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 Replies: 14 / Views: 1,969 |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3049 Posts |
So let me start by saying that I have never sold anything on e-bay before...
But I have a whole bunch of coins $2 - $50 in value that I would like to sell off.
I know some sellers will charge like $5 for shipping but then combine the shipping price up to a certain number of items for an invoice.
What I'm wondering is.... would it be possible to charge the $5 shipping on each item, but once the seller states that they have received the item you give them a full or partial refund for the unused shipping fees.
eg. you sell 3 coins to user "XYZ".. and charge $5 per item shipping. It costs you $2.50 to ship the item but you had collected $15. Once xyz sends you an email stating that they have received the coins could you then refund them the extra $12.50 in shipping charges.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1949 Posts |
I think most ebay buyers will be extremely turned off by the idea of the seller holding onto funds until they confirm receipt of the item |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
797 Posts |
That is a pretty convoluted way of doing the shipping charges. I think most ebay buyers would not like that setup at all. Why not just put a fair shipping charge for each item and then if somebody wins multiple auctions then you can send an invoice with a discount on shipping for multiple items. Most of the time I factor in the shipping charges and bid accordingly anyhow. If the shipping charges are clearly spelled out and paid up front that works much better than holding money and giving refunds and such. |
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Pillar of the Community
 Canada
3049 Posts |
Let me first off start by saying I understand that buyers may be put off... I get that..
I'm just asking IF it can be done...
I suppose I've heard some bad stories... of people selling items then claims being put in ..
For small items between 5 and 50 bucks I don't anticipate I will be making anything off of these coins.. more or less just liquidating them so I can free up some cash to get better coins for my own collection... What I'm hoping for is a way of discouraging INR claims...
The buyer would have to have a LOT of trust in the seller so new buyers may be apprehensive.. just trying to think outside the box is all..
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1949 Posts |
It CAN be done...
The buyer would certainly have to have a LOT of trust in the seller
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
Quote:
The buyer would have to have a LOT of trust in the seller so new buyers may be apprehensive.. just trying to think outside the box is all..
Y'know, I actually like the idea. It's ridiculous to waste the cost of tracking on a $5 item, and I think the idea would weed out the ones who want to take you. That way you can unquestionably handle any claim that might actually come up with confidence that the buyer is being honest. Stuff happens, and you gotta back your word if it does. I don't know how legal it would be. Find out first. But the idea grows on me. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1949 Posts |
Quote:
I think the idea would weed out the ones who want to take you I think there are far fewer people who use ebay to scam 1 $5 coin at a time... There certainly are a good number, but not as many as you might think... 'Shockingly' I seem to have more packages go missing shipping to certain states than halfway around the world... |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3049 Posts |
SsDd: That's kinda what I was thinking... If said person buys lets say 6 coins that week from me for a total of say $60 and I charge 'em $30 shipping. Yes the price is a bit steep at first and I have to pay a percentage of that total to ebay which I'd be fine with. But say that claim that they didn't receive their item and have requested me to ship without paying tracking ... I refund the $60.. I have kept the difference from the shipping - $30 while I'm out.. it's not THAT bad... But the other reason I thought this may be a good idea is it also encourages follow up with your buyer... perhaps then you can thank 'em once again and find out if there's anything you can do to improve or meet their expectations... you know kinda build a relationship.. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1949 Posts |
If the person claims they didn't receive the item, it was shipped without tracking and files a claim in your example, they would be getting all $90 back, not $60
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Pillar of the Community
United States
589 Posts |
If you decide to charge a TON for shipping, then ship it tracked and insured, all the time. The buyer is paying you for it, and it protects you. However, the number of buyers who will pay crazy shipping costs...well... You might have better luck figuring out the LOWEST price possible for you to mail the item individually however you want, and listing the items at that price with free shipping. That way, if anyone should buy multiple items, you can potentially make a little extra money or ship a different way (i.e., with insurance if you didn't have it before), and if they'd buy a lot from you, then it's all the better for you. One thing to note about ebay though, new sellers have limits (10 items/$100 per month), funds are held for a couple weeks before they're available to you, and numismatic items are not covered for free BIN listings, only free auction listings (you first 50 of each a month are free), otherwise you need to pay 30 cents to list it. As well, with shipping costs, you might want to consider restricting sales to certain countries, or calculating shipping internationally for all your items. You don't want to loose money due to oversight. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4085 Posts |
Honestly, most buyers in my opinion will take the shipping charge into account when they bid. So the same coin on average will sell for, say $30 with free shipping or $25 with $5 shipping. In other words, the net cost to the buyer is $30.
If you refund shipping charges, you are giving buyers money back they they are not expecting and so you are basically giving away money for no reason.
I typically charge what I think it will cost me to ship each item and then in the comments section say something like "check out my other auctions - each additional item ships for $1" (or 50 cents or whatever you think)
Edited by KenKat
01/23/2015 9:36 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4596 Posts |
Although I think it smacks of paying for feedback the way you describe it, what CAN be done is to issue a PayPal refund. I just had one hit my mailbox "we had a savings on the shipping of your order and have credited $6.00 to your Paypal account."
-----Burton 50+ year / Life / Emeritus ANA member (joined 12/1/1973) Life member: Numismatics International, CONECA Member: TNA, FtWCC, NETCC, EveryCountry (online) coin club Owned by three cats and a wife of 40+ years (joined 1983) Author: 3rd Edition of the Sample Slabs book, https://www.sampleslabs.info/ |
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Valued Member
United States
211 Posts |
It's nerve wracking at first sending something off in the post and hoping it gets there. Statistically, it almost always gets there and tracking is a waste. It costs about a dollar for me to mail coins domestically in first class, and somewhere in the 2.50 range to send it with tracking. If I'm selling coins worth 5-20 dollars, the difference in cost from tracking is substantial. Once you ship a few coins, you'll have the costs down. I just assume that 99+% of the time the coin will get there and a small percentage of the time it won't. I can assume that a very small percentage of the time a buyer might try to swindle me (it happens, but not often). I've sold about ~50 coins without using tracking, and shipped for <1 dollar. They've all made it there with no complaints.
I think I'd save more in shipping in the long run by keeping it cheap, and making it easy on the buyer. I usually offer free shipping. I just assume I'll swallow any losses from the postal service and cheats, and factor that into my plans. I say to keep your shipping costs low, and trust people. MOST of them won't disappoint you.
Edited by JimmyJames
02/10/2015 3:42 pm
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3049 Posts |
Very interesting... I guess one of the biggest differences is that it costs a whole lot more to ship in Canada... *sigh* The problem with having so many mediocre coins.... I can risk ebay .. but after all costs I and given the market I don't know if I would be that much better off than going right to the dealer...? I guess I'll just have to buck up and try it out a bit and see what works. I also think I might put up a list here of the stuff I'm trying to get rid of... |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1247 Posts |
I did just that with some computer memory. the guy bought all 3 and paid 1.99 shipping for each.
It cost me less then that, so I told him when he got them and was satisfied to let me know and I would refund 3.00 of his shipping back.
He did and I did.
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Replies: 14 / Views: 1,969 |
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Posted 01/23/2015 12:43 pm
