Buyers don't appreciate excessive postage charges - and will walk

[deltadelta48]

The difference between actual postage and the total charge was £3.32? Is that right? I think that comes out to between $3.50 and $4.00 in U.S. currency for packaging and handling.

It partly depends on the box the seller used. Was it recycled box or a new one? Medium sized boxes here start at about $2.00 in stores like Staples, more at the Post Office, unless we buy them in quantities of 25 or more. That isn't feasible for a small seller. Unless prices are a lot lower in the U.K.?

A lot of sellers charge $1.00 for handling, again not unusual or unreasonable. Most of us have to make a special trip to the Post Office to mail them.

Did she have to use bubble wrap to protect the items? That costs money too.

Without knowing more, it's possible the charge was reasonable.

Pound conversation is something like $2 so the charge was almost $14, actual cost about $7. This was discounted rate for buying 3 items. Kind of poor to promise her discount and charge her double. This is why many buyers will not bid if it is not perfectly clear what seller will charge for shipping.

Good point about the cost of supplies, but some carry it way too far. An Office Depot box may be $4, deluxe label $1, packing stuff $2, so $7 is used for packing. Some pass that cost right on. But alternatives are free, free boxes at food store, cover writing with free brown grocery bag, use a marker instead of label, pad with recycled peanuts. Zero cost to pass on to buyer. Which one will they buy from again? Not like you are giving them a great treasure using a $4 cardboard box, verus a Ragu box from the corner store. Both will go right in the trash anyway.

Every seller has to decide what to do. Overcharge shipping and make an extra little something? Provide a discount to encourage buying more items, and make more profit off sale of 3,4,or more?. Buy only the best supplies? Recycle to to save buyer money. I would rather make more sales and give a shipping discount.

[bykimbo]

Pound conversation is something like $2 so the charge was almost $14, actual cost about $7. This was discounted rate for buying 3 items. Kind of poor to promise her discount and charge her double.

We haven't been told what the original shipping price per item was, so we do not know what the discount is. There is nothing to suggest the price went *up* let alone was doubled.

[florida33549]

Pound conversation is something like $2 so the charge was almost $14, actual cost about $7. This was discounted rate for buying 3 items. Kind of poor to promise her discount and charge her double. This is why many buyers will not bid if it is not perfectly clear what seller will charge for shipping.

Good point about the cost of supplies, but some carry it way too far. An Office Depot box may be $4, deluxe label $1, packing stuff $2, so $7 is used for packing. Some pass that cost right on. But alternatives are free, free boxes at food store, cover writing with free brown grocery bag, use a marker instead of label, pad with recycled peanuts. Zero cost to pass on to buyer. Which one will they buy from again? Not like you are giving them a great treasure using a $4 cardboard box, verus a Ragu box from the corner store. Both will go right in the trash anyway.

Every seller has to decide what to do. Overcharge shipping and make an extra little something? Provide a discount to encourage buying more items, and make more profit off sale of 3,4,or more?. Buy only the best supplies? Recycle to to save buyer money. I would rather make more sales and give a shipping discount.

Delta, Yes, there are some boxes that sellers can get for free [after running around using their gas to find them]. As for recycled peanuts, would love to know where you get them free.

Also, from what I can see most of your items are light-weight and they can easily be shipped together for a small rate. But for sellers who offer glassware, large items [such as toys], etc. it is impossible to get rates down when the package weighs a lot or because of the box size it gets into the USPS postal dimensional rate. Also, all overseas priority mail rates are ridiculous but those are the rates and since tracking is not available with first-class mail, I choose not to ship first-class overseas.

I list my shipping cost. I insure glassware and expensive items and have tracking on all packages. I don't add a lot of handling into my costs. I buy my boxes [except priority boxes], packing peanuts, bubble wrap, tape, printing paper, gas for my auto to get to PO, and on and on. These are handling fees.

It always amazes me that online buyers [when it comes to auctions] question a seller's handling fees, but yet when they buy from an online store [say Kohl's] they don't question the shipping. We own a small business [repairing autoclaves] and our parts are shipped from Boston, MA to Lutz, FL. When we get the package we don't look to see how much 'handling' the sellers charged us. We knew the total cost of the item [including shipping] when we ordered it and that's what we paid. To complain about it, after the fact, is crazy.

Personally, I don't think the seller in this situation did anything wrong. They gave a discount on the shipping [whatever it was]. If the buyer was concerned, they should have asked before the sale what the total shipping would have been before bidding. To ding the seller with anything less than a positive, IMHO, is unfair if the product is as described. Granted I would not like it if the seller did not respond to my questions but maybe the seller is thinking...I gave a discount, the product is as described, I shipped quickly, and I'm not sure why the buyer is now complaining about shipping costs.

And finally, yes, postage in the U.S. is extremely high. I checked one time [can't remember if it was Fed Ex or UPS] to see if their postage was any lower than the U.S. post office. It was not. So I list for foreign buyers, but I doubt they will buy any of my items because of the high shipping cost, but it's their choice.

[TiasTreasures]

Pound conversation is something like $2 so the charge was almost $14, actual cost about $7. This was discounted rate for buying 3 items. Kind of poor to promise her discount and charge her double. This is why many buyers will not bid if it is not perfectly clear what seller will charge for shipping.

The pound was around $1.30 the last time I looked. I just checked again and it's gone up. It's worth $1.53 as of today. So my estimate was a bit low, yours is a bit high. Really have to remember to check before I post anything like this again.

However, based on the buyer's description of the package, this was way too much for S&H. I hope the seller responds with an explanation. Or better yet, a refund.

[deltadelta48]

Delta, Yes, there are some boxes that sellers can get for free [after running around using their gas to find them]. As for recycled peanuts, would love to know where you get them free.

Also, from what I can see most of your items are light-weight and they can easily be shipped together for a small rate. But for sellers who offer glassware, large items [such as toys], etc. it is impossible to get rates down when the package weighs a lot or because of the box size it gets into the USPS postal dimensional rate. Also, all overseas priority mail rates are ridiculous but those are the rates and since tracking is not available with first-class mail, I choose not to ship first-class overseas.

I list my shipping cost. I insure glassware and expensive items and have tracking on all packages. I don't add a lot of handling into my costs. I buy my boxes [except priority boxes], packing peanuts, bubble wrap, tape, printing paper, gas for my auto to get to PO, and on and on. These are handling fees.

It always amazes me that online buyers [when it comes to auctions] question a seller's handling fees, but yet when they buy from an online store [say Kohl's] they don't question the shipping. We own a small business [repairing autoclaves] and our parts are shipped from Boston, MA to Lutz, FL. When we get the package we don't look to see how much 'handling' the sellers charged us. We knew the total cost of the item [including shipping] when we ordered it and that's what we paid. To complain about it, after the fact, is crazy.

Personally, I don't think the seller in this situation did anything wrong. They gave a discount on the shipping [whatever it was]. If the buyer was concerned, they should have asked before the sale what the total shipping would have been before bidding. To ding the seller with anything less than a positive, IMHO, is unfair if the product is as described. Granted I would not like it if the seller did not respond to my questions but maybe the seller is thinking...I gave a discount, the product is as described, I shipped quickly, and I'm not sure why the buyer is now complaining about shipping costs.

And finally, yes, postage in the U.S. is extremely high. I checked one time [can't remember if it was Fed Ex or UPS] to see if their postage was any lower than the U.S. post office. It was not. So I list for foreign buyers, but I doubt they will buy any of my items because of the high shipping cost, but it's their choice.

Food stores, espec places like Sam's Club will give you all the boxes you want but they are printed, which does not look professional. Covering it w/ brown paper is cheap fix. Peanuts free? Everyone gives me their peanuts. Honest, I never asked anyone to save them, I rarely use them, but anyone who shops on line gets them. Just ask around.

My items are light, 3 ounces to 5 lbs but most of my customers buy multiples. Few days ago one bought 49 items, so that is going to be a heavy 20 lb box but will go into priority flat rate with some persuading. Some of the bedspreads weight 5 lbs but are super bulky, so need to go in oversized boxes too, so it varies. Yes, it is harder to wrap glass for shipping than tablecloths and more protection is needed for those things.

I notice so many of those big online shopping places like O now use flat rate shipping, really cheap like $2.99 for everything no matter how much is ordered. So people are going to look at our shipping and wonder why we are charging $5.99+ plus a handling charge. These companies can afford to pick up the extras couple of bucks, they save lots of bucks on buying the supplies by the ton, so that low shipping is seen as a very positive bonus for buying from them. Plus they got all the staff to pack, the PO picks up there without giving them lip, and they can get stuff out in a snap. Hard to compete against them.

Point is some buyers go ballistic when they see those handling fees. Makes it worse to explain its for the box, the gas, etc. They figure you should not be charging them "extra" for those things when you are actually being honest and breaking down the cost for them. It has become such a negative issue that I just wonder if it is not better to skip writing the explaination and just starting your auction $1 or whatever higher to cover the handling. How many people use handling now I wonder? Do their customers accept it or give them static about it?

I checked on other services too, and UPS did not deliver to some places in US, and many of our items do go to very very small towns. I started checking typical addresses and they had blackout areas or whatever. That was a few years ago. Price was a bit cheaper but if I have to take some to USPS anyway, it does not save me time. I think Fed ex is higher, not sure if there are advantages to using them or not. If the don't have flat rate boxes, then my items end up costing more to ship. Almost all my priority packages are flat rate.

Like it or not we are stuck with USPS!

[deltadelta48]

The pound was around $1.30 the last time I looked. I just checked again and it's gone up. It's worth $1.53 as of today. So my estimate was a bit low, yours is a bit high. Really have to remember to check before I post anything like this again.

However, based on the buyer's description of the package, this was way too much for S&H. I hope the seller responds with an explanation. Or better yet, a refund.

Now it is really complicated to do the math, $1.53??????? Liked it better when it was close to $2!!!

I agree. Most buyers don't care if you charge $2.99 and shipping comes out to 2.49. But if it is more than a few bucks, they start to think that maybe they don't want to "tip" you that much. Overcharging for postage is like taking a big tip and running away to McD's for lunch on them. Buyers see it as free cash to the seller.

[mimmies]

I have a scale that was not very expensive and i put my items in whatever i will be shipping them in (usually a bubblewrap mailing envelope) to get an exact weight and i round it up just like the post office does. that way i can put that in my auction so that the buyer from wherever they are can calculate the shipping. i might add a very low handling charge but that is also visible to the buyer so they know exaclty what they will be paying. that way there are no surprises. for multiple wins, the shipping is usually only a couple of dollars less if anything but i usually discount becouse i am making more money on multiple sales. our fees should not be our buyers concern just great products and great customer service
http://mimmies-flea-market.ebid.net
http://mimmies-baseball-cards.ebid.net
http://mimmies-70s-80s-vinyl.ebid.net

[TiasTreasures]

I agree with Florida, and I will not assume that a specific amount is overcharging without more information.

I pick up boxes when I can, but they are NOT readily available in my neighborhood. We had to purchase small boxes and mailing tubes. Perhaps someone can tell me where we can find these free of charge. We use shredded newspaper for packing when possible. But for fragile items, bubble wrap is really the only safe option. It's not cheap. I have relatives who live in rural communities. I hope no one expects them to drive 20 miles to the nearest town in hope of finding some free boxes. I am not aware of any way to get free styrofoam peanuts, either. If some of you have a source, good for you, but please don't gloat and don't criticize those who don't.

And don't forget insurance. USPS does not include insurance on any type of domestic shipping. Are we supposed to pay that out of pocket, too? Or take a chance and lose a $35 dollar coin as recently happened? I refunded the buyer, and I'm out the coin, the PayPal charge and eBid's FVF. From now on the buyer is going to pay insurance on anything over $30 value. That includes combined shipping.

So, if I have to add a $4.00 handling charge for an item, it is NOT overcharging. If I don't charge for these, I have to increase the selling price. This puts us at a huge disadvantage on Google Shopping, because they do NOT display the shipping charge.

We could also take the easy way out and ship everything by Priority Mail, to take advantage of the free boxes. Of course, we will still charge for insurance if necessary. This will cost more than Parcel Post or First Class, with a fair handling charge for the packing, but hey . . . we won't be inflating the shipping charge, will we?

[deltadelta48]

We haven't been told what the original shipping price per item was, so we do not know what the discount is. There is nothing to suggest the price went *up* let alone was doubled.

That is correct. We do not know invoice total for shipping the three items, nor do we know what amount was discounted for the multiple sale. We do know that the buyer was charged double the cost of mailing the item as evidenced by her package.

We do know that shipping cost is calculated for one item based on weight (including packaging), method, and location. System is usually spot on. However, for multiples, although system does same calculation, the additional weight added for packaging times number of items, throws the invoice shipping total off. To correct sellers usually weigh items and manually discount shipping total via drop down feature. We do not know why seller did not correct invoice shipping total to reflect the actual cost of mailing the package.

[DZAMBO]

Well…I don’t like to ‘’cheat’’ any my Buyers for shipping and handling for anything, and for usual stuff likes: my trips for postal office, my gas, my supply and other ‘’tricky’’ stuff because of one simple things my Buyer never know exactly how far I need to drive to postal office and for any my supply how much I pay or I find this for free like many around…so I always charge normal shipping and if anybody buy two or more any of my items in one time I still charge same shipping like I charge for one, so many benefits to buy from me two or more items in one time because any buyer is not pay nothing more if buy from me two or more items doesn’t matter if item heavy or not…a sample I can send to you outside of U.S. my shirts which I selling if any buy 1 or 3 shipping still same like you buy only one, for my DVDs 1 or a 100 I send to you outside of U.S. for same shipping price like you buy only one, so anybody can buy from me a 100 DVDs I still charge $5.00 for a 100 DVDs !!!! shipping and handling for outside of U.S. , My stickers if you buy 1 is going to cost you $2.00 shipping for a sample any country of the world if you buy 500 stickers a sample still same shipping $2.00 for any country in the world…I mean especially for my Stickers likes for a stamps if you put in 1 or 20 or more real shipping is not going up anything from U.S. Postal office because you can put in one envelope 20 or more stamps and still is going to cost same price like you send only one from U.S. Postal office and that’s true…I don’t like to charge extra $0.10 or $0.40 for extra any my stickers or a sample stamps because real things this stuff is very small and don’t use much space…Well…huh…but ‘’MY’’ selling prices is different story and this is how much I think my any item worth to me, so in the end I don’t cheat buyers you pay my price and don’t worry for the shipping because if anybody buy from me multiple items in one time that person can cut my selling prices because I pay more for shipping which I pay for that not my Buyers, I think this is better deal because you can see my real price for my item without worry for shipping….and that’s is Business because selling price is selling price no cheat but shipping charges you must cut down or pay more for the Buyers to attract any buyers to buy from you….Well in the end that way always works for me for any Auction site where I selling my Items only things still in here we need MORE buyers to beat that ‘’Big Animals’’ who eat almost %50 my profit every month huh…