If you buy from an on-line retailer or mail order company, shipping and handling costs can be reasonable. Frequently, Walthers offers free shipping if your order exceeds $100.00.
If you but on Ebay, S&H costs are commonly higher. This is quite understandable to me becuase Ebay and PayPal fees are very high. The fees can total to about 15% of the total paid by the buyer for the item and for shipping and handling. Then the seller must pay postage or charges for UPS or other package delivery company. If the seller needs to take the item to the post office (common for international shipping), he must pay the cost to drive to the post office. There are additional minor costs, too.
I have sold several items on eBay, and I set the shipping charge – not eBay. I have heard this excuse from other sellers, but it has never happened for me. There are lots of seller scams out there. I don’t try to make a profit on shipping, but it’s more convenient and quicker to charge a set amount rather than actual shipping cost [unless you do enough of this to warrant having postal scales and rate charts].
So sayeth he who should know, and I am in complete agreement. But more than that, in Canada hobby shops are few and far between. Sure, if you live in Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver, and the centres where the serviced pop exceeds about 80K, you are likely to find a retailer with perhaps a corner dedicated to MRR stuff. For for a great many of us in the White North, our infrequent visits to such places are sobering experiences; the costs are often prohibitive. I don’t want to get into what I paid for my BLI Hudson, my first engine, but let’s just say that when I wizened up and began to hunt on-line, my dreams became much more realistic. To this day, I only ever buy engines online, and except for two, they have all come from the USA. Point being, even with any charges, fees, handling, shipping, sideways looks costs, you name it, I am about $100 ahead per loco, most often nearer to $200.
So, charge me, abuse me, make me pay, but when I want that $200 with DCC & sound engine that will cost me nearer to Cdn$450 (driving costs & lunch included), what’s the reason to demure?
As a buyer/seller on Ebay I am very familiar with both sides of the fence. I would say to a buyer that they need to consider the total cost of the item - including shipping - before they make a bid. There are often times when you just have to have something and will pay whatever it takes to get it. Other times you can go to the LHS and pay whatever the price (plus sales tax). It just depends on how much you want it.
As a seller, my shipping (including packing materials) charges are typically within $1.00 of actual, and my biggest “busts” have been on the losing side for me. Last Christmas time I held 100 auctions, mostly train related, and ended up selling 81.
To give you an idea about shipping charges, keep in mind that it is much more than just postage. I prefer to ship “priority” and “media mail”. The USPO supplies the priority boxes, but I still have to acquire the bubble wrap, “peanuts”, tape, and marker. For the media mail, I have to buy the padded envelopes, bubble wrap, tape, and marker.
Now if you are selling one or two items, the supplies are no big deal. But for the 81 that I sold, supplies came to just over $70.
May I also advise potential buyers to read the ad carefully, assume nothing, and check out feedback - the single most important indicator of a seller’s (or buyers) reputation.
I think the ePay “shipping calculator” adds in insurance as well. So if the sale price goes up, so does the insurance cost. But the seller does not HAVE to charge that amount. That is just a guide.
Also, a lot of sellers with high shipping fees are trying to beat ePay out of the sellers “final value” fees. If you sell a $20 dollar item for $20, plus $5 S&H, ebay gets a cut of the $20. If you sell the same $20 item, for $.01 plus $24.99 S&H, ePay only gets a cut of the $.01. The seller saves money, and the buyer gets the item for for the same price either way.
I have bought a lot of stuff from Ebay that I could have ran to the local MRR shop and got for less. Now that’s if he has them. It’s just easier to buy just clicking on something and waiting a few days to get it then driving to the local shop when I know 50% of the time he doesn’t have it. I still WILL NOT pay for BOXES, SHIPPING LABLES, PACKING MATERALS, GAS, DUCT TAPE, HAIRCLIPS, GORILLA GLUE, FISHING LINE or anything else the seller wants to add. IMO I am doing HIM a favor buy buying his stuff. The cost of the other thing comes out of HIS profit, not mine. It might sound harsh but I buy your item, and you charge me shipping, anything other then that you suck up. Trust me, there is millions of people on Ebay. The chance of you finding several of the exact same thing for less are pretty good if you look around.
Everything you buy is F.O.B. point of sale. If you buy something from a guy in Detroit, and you don’t feel like going to get it, then expect to pay the cost of getting it to you. He is doing YOU a favor by mailing it.
Call your local hobby shop on the phone, buy something from him, then ask him to bring it to you or ship it to you. I guarantee he will charge you for it. It is unreasonable to expect him to leave his business and bring you the product. Then call your local grocery store and order your groceries. Let us know what they say when you explain to them that you are doing them a favor and so they should deliver them to you at no extra charge. I’m sure they would be willing to pay for a taxi out of “their profit”.
He’s NOT doing me a favor. If I didn’t click on his item then he would grow old with it. Mailing it using his car is part of the sellers obligation. If he doesn’t want to do that then keep your stuff of of Ebay then. If I called my local Hobbie Shop and bought something from him I am 100% percent sure he would NOT charge me packing, gas, and a stop at the local McDonalds. He would charge me shipping though. I am doing HIM a favor by buying from his Hobbie Shop. Without me there would not be him. I am not asking for free shipping, but I do not expect to pay for you to left an arm, cut some tape, and left the heavy packing materal into a box. There is plenty of places to get free boxes, and make them also, and there is countless materals you can use for packing materal. I am not be unreasonable, I just don’t want to pay someone who God Forbid might have to go a little out of his way.
It is funny to think how the various ways there are in looking at costs a seller passes on. Some consider it outrageous to think that a online seller charge separately for boxes, tape etc etc. as that stuff should come out of the seller’s profit. I’m sure brick and mortar stores and those that offer “free shipping” factor in the cost of these things when arriving at their pricing. I’m sure they also factor in the cost it takes to have their people lift an arm, unpack the boxes and place items on the shelf and pass that on to the buyer also in the selling price.
I guess I don’t understand why there is such passion and ill-feeling on how a particular seller slices and dices the total cost. Money flowing from me to the seller is the same regardless of how that seller decides to allocate it as long as I can figure out what the total cost to me will be should I decide to buy. Oh well, that’s just my opinion.
That’s why I quit the E-ripp game to much hocus pocus with the shipping charges and yes I have shipped several models to various people and none of the shipping was above $10.00 including the price of the USPS Priority Mail box.
I had a roll of tape,packing material on hand left over from other shipments plus I kept the packing material that came in my orders so,I had no need to keep charging for tape or packing material and as a seller it was my obligation to get the model to the buyer or trader ASAP.
Still the majority of on line hobby shops charges $8.50 for shipping…
Don’t you agree its odd when some E-bay sellers wants $12.00 or more while other charge the actual costs?
Shipping costs always seem to be a hot topic issue. Many times it’s a make or break for a sale. That’s why when I sell stuff now the price I quote includes shipping to anywhere in the CONUS. If you are outside the US then you pay the extra shipping cost to your locale.
I NEVER said I was the only one bidding on Ebay, please quote me were that is said. Can’t you read correctly or understand anything. If I don’t agree to HIS terms then the auction gets passed by. I am not the one with an attitude. You replied and I answered. That’s just MY OPINION. I have sold several things on Ebay. I charge exactly what shipping is, NO MORE, and copy and send a receipt. Are you selling anything on Ebay?? If so give me a link to one of your auctions. I don’t want to turn this into a pissing contest. Lets just agree that we DON’t agree.
Lately I was looking for some soldering tips for my Weller Solder Station. I found them for $4.50, but the shipping was $6.95, this was at several different sites. Finally, through a fellow Ham, I found them for $3.50, with $1 shipping; I put in a large order. I found that most sites I delt with charged a Min. of 1 pound shipping weight, even though the parts don’t add up close to that.
I have never sold anything on E-Bay, however I have run a business that shipped products to clients.
I have purchased on E-Bay, and have never been charged a shipping fee that I thought was unreasonable.
The nature of shipping product makes it difficult to determine the exact cost of each package, so most merchants establish a predictable schedule of shipping fees. In my case, it was a flat rate for all shipments. On many I made a small profit, probably less than a dollar. On some I lost money because the postage alone was more than my flat fee. In the long haul, I pretty much broke even.
If you are complaining about shipping charges being charged, I stand by my reply.
If you are saying some people charge excessive amounts, I agree, and it is hardly unique to E-Bay. There are many less than reputable people in the world.
If you are saying someone billed you an itemized shipping charge, listing the costs separately, I have never seen that.
That said, I have no desire to engage in a protracted discourse. I am moving on.
I include shipping charges when considering an Ebay purchase. I usually check with my hobbyshop first to see if the same item is availible.
Once I was facing a shipping charge on every little part that I planned to order direct, but had the hobby shop order them for me. He got the sale.
I order computer parts from time to time. I always try to get them shipped the same time. Not just one at a time. Fortunately my provider of parts is within overnight from me and I pay the three day rate so I save a bit of money anyhow. I have a pending rebuild involving many parts and I expect the shipping to hurt on each and every little part.
Such nickely and diming of shipping makes me consider alternative sources such as stores within a short drive for the same parts.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again… These days it costs me no less than about $7 or $8 to make a round trip to the nearest hobby shop. To go I have to get into traffic and deal with all the [censored] on the road. There is NOTHING that I Have to have right now. If I happen to be going near the hobby shop for some other reason, different story. Mail order on the other hand, typically costs (if it costs Anything) $5 or $6 for postage, it’s delivered to my door usually within a few days, costs less to begin with, there’s no additional wear on my car or me, and I’m a lot happier for it.
To actually answer the original post, Yes, I’ll try and order multiple items whether I need them immediately or not (but WILL need) from a single vendor to reduce the overall cost I pay for shipping. I will not order something I don’t need or want just to ‘lower’ the shipping price nor will I pay more for shipping than a single item is worth to me.
What REALLY roasts me, is to pay $9 or $10 (as someone else eluded to) or even the $5 or $6 I try to keep it to, for postage, and get a 98¢ envelope.
I buy from Ebay as well as online hobby shops. I live in rural Kansas and the closest “brick & mortar” hobby shop is in Kansas City, a full tank of gas round trip. If I am going to bid on somthing on Ebay I check the prices of several online shops, as well as the online Walther’s Catalog. I set my Ebay bid at or below the cost to buy it online, including the shipping cost.
I have read a lot of complaints about Ebay, but if people would not buy at those prices, items would not sell at those prices (including shipping). I blame the buyer for many of the “rip offs” for not being informed about what they are buying. I am amazed at the number of buyers who pay way more than the MSRP for an Ebay item when they could order the same item from an online shop.
I know a lot of people who buy and sell on Ebay because they think they are going to make a huge profit for their rare item. You should only collect trains, or anything else for that mater, for the pure joy of collecting. If you can make some money in the process great! I have picked up a lot of out of production kits on Ebay at a very good price. I got them because I wanted them for my layout. I have also passed up many things on Ebay that I wanted, but they exceeded my value for the item.
Let us all be more informed consummers. While I do not agree with all of the opinions experessed in this form, the information has made me a better consummer and modeler.