posted on December 17, 2000 03:48:34 PM new
ploughman - good points. I did not think about ebay charging fees if there were a field, and I am sure you are correct. OTOH - I do not think this is a small problem. The shipping is not quoted in the majority of auctions (in my experience) and the inefficiency - losses all the way around are large, and bound to increase along with the postal rates.
"Handling Charges" used to be unheard of and now they are the norm and ever increasing as sellers struggle to keep a least a couple bucks in their pockets since they do all the work. I am running into this problem as a buyer but my concern is for the seller side. How many buyers can we turn off when they are at such a premium?
I post a seller "how much is shipping" and they post me back a day or two later and I delete because I can't even remember what the thing I was asking about looked like.
This IS NOT how you close a sale.
posted on December 17, 2000 03:51:14 PM new
I always Post my Postage and Insu. costs. I just take a stab at it and it usually comes close to the actual costs. A lot of times I pay the Xtra charges myself. Don't forget that the Post Office is raising the Rates in Jan. 2001. That includes Priorty Mail. Everyone have a nice Happy New Year.
[ edited by ohiostar on Dec 17, 2000 03:54 PM ]
posted on December 17, 2000 04:11:36 PM new
I agree When people list Items they should list and state all fees if even only a guesstimation of the shipping better to have a rough guess that is + or - a few cents then have buyers who do read these things guessing on basics of mail orders.
Also would save the sellers at least 50 hours a year answering these types of questions save your time for answering the shipping rate questions for your international buyers.
Even if one could come up with a flat rate or two different flat weights 1 for light item one for heavery Items that works for all you Items in all US regions.
posted on December 17, 2000 04:29:32 PM new
Here is a link to ebays on line rates. I use to use it quit a bit and it works well. The only problem is that it takes a few minutes extra time when doing a listing.
http://ebay.iship.com/ebay/seller.asp
You can add for extra costs and the buyer only has to put in a Zip to find out the rate. Works well though.
posted on December 17, 2000 05:48:45 PM new
As far as fees, I don't think Ebay could not logically justify charging FVF's on shipping. It's just ridiculous. They may do stupid things, but not that stupid.
However, with the integrated system, the COULD charge FVF's on handling charges. And I think they should. It levels the playing field for sellers who do not charge handling fees.
posted on December 17, 2000 06:07:54 PM new
I do agree, VM. Lately I have bid less and less because of the lack of info.
Seller should state the weight, fully packaged. They should provide THEIR ZIP code, and the link to Online Postal Calculator, so potential bidder can go and check for themselves, and fine-tune by Email, if there ara other questions.
I recently saw a nice item, blurry picture, with this great description: "Nice vase! You pay shipping."...Not quite enough...
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posted on December 17, 2000 08:46:26 PM new
For those of you wishing that the bidder could look up thier own shipping rates:
Try adding a link to the shipping rate tables at iShip.
I used this once on an item that was over the USPS flat rate weight. It seemed to work very well in that instance.
To create the link you enter the weight, shipping zip code, etc. Paste the link into your auction listing and the bidder will be able to calculate shipping rates by entering thier zip code.
BUT... It doesn't seem to support First Class Mail or Special Standard Mail (Book rate) and it allows the bidder to decide if they want insurance in thier estimate. This may be a bad thing if you require insurance on all purchases.
posted on December 17, 2000 11:21:27 PM new
Hello folks..Jan 2 2001..usps rates go up! priority mail 2 pounds will be $3.95..and a new 1 pound rate of $3.50! go to their web site for full story...the joke is MO go down to .75!
posted on December 18, 2000 08:37:43 AM new
I don't sell on eBay, so my shipping experience is limited to taking packages down to the Post Office and them weighing them and telling me what the cost will be, and me paying it, end of story. Thus, I had no idea some items could range from $17-28 depending on zone. I thought that at most it would be a few dollars, not up to 66% higher.
I do think to quote the item number or full link to the item (or at the very least say what it is) when I email questions to eBay sellers, but I didn't know there was so much variance, so I don't always think to mention my location ("simple" ignorance, I guess). Also, I browse at multiple locations but only email from one, so running into auctions lacking information when I'm away from the address I mail from generally makes me forget the auction. There's enough others of interest that I don't feel the loss.
I occasionally see auctions that list a range in possible prices. If the seller has solid FB, I generally trust they'll quote the correct price after the end, and prefer a listed probably range over having to ask.
Alternatively, I also wouldn't mind a rough weight along with a link to a shipping calculation site (the relevant page) if the seller wants to indicate to potential bidders that they can figure a price before bidding.
I realize some items are too much effort to pack until a bid is actually made, and I'm not saying a seller should change this, but in those cases, I'd understand if they stated something like (for example): "Due to the complex packing job this would be, I cannot pack and determine exact shipping until after the auction closes with a bid. Unpacked, the item weighs about ____, and I would double box and add peanuts and ____, which would add about another ____ to the weight, and will likely be oversized. Visit http://____ and plug this, your zip, and my zip of _____, and this will give you a rough idea of the shipping. I will get an exact weight and shipping to the high bidder after auction close, once I find out the high bidder's address."
This may not be practical or possible either (it's just a thought), but if it is, this not only gives the potential bidder at least some much clearer idea of the potential shipping, it also gives evidence about how well packed the item will probably be. I've sometimes had to ask what kind of packing job the seller would do, before I bid of course , because I've had problems with shipping similar items in the past (e.g. weaker poster tubes often end up dented, damaging the item inside).
I'm not looking for ultra-exacting TOS that span multiple pages, either, but when shipping is not yet known, or when the quality of packing is clearly going to be a more major concern for some items (though poster tubes admittedly aren't an obvious item of concern), these things can help.
At least those are my opinions. In the end, if I have to email for more information, I'm not always going to end up doing so, for various reasons (also including the chance of increasing the amount of spam I get by spreading my address among more recipients than it would be from high bids alone).
Oh, one interesting case.... I had, in the past, participated in some "high bidder pays shipping" (no price quoted) auctions when the shipping turns out to be $1 or $2, the seller sells lots of similar items, and the price could have easily been quoted. I've ceased bidding on such auctions that won't quote what seems like an easy price to list. If there doesn't seem to be any good reason for the price not to have been listed, I usually just move on, because it makes me "wonder" about the seller more (and also makes me wonder even more acutely about the spam issue, especially if the usual going price on the item leads me to believe it is a "loss leader" ).
In summary, any indication of shipping price, even if stated as a range, uncertain, "probably about," or descriptive with a link to a calculation page, is better than having to email the seller over it, in my opinion, not because I don't like writing people, but because it streamlines my browsing/bidding process. Generally, the more hoops I have to go through for an auction, the less likely I am to bid on it.
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What's being done in the name of direct marketing nowadays is crazy.
The above are all just my opinions, except where I cite facts as such.
Oh, I am not dc9a320 anywhere except AW. Any others are not me.
Is eBay is changing from a world bazaar into a bizarre world?
, because I've had problems with shipping similar items in the past (e.g. weaker poster tubes often end up dented, damaging the item inside).