posted on January 27, 2001 09:23:25 AM
I had always shipped priority mail until the rate increase.......so I decided to ship 1st class/parcel post because of the rate increase. When I found out how much packaging material was and decided I was not willing to dumpster dive for boxes, I decided to charge a handling fee along with the charge for shipping........maybe sales are just way down because it is January, but maybe my sales are way down (they are 10% sold ~ and I usually run 50-80% sold)because people don't like my handling fees. I am thinking of going back to priority mail. You guys are so helpful, what do you think? Do many of you charge a handling fee? Are your sales way down too? Have you changed your method of shipping, and if so did you see a big change in sales?
posted on January 27, 2001 09:45:00 AM
Oh Boy! Another Handling Fee Thread.
In many threads, it is very important to give a nod to the wide differences in the classes of goods sold at Ebay. Some classes are easier to front load, or build in the costs of delivery, other classes are best served with it tacked on.
We have charged one since the day we started, over 3 years ago. The only trouble we have had is that initially it was not spelled out, just S/H/I. Now we state Buyer pays x.xx handling plus Actual Shipping &
Insurance. It has worked very well with maybe only 2 or 3 inquiries about it all last year.
We charge on EVERY ITEM. We start at 1.50 handling and go up, with a range of 2.50 being charged pretty often and the parcels run about 2 - 5 lbs. When it makes sense, usually for 1.00 or more saving we send Parcel Post. There have been some threads lately that illustrate the time that can be spent in packing up delicates/fragiles. 15 to 45 minutes....for EACH PARCEL.
I cannot honestly call it a profit center. More like a 'helping me to not take a loss on this part of the equation'. We scrounge boxes...and buy some. Stopped buying bubble wrap and packing peanuts 2 years ago. Found a reliable "route" of dumpsters. About 40 - 60% of our feedback mentions the great packing so that may hve stifled some handling fee complaints. Who knows?
To the thread starter.....maybe the class of good has something to do with your downturn in sales. The last thing I will say about Ebay.....it is not consistent.....maybe this is just a bad patch?
May I ask how much extra you charged for handling? And, are you sure that is the reason the items didn't sell?
As a buyer, a reasonable handling fee doesn't turn me off. I'd rather the seller get good packing materials than send my widget in a shoddy box they dug out of the trash. Good, clean boxes carefully "recovered" and recycled are fine....but, I've received some pretty horrible packages....well, I won't go there right now...the memories are still painful.
I haven't been selling on Ebay long enough to know what a normal sell-through rate is. I can only tell you that of the items I have put up for auction in January, about 50% have sold, though not at very high prices. I'm still pretty clueless about why one thing sold and another didn't. I guess I'll learn by trial and error. Hopefully, those with more experience will be able to offer better advice.
posted on January 27, 2001 10:04:45 AM
I mainly sell used clothes......the things that have sold are nice, but some things that you cant almost guarantee will sell everytime because of the brand name have not. My handling fee is generally about $1.00. What I have been doing is stating the S/H fee in the auction as one lump sum.
[ edited by thekismeme on Jan 27, 2001 10:06 AM ]
posted on January 27, 2001 10:29:24 AM
A $1.00 handling fee is reasonable in general. To determine if it is reasonable in your case, try this exercise: take a look at your auctions as if you were a potential buyer. Add up the price, handling fee, shipping and see if the total is a reasonable amount to pay for the item. I dropped out of an auction yesterday because the bids were getting higher than if I had purchased the same item Brand New at a local store.
If total purchase price is not the problem, take a look at your pictures or the wording in your description. Is the item shown clearly? Are you using the keywords that a buyer would use when searching for that item? Are your descriptions giving enough detail for the buyer to make a decision? I realize now the reason some of my stuff didn't sell is that the pictures were unclear. I need to improve in that area. My descriptions, of course, were brilliant.
If all that is okay, then it would be good to remember that you never know what people will want and what they won't---OR when they'll want it and when they won't. Just use your best judgment and keep trying.
posted on January 27, 2001 04:45:39 PM
I don't think the average Joe likes handling fees. I think you will find that most people would rather pay for priority mail then pay a handling fee on first class. Try either offering first class without a handling fee or go back t priority mail.
