posted on December 3, 2000 07:38:40 PM new
Yes I couldnt agree more Items will have to be sold in lots more and more rather then small single items.
Rather then depending Telling buyers in listings you will combine shipping put Items togeather in auction listings.
I have been starting to do this to But I find with one type of Item I sell buyers still will bid on single Item faster and better no matter what the shipping is I am also finding international buyers are nearly willing to pay any shipping rate for what they want.
I just had a sale On yahoo last week for a single starwars album to Ireland there shipping for this Item they wanted airmail $12 They wanted to pay by credit card but I dont have a merchant account and they wouldnt or couldnt use paypal or billpoint to pay to add to there price they sent a bid pay money order second day delivery.
This person still wanted to go through with this win and was still excited about.
Shipping cost are a factor in Mail order for sure but I think even more is the quality of service you provide is more a factor.
I am finding there are only some buyers who will email me at the close of the auction to haggle on shipping the majority just want what they paid for As fast as posible and they want fast friendly reply to there question and replys from you.
MY buyer see fairly quality custom packaging
I only ship one day a week on saturday but the majority of my auctions end thursdays and friday if buyers paypal me money they can have there Item buy monday or tuesday after noon.
Also Been reading in the paper these types of storys even though the economy is slowing down Online Mail order sales are incressing.
At the top of the list of incresses were traditional mailorder house who now have online catologs and Online person to person auction and third was the brick and click type Online mail order sales companys that have been brick and motar that now have online sales as well there in store sales have been slacking while there online direct mail order is doubleing.
posted on December 3, 2000 10:10:39 PM new
VeryModern- I do understand what you're saying about putting things in lots. Makes sense. Especially if you can find entire outfits or groups of outfits that go together. That is another excellent point to consider! I buy my toys in large lots and I know I do appreciate being able to do that! When I first started with online auctions I used to buy things piece by piece by piece- but that is THE MOST expensive way to do it! I know better now!
posted on December 4, 2000 03:48:30 AM new
I agree with VeryModern that USPS package volume will decline, as will our sales, but I can't fathom a rate hike REVERSAL. The Postmaster General would have *egg on his face* if he lowered rates after raising them, and I believe he would rather leave his trucks half empty than submit himself to public embarrassment.
dman3, my buyers would GAG at paying $6.00 shipping for a 2 pound item. My customer service is exemplary, but I have two negs on my feedback from buyers who were mad I charged them $3.00 when the postage was $2.03 (the other $1 covers labor, custom packaging, and SimplyPostage). As for international buyers---they usually don't mind the high shipping costs because they can't even BUY your item in their own countries. So unless you have an unlimited supply of desirable items AND foreign buyers, your sales WILL be hurt by the postage increase, as will mine.
If our merchandise is ordinary/common, we have to undercut the price being offered *everywhere else* in order to sell it online, and our total sale price INCLUDES SHIPPING COSTS. My $30 retail item now will bring $15-$18 plus about $3-4 shipping, for a total of $18-22 (unless someone else online offers it for less---in which case I match prices). Since the buyer doesn't usually have to pay sales tax on my purchase but *does* if he buys at a store, he saves $10-15 when he buys from me.
If the shipping cost jumps to $5-6, the buyer won't bid more than $13-16 because it's not worth his while---he'll just go buy it at a store. Meanwhile, my wholesale costs are rising at the same time my resale prices are decreasing, and I'm selling LESS items per week when I need to sell MORE, to make up for lost profit.
VeryModern, I, too, am afraid the buyers will stop looking at online auctions altogether. It's bad enough that they're *burned* by seller misrepresentation and less-than-described goods over and over again. Now those who still have enough faith in us to bid will only buy that which is worth paying a hefty chunk of money to have shipped to them.
It looks like a rocky road ahead. Not just for Amazon, but for us all.
posted on December 4, 2000 06:11:43 AM new
granee - I agree with your post and the fee increase too. I just think that it will be a grave situation for the USPS (and the country) if the commerce on the internet falters. Wouldn't it ge great if the PO had a SALE to stimulate buying, lol!
Really though, they are in deep trouble if we stop sending parcels. We will continue to use email in place of snail mail and online bill paying is the bomb. People will use their banks to bill pay or perhaps a portal (Yahoo) because they are signed on anyway. The masses are not going to sign up and pay with USPS who many resent for no specific reason.
I have been using Stamps.com for more than a year, and my mail carrier picks up on average 40 boxes a week, average postage cost per is about $4.00. That is a hell of a lot of letters. When they bought these jeeps they were not counting on that volume being cut in half. We are near critical mass at this point, and when I ship 20 instead of 40 there is NOT another seller waiting to take my place and even if there is, there is not a buyer.
Just think of all the abandoned e-shopping carts out there. Imagine if 1 in 3 (is this a low estimate) shoppers left their purchases at the check stand in a RL store when they saw the TAX they were going to have to pay... I mean this is a baaaaad thing, and it is happening left and right. Combine it with the other factors (stock market drop, softening of the market in general, etc.) and it's ill advised to slap this huge increase on top a structure that is no longer sturdy.
My number one suggestion to people who want to stay in business is if you do not already have one - GET A SCALE.
Be ready to trim cardboard here and there to come in just under the weight limits and state right in your auction that you are doing this. I sell fabric on occasion. I put right in the copy that the lot weighs 1 thread under 2 pounds to offer good shipping value.
I sell every lot with multiple bids.
posted on December 4, 2000 06:28:44 AM new
Well, the post office is obviously trying to put themselves out of business - we are now shipping about 2/3's of our items UPS.....and if PO rates go up more, because of noting else but the insurance costs we will be shipping more and more of our items UPS.
RE: POPCORN/PEANUTS - when shipping heavier items, popcorn and/or peanuts, which ever one wishes to refer to it as, are NOT good packing material, and in many cases UPS and/or the PO will not accept claims when they are used. Heavier items can cause the popcorn/peanuts to shift and leave the item exposed. We had UPS come to our shop and check our packing - and did learn a great deal. On heavier items we double box, whether the item is going UPS or USPS - depending on the weight of the item, we use wadded up paper, NOT popcorn/peanuts. We use popcorn or peanuts as filler for smaller or light weight items only.
posted on December 4, 2000 02:30:36 PM new
>>>>>>Now people seem to be reacting. In recent weeks, sales of personal
computers have actually fallen below their level a year ago; Gateway said
its revenue over the recent Thanksgiving holiday was almost one-third
lower than during the comparable weekend in 1999. >>>>>>>>>>
posted on December 4, 2000 06:49:52 PM new
VeryModern said "I disagree with grapey on this one - they have far more to lose than you or I. Could be they raise it and then we see the first REVERSAL of a fee increase in history as far as I am aware."
**********************
True they have millions to play with, lose, etc. We do not. A little hurts us much more than a lot hurts them.
A Reversal of fees? LOL!! Ok, I'll bet ya a quarter we won't ever see that happen, and I hope I LOSE my Quarter.
posted on December 5, 2000 12:07:27 PM new
OK- question. When are you guys going to revise your TOS/EOA's to reflect the changes? If we do this too early customers will be p.o'ed. but if we do it too late we will lose lots of money due to all those people who laaaaaaaaaaaaaaag in sending their payments. Any thoughts?
posted on December 5, 2000 12:24:39 PM new
I'll make my changes with all of my auctions which close after December 20th. I allow ten days for payment, (but I am flexible). This will still allow all payments from auctions ending on the 20th to be in, I hope.
If I am able to mail a buyers items under the old rates, I will enclose the extra with the item. Buyers LOVE to get some money back, even small amounts. When I have buyers send me cash, in paper form, I return change with the item, they really like that too.
[ edited by CharlieOne on Dec 5, 2000 12:29 PM ]
posted on December 5, 2000 12:24:55 PM new
I have been thinking about the same thing CAgrrrl. I have been limiting by autorelists because of it. That way I can relist them with the new shipping prices. I figured I would start after Christmas. I will lose a little in shipping but HOPEFULLY I won't have time until then!
"If man were to be crossed with a cat, it would greatly improve the man, but deteriorate the cat." Mark Twain
That is another excellent point to consider! I buy my toys in large lots and I know I do appreciate being able to do that! When I first started with online auctions I used to buy things piece by piece by piece- but that is THE MOST expensive way to do it! I know better now! 