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I don't know how many ebayers there are out there, but when you're bidding on items, how much attention do you pay to what they charge for shipping? I'm poking around now, and a lot of the stores are charging around $5 for shipping for one CD, one store was charging $7! That's rediculous.

It is always part of the buying decision. Essentially it is part of the price and if one ebayer charges less for shipping then buy from them.

I live in Canada, so I always check that out.

I bought a guitar once. Cost me one cent (yes I mean $.01) Shipping was $50 USD. Still a bargain.

Left Field ParrotHead wrote:It is always part of the buying decision. Essentially it is part of the price and if one ebayer charges less for shipping then buy from them.

I live in Canada, so I always check that out.

I bought a guitar once. Cost me one cent (yes I mean $.01) Shipping was $50 USD. Still a bargain.

I've seen that too, and I've bought in those situations too.

If someone is charging shipping beyond the norm (+2-3) then I don't bid at all. It's one thing to sell stuff on eBay. It's another to be greedy. I don't go shopping from really expensive stores at the mall, & I'm sure as hell no going to do it from some random ebayer. Know what I mean.

Left Field ParrotHead wrote:It is always part of the buying decision. Essentially it is part of the price and if one ebayer charges less for shipping then buy from them.

I live in Canada, so I always check that out.

I bought a guitar once. Cost me one cent (yes I mean $.01) Shipping was $50 USD. Still a bargain.

I do the same thing. I was just curious if I was the only one. It drives me nuts when they try to stick you for an extra $2 on the shipping. I refuse to buy from people like that.

Left Field ParrotHead wrote:It is always part of the buying decision. Essentially it is part of the price and if one ebayer charges less for shipping then buy from them.

I live in Canada, so I always check that out.

I bought a guitar once. Cost me one cent (yes I mean $.01) Shipping was $50 USD. Still a bargain.

that's called "fee avoidance".....that way the seller doesn't have to pay the ebay fees on the price of the purchase......ebay frowns on it, but whatever.....they get enough money, that's for sure!!

I'm a big fan of ebay.....as a buyer and seller...but it's not the cash cow that is used to be.

I'll pay actual shipping costs and a "reasonable" handling fee.....but I do avoid folks that over-charge.....I do the same thing with internet businesses, though.....

I have never bought or sold anything off of e-bay. Though I need to sell some stuff. I know that shipping varies and I would take it that the item is insured as well...perhaps the way they ship it makes the difference?
Say overnight delivery vs parcel post or whatever....
Maybe some people don't care about the shipping price cause they got what they wanted, or more, out of the price of the product?

Pretty much most of the aussie sellers put the real postage cost - as we have the "pre paid satchels" and know what the cost is - same cost no matter to what part of the country, and 3.50 for the small satchel etc.

I would not buy off anyone that has inflated delivery. I was looking at phone face plates on the US ebay, and was shocked at the shipping costs just within the US ...... they have to be making money from the shipping and that is just wrong.....

Ilph wrote:I don't know how many ebayers there are out there, but when you're bidding on items, how much attention do you pay to what they charge for shipping? I'm poking around now, and a lot of the stores are charging around $5 for shipping for one CD, one store was charging $7! That's rediculous.

$5 is about the price of USPS priority mail. Now, the ones that torque me off are the ones shipping a 2 lb. item via priority mail and who are charging $15.00 or $20 for that. That turns into about 10 -15 bucks pure profit for no reason other than greed.

I have no problem with a little tag-on on the shipping and handling to cover the listing fee for eBay items, plus the actual cost of postage. So the item sells for $40, $6 covers the cost of the postage and the listings. If you didn't want to sell it via auction, don't list it.

And if you are going to list the item for about $20 less than it retails for, then tack $20 onto the price for shipping and handling, that is just stupid. The whole benefit of saved cost in exchange for deferred gratification goes right out the window. If I wanted to pay full retail, I can go down the street and find the item and have it right now.

If they have a store setup with eBay, I tend to avoid them. If it is a private seller, that tends to keep my attention a bit more

Shipping can be a deal breaker for me. I won't even bid if I think it's unreasonable. Last week I got a copy of a book I wanted. Some people were using media mail, actual zip code (about $2.25) while others were charging $6 to ship a book. I don't think so.

I just bought my 96 Mustang GT on ebay. Payed quite a bit less then the lower Kelly Blue Book and local advertised prices. But it was close enough I could pick it up in person.
Shipping is always a big part of my decision on ebay. Early on I didn't always check and got a couple surprises.

RinglingRingling wrote:

Ilph wrote:I don't know how many ebayers there are out there, but when you're bidding on items, how much attention do you pay to what they charge for shipping? I'm poking around now, and a lot of the stores are charging around $5 for shipping for one CD, one store was charging $7! That's rediculous.

$5 is about the price of USPS priority mail. Now, the ones that torque me off are the ones shipping a 2 lb. item via priority mail and who are charging $15.00 or $20 for that. That turns into about 10 -15 bucks pure profit for no reason other than greed.

I have no problem with a little tag-on on the shipping and handling to cover the listing fee for eBay items, plus the actual cost of postage. So the item sells for $40, $6 covers the cost of the postage and the listings. If you didn't want to sell it via auction, don't list it.

And if you are going to list the item for about $20 less than it retails for, then tack $20 onto the price for shipping and handling, that is just stupid. The whole benefit of saved cost in exchange for deferred gratification goes right out the window. If I wanted to pay full retail, I can go down the street and find the item and have it right now.

If they have a store setup with eBay, I tend to avoid them. If it is a private seller, that tends to keep my attention a bit more

I have no problem paying for the shipping and the shipping materials. But I sell movies and CDs a lot on ebay. And I always charge between $3.00 and $4.50. $4.50 is for the heavier stuff. It p*** me off when I pay over $6.00 for shipping of an item and get it two to three weeks later because you know they sent it media mail which costs about $1.50.

So, like another person said, shipping is a big deal breaker for me too.

Ilph wrote:I don't know how many ebayers there are out there, but when you're bidding on items, how much attention do you pay to what they charge for shipping? I'm poking around now, and a lot of the stores are charging around $5 for shipping for one CD, one store was charging $7! That's rediculous.

not only Charges but times

I bought 3 shirts and the first one was two days before the others
the seller was all on about how fast he was

the other two beat his shipment by 3 days..

ragtopW wrote:

Ilph wrote:I don't know how many ebayers there are out there, but when you're bidding on items, how much attention do you pay to what they charge for shipping? I'm poking around now, and a lot of the stores are charging around $5 for shipping for one CD, one store was charging $7! That's rediculous.

not only Charges but times

I bought 3 shirts and the first one was two days before the others
the seller was all on about how fast he was

the other two beat his shipment by 3 days..

Did you leave negative feedback? Cause I would've. I'm not afraid to leave negative feedback for bad sellers, or neutral feedback for sellers who don't give me positive feedback as a buyer.

bad feedback is a joke. You don't leave it because they'll leave it back for you. And bigger sellers are never the ones to leave feedback first.

Ilph wrote:

RinglingRingling wrote:

Ilph wrote:I don't know how many ebayers there are out there, but when you're bidding on items, how much attention do you pay to what they charge for shipping? I'm poking around now, and a lot of the stores are charging around $5 for shipping for one CD, one store was charging $7! That's rediculous.

$5 is about the price of USPS priority mail. Now, the ones that torque me off are the ones shipping a 2 lb. item via priority mail and who are charging $15.00 or $20 for that. That turns into about 10 -15 bucks pure profit for no reason other than greed.

I have no problem with a little tag-on on the shipping and handling to cover the listing fee for eBay items, plus the actual cost of postage. So the item sells for $40, $6 covers the cost of the postage and the listings. If you didn't want to sell it via auction, don't list it.

And if you are going to list the item for about $20 less than it retails for, then tack $20 onto the price for shipping and handling, that is just stupid. The whole benefit of saved cost in exchange for deferred gratification goes right out the window. If I wanted to pay full retail, I can go down the street and find the item and have it right now.

If they have a store setup with eBay, I tend to avoid them. If it is a private seller, that tends to keep my attention a bit more

I have no problem paying for the shipping and the shipping materials. But I sell movies and CDs a lot on ebay. And I always charge between $3.00 and $4.50. $4.50 is for the heavier stuff. It p*** me off when I pay over $6.00 for shipping of an item and get it two to three weeks later because you know they sent it media mail which costs about $1.50.

So, like another person said, shipping is a big deal breaker for me too.

It is for me too. If they want to ship via Priority Mail, fine. If they are going to ship via parcel post or the equiv. and charge me $6 for that, no way.

The latest one I ran across is a guy who claims to ship via USPS and UPS, but if you have a PO Box (because in CMH, even priority mail can take a month to get to you, and mail to a street address has had a habit of disappearing), it is an additional $10 surcharge. "Because I have to pay someone to go to the Post Office" is the claim... On the other hand, he might have hosed himself by charging a buck for shipping a CD/jewel case via UPS, and I am not going push that one..

As for "power sellers", all I can say is that if they claim that means anything at all, they are probably ripoff artists, or at least willing to push the edge a bit too much. Had one in Maryland try ripping me off for the price of a laptop battery, (although it was partially my fault in that I should have gone with a seller who offered Paypal rather than just PO Money order.)

finally, after 4 weeks of waiting, and a couple calls, with people who need a serious beatdown with a brick in a burlap bag to improve their listening skills, it arrived. "We are power sellers, why would we rip you off? You are cheating us!!!" in a thick Eastern European accent was about the extent of their defense for the delay.

and threatening to leave negative feedback for a seller is a joke. It just invites them to give you one in return. They can go out and create a new screen name, you are stuck with the retaliation. (Got one negative and one neutral because of really crappy sales, and those sellers are long gone)

i dealt with a so-called power seller once. When I had a big problem I did a bit of research I should have done in the beginning. Most of his positive feedback was bought. And when I confronted him about it he got very juvenile and said ebay was ok with it. I'm just jealous because I haven't bought all that positive feedback.

OceanCityGirl wrote:i dealt with a so-called power seller once. When I had a big problem I did a bit of research I should have done in the beginning. Most of his positive feedback was bought. And when I confronted him about it he got very juvenile and said ebay was ok with it. I'm just jealous because I haven't bought all that positive feedback.

How do you "buy" positive feedback?

How do you "buy" positive feedback?

You purchase fake items like recipes or advice for .50 each and no shipping. People do it back and forth to each other. After each transaction they leave feedback. I bought something from a guy who had over 900 positive feedbacks. They were nearly all this sort. So before you buy don't just look at their feedback but look at what the sales were.