posted on April 4, 2014 01:14:45 PM new
I use a single country wide rate for shipping. I just got a 1 for shipping and handling costs. First, I don't think my shipping is to much, but secondly, the important thing is, my shipping is put in the ad. If they don't like it, don't bid.
How can ebay justify a bad return on the shipping and handling charges if the charges are stated up front! How unfair is that.
posted on April 5, 2014 10:01:38 AM new
Oh, I am an old hand from 2001. I just sit and wonder in amazement at the management of ebay. How do they find these EEO.s
posted on April 5, 2014 12:22:15 PM new
first they dont always read,second you may think it is reasonable,they may not,third,they can do anything they want,when it comes to rating.
posted on April 5, 2014 12:27:17 PM new
These days they try to extort sellers,I have a woman who said she went to post office and found out it only cost so much postage so I am overcharging.
She did that to everyone to get some partial shipping back.
Do you read the Ebay forums,Ebay rep has been taking money from sellers and give it back to buyers,they dont care what seller said.
as soon as DC shows delivered,money is returned to the buyer,buyer can return an empty box,or a different item.doees not matter.
There are also seller scams,one seller shipped a picture of a Ralph Lauren cashmere coat instead of the coat,buyer took a picture of what she received-a picture not a coat.
Ebay rep compared the 2 pictures and released the fund to seller,as the two pictures match !
posted on April 7, 2014 08:40:12 AM new
I have complained about ebay for the very same reason. If it is stated, why complain?
Worse is when I received negative feedback a few years ago for an item I sold. The feedback said that I didn't list it as the small size.
My item title said "small", my description said "small" and the measurements were listed. When I called eBay, they told me they wouldn't remove the feedback because it was the buyers opinion.
All I do now is find a solid, creative way to respond to feedback. If something is our fault, I even admit it in the response. Other buyers prefer a seller who will accept responsibility than one who retaliates.
Personally, I agree with what's been said. The only thing I can add to this is that if you make your shipping free - the buyer cannot rate your shipping costs.
I know that raises a lot of additional issues (padding the cost of the item with shipping charges is really only possible when you sell fixed price items/etc) - but it's the only way you can avoid getting dinged by buyers on cost.
posted on April 8, 2014 05:49:32 PM new
Free Shipping is generally a gimmick.
I use free shipping for vintage items and the reality is that I just pad my asking price to compensate for it in order to circumvent the eBay DSR and keep my discount. I've had many buyers leave feedback like, "they even included free shipping", which just makes me chuckle.
Personally, I think new Items that are mass produced suffer the most from the headaches of free shipping. If you put it into perspective, all a buyer has to do is filter their searches by "Lowest Price + Shipping" to find the best deal.
On the flip side, my return policy does state that Free Shipping is for purchases only and that if a buyer wishes to return the item, the refund will be less the actual cost of initial shipping + 5% restocking fee to cover our costs. I give a full explanation about why we charge this fee. I understand that some buyers are put off by it, but I really don't care because I am not Amazon, and eBay isn't selling the product, I am and have enough hoops to jump through.
If the item has MAP pricing (manufacturer sets the lowest possible price), the seller can offer free shipping to get the price lower than competition, unless they also offer free shipping. Additionally, manufacturers and distributors are having major headaches keeping up with sellers offering items below MAP. Sellers are using a different company name than what they purchase from to get around it. In the end, they just devalue the item and move on to the next.
