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 Replies: 21 / Views: 3,217 |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1590 Posts |
Fatman, ebay changed their policies awhile back the fees are charged on the total sale now; to include the shipping fees. They could care less what you charge for shipping since the more you charge the more they make. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1291 Posts |
Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! The minute I hit "send" I knew what I said would be misunderstood. First...I'm sorry...I was NOT trying to insult you. However, you said, "I actually lose a bit of money with the eBay/pay fees, cost of the bubble mailer and postage" and I interpreted that to mean that the $1.99 you were charging did NOT make up all those fees....which could also be construed as you trying to make up some of the fees...and that's what I said..."some". So...are we clear there? You said it oddly, and I took it the wrong way. The truth is that if you were trying to make up all your ebay and PayPal fees you'd have to charge way more than $1.99 - I get that. $1.99 is NOT unreasonable. In fact I'd classify it as at least "fair". Now...let's talk about your shipping fees. First off, if you're paying .60 cents for a mailer, you're doing something wrong. Did you mean .06 perhaps? Also...if you're using the eBay/PayPal system you should be getting charged $1.69 for any and all first class packages between 1 and 3 ounces, so your true SHIPPING COST of a small 1st class package should be about $1.75 for the postage and the bubble mailer. I don't think anything you've said constitutes unfair shipping practices, and bidders certainly have the option not to bid on your stuff if they think you are being unfair. I do find myself wondering why the priority small box as opposed to first class with delivery confirmation...and maybe insurance. Let me ask...who's doing the complaining, the first classers or the priority boxers...? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
615 Posts |
I have no idea why people are complaining. My lowest rate is $2.50 and I have a 4.95 on shipping charges. If they buy 2-3 items, I charge $3.00 and up depending on how many. Buyers need to realize that ebay is a buyer's market, in which the seller is charged: 1. Listing fee 2. % of selling value 3. % of shipping value 4. Paypal flat rate fee 5. Paypal % fee 6. Cost of materials to ship. It's silly when they complain, honestly I don't feel any remorse making a few bucks on shipping. Edit: My Engrish today is lacking. Edited by HippieOutcast
02/15/2013 3:40 pm
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
7096 Posts |
I have never had a grizzle about shipping costs I charge. I buy prepaid express or registered shipping supplies from the post office and this works out to be the cheapest option (in Australia) to send with a tracking number.  Overseas postage from Aus however is a bloody nightmare and expensive compaired to other countries  I only charge what I pay at the post office ( No handling fee,stocking fee type BS) and always combine items at the cost of one item (unlike some of the sellers ) |
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Theres really no reason someone should complain about a shipping fee when you charge what was listed. They can see what the shipping fee will be and if its that big of a deal to them they should move on to the next seller. The only real reason to complain about the charge would be if they charge priority mail then send it first class or something like that. I will add though if you print your own labels either through ebay or the usps you can get free tracking on priority mail packages, ebay will let you get free tracking on any type of shipment. I would also suggest checking out Amazon for bubble mailers. I recently got 100 bubble mailers on there for 8 dollars and if your a prime member the shipping was free. Its basically the same price to get 100 as it would be to get 1 package of them from staples. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1291 Posts |
Quote:I would also suggest checking out Amazon for bubble mailers. I recently got 100 bubble mailers on there for 8 dollars and if your a prime member the shipping was free. Its basically the same price to get 100 as it would be to get 1 package of them from staples. Yeah...that's sort of where I was hoping to go with some of my earlier comments...and questions... If you're serious about selling on ebay, there are things you can do to reduce costs and streamline your overall efforts. I sell enough that it's worth it to me to buy 500 mailers at a time and drive that cost down to about 4 cents per mailer. I use my printer to print postage and avoid spending time in the post office. Printing my postage allows me to get a delivery confirmation on EVERY shipment. Having that delivery confirmation gives me the confidence to ship higher cost items first class instead of in a more expensive flat rate box. When the things you do to ship efficiently drive your shipping costs down you can offer lower costs to your buyers and perhaps reduce complaints...or perhaps...as I did...just offer free shipping. People should not be complaining when you charge a reasonable shipping fee but... people are people. I can tell you, however that they NEVER complain when it's completely free. Each to their own...but I decided not to let them frustrate me with their petty shipping cost complaints. I switched to free shipping and crossed my fingers that they'd be willing to bid higher for the privilege of winning an item that came with no shipping charges...and I believe that's working for me. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
36905 Posts |
Your shipping charges seem reasonable. $5.20 only covers the flat rate box, there's an extra .90 for tracking.
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Quote:
When the things you do to ship efficiently drive your shipping costs down you can offer lower costs to your buyers and perhaps reduce complaints...or perhaps...as I did...just offer free shipping.
People should not be complaining when you charge a reasonable shipping fee but... people are people. I can tell you, however that they NEVER complain when it's completely free. I honestly think theres just some people that like to complain. I usually do the priority shipping just because its easier for pricing, I've guessed wrong a few time on weights. A lot of people seem to enjoy that it arrives faster if they dont mind the extra price. I did have one buyer leave me a 1 for shipping price though when all I did was charge cost. Wish I knew who it was so I could block them. Im sure it costs me some buyers but I just use ebay for extra money anyway so its not a big deal if things take a little longer to sell or I have to list them a few times. When I first started out though I would just go get supplies from staples and would get KILLED on the shipping, Amazon has been more than helpful to keep those extra costs down. Kind of a side question, does USPS let you print registered mail labels yourself or do you have to do that at the PO? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1291 Posts |
basebal21: I've never tried to use the eBay/Paypal system to ship registered mail, but I doubt such an option exists. After my next round of ebay sales finish up and I get ready to ship I'll take a look. How long ago was it that you received that "1" for shipping fees? There IS a way to out that guy if it's not too far in the past and if you're not a MEGA-seller... |
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
I'm not a mega seller, I usually sell like 2 or 3 things a week. I can't remember exactly when it happened it was definitely within the last 6 months though and probably the last 3 or 4. I think it was november/demcember
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1291 Posts |
basebal21: Have you ever used any of those "reports" that ebay makes available to sellers? If so, there's one where you punch in 10 item numbers from 10 items that you sold and it runs the results and it tells you what the DSR ratings are from those 10 people. Some people don't bother leaving any DSR ratings, so you might have to swap out a few item numbers and bring in a few others...but eventually you should get to the point where you have 10 people who have given you DSR ratings. The BEST circumstance is where you lock in on 10 people who gave you PERFECT ratings. Then, all you have to do is drop out one of those item numbers and insert some other item number. When you see your perfect shipping score drop from 5 to anything less than 5, you have just identified a buyer who gave you a less than perfect score. If your shipping score is 5 and then one item drives it down to 4.6, it means you just found a buyer who gave you a 1!! Like I said, it's a lot easier to do this if you can round up 10 perfect scores before trying to identify the "rotten apple", but it can be done even without 10 perfect scores...it just makes the math a little more complex. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1130 Posts |
Just explain in the listing that you think the small flat rate box is the best idea. (I do too.) I do the same thing on fishing lures. I just put in my listings they will be shipped in a small flat rate box. Priority mail is much safer than regular.
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Ive never used any of the report features they have. I just tried to do a couple and I'm pretty sure I did it all wrong because I couldnt see any of the DSR ratings. I know I could easily find 9 perfect ratings if I could figure it out since my rating in that category has been climbing back up since that hit from the 1. The only reason I even noticed that was when I checked the top rated seller thing and it said I had 1 in that category. I actually just checked it again and it says it wasnt in the last 3 months but it did show up on in the past 12 feature
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1291 Posts |
Well...just to be sure...did you find your way to THIS screen?  If not, the steps are: 1.) Seller Dashboard 2.) Detailed Seller Ratings Reports 3.) Report type: Item Numbers |
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Quote:
Well...just to be sure...did you find your way to THIS screen? I tried to do the one where it does it for you instead of putting it in by hand. Wish I knew that back when it happened lol but I think ill take some time this weekend and figure out who it was. Ill never figure out why people complain about stuff thats clearly listed like the shipping price |
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Replies: 21 / Views: 3,217 |
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Posted 02/15/2013 3:34 pm
