Help with feedback for shipping profitering

[shadroch]

So I win a book on e-bay from a forumite. Bok comes today,well packed and in my eyes undergraded.I'm about to leave positive feedback when I otice that I was charged $10 for shipping,yet the stickers on box say $3.85 and .45.for confirmation.Thats a 6.00 profit,assuming the box might have cost fifty cents.

Seller already left me positive feedback.

Thoughts?

[BachelorOfComix]

Contact him to resolve the situation. If not satisfied leave a neg or neutral. If the seller was greggy, ignore the above & just neg the mofo.

[greggy]

Contact him to resolve the situation. If not satisfied leave a neg or neutral. If the seller was greggy, ignore the above & just neg the mofo.

[ComicBookGuy]

Contact him to resolve the situation. If not satisfied leave a neg or neutral.

 

Excellent advice. I second it. If a customer said to me that he or she (yeah right) overpaid, I would apologize and send the amount of overpayment. Any reasonable person would. If the seller is not reasonable, then I would think about a neg or neutral. Good luck with this situation.

Joe

[shadroch]

Since its a forumite,I'd like to have a bunch of opinions to show him when I contact him,or he may read this and contact me.I think he has come out against this in the past.

I would certainly contact him before leaving a neg,and wouldn't leave one in this case regardless. Book was nice.

[jimm94]

Hi Shad,

 

Was the shipping cost indicated in the auction listing, and/or was it mutually agreed upon before payment was sent? If so, I honestly don't think you really have much room to complain. It doesn't matter how much it actually cost the seller to ship it if you agreed to the asking price. Just file it away as a learning experience for next time...

 

I completely agree that it is best to not treat shipping and handling costs as a profit center. It can only lead to bad feelings in a transaction.

 

Take care,

 

-Jim

[Dr_Neff]

I wouldn't worry about it, just make sure next time to c/o the shipping and HANDLING charges b4 you bid. It's costing you more than the $6.00 difference just thinking about it and taking time to vent...

 

Some people initially squawk at my $4.99 price for priority mail (U.S.) but when they see how well it's packed they never complain & leave a positive every time

 

$10.00 is a lot to charge though, especially since the book wasn't graded

[tay666]

I always figure shipping costs into the final price of an item.

If the shipping costs are stated up front in the auction listing then the seller did nothing wrong to warrant a negative. They did exactly what they stated, they sent you what was represented in the auction, and it arrived without damage.

 

A lot of sellers on ebay (not just comics) inflate the shipping price to save on 'final value fees' from ebay. Ebay bills them a percentage of the closing price (not counting shipping). Not saying this is the case here, just that it is a very common practice on ebay. Look at some electronics some time.

I got a memory card for my camera. $10 winning bid + $10 shipping.

Actually shipping cost was $0.68. But I only paid $20 for a $40 memory card (if I bought it at a local retailer). So I was more than happy.

Moral of the story, add in the shipping cost when figuring how much you are going to bid.

 

Another reason for inflated shipping costs. A lot of people use a flat fee which is usually based on the farthest destination (the farther you ship it, the more it costs). So if they were only a couple states away from you, the shipping would be a lot less.

 

Also, shipping costs are actually shipping and handling.

Which factors in actually shipping costs.

Cost of packaging (including tape, labels, etc.)

Time to package.

Time to go to the post office.

Plus helping to offset the ebay and paypal fees.

 

Not everyone does that, but if I were running a psudo business, I would. Otherwise I would be loosing money on every package I shipped. I know because I just helped my mother figure all this put when she started selling stuff from her store online.

[awe4one]

I'd treat the tranaction the same regardless of whether they are a Forum member or not. Contact them to let you know how you feel and see what they say...

 

I'm not sure I would leave any feedback if I was happy with the transaction minus the shipping...

 

Jim

[rjpb]

I always factor shipping costs into my bid - a $5 difference may not matter much if your talking about a $300 item, but on a $20 item it will effect my top bid. Unless shipping costs are not disclosed in advance, then profiting on shipping is at the sellers discretion, and if it is that offensive to the buyer, then don't bid. When buying items from a large retailer, the price charged for shipping almost always exceeds actual shipping costs, and the balance is considered a handling charge. If you are happy with the item for the total amount you paid, then leaving a neg seems a bit petty.

If you are truely offended by the shipping charge, then just don't leave any feedback at all.

[(un)cooldude]

I agree with some of the points made here regarding adequate charges for shipping comics in such a manner that they arrive as perfect as possible. I'm all for giving a seller a couple or few extra dollars for excellent packing effort...as long as that's what I receive.

 

Unfortunately, it has also been my experience that a lot of sellers don't put more than a passing thought into packing comics for delivery, but feel justified in gouging buyers on the shipping and "handling" fees. I just started a thread myself a few days ago about this very thing. I didn't overpay for shipping, but it was pretty obvious that the seller (who was a 'power seller' by the way) didn't care about how I _received_ the comics. He just tossed them into a priority mail envelope, and sent them off. I'm still amazed that ANY of them are still in acceptable shape, after seeing what the envelope looked like.

 

I'm _still_ debating on what kind of feedback to leave this seller, at least citing his obvious lack of care towards customer service. But, like many have said here, I've decided to chalk it up to a learning experience, put the seller on my 'do not buy from' list, and move on. I received a shipment yesterday from another ebay seller, that DIDN'T come priority mail, but it was obvious that he took more than 3 seconds to package the comics. As a result, they came out in PERFECT shape, and I'm a happy camper!

 

So, there's good and bad out there, and really, leaving feedback on a seller's profile is the ONLY gauge most people have to making a decision on whether to buy from a seller or not. I know I do my homework on them myself before I buy. I've also started asking here about sellers I have concerns about, because chances are, we're all peeking in the same windows at times...

 

Shipping profiteering is nothing new on eBay. If you feel you've been gouged, try to work it out with the seller. If they want to be difficult about it, and you feel you haven't been satisfied, leave the appropriate feedback. You can even report incidences of people doing this, although I somehow doubt eBay looks too hard into these...

 

Feedback is the only gauge we have, remember, so don't be afraid to use it. Just make sure you've at least TRIED to work it out with the seller FIRST though. I've seen way too many instances where people neg first, without even trying to contact the seller. In the end, we're all just people out here, and people make a LOT of mistakes. If you were doing the deal face to face, I'm sure you would want to at least talk to them, before kicking them in the personals.

 

I've also taken up a new policy with comics I buy on eBay, thanks to some feedback I've gotten from people here; I contact the seller BEFORE I bid, if possible, and clarify the terms of shipping and handling. I request a BOX for the comic(s), and that they take some time to package it properly. I also offer to compensate them resonably for making that effort. If they can't meet those terms, I don't bid. Sometimes you're going to run into times where this isn't always possible to do, but I also try to negotiate shipping arrangements BEFORE I make my payment, as this also gives you an opportunity to work something out with the seller. BUT, if they've got terms CLEARLY spelled out in the sale, and you bid without making prior arrangements, then you've agreed to their terms.

 

Remember, these comics are about a strong as a small stack of paper napkins, so a little TLC is needed to ship them. I just wish these 'power seller' comic dealers on eBay would remember that....

[DawgPhan]

Leave a neg and forget about it....dont waste your time dealing with this person. Give him a neg and know not to deal with him in the past...Hell you have done better than I would for not outing him and claiming a new DWSOTD.

 

Also to the people that want me to cover all of your time and gas and everything like that..sure that is fine, but when it is reasonable. I figure about $1.00 per package for handling fees is exceptable. Oh and if you cant itemize those handling charges you can shove them up you ***! Dont tell me that you spent $5-6 in handling of my package..there is just no way..Oh and ebay doesnt like when you pass the fees on to the customers by raising the shipping fees...Just so you know...

[nik]

An extra $6 dollars profit on shipping is a bit, but IMO if you received a well packaged book, and undergraded (bonus here), you still made out.

[BassGMan]

I'm surprised how many people get angry when they see that shipping has cost a few bucks (or even $5 or $10) more than actual. As long as the shipping cost is clearly stated in the ad, and then the package was shipped safely and in the manner advertised, then WHY is it a problem? Although I personally do not charge extra for "handling" or extra hidden fees, I realize that some people DO charge for their time to pack, or to recover for the Ebay fees or whatever, and there is nothing wrong with that. All it is is factoring in the overhead costs, and that is reasonable. If a listing states $12 for Media shipping and I receive the comics in a well packed used box with a $2.84 shipping cost, then fine, I agreed and all is well. I factor in that listed $12, know what I am bidding on (including ALL costs) and then most certainly leave positive feedback assuming everything went well. ----Sid

[qualitycomix]

So I win a book on e-bay from a forumite. Bok comes today,well packed and in my eyes undergraded.I'm about to leave positive feedback when I otice that I was charged $10 for shipping,yet the stickers on box say $3.85 and .45.for confirmation.Thats a 6.00 profit,assuming the box might have cost fifty cents.

Seller already left me positive feedback.

Thoughts?

 

Ok, glad you liked the book. I charge a flat $10 for shipping/insurance if 1 book is purchased no matter where it's shipped to in the US and no matter what the book sells for. So if a buyer buys a $2,000 book, I still only charge $10. There is NO profit center. In fact, I usually lose a few dollars on every order. If an inexpensive book is ordered, sometimes the cost is less than the flat rate I charge.

 

My employee shipped these books while I was out of town last week, thus I didn't know the disparity in price between what you paid and what I shipped the book for. In addition, you paid $45 including shipping for a very nice FN+ ASM #34. And don't you agree that a well packed, accurately (or under) graded Silver Age Marvel is a rare thing on ebay? Isn't that worth a few extra $$$, especially when I'm clear about the charges up front?

 

I'll send you $5 back via Paypal, because, well I don't know why exactly. Just don't bid on my auctions next time if you don't feel that the shipping charges are appropriate.

 

Brent

[awe4one]

Ok, glad you liked the book. I charge a flat $10 for shipping/insurance if 1 book is purchased no matter where it's shipped to in the US and no matter what the book sells for. So if a buyer buys a $2,000 book, I still only charge $10. There is NO profit center.

 

Why should someone buying a $35 comic supplement the postage/insurance of another who buys one at $2,000? Your analogy doesn't work...

 

But you can charge whatever you like for shipping as long as it's clearly stated beforehand...but I doubt I'd buy anything a second time if the same charges applied to me on my first order...

 

Jim

[qualitycomix]

Ok, glad you liked the book. I charge a flat $10 for shipping/insurance if 1 book is purchased no matter where it's shipped to in the US and no matter what the book sells for. So if a buyer buys a $2,000 book, I still only charge $10. There is NO profit center.

 

Why should someone buying a $35 comic supplement the postage/insurance of another who buys one at $2,000? Your analogy doesn't work...

 

But you can charge whatever you like for shipping as long as it's clearly stated beforehand...but I doubt I'd buy anything a second time if the same charges applied to me on my first order...

 

Jim

 

It's just to save time, so I don't have to quote individual shipping/insurance rates. Take Comiclink for example. They do the same EXACT thing and charge flat rates. It saves them time.

 

The books I sell usually sell at least $100. This means that my cost of shipping and insurance (not including the cost of the box), is around $8.00 to most places in the US. Add in the cost of the box and it's around $9.00. And that's at a minimum. Most of the auctions end for much more than $100.

 

Lesson learned though, that I should put up more expensive books on ebay and leave the less expensive ones in my inventory. That way it won't appear that I'm supplementing anything.

 

BTW, kudos on your site. Looks great!

[DKB]

Or just knock the less expensive ones down to $7 or $8. Not griping mind you, just an idea.

 

After selling a few things myself, painstakingly packaging them and whatnot, I won't deny a seller $2-3 of profit on shipping as it takes a bit of work and the outcome is worth the cost.

[qualitycomix]

Or just knock the less expensive ones down to $7 or $8. Not griping mind you, just an idea.

 

After selling a few things myself, painstakingly packaging them and whatnot, I won't deny a seller $2-3 of profit on shipping as it takes a bit of work and the outcome is worth the cost.

 

I've actually thought about that. In addition, this was our first auctions with the new template and I believe that it was a little confusing for buyers who won more than one auction. Some paid $30 via Paypal for shipping when they won 3 auctions. I promptly refunded them the majority of that.

 

I am thinking about a tiered shipping charge as you suggest. Maybe $7.50 for books less than $100 including shipping and insurance.

[sterlingcomics]

C'mon here. He isn't pocketing $6. It probably took him at least thirty minutes of time between packaging and shipping. He has costs associated with shipping-those peanuts, boards, and boxes aren't FREE! (USPS can provide you with some of this however--he isn't obligated to use those materials if he chooses not to). I'd personally say he broke even.

 

Considering that the book was undergraded, I'd say you had an excellent transaction.