posted on May 7, 2002 10:21:15 AM new
my auctions' shipping terms are as follows:
<b><font color=red>Shipping & Handling:</b></font> $5.10 Media Mail within the USA. Insurance is at the discretion of the buyer. I am not responsible for uninsured items. I ship Monday through Friday. I will combine shipping on multiple items. Please contact me for special shipping requirements before you bid! You may receive your item packaged in new or used padded mailers, boxes, or with newspaper or plastic shopping bags as padding. I recycle such things so that I can keep the overhead of packing materials to a minimum, and so I don't have to pass along the rising cost of packaging and handling to the buyer, which keeps my S&H fees competitive and fair.<br>
I charge what I think is fair to ship the item. I make sure the bidder knows upfront what they are paying for, and if the auction is for books or anything that is heavier than average I give an estimated shipping weight in the description so they have an idea what the item will cost to ship.
I have no desire to go to a set amount for shipping and I think it will cause more problems between buyers and sellers than it will help.
I also am AGAINST hidden postage!
You think the buyers feel sellers are ripping them off already, wait until the PO gives the option of hiding your postage or making it visible. Should that ever happen, my postage will always be visible.
People like to feel they are getting a bargain, and so long as you make them think they are they are just as happy as pigs in mud.
It's also why all my auctions instruct the bidder to ask questions before they bid! Saves a lot of trouble for me and them after the acution ends.
We have signs from God because some of us are too stupid to figure things out for ourselves.
posted on May 7, 2002 10:28:23 AM new
Hidden postage is not something to scare buyers. I ship Fedex often and the postage is hidden, and I doubt any of those buyers were trembling at the thought of what the postage really was.
Besides, they can take the package as it arrives, weigh it, look up the postage on the website, if they are really curious.
posted on May 7, 2002 10:33:08 AM new
yes, but everyone expects FedEx, UPS, and other services like them to be higher than the USPS. When I give an option for shipping, the buyer almost always tells me to use USPS since it's cheaper.
There's not a lot of mystery with FedEx and UPS--folks know it's not cheap compared to the PO. They use the PO because they want a bargain and hiding the PO rate on the pakage makes them feel as though they've been ripped off.
No one ever said that all buyers were reasonable, sane, and could make valid judgments. I'm just saying that I won't hide my postage costs because I think in the long run it will cause more problems than I care to deal with.
~*~
We have signs from God because some of us are too stupid to figure things out for ourselves.
posted on May 7, 2002 10:35:05 AM new
Some people want a bargain, some want value, and some just want the best at a reasonable price, and some will gladly overpay just to get their hands on the item. Does that mean I should address only the bargain hunters and ignore the others?
I find most people don't want to know the postage, they assume you are going to charge a reasonable s/h. Just give them the total and they're pleased you didn't waste their time with details.
posted on May 7, 2002 10:42:54 AM new
I have had few problems with people complaining about shipping; it's always the person outside the US who doesn't contact me before they bid to find out what I charge for international shipping that shipping becomes and issue.
No way should you cater to just bargain hunters, but by the same token, almost everyone on eBay is a bargain hunter. They are looking for the things you described and in their minds that makes your auction a bargain!
They got value, service, and quality, which translates into a bargain!
It's not a bargain if you hate it or feel you paid too much for it, which happens at any price and at any rate you charge for S&H.
But, like I said, no one ever said all buyers made sane, reasonable judgments when it comes to buying. That's why it's important as a seller to cover the bases with your auction descriptions and hope the buyer can and will read.
~*~
We have signs from God because some of us are too stupid to figure things out for ourselves.
posted on May 7, 2002 10:43:55 AM new
I'll let you on in a sercret, Fedex is generally cheaper than USPS. Anything over 3 pounds is cheaper than USPS Priority and Parcel Post. With tracking and insurance included in the price, it makes Fedex a bigger baragin. If I was shipping a 2 pound item that needed tracking and insurance, then Fedex is also better. Media Mail on the other hand is the only cheaper method than Fedex if you're shipping books & videos etc.
I shipped an item Fedex for $13, USPS wanted $22 Parcel Post for it and $24 Priority.
I know many people still beleive Fedex is more expensive than USPS. I had a buyer insist on USPS "because it's cheaper." I went and got the rates and showed it to her and she was was surprised, but pleased.
posted on May 7, 2002 10:46:02 AM new
If you hide the postage, it makes the buyer work harder to figure out postage. If they complain after the fact, they are just picking a fight with you. Block their bid and ignore the annoyance:
posted on May 7, 2002 10:53:54 AM new
I'm on eBay to make money. What I have found that works for me, and this doesn't work for everyone out there, is to be conservative with my S&H fees. When I do that, my items get a lot more bids than they do when I try to make up the profit in the S&H. It's also likely to do with the things I sell; people like to feel they get a bargain and I find that conservative S&H fees makes them think they are getting a bargain and they generally spend more on their bids because they feel the item is a bargain.
This works for me, which doesn't mean it works for everyone and people should run their auctions the way they see fit.
I won't hide S&H, and I'm not going to ignore a complaint from a bidder when it comes to S&H. I'll be courteous and explain why the S&H is what it is, but then again, the only questions I get for S&H are from International buyers, and that's likely because they are used to sellers who charge, in their minds, high S&H fees.
~*~
We have signs from God because some of us are too stupid to figure things out for ourselves.
[ edited by afallenangel on May 7, 2002 10:56 AM ]
posted on May 7, 2002 11:11:10 AM new
Quick, most of what I ship goes media mail, which the buyer almost always insists on. I'm not going to disillusion them since the PO is 5 miles from my house, and the closest UPS or FedEx location is more than 15 miles away. If I had to go that far to mail something, the expense would have to be passed on to the customer, so for now, until I ship enough stuff to warrant FedEx and UPS pick-ups, I'm going to stick with the good old "cheap" PO.
We have signs from God because some of us are too stupid to figure things out for ourselves.
posted on May 7, 2002 11:18:06 AM new
out of FEDEX, UPS and USPS i find FEDEX to be ALOT cheaper as stated above. if you open an online account you get discount also.
posted on May 7, 2002 01:05:57 PM new
The Fedex here is also 10 miles from my house, but I stop at the bank to deposit checks, then to Po on the way, then to the thrift store where I get great stuff (better than other thrifts) to resell, and then I stop at the park to walk, then gas at the low price station, pick up lunch on the way home, and one more Thrift store on the way, and it turns into a prodctive use of time, and save money too.
posted on May 7, 2002 08:51:57 PM new
if the item is small enough to fit in a minimum price priority mail envelope/box, they pay minimum price. others pay actual shipping postage. I only use priority mail, and as such have essentially no materials costs. everything is stated in TOS, I'm not responsible for lazy people who can't or won't read. One reason I started buying on ebay long ago was I got tired of mail order firms who stiffed me on shipping. If your profit model is based or even partly dependent on shipping charges, you're selling the wrong stuff......
posted on May 7, 2002 09:19:50 PM new
profe51, glad to see someone on my side. Actual shipping makes no enemies. I do understand why some sellers do overcharge, I just don't agree with it. They do it because they can't find anything to sell that makes them a profit (or one they can live with). Oh, I know, sellers have to be competitive, but if you have to compete with too many people why sell that item?
posted on May 7, 2002 09:43:55 PM new
One simple question:
What purpose does it serve to print the postage amount on a metered stamp at the PO when they are the ones to put it on the package?
I bet it's the carryover from the stamps that you buy at the PO that are pre-printed with a value on them. Then it served a useful puprose.
When I take items to the PO to be meter stamped, the payment is made directly to them and the metered stamp is already "cancelled" in effect. So who cares what value it has after that?
posted on May 8, 2002 11:07:47 AM new
sun818...Thank you for pointing that out. I just feel strongly that you shouldn't have the need to overcharge, my apologies for being repetitive.
Superman100...I may not be completely correct, however, the reason for the amount on a metered stamp is so other post offices know that the correct amount was paid for any particular service.? I say this ONLY because a couple years ago, I had a package returned for insufficient funds, and it was meter stamped, so I thought maybe somewhere down the line Express and priority mail were checked for correct postage. Surely the fault of my counter girl but my question (and I should ask her) is how did it get caught? Perhaps they randomly check...?
posted on May 8, 2002 12:17:40 PM new
I hope the Post Office keeps putting postage amounts on packages. If you are showing how much handling you are charging in your description then it should not be a problem. If you are missleading buyers into thinking what you are charging is for shipping then you deserve problems from them all.
I try to never bid on items with a handling charge but I will if it is something unique and the charge is under $1.00 or needs special packaging. If I bid and a handling charge is added that is not in the description when I recieve the item I ask for a refund of the handling charge. If they do not give it I leave negative feedback.
I have had this happen with sellers sending UPS and it is easy to weight the package and check the shipping cost on their web site.
posted on May 8, 2002 12:44:01 PM new
toolhound, you sure are cheap. Why don't you just ask the seller for no handling? I've done this for buyers, and I tell them fine, it will be shipped without proper packaging, and they say ok. So I wrap it in a bag and send it out. I figure it saves me quite a bit on time, so it's worth it to me.
posted on May 8, 2002 01:02:11 PM new
I am horrified at the package I just received from a "POWER SELLER". (I hope you are over here and reading this.) She charged $5.00 shipping, (not a problem until...) I received it in an inside out priority mailbox and she told them it was media mail...$1.33 was stamped on the package. I know because I weighed it and looked it up in the postal chart. And it was NOT a media mail item.
Cheated the post office.
Cheated me.
Wondering what kind of feedback to leave now.
posted on May 8, 2002 02:45:25 PM new
quickdraw29 You can buy bubble wrap for under 9 cents a foot and priority boxes and tape are free so if not wanting to pay over $1.00 for 2 foot of bubble wrap is cheap then I guess I am cheap. I have sold over 5,000 items online and have 3 buyers that have purchased over 50 items from me. Those 3 buyers buy from me because of no handling charge.
I consider it part of the cost of doing business and I think a lot of other sellers will have to do it too when shipping prices go up. I am selling over 90% of the items I list on eBay so it is working for me.
posted on May 8, 2002 04:10:51 PM new
Either you build your expenses into the price of the item, or you put it into the handling, customer ends up paying the same. You may be the one of the few naive enough to eat the entire expense. I wonder how you stay in business.
It's the "cost of doing business." What does that mean? Personally, I'm not in the charity business, I work for profit. My time is worth something. I add labor into handling because I don't know what the final bid price will be so this way I cover my expenses. That's how I stay in business.
Your business strategy is to eat the costs to bring in repeat business. My business strategy is to offer value, I don't have to compete on costs. Businesses that compete on costs usually struggle as their margins drop. I don't envy you one bit.
posted on May 8, 2002 04:31:26 PM new
quickdraw29
My expense is between 0 and 18 cents a package. 80% is 0. If you don't think it is worth that to have repeat customers you do not know much about business. Making customers happy so they will come back will make you money in any business and anyone who doesn't know that has not been in business long and probably will not stay in business. I have been in business 25 years buying and selling.
You also wrote "My business strategy is to offer value, I don't have to compete on costs. Businesses that compete on costs usually struggle as their margins drop."
Here is a little business that competes on cost called - Walmart.
posted on May 8, 2002 04:37:19 PM new
Your expenses are between 0 and 18 cents? So you don't take paypal or Billpoint; You get free USPS pickup; someone comes in and packages the item for free; free ebay listings with free fvf. You should have told me that earlier.
posted on May 8, 2002 04:39:36 PM new
Let's see, cost of obtaining new customer, 30¢. Cost of keeping old one, $1.50. You've been in business for how long?
posted on May 8, 2002 09:02:04 PM new
quickdraw, how many packages do you take to the post office in a day? On average let's say? 10? Does it cost you a buck each? What about the people who don't use Paypal, do you refund them .30?
Successful sellers...let me rephrase that, low volume high profit sellers on Ebay are afforded the oppurtunity to take all neccessary costs "of doing business" from their profits, where as (and you've made this perfectly clear) you can't. So you charge a handling fee. As long as you're upfront with your customers more power to ya!
