My rant as an ebay SELLER (and a GOOD seller, at that!!)

[ntrprnr 0]

So when I need some kind of sanity in my life, I find something of mine to sell on ebay. Usually old DVD's I'm not gonna watch anymore, old video games, an ex-girlfriend or two, whatever.

I'm currently selling an old but perfectly functional development enlarger timer. Cool. Logical and easy to do, right?

On EVERY auction I do, I put the following in the "shipping section."

Seller's payment instructions
Buyer pays (whatever it is for that specific auction) for shipping, shipped via USPS First Class mail, packaged and secured really, really well. Will figure out shipping for outside the US after auction ends. DON'T ASK before auction ends, thanks.

There are currently 2 questions (because I already answered four of them.)

Note the part in bold above. What do you think 5 of the 6 questions were?

People really amuse me sometimes. It's amazing the majority of the public manages to get out of bed without seriously damaging themselves.

-rant over. Going to get a drink with some friends. (at Bar 9 on 54th and 9th in Manhattan, if anyonoe wants to join. IF you do, I'll be so shocked, I'll buy your first and second rounds. :D

_______________
"Why'd you track away at 7,000 feet?"
"Even in freefall, I have commitment issues."

[PhreeZone 15]

You want them to buy something from you, but yet you are not willing to tell them what it will cost to get it once they buy it? I'd be asking the same thing. I was recently bidding on something and I asked about the shipping since it was blank. They wanted 75 for Shipping in the US and then another 30 for the handeling fee for a Pelican case. Cost to ship it is less then 25 via ground from Cali to NY. This person wanted over 100, I choose not to bid at that point. You are having these people put blind faith in you that you are not going charge them a sky high shiping fee... and then you get mad when they ask about it.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[Pawel 0]

Just use a flat shipping fee then people won't ask you. If it's a small item charge them $5-$10 .

[unformed 0]

read what PhreeZone said.

There are a lot of Ebay sellers that use outrageous shipping prices because Ebay does not charge commission off the shipping charge.

As an Ebay seller (with over 6000 in feedback) I'll tell you, you'll get more bids if you just pick a flat-rate charge, even if it is overpriced. Personally, I take the actual cost, add 5 to 10 dollars to it, and that's what I charge. It's simple and the buyer knows beforehand what it's going to cost.

Personally, I wouldn;'t buy something where they said the shipping cost will be determined after the auction ends.

This ad space for sale.

[Squeak 17]

Dude if I'm going to bid on somthing I want to know at least the approximate TOTAL cost to me. If the item cost $100 US and shipping is $50US I'm not gunna bid.
So what you want ppl to do is bid on somthing, win the auction, find out the shipping charges are to expensive, then when they decline to pay you put in a bad referal. That's sucky

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[propilot 0]

I dont use ebay. Paypal ripped me off 500 bucks. Since ebay owns paypal, they can both go to hel

[5432154321 0]

Quote

I dont use ebay. Paypal ripped me off 500 bucks. Since ebay owns paypal, they can both go to hel

Haha... those bastards tried to rip me off for $2000. Said I bought something illegal like a year before my last big transaction and decided to FREEZE my account for 180 days.... WTF OVER??? I had the guy file a claim and say he didn't receive the merchandise and they refunded him. Maybe it's not too late for you.

---
xenaswampjumper SPANKS THIS ASS!!! I WISH karenmeal spanked this ass too.....

[Twoply 0]

I wont even bid on something that doesn't have a shipping amount of any kind. If they don't want to take the time to give me a quote, then they lose my bid and obvious interest in their item.

[base689 0]

> I'd be asking the same thing.
Yes indeed. ME TOO would be asking the same.

> You are having these people put blind faith in you that you are not going charge them a sky high shiping fee...
Absolutely. I absolutely agree again with this: There is NO POINT for me to go to eBay to buy an item to save big bucks (either with respect to web shops or with respect to real life shops) and then, AFTER HAVING WON THE AUCTION, discover that I am going to pay MORE than "another shop" because eBay seller has "gone mad" with shipping price.

> Dude if I'm going to bid on somthing I want to know at least the approximate TOTAL cost to me. If the item cost $100 US and shipping is $50US I'm not gunna bid.
Agreed. Or, if the 100$+50$=150$ is a better price than the price of "another shop".
Yes, a lot of eBay sellers put a low price on item and a high price on shipment because shipment fee is NOT charged.
It's typical of lots of "small-electronic-stuff" (plugs-earphones-similar stuff) coming from Hong Kong: item is 2$, shipment 12$, but 14$ is still a very good price for me, and then I go for it. But I know what my total expenses are BEFORE bidding
Definitely I am NOT going to place any bid on items where I do not know clearly what the final price (item+shipment) is. Especially if you consider that I live in Italy and that most of items I buy on eBay come either from US or from Hong Kong (which items coming from Honk Kong, once here, get charged of 5.50€ minimum, but that's another story )
When I buy on eBay I want to save money with respect to real life shops, NOT to give free money for sky high shipment prices to Mr. Smart-Ass-eBay-seller Just my 0.02€

Stay safe out there
Blue Skies and Soft Walls
BASE #689 - base_689AT_NO_123_SPAMyahoo.com

[ntrprnr 0]

I ALWAYS put a flat rate for shipping in the US - easiest thing in the world. But each country outside of the US is different. Trying to figure out 10, 15, 20 different countries would drive me crazy. Anyone can go to www.usps.gov and do it themselves - why don't they?

I never said I didn't put a shipping charge there - I just am not going to list the charge to every single country.

_______________
"Why'd you track away at 7,000 feet?"
"Even in freefall, I have commitment issues."

[Tenshi 0]

Quote

Anyone can go to www.usps.gov and do it themselves - why don't they?

Because every ebay seller is a hustler?

[kelpdiver 2]

well, if your ad says shipping will be calculated after the sale using the usps calculator for X type of service, plus Y for insurance, that's clear enough.

If you're not very specific, I'd skip over too.

[ACMESkydiver 0]

Quote

I never said I didn't put a shipping charge there - I just am not going to list the charge to every single country.

-Then why don't you use the shipping calculator at the bottom of your bid?

I would NEVER trust a seller on E-bay without a firm shipping price prior to bidding. That's just insane.

~Jaye
Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action.

[Guest]

Yes, there are a lot of clueless people shopping on eBay who either can't read or lack simple comprehension skills.

However, as a seller, you should make a good-faith effort to determine shipping costs in advance. For you to tell people to piss off like that is bad form.

Here's why:

There are a lot of scumbags charging butt-fuck shipping rates on eBay. I've paid as much as $12 in shipping for an item that weighed two ounces.

If you don't have an idea about shipping, set a fixed rate and stick to it. If you guess and you go low by a buck or two, so what?

When selling, I filter the clueless out by stating that NO ONE WITH LESS THAN TEN FEEDBACKS, OR HAS NEGATIVE FEEDBACK WILL BE ALLOWED TO BID WITHOUT CONTACTING ME FIRST. If they don't follow my directions and bid without asking, I kick their bid and block them.

Yes, it's tedious, but it saves a lot of hassle dealing with deadbeats, and it forces the low-timers who are serious about bidding to make the extra effort.

mh

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[base689 0]

Now you put it slightly better.
Because when reading:
"Will figure out shipping for outside the US after auction ends. DON'T ASK before auction ends, thanks"
could be ALSO interpreted as: "After the auction, I am going to put any fucking high shipping expenses I like ".

> Anyone can go to www.usps.gov and do it themselves - why don't they?
Yes, they can. But that was not written exactly so in your auction, wasn't it?

> Trying to figure out 10, 15, 20 different countries would drive me crazy.
If you do a country-by-country shipping expenses list, yes, I agree. But a smart way to do it "short" would be to define FEW classes of shipment. I.e., from US shipping to different European countries can have different fares, but they do NOT differ too much from each other. From US shipping to Italy or to Austria would NOT be so different, so, pick up the highest European country fares, and stick to it.
As far as far east is concerned, pick up the highest fare and put it in your list.
Lots of eBay sellers have 5 or 6 shipping fares covering all the world. Is it perfect? No, it isn't. Is there so much difference between countries in the same continent? No, there isn't.
A lot of eBay buyers prefer a definite shipping price rather then "the lowest (but uncertain) shipping price possible".
Or, follow my very humble advice: in your auction put the following clause:
"Shipment expenses: please go to http://www.usps.gov, determine the right fare to your country, then add 2$ for packaging/whatever else and THAT will be the final shipping cost."

Stay safe out there
Blue Skies and Soft Walls
BASE #689 - base_689AT_NO_123_SPAMyahoo.com

[mdrejhon 8]

Quote

I ALWAYS put a flat rate for shipping in the US - easiest thing in the world.

When I sell something on eBay, I usually sell to Canada or US, so I give fixed flat rate shipping fees. Sometimes I end up paying a few cents/dollars more and sometimes I end up paying a few cenets/dollars less, but at least I don't get email questions from Americans and Canadians asking about shipping prices.

When I quote to international customers, I sometimes give them a slightly fluffed estimate (saves me and their time) and then give them the discount if it ends up cheaper after more carefully doing research and shipping calculations only after the auction is done.

[cameramonkey 0]

Or just do what I do...

I found that most of my dealings with out of country buyers were more of a headache than it was worth. I block all bids outside the US, and its much easier on everyone.

last time I shipped something out of the country, it "disapeared" right after it crossed the border into Canada. took 3 more weeks for the buyer to get his stuff, and we were both sweating it.

Luckilly he was an understanding fellow, and since I kept him in the loop it all worked out.

I have about given up on ebay though. too many idiots.

bought a cell phone from a guy last month to replace my crappy phone that died ... arrived DOA, took 3 weeks and a paypal claim to pry the cash from the guy's hands. He always claimed he didnt get half my emails demanding the return, etc, yet replied to my buddies asking questions (thinking they were potential buyers) via the same ebay messagig system....

...And the brand new backpack I bought new from an army navy store two hours away from me. I bought it, expected it to be here 3 or 4 days later since it was 1 shipping day away, a brick and mortar store with decent feedback #s, etc. I find out a week later they dont order thier auction items from the distributor until somebody actually BUYS the item (yep, they auction what they CAN get, not what they have on hand, probably thanks to some shady "how to make free $$ on ebay without any cash" book).

I get the package TWO AND A HALF WEEKS AFTER I SENT THE PAYPAL PAYMENT. What do I do? I leave negative feedback for crappy service, failure to follow ebay guidelines, etc. Then get dinged for the negative feedback I left because I didnt read the terms on thier ebay STORE (not the auction itself) that I didnt even visit to buy the damn auction item!

Ebay used to be great, until the masses of idiots and half-wits that shouldnt even own a computer started ebaying. Even putting "$10 flat shipping" still gets me "how much to ship it to georgia?" questions.

Stick a fork in me.

Two wrongs don't make a right, however three lefts DO!