posted on September 30, 2001 10:10:39 PM new
Yestersay I saw an item on ebay that was collectible in nature. It's opening bid was 9.99 and it closed with no bids. The item had some minor damage and was dirty. About 24 hours before the auction ended I emailed the seller and asked the shipping cost to Michigan which was not listed in the description. This item weighs about 2 pounds. The seller was in Kentucky. After the auction closed, I received this email.
Here is a copy of the email with names taken out.
XXXX,
Sorry that I have just gotten on my computer today and didn't get back to you in time. The crack is about 1 1/4" long. The shipping to Michigan by Priority would be $6.45 plus $1.10 for insurance if you
want. If you are still interested, I would sell it for $15, otherwise I
will relist it and hope to get $15.
Thanks for your interest.
XXXXX
If nobody bid 9.99 on this dirty cracked item, why does this person think she can sell it under the table for 15.00? She needed to put the shipping charge, (a realistic amount) in the description in the first place!
posted on September 30, 2001 10:31:06 PM new
First of all, as a seller on ebay I don't quote shipping charges in my auctions as my items are packaged as per the buyers request at the time of the auction closing. Also just about the time that I package it for Priority mail and quote a shipping cost in my auctions, then the buyer will request parcal post.......not to mention if the item is prepackaged I do not have a way to view the packaged item and answer detailed questions that might be ask about it. Also you say that the item weights "about 2 pounds". Well a priority mail quote for an item that weighs 2 lb. 1 oz. would be $6.45 so it seems to me that the quote was very close to being acurate and most sellers know that just because the item did not sell for the opening bid the first time around does not mean that when it is relisted at the same opening bid or less, that it can sell higher than the opening bid the second time around. Ebay selling is a game of who's watching when its listed and who wants it when they are watching! Different buyers are always watching at different times therefore the closing prices can sometimes be surprising especially for a relist. Just my experience.
I hate it when no shipping quote is listed or the seller only says 'buyer pays S&H'.
You can say 'actual shipping cost' or exact shipping only' or some such, but I really don't know if our definitions will match until it comes time to total the amount due. Then it's too late if your definition of acutal shipping includes $8 to "handle" a $3.50 priority box.
Is it really that hard to quote a specific price for a specific shipping method to mainland USA addresses, even if you have to put in a couple of qualifiers like extra shippers fees may apply for remote addresses, etc?
posted on October 1, 2001 04:44:05 AM newnanasturtles - What I do is get an item ready for shipping, put all packaging material in the box, weigh it and get the shipping cost, quote it in my auction but don't seal it. So basically if someone asks a question and I need to look at the item, I can just pull it out of the box, and it would only constitute fixing up the packaging material a little. No big deal. Plus then you have it all done and can ship as soon as you receive payment because all you have to do is tape the box and address it. Most buyers want to know what they're going to pay for shipping without having to e-mail the seller only to find out some ridiculous handling charge. I know for me, if there is no shipping charge quoted in the auction, I assume the seller has a handling charge he doesn't want me to know about ahead of time. Maybe I shouldn't assume that every seller that doesn't quote shipping is hiding something, but that's how I feel when I see an auction that doesn't tell me shipping costs up front.
posted on October 1, 2001 09:26:34 AM new
Hello Nanna,
With all due respect, I don't mean to trample on thoughts. This thread was about a person trying to sell an item on ebay under the table for a price higher then her failed auction.
In addition to this, she was asking me to pay what I feel was a price for shippping that was gouging. Here is a copy and paste from the USPO page.
Priority Mail Rates
Weight Rate
Up to 1 pound $3.50
Up to 2 pounds 3.95
Up to 3 pounds 5.20
Up to 4 pounds 6.45
Up to 5 pounds 7.70
How do I know that this item weighs about two pounds? This is because I currrently have one, and have sold one just like it in the past. In my sale, the high bidder paid $51.00 for the item and only $3.35 for Priorty Post plus insuranse.
I also never pre-package item for many of the same reasons you cited. It only takes about 10 minutes to package an item. You really didn't have to defend your position in the fact nobody accused you of doing anything wrong.
This seller has a feedback rating of 195 and mine is 180. I became a ebay member in May 1998 and she, in June 1999. I just check several of her other auctions and NONE on them have shipping prices listed. I think that know why now!
Again, with all due respect to the shipping cahrges, I try very hard to never make a statemant that I can't prove.
posted on October 1, 2001 09:39:55 AM new
Additionally, this person could have sold this item if she had posted a reasonalbe shipping charge in her auciton. Failure to do is a self defeating practice.
I, along with many others I'm sure, search for auction that are listed on the ending today heading. It's frustrating to find an item that you want ot bid on, but find no shipping charge listed.
If you want your auctions to be bidder friendly, you should list a shipping charge whenever possible.
posted on October 1, 2001 11:21:55 AM new
First of all, I'll clarify that I do not make money off of my shipping quotes as was stated by another poster on this thread.....when I replied above and thought that the quoted price was acurate, I was looking at my shipping quote price sheet and looked at the wrong line........so my mistake and I apologize. I've been selling on ebay for 2 years now with over 1000 positive feedbacks and do not overquote my shipping prices to my customers in fact recently I bought something from a seller and when it was delivered I noticed that she had underquoted my shipping by $3.65 cents so I without having to be asked went ahead and paypaled her the difference since as I seller I know we take enough cuts from the higher ups. As far as my auctions go, I quote actual shipping charges only and I name my handling fee within my auction so there are no surprises and if buyers email me I can give them a shipping quote based on their shipping method and zip code so they will know prior to placing a bid but if I quote an actual price in my auction then I feel like I am taking the shipping choice away from the buyer. Even when I send out my invoices, beside of their shipping costs I note the weight of their item so they know it is actual shipping as my auction stated.
Sorry I didn't mean to start any controverial comments by replying to this thread, was only given a prespective from just this one sellers point of view and it seems to work well for me.
