Shipping Costs On Coins You Buy On-Line

Your "poll" doesn't allow me to vote. Hi Dan.

coins that I have bought online normally have shipping priced $5-7 for smallish orders, going up to $12 for larger orders. Some sites also require you to pay for insurance

Update
looked back through orders this year:
shipping costs, ranging $4.75 to $15.30, many sites give free shipping on higher priced items
insurance was charged a few times, ranging $4.47 to $17.53
and one place where I ordered supplies, charged tax

That is true, but many times you don't see the total price until the very end of the purchase. And that makes it hard to comparison shop

Yeah, shipping is part of the cost. If the seller combines shipping - flat rate for any number of items - that's a little easier to handle, but not much.

That pretty well sums it up for me too.
What bothers me are ebay sellers who offer free shipping to the US but want $13.89 to ship to Canada for the same item.
Last week there was a Canadian coin for which I was willing to pay $25,I asked before I bid if he could lower the shipping cost if I paid by a method other than paypal.He replied he only ships to foriegn countries by registered mail.I bid $11.60 and the coin sold for $12.00.If the buyer was from the US he got a deal and the seller left at least $10 on the table.
There are still some US sellers who offer reasonable shipping to Canada but their numbers seem to be declining.

When I sell something with more than minimal value, I pay for shipping, proof of delivery *AND* insurance. I don't charge for my time, or even packaging... But, in my experience, the people who are first to decline voluntary insurance are often the same people who never receive their merchandise.

I would rather lose a small amount covering shipping, and having the peace of mind to know my backside is covered.

Dan, you opened a can of worms here.....
my favorite subject when buying online....
but, more later...
one example now, then the canucks will play:
recently I bought a coin from a guy 2 miles away.
he wanted $8 for shipping a G6 coin 1858 5 cent in a padded bubble envelope. coins price was $9.
I suggested I would pick it up. His reply:
I need to offset ebay and Paypal cost with my set shipping cost.
I told him that I would NOT pay his shipping cost and offered $2 for shipping in a plain envelope.
he took it...

The problem I have with negotiating a new shipping price is this:

If I was bidding against you and my top offer was $17, I won't bid over $9. Then it turns out that you got it for $11 and never had any intention of paying $17!

Well gee, if I knew there was a $2 shipping option, I'd have bid $15.

The seller "took your offer"? The way ebay is set up, he just about has to give in to what is essentially blackmail.

1) If he turns you down, the backup bidder's top bid may be substantially lower, and the backup isn't obligated to buy (which many won't, suspecting shill bidding, or just having found one elsewhere). Then he has to deal with ebay for a refund of fees.

1a) If you walk because he doesn't agree to change the terms of the deal (try that in a supermarket sometime), and his back-up opts out, he gets to waste time and money relisting and waiting another week for money.

2) Even without you threatening to, he knows you can neg him and screw with his 1-5 levels, which could even cost him his discount. And he can't leave a buyer anything but positive. He has to assume that anyone who tries renegotiating (see renege)is unwilling to play fair all around.

So you saved six bucks, but at some cost to your reputation.