When do you give negatives on shipping prices?..

[mschmidt]

If the book arrived in the condition stated, shipped fast and safe, with decent communication, I'd give him 5 stars and glowing feedback. 3 bucks aint much.

 

After you got the invoice and before sending payment, did you tell him your concern about the dollar extra shipping?

nope I just figured it was what it was & was not a lot so just paid it ... it sort of erked me a bit when it came back even less than quoted price though, but I"m happy with the books & like others have said... what the hell ...

 

Where did the book come from? $3 is pretty cheap to ship....

 

Any letter sent First Class (which goes up to 13 oz) in the US is less than $3 - the price is based on weight, not distance.

[Bosco685]

If the book arrived in the condition stated, shipped fast and safe, with decent communication, I'd give him 5 stars and glowing feedback. 3 bucks aint much.

 

After you got the invoice and before sending payment, did you tell him your concern about the dollar extra shipping?

nope I just figured it was what it was & was not a lot so just paid it ... it sort of erked me a bit when it came back even less than quoted price though, but I"m happy with the books & like others have said... what the hell ...

 

Where did the book come from? $3 is pretty cheap to ship....

 

Any letter sent First Class (which goes up to 13 oz) in the US is less than $3 - the price is based on weight, not distance.

When printing with PayPal labels, a 1 pound package sent via Media Mail with Delivery Confirmation is $2.57 total, not including packing material and box costs if everything was purchased brand new versus reuse.

[Flying Orb]

The only thing that would bother me is changing the shipping price from $5 to $6. I hate when seller have a fixed price for shipping and then try to change it afterwards. But I'd let it go because it really is only $1 more then the shipping price I already knew about.

 

However, I wouldn't by from him again and if I left any feedback I would probably only give him 4 stars for shipping.

[Hey Kids, Comics!]

Never. I dont care if a guy charges me $50 and pays $5 as long as I'm happy with the final price. People still do the charge a small BIN and a big shipping to cut their fees, even though it's supposed to be disallowed. In my opinion, people get WAY too worried about shipping price vs shipping cost. Just factor it in with the final price you want to pay and leave it at that.

 

DISCLAIMER - I do sell on ebay but DO NOT charge the high price shipping with low BIN. Sometimes, I even lose money on shipping.

[mschmidt]

Never. I dont care if a guy charges me $50 and pays $5 as long as I'm happy with the final price. People still do the charge a small BIN and a big shipping to cut their fees, even though it's supposed to be disallowed. In my opinion, people get WAY too worried about shipping price vs shipping cost. Just factor it in with the final price you want to pay and leave it at that.

 

DISCLAIMER - I do sell on ebay but DO NOT charge the high price shipping with low BIN. Sometimes, I even lose money on shipping.

 

I think there's a huge difference between hitting the BIN on auction where the shipping cost is stated upfront - and then having the seller either change the shipping price after the auction ended, or do a combined shipping cost (for multiple items) that ends up being far beyond what the actual postage cost is.

 

I won 3 books on ebay from the same seller a while back - the shipping cost was listed as $6 in the auction, and it also stated that he combined shipping. When I received the invoice from him, the combined shipping cost was $12. When I received the books, they were in a media mail box with a $3.55 postage stamp.

 

That to me is shipping gouging - I have no intention of leaving a neg, but I'm most assuredly going to hammer his shipping DSR and also mention this in the feedback.

[Junkdrawer]

you dont leave neg for that. but you can tank him on the dsr for shipping charges. note that the post office does not supply bags boards, bubble wrap and the proper materials to send a comic book, nor do they perform the duty of packaging up the book. however anything more than $1 over the postal amount IMO is excessive plus you should question the $1 discount and i'm sure he will give it to you as a refund through paypal, more than likely. usually people who have yet to sell on ebay are quick to want to slam a seller with NEG. how many sales do you got? thought so. karma!

[wee_s2e-migration]

Never. I dont care if a guy charges me $50 and pays $5...

 

[Tempus Fugit]

Packing and driving to the PO is the cost of doing business. If he shipped it in a new box, figure an extra buck or two. $6 is too much for a media mail comic. I charge $2.99 for a media mail comic.

 

I answer the star questions honestly, if shipping is unreasonable, I would give one or two stars. In this case that is what I would have done. They don't see it, and they should not have high status if they are charging $6 to ship a comic. I assume this was an inexpensive book.

 

I would have + feedbacked but said something like "nice book but seller charged $1 more than advertised for shipping"

[Hey Kids, Comics!]

Never. I dont care if a guy charges me $50 and pays $5...

 

 

So a $50 BIN with $5 shipping makes you sleep better than a $5 BIN with $50 shipping?

[wee_s2e-migration]

Never. I dont care if a guy charges me $50 and pays $5...

 

 

So a $50 BIN with $5 shipping makes you sleep better than a $5 BIN with $50 shipping?

 

That's not what you said, and I'd just report the latter to Ebay and get the auction pulled.

[the blob]

I'd be more irritated that the quote was $5 and he charged $6...did you ask why the difference?

[the blob]

but it's almost hopeless, i usually charge less than cost for shipping and i still don't have 5 stars

[somewhereintexas]

Packing and driving to the PO is the cost of doing business. If he shipped it in a new box, figure an extra buck or two. $6 is too much for a media mail comic. I charge $2.99 for a media mail comic.

 

I answer the star questions honestly, if shipping is unreasonable, I would give one or two stars. In this case that is what I would have done. They don't see it, and they should not have high status if they are charging $6 to ship a comic. I assume this was an inexpensive book.

 

I would have + feedbacked but said something like "nice book but seller charged $1 more than advertised for shipping"

 

"Unreasonable"? Give me a break. One of two stars for a DSR should be limited to extreme situations. In this case, even if everything the seller used to ship the comic in was free (which it probably wasn't), he made a whopping $2.95. I find it hard to believe that anyone would believe that warrants one or two stars for shipping cost.

 

In this case, to me the only issue was the seller quoting $5 for shipping but then charging $6. And even then, it's possible that it was an honest mistake, and the seller didn't remember quoting the lower amount. If the discrepancy was not brought to the seller's attention, it's hard to know what really happened.

 

All that being said, if a seller clearly states the shipping costs in a listing, a buyer has absolutely NO basis for complaining about how much is charged for shipping. If you don't like how much the seller is charging for shipping, then don't buy the item. Period. Just my

[Batty Scrooge]

Packing and driving to the PO is the cost of doing business. If he shipped it in a new box, figure an extra buck or two. $6 is too much for a media mail comic. I charge $2.99 for a media mail comic.

 

I answer the star questions honestly, if shipping is unreasonable, I would give one or two stars. In this case that is what I would have done. They don't see it, and they should not have high status if they are charging $6 to ship a comic. I assume this was an inexpensive book.

 

I would have + feedbacked but said something like "nice book but seller charged $1 more than advertised for shipping"

 

"Unreasonable"? Give me a break. One of two stars for a DSR should be limited to extreme situations. In this case, even if everything the seller used to ship the comic in was free (which it probably wasn't), he made a whopping $2.95. I find it hard to believe that anyone would believe that warrants one or two stars for shipping cost.

 

In this case, to me the only issue was the seller quoting $5 for shipping but then charging $6. And even then, it's possible that it was an honest mistake, and the seller didn't remember quoting the lower amount. If the discrepancy was not brought to the seller's attention, it's hard to know what really happened.

 

All that being said, if a seller clearly states the shipping costs in a listing, a buyer has absolutely NO basis for complaining about how much is charged for shipping. If you don't like how much the seller is charging for shipping, then don't buy the item. Period. Just my

 

I love reading sellers replies to topics like this, what a joke! Its this kind of thinking and complaining that's made E-Bays feedback system as useless as it is! Unless the transaction was top notch across the board, its a neutral transaction, not positive. If the guy is misquoting shipping, and making money on shipping charges, thats not 5 star, or 4 star, and its not positive!

 

If a seller is making $2.95 on excess shipping charges, its usually a low dollar book or we wouldn't even pay attention. So how is it that sellers think its ok when the book itself was probably lower than the total shipping charges?

 

And the excuses of "Well, I have to pay for gas to the post office" or "packing materials" when the majority just cut up priority boxes and stuff with newspaper that costs nothing. Sorry sellers, that stuff is the cost of doing business. If you can't absorb the costs, raise your starting price on the auction to cover the costs and we won't have to deal with threads about $2.95 in excess shipping and a bunch of sellers making fools of themselves spouting off about how buyers just don't understand.

[Bosco685]

but it's almost hopeless, i usually charge less than cost for shipping and i still don't have 5 stars

I had that for the longest time, as it is the lack of buyer education how the DSR system really works. Especially how Ebay uses it to determine power seller or top rated seller status.

 

Once I started including a small note explaining the impact to a seller, all of sudden I started receiving 5-star ratings. Of course there are those that will continue to assume a 3 or 4-star rating is good, when Ebay requires Power Sellers and Top Rated Sellers to achieve a 4.6 in all categories.

[Boozad]

Never. I dont care if a guy charges me $50 and pays $5...

 

 

So a $50 BIN with $5 shipping makes you sleep better than a $5 BIN with $50 shipping?

 

For the same item? The seller shouldn't even be doing that as it circumvents eBay's policies. Listings like that should and have been pulled, if people don't like the costs involved with selling on eBay then they shouldn't do it.

[somewhereintexas]

Never. I dont care if a guy charges me $50 and pays $5...

 

 

So a $50 BIN with $5 shipping makes you sleep better than a $5 BIN with $50 shipping?

 

For the same item? The seller shouldn't even be doing that as it circumvents eBay's policies. Listings like that should and have been pulled, if people don't like the costs involved with selling on eBay then they shouldn't do it.

 

There certainly is a line that a seller can cross on shipping costs with eBay, but no one should fool themselves and think that the policy is in place to protect buyers. It's not. It's to prevent sellers from circumventing eBay final value fees since those are not charged on shipping but only on the sale price. As far as eBay goes, it's all about money. It's not about protecting buyers.

 

The example above is somewhat extreme, and is not really what this discussion is all about. Two things happened to the original poster: (1) he was charged $1 over the shipping price that was quoted, and (2) the shipping price he was charged was $2.95 over the amount of postage affixed to the package.

 

As far as the $1 goes, if the discrepancy is brought to the seller's attention and the seller chooses to do nothing about it, then I think the buyer is completely justified in leaving a negative or a low DSR. On the other hand, if nothing is ever said to the seller, then you really don't know whether the seller simply made an honest mistake. It's hard to imagine a seller risking the wrath of a buyer over $1.

 

With respect to the $2.95, even if you are of the belief that a seller should never charge more than the actual amount of postage, that should never result in a DSR of 1 or 2 except possibly in an extreme situation like the example above.

 

Buyers should keep in mind that DSRs of 1 or 2 can be extremely punitive, as they can result in a seller's discount on eBay final value fees being reduced from 20% to 5% or from 5% to zero, and should be reserved for rare situations where a true problem arises and the seller refuses to take any corrective action once they have been contacted. I don't think a seller charging a few dollars over the amount of actual postage should ever result in a DSR of 1 or 2.

 

Betty Scrooge would have you believe that anything involved in the shipping process other than postage is simply a "cost of doing business" and sellers should up their starting prices to make up for whatever costs they incur. If it were as simple as that, sellers probably would take that approach. But it's not. And in any event, sellers should be able to choose what costs they absorb and what they pass on. If you don't like what a seller is charging, whether it is for the item itself or shipping, then just move on.

[Boozad]

Never. I dont care if a guy charges me $50 and pays $5...

 

 

So a $50 BIN with $5 shipping makes you sleep better than a $5 BIN with $50 shipping?

 

For the same item? The seller shouldn't even be doing that as it circumvents eBay's policies. Listings like that should and have been pulled, if people don't like the costs involved with selling on eBay then they shouldn't do it.

 

There certainly is a line that a seller can cross on shipping costs with eBay, but no one should fool themselves and think that the policy is in place to protect buyers. It's not. It's to prevent sellers from circumventing eBay final value fees since those are not charged on shipping but only on the sale price. As far as eBay goes, it's all about money. It's not about protecting buyers.

 

I know why eBay set that rule, but the fact of the matter is it is their rule, and anybody not adhering to it is circumventing eBay's policies. I have no illusion it's in place to protect buyers at all.

[Comicsarefun]

Interesting side note. The OP is from Canada. If the seller was from the USA, then the star rating of a 1 or 2 will not count against the seller, as 1 or 2 star ratings from foreign buyers are no longer counted for sellers (that is to say, it will effect the star average, but will not be counted as a "1 or 2" in the all critical 3 month count that determines power seller discount).

 

If you don't understand this post, don't worry about it, it is confusing for the people like me that deal with it every day.

 

 

[the blob]

If a seller is making $2.95 on excess shipping charges, its usually a low dollar book or we wouldn't even pay attention. So how is it that sellers think its ok when the book itself was probably lower than the total shipping charges?

 

And the excuses of "Well, I have to pay for gas to the post office" or "packing materials" when the majority just cut up priority boxes and stuff with newspaper that costs nothing. Sorry sellers, that stuff is the cost of doing business. If you can't absorb the costs, raise your starting price on the auction to cover the costs and we won't have to deal with threads about $2.95 in excess shipping and a bunch of sellers making fools of themselves spouting off about how buyers just don't understand.

-------------------------------

 

Plenty of business charge for shipping AND handling.

 

For one, when you pay $5 for shipping to a seller, paypal is taking a cut, so the seller doesn't get that as "profit".

 

A reasonable amount above exact postage is ok in my mind, particularly if, let's say, you're shipping media and it's boxed. The uline boxes I use for that cost me 65-75 cents (they actually cost about 50 cents in bulk, but they cost a lot to ship to me) or so and can be re-used by my buyers (I really hope they re-use them).

 

$2.95 "profit" (even if that includes paypals fees and cost of materials) is pushing it for a cheap book though. Charging $4 or $4.50 in this scenario wouldn't be so terrible. Like I say though, I lose money on virtually every shipment I make of comics at least, sometimes when selling my wife's stuff she overestimates the shipping costs. I think enough buyers are scared off by an extra buck or two on shipping I lose more sales than it's worth. Also, a seller who isn't insuring these cheap items is in a way self-insuring against the 1:100 or 1:500 lost or damaged package, so an extra 50 cents per sale isn't unreasonable.

 

But I don't buy the "it takes time to pack these, I'm worth $25 an hour, so that will be a $10 handling charge"...that is part of the cost of doing business unless you're talking about some item (and antique or whatever) where pick-up would be the norm.