posted on January 2, 2001 11:21:26 PM
Well, I noticed Half.com has hiked seller postage reimbursements by 17 cents for most items, which is exactly the amount of the increase by the postal service in the most popular category (i.e. book rate, 1 pound or less).
But they increased charges to buyers by 30 cents (was $1.95, soon to be $2.25). So, under the guise of a postage increase, they've padded their profit by an additional 13 cents. And the only extra cost they're bearing is the credit-card processing for the additional amount (3 to 4 percent of 17 cents...or about half a cent!).
Now watch buyers get angry at sellers over it, since most are probably not aware that Half.com is keeping 55 cents of the $2.25 soon to be charged. They even say on the announcement board that their hike was due to the postal service's. Hah! Maybe a 20-cent hike would qualify as that, but at 30 cents they're increasingly trying to turn S&H into a profit center. And we know how well THAT goes over with buyers. They'll resuscitate the brick & mortar used-book and CD stores yet.
posted on January 3, 2001 03:43:14 AM
I've barely delved into Half.com, and don't like what I see so far. I definitely have my reservations! I was going to put a vhs copy of "Midnight Cowboy" on until I found that I would be competing with some 62 other sellers--and one selling it for .90 (ninety cents). I certainly can't compete with that!
posted on January 3, 2001 01:19:05 PM
Pretty crazy, eh? Makes the buyers even more suspicious that the sellers are making money off the shipping rather than the item. But there's only a 45-cent margin between the reimbursement and the lowest book rate, and your supply costs (as well as your time) have to come out of that.
Maybe someone's got a warehouse full of old paperbacks and is hiring undocumented workers to package those 15-cent copies of "Jaws" at $1.50 an hour.
posted on January 3, 2001 02:20:39 PM
Just my 2 cents, but as an occasional buyer at Half.com, it was very apparent to me even on my first visit that the seller wasn't involved in the setting of the shipping/handling fee.
And a bit of psychology: in my purchases over there, I have never decided to buy the least expensive book. I presume there is a reason that it's so cheap, and that there wasn't enough room to list the flaws. So I always pick a book comfortably in the middle of the price range, and from the seller with the highest rating.
