forces election of flat rate shipping for foreign shipping. As the usps charts show, flat rate for foreign shipping is generally much higher than a package would be. Which is why I advise foreign buyers to contact me for shipping prior to bidding and/or put the estimated package weight in the shipping and handling section.
I do (unless it results in outlandish shipping) usually specify flat rate within the US to avoid having the buyer have to do a zone look-up. Buyers want to know up front what I am going to charge for shipping. If the flat rate is too high, then I’ll typically take the package rate to Alaska, and use that for my shipping charge. I might save $1 off that if shipping to a close-by buyer. My policy is normally to refund the difference if it’s more than a $1 less than I estimated in the ad.
I’ve found that keeping my shipping charges as reasonable as I can results in more bid activity. The very last thing I want as a seller is not to sell the item because something scared buyers off. On my trains stuff, I use no reserves, initial bid set well below market value, reasonable shipping, and let the market and auction take over from there. It was hobby money in the 1st place, and I’m looking to recover market value. I’m not the only seller that does this.
Fred W
Just to be clear, though, the outfit I was complaining about was NOT an e-bay seller. And they have a corporate FEDEX account.
That’s pretty harsh dude, you never know, he might enjoy parting with money unnecessarily…
John
[(-D]
I am also a part time e-bay seller and if I didn’t put a handling charge on the items usually between .50 & 2.50 I would be under water on the shipping every time. Most don’t understand how much it really costs to package and ship an item properly. Bubble wrap and tape are not cheap nor is the time spent to do to. Beyond the fact the E-bay fees have well over tripled in the last couple of years. Sometimes you might be better off giving the stuff away!
Sam
I would guess someone selling three items a week to fuel his hobby would not be in a position to have UPS come to his door each time ( I always use the post office, so I’m fishing here…will they come to collect a parcel for shipping?). In my case, I must drive to the post office to do any mailing, and that is an added expense to my mail. Shipping and handling of only five or six dollars just doesn’t come close to the actual cost to me. My nearest postal outlet is 6 km away (4 miles). No matter what, I have found that the postal system on either side of the 49th is waaay cheaper than shipping by courier.
So, Sam, I am in agreement; the real costs should be factored and added, but only to a reasonable total so that I can explain it all to the receiver. A flat shipping fee is almost certainly going to be inflated to account for averaging, and maybe to ensure a couple of bucks in profit.
Crandell