Ebay Ethics

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Bobby

If the argument from sellers is that the cost are legitimate based on mileage ,insurance ,gas ,electricity and all other normal costs then it is also reasonable for the buyers to take into consideration there expenses .

what I'm actually trying to say is that costs are incurred on both sides of the equation ,, and that argument holds no merit as a means of raising shipping costs .

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Sorry Rick, I think this whole line of thinking is entirely wrong. I can honestly say that as a seller on ebay, you're costs to buy from me mean absolutely nothing to me, never have and never will.

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My feelings are that shipping should not be used as a way to offset business costs

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Charges to a customer by a business are ALWAYS used to offset business costs. The entire idea of owning business is to charge the customer more than I spend.

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I was in business for myself for more than 20 years ,, If I would have had a delivery charge for the rolls of carpet that I carried out to do the house ,,my business would not have survived ,, there was and is only one way to make up for that and that is by volume ,, and volume is achieved by and through service and prices.

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So you didn't have something called a "delivery charge", big deal. If you think you didn't charge your customer to bring them to the house you're wrong. You charged a price to install carpet and made a profit. ALL of your expenses (hopefully) went into calculating the price you could live with. You did charge for the delivery whether you called it that or not.

How about today you quote a job to carpet a mobile home that's 10 miles from your house, you take into account expenses, it's and esay job you can knock out in 2 hours so you figure $75 profit is cool with you. Two weeks from now the they call and say OK, but they've moved the mobile home 80 miles away now. By your logic, you just do the job and lose money since you don't charge to bring it to the customer? Not me, the price just went up.

Ok, let's spell this out in a way it hasn't been said yet.

Let's assume there's an item worth $100. It can be sold any number of ways, but in the end the buyer is not going to be willing to pay over $100. One seller might choose to sell the item for $100 and offer free shipping. Another seller might prefer to give the item away for free as long as the buyer pays $100 shipping. In the end, the buyer pays the same amount for the item, but the seller is MUCH better off if he gives the item away and charges astronomical shipping costs. Why? Lower taxes and lower ebay fees.

Unfortunately, the IRS doesn't buy into that way of doing business and neither does ebay (fee avoidance). Shipping charges must be maintained at a reasonable level. Therefore, it benefits the seller to charge the highest shipping level possible which can be supported by actual expenses incurred in the shipping process.

The customer is paying the same no matter what...customers look at the total amount they have to pay for an item (price + s/h). If s/h is higher, the item won't be bid as high as it would if the s/h amount was lower. It all works out to the same amount out of pocket for the buyer in the end. However, it costs the seller to NOT add a handling charge. ebay permits a reasonable handling fee to be added to the actual shipping charge and not be subject to fees. Why do buyers not understand that they're paying the same amount, but helping out the seller by allocating part of their purchase price to handling?

Funny how so many buyers like you equate good customer service with low s/h. Why don't you concern yourselves with the bottom line price you're paying and rate customer service on things like communication, good packaging, and fast service? Does it really hurt you to help out the sellers by understanding exactly WHY they have to charge for handling when they ship? I'd love to offer free shipping on every item and bury my shipping costs in the sale price, just to not have to deal with customers asking why I'm not charging actual shipping. However, my handling charge (which is very reasonable/justifiable) saves me a lot of money each year. I'm a single mom and every penny counts in my house.

I have limited experience selling items on ebay, but have charged actual shiping costs plus a small fee for materials I call "Handling Charge" in my listing. The buyer knows up front what to expect and can take that into consideration when bidding.

Wow lots of disagreement in this thread. In my opinion there is nothing wrong with making money on shipping because as others have pointed out, you have to offset the costs of packaging materials and gas money for the trip to the post office. For the stuff I sell on ebay, I use the calculator by zip code option and offer both 1st class and Priority. I default to anywhere from $0.25 to $1.00 for handling depending on the item and what the packaging needs will be (can I use a used box, or do I need to go spend 79 cents on a bubble mailer).

Regardless, if you know the up front costs for shipping and bid on the item, you really have no room to complain if the postage shows significantly less. You agreed by bidding on the item that the shipping amount was acceptable, and if your item got to you safely and securely there is no reason to berate the seller. I havent had any complaints about shipping costs, but my DSR on ebay shows a 4.5 or 4.6 score for shipping costs when at best I am breaking even or making a minimal profit. This despite the fact that the shipping cost is up front, and I am guessing the buyer isn't savvy enough to compare what I charged vs. what I paid the post office (look on the shipping label).