Nor have I, being fair about it, is all it takes!
While I sympathize with the sellers to a point, I have to agree. I’ve listened to this horse get beaten to a drained of blood corpse.
You know, E-bay may be viewed as a brick and mortar business, or even a garage sale to some, but in fact it is an auction despite the many “buy it nows”. News flash, in an auction, any auction, the auction company, in this case Ebay, charges a fee based on the dollar amount sold at the auction including items not sold due to reserve. That’s the way an auction is unless you got some one off auctioneer. Oh, AND the seller is also charged for the asking reserve price if item does not meet reserve. Nowhere is there an option the seller has to recoup any fees charged by the auction company, or any charges incurred to have the auction. What the buyer wins the item at is what they pay. All fees come out of the sell price.Now if an item is requested to be shipped, well that’s a different story on that part and that part only. There still is no recoup of fees incurred for the selling.
It seems people feel there is a “right” to sell on Ebay and I see so many people, not all mind you, complain about the fees Ebay and Paypal charge. Then, they turn around and say they are charging for the shipping containers, and offset some associated fees due to selling on Ebay. Now Ebays’ servers and staff cost the company as w
“I’ve listened to this horse get beaten to a drained of blood corpse”. And, yet, I still continue to beat on it!
Rich–
You have been extremely fortunate.
I have had it. My modest roster is down to a manageable level from which I can rebuild (7 new HO engines and 13 freight cars–that’s it). I’m done selling.
Respectfully submitted,
John
As a point of clarification, when I sell on eBay, I do not post a fixed cost for shipping charges.
Rather, I use the eBay feature where you submit the dimensions and weight of the package.
When a potential bidder clicks on the item, his zip code is used by eBay to determine the shipping cost.
So, the potential bidder sees the shipping cost that he will be expected to pay before bidding.
eBay uses the UPS cost calculator which is always slightly higher than FedEx, and I ship FedEx.
If the difference is more than $1.00, I refund the difference if the purchase has already been paid for before I issue the invoice.
Rich
As far as e-bay, I just sold a bunch of stuff for double what I felt it would go for, and as for buying, I just picked up an 0-6-0 Proto 2000, $80 out the door and in perfect shape. Things are fine as far as I’m concerned, you just have to be patient and careful!!!
I buy and sell stuff on ebay. I’m not a business, just a guy with some trains. I don’t own a postage meter, or a scale, unless you count the scale that I put my dirty feet on in the morning. I don’t own a bunch of convenient small boxes.
I use USPS and their flat rate boxes. Sometimes I can cut down a box to reduce its size and its shipping costs down from the 12.35 they charge for their medium flat rate box.
I’ve never griped about paying a few more bucks than maybe I should for shipping, if its disclosed, and I get annoyed and the buyers who “request an invoice” after buying one item with the shipping charge stated on the listing. Uh…the price for the item is your winning bid and the cost of shipping is 12.35.
Rich–
Rich–
I’ve done exactly as you have described–and did it for several years–except I used USPS.
For some of the folks out there–that just isn’t good enough–or not anymore. I was blamed when I don’t charge so much as a penny for “handling” fees, and in the occasional event I estimated the weight wrong, I refunded every single penny of any shipping overcharge.
That was not enough for some.
When the USPS raised rates the last couple times, the buyers did indeed complain–as if I had some control over the rates.
Now, with free shipping, and USPS having slowed down their shipping times, they complain about the shipping time.
I wish you all the best in your future Evilbay auctions.
Sincerely–
John
OP: Well, what a large (and slightly divergent) thread this has become! I “shop” EBay, but often I am put off by shipping charges that approach 50% of the price of the item- either at auction or buy-it-now. On the other hand, I buy all my electronics through EBay online (because of the great quantity + price breaks) and no longer really consider Radio Shack as a source for that stuff (resistors, LEDs, etc.). My point was (and is): how nice it is to see a seller (Don Tichy) asking for business and getting it by having low shipping costs. I can wait for standard delivery- the railroad will still be there next Saturday- and I will go back to his “store” more often- which IS the goal of any business, having repeat customers. Cedarwoodron