ebay, and shipping costs.

Asperon Thorn · Post by **Asperon Thorn** » Wed Feb 11, 2004 7:19 am

Ok, I am relatively new to e-bay so I may or may not be seeing scams where they don't exist. But am I correct in thinking that shipping costs are one of the biggest scams?

I was interested in an item that was going for cheap, so I e-mailed the seller to see the shipping costs to my location (he was in the UK) he quoted me 6 pounds!! For a single Mini. and more than it was selling for. I was absolutely insulted considering I had just gotten 6 mini's from a seller who shipped them for 2.5 pounds.

Since I am new, I am curious, is this common and something I should really look out for in e-bay purchases?

Asperon Thorn

sineater40k · Post by **sineater40k** » Wed Feb 11, 2004 8:26 am

This does seem to be a theme that is running rampant on ebay these days. It's a cheap way to inflate your price, is it a scam though.......?

I would say that depends on the persons reasoning. When i place something on ebay i basically guess at the shipping charges, sometimes i ask a little too much some times i burn myself. I think most sellers look at it from a point that big companies charge for the handling aspect, meaning they want to be paid to have someone pack it and for the box itself. If you are a regular ebayer this can make sense. I mean you know how much it cost to buy all those boxes and tape lol

but for the guy who just sells a few things i dont think its fair. Reguardless of what i think though its not likely to change any time soon

Indigo · Post by **Indigo** » Wed Feb 11, 2004 8:52 am

That guy was clearly trying to rip you off - when I sent my NAF Vampire to Melifaxis it only cost about £3, and that was to the US. Ebay states that the bid is not legally binding until mutually agreeable shipping costs have been agreed between both parties, and if he starts to complain then report him to eBay - they'll even remove any negative feedback he leaves if it's because he's overcharging on shipping.

Alternatively, create an eBay "blacklist" on here so people know who to avoid

tchatter · Post by **tchatter** » Wed Feb 11, 2004 6:04 pm

The problem with Ebay are the fees... then if the buyer pays with PayPal there are more fees... so most people charge shipping and HANDLING. The Handling part being there to take care of the fees.

I don't think it is a scam... say I have a fig that I want $10.00 for, well, I would have to put a reserve of like $11.00 or something to cover the fees, and most people don't like reserve auctions. So if I start the auction at $1.00 and set my Shipping and Handling higher then I know that I am covered and should get my $10.00, one way or another.

It isn't a scam since the shipping terms have to be disclosed in the auction listing. Now, if he said that Buyer pays exact shipping and he then charges you 6 pounds and you get it and see it was only 3... well, yeah then you were scammed.

Grumbledook · Post by **Grumbledook** » Wed Feb 11, 2004 6:48 pm

i emailed one guy saying i woudl bid but not pay more than £1 for postage and packaging as i knew it wouldn't even cost him that

he wanted £3 and replied it was to cover the charge ebay put on sellers which i think is out of order and also to cover paypal fees again a rip off specially if you don't pay by paypal he could have at least put if paying by paypal then he would add a bit extra like other sellers do

gken1 · Post by **gken1** » Wed Feb 11, 2004 8:30 pm

In the end EBAY WINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they make money on front end with ebay fees, and on the backend with paypal

6pds is high tho.

Grasshopper · Post by **Grasshopper** » Wed Feb 11, 2004 9:22 pm

Yup, it's not all for shipping I'd bet a nut on it.

Snew · Post by **Snew** » Thu Feb 12, 2004 12:27 am

Shipping is envelopes, tape, gas to the post office, and postage. A new padded mailer costs 50 cents to a dollar unless you buy them 100 at a time. Boxes, bubblewrap and peanuts cost as well. I try and recycle but still need to buy new shipping supplies regularly.

Put on top of that eBay fees: listing fee, picture fee, final value fee...

PayPal charging the seller to receive your money...

... an extra dollar or so is not to much to ask for handling.

You decide what you think is fair shipping. Talk to the seller before you buy and ask if he's willing to ship it a cheaper way. A lot of times the seller is paying part of his final value of the auction to get your purchase to you. Just consider it for a moment.

Snew · Post by **Snew** » Thu Feb 12, 2004 1:28 am

Shipping is envelopes, tape, gas to the post office, and postage. A new padded mailer costs 50 cents to a dollar unless you buy them 100 at a time. Boxes, bubblewrap and peanuts cost as well. I try and recycle but still need to buy new shipping supplies regularly.

Put on top of that eBay fees: listing fee, picture fee, final value fee...

PayPal charging the seller to receive your money...

... an extra dollar or so is not to much to ask for handling.

You decide what you think is fair shipping. Talk to the seller before you buy and ask if he's willing to ship it a cheaper way. A lot of times the seller is paying part of his final value of the auction to get your purchase to you. Just consider it for a moment.

BigD · Post by **BigD** » Fri Feb 13, 2004 9:03 pm

Interesting remark Ind1go about the shipping and Ebay's 'withdrawal of statements'. Do you know of any where this has happened?

The reason I ask is one seller made slanderous comments about myself so I've chased Ebay etc and basically its a case of just too bad. Have even gone as far as threatening legal action but Ebay doesn't give a toss to say the least.

And as for shipping fees. You're right, some people do abuse it but as both a seller and buyer I've got to say in some ways I don't blame them. If the buyer has listed ridiculous fees and you buy then you have no right of comeback as the information was disclosed at the time. You can of course question it but if you're willing to bid then you must be willing to accept what the seller has said, pure and simple! It is a legally binding contract, okay enforcing it may be an issue but if a buyer isn't willing to pay the shipping fees as I indicate then I don't sell to him, do the feedback, contact ebay requesting my fees refunded and contact the next in line. Pure and simple! And as for any remarks - Are you a lawyer? And yes I've had this asked already. No I'm not but I'm sick of people complaining because they don't read the AUCTION! Some people are just so bloody stupid and blind that they shouldn't be on Ebay in the first place. And its going to get worse. Afterall Ebay and the Internet are now a consumer product and lets face it, consumers/customers are just bloody stupid! Pure and simple!

But basically, if you don't agree with the fees then don't buy!

I'll get of my high horse now

BigD

Deathwing · Post by **Deathwing** » Fri Feb 13, 2004 9:16 pm

It's simple enough...if you consider it too high, don't bid unless you're sniping at a low enough price to take it into account.
If there's no postage/shipping quoted then enquire before you bid.

ORTHODUB · Post by **ORTHODUB** » Fri Feb 13, 2004 10:01 pm

an interseting side line is do you use postal insurance ?. The reason i ask this is because when i post items abroad i offer insurance but often the buyers want the minimum cost possible and when i tell them i accept no responsibility for the item if it gets lost i tend to get grief back. I once sold a PS2 for £180, the postage was £10 but insurance of upto £500 was an extra £2 but the buyer was not interested (it worked out fine in the end). So back to the origional point, i think it only fair to stress the service you are giving for the money in regards to P+P.

Deathwing · Post by **Deathwing** » Fri Feb 13, 2004 10:55 pm

I only sell bits and pieces here and there but I'll usually offer insurance or registered post as an option if it's of any real value.

Deathwing · Post by **Deathwing** » Sat Feb 14, 2004 2:34 am

Here's a nice example:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... egory=2559

Now I've been chasing a copy of White Line Fever for a good while now...but I'm not in any rush. The seller's clear enough about the charges..£3.50 postage and £2.50 paypal surcharge...but personally I'm f*cked if I'm gonna pay £6 on top of whatever it runs to so I can get it here from Essex! (these things come up more often stateside, I could've got one shipped across the pond for that kinda money!)

They're clear enough..so am I...I'll wait.

..(I might have a dabble if I can snipe for about £3.01 though..lol..).

Edit: There's a full set of the original boxed game (which is pretty heavy and standard GW box sized) going with £5 shipping quoted within the UK with no surcharges for paypal. So while you can get ripped for shipping if you do you gotta hold your hands up...

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ebay, and shipping costs.

ebay, and shipping costs.

Ebay, Shipping costs etc...