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07/06/2006 10:07:06 AM · #1
//pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/excessiveshipping.html

What ebay is saying is that some sellers charge outlandish shipping charges (thus avoiding selling fees) and they can list the item for less money. Like a 99c item and $50 shipping charge. It'd be nice if they can actually fix this IMO.

Where it will effect us is Amvona (a seller on ebay). They always list things at 99c and have shipping of $24 to 40 on 3 pound items.

What you all think?
07/06/2006 10:14:24 AM · #2
I think cracking down on the shipping fees is a good thing. It's a big turnoff when they charge so much, and I never realized why they were doing it. As long as we pay the same total amount I'm not worried about it.
07/06/2006 10:18:40 AM · #3
While I'm against "excessive" anything, you have to consider that shipping and handling typically adds up to more than shipping alone. It includes packaging, time spent to create the listing, time taken to deliver the item to the post office, etc... For me, that handling charge could also include at least a portion of the seller fees that I incur, including Paypal etc... It's all a cost of doing business.

I think the key here is that the seller be upfront with his/her charges. If the bottom line for you, the buyer, is acceptable - we have a deal. If Amvona's bottom line, including shipping/handling costs, is seen as excessive, then don't buy.

Message edited by author 2006-07-06 10:21:05.
07/06/2006 10:25:58 AM · #4
When is ebay going to do something about their excessive listing, selling and Paypal fees?

Personally, when I'm buying on ebay, I set a price in my mind of what I am willing to pay, including shipping. If I want to pay $20.00, I don't care if it's $20.00 with free shiping or $0.01 with $19.99 shipping, I'm only paying $20.00.

Are there unscrupulous sellers on ebay? Heck yeah. But that's what feedback ratings are for.
07/06/2006 11:09:27 AM · #5
One of ebay's issues is it's not fair to the 'honest' seller - i list a CF card lets say, at $19.99 and free shipping. You list it at 1c and $19.98 shipping.

Your's looks cheaper and comes up differently in the searches.

Part of ebay's issues is on the above: you pay a smaller listing fee and final fee - final is 5% of the selling price, NOT the s&h. So eBay is losing money on your sale, or perhaps you could say I am subsidizing your business.

Eitherway for the buyer it's the same price, but the perception is the higher shipping fee is a rip-off.

AND if you have to return something - you never get the s&h handling back do you? So you can't realistically return a 1c or 99c item when you paid $20 or 30 in shipping!
07/06/2006 11:15:33 AM · #6
Originally posted by larryslights:

When is ebay going to do something about their excessive listing, selling and Paypal fees?


I gave up on E-bay and Paypal a while ago. Had a go at being a seller and found out the hard way that both companies are as crooked as an eleven dollar bill.

I won't deal with either company again, ever.
07/06/2006 11:26:31 AM · #7
Originally posted by larryslights:

When is ebay going to do something about their excessive listing, selling and Paypal fees?


that's my first impression as well - BUT the paypal is not bad a deal. 1.9 would be better than 2.9, but I can live with it.

They raised the listing fees a couple of times and they bother me. The problem is there is no way to sell cheap stuff and make money.

In may i sold my old rebel - $449 less $31 in fees (list, final and paypal). Not a bad deal! 7% in costs, most businesses would love a numebr like that!
In june i sold a GPS unit ($114) and a dozen music CDs ($2-4 each or so) for sales of $159 and fees of $32.39 - this is a lot less profitable. 20.3% in costs. and 13 listings not 1 - so a lot more work.

I tried selling stuff for people on ebay and the fees (% wise) meant it could not be profitable for small stuff, and that's what most people want to sell.
07/06/2006 11:29:16 AM · #8
Originally posted by fotomann_forever:



I gave up on E-bay and Paypal a while ago. Had a go at being a seller and found out the hard way that both companies are as crooked as an eleven dollar bill.

I won't deal with either company again, ever. [/quote]

What's crooked? Confusing until you understand it, sure.
I've been on eBay since late 2001 and have not had a single problem. I can't say the same about Dell, Amazon, my pharmacist, local gov't or some of my past employers!
07/06/2006 11:39:20 AM · #9
Originally posted by Prof_Fate:


What's crooked?


Sore subject for me, so I won't go into details. But let's just say that Paypal will do whatever they want with your money when its in thier accounts and whatever they want with linked checking accounts.

I had the same account from 2000, never had a problem, until a year ago and then major problem, costing me over a grand. Couldn't get any resolution from either company and it left me seriously questioning thier business ethics.
07/06/2006 11:41:37 AM · #10
Originally posted by Prof_Fate:

What's crooked? Confusing until you understand it, sure.
I've been on eBay since late 2001 and have not had a single problem. I can't say the same about Dell, Amazon, my pharmacist, local gov't or some of my past employers!

If you've never had a problem you wouldn't know how hard it is to get a resolution to one. Has anyone ever been able to get a response other than an auto-responder or a form letter when e-mailing ebay? Has anyone ever been able to get to talk to a real person at ebay on the phone to try to get some help? It is impossible to get them to help you to resolve even the simplest of problems. The kind of things that could be resolved by a single phone call, or a simple e-mail, from ebay become so frustrating to deal with that people give up.
07/06/2006 11:43:00 AM · #11
Originally posted by Prof_Fate:

One of ebay's issues is it's not fair to the 'honest' seller - i list a CF card lets say, at $19.99 and free shipping. You list it at 1c and $19.98 shipping.

Your's looks cheaper and comes up differently in the searches.

Part of ebay's issues is on the above: you pay a smaller listing fee and final fee - final is 5% of the selling price, NOT the s&h. So eBay is losing money on your sale, or perhaps you could say I am subsidizing your business.

Eitherway for the buyer it's the same price, but the perception is the higher shipping fee is a rip-off.

AND if you have to return something - you never get the s&h handling back do you? So you can't realistically return a 1c or 99c item when you paid $20 or 30 in shipping!


Good points. I never really thought about the refund aspect of it. I will probably shop differently now.
07/06/2006 11:43:30 AM · #12
Originally posted by lenkphotos:

While I'm against "excessive" anything, you have to consider that shipping and handling typically adds up to more than shipping alone. It includes packaging, time spent to create the listing, time taken to deliver the item to the post office, etc... For me, that handling charge could also include at least a portion of the seller fees that I incur, including Paypal etc... It's all a cost of doing business.

I think the key here is that the seller be upfront with his/her charges. If the bottom line for you, the buyer, is acceptable - we have a deal. If Amvona's bottom line, including shipping/handling costs, is seen as excessive, then don't buy.


Agreed...my husband basically makes a part-time living for us selling on ebay---mostly vintage/used t-shirts, hoodies, etc. but also audio gear at times since that is his full-time job. Anyway, he isn't what you'd call excessive--he charges $6.50 for a t-shirt to the US and $7.50 to Canada and then whatever it costs to ship to other countries. And of course he combines shipping for multiple purchases. His S&H fee is clearly posted so if someone doesn't like it they don't have to bid. If people realized the amount of time and energy that goes into packing/shipping 40-50 items per week (remember--this is in addition to his full time job as a sales manager) they would be more undtersanding of 'handling' fees. Handling fees are nothing new in the mail-order world--I don't know why people are so surprised by them on eBay. I think it is because they expect to get an amazing deal because it is eBay.

I don't necessarily like the tactics of the folks that charge .99 for a cd (e.g.) and $10 to ship which seems to be more what this thread is about. I think in that case, it is really eBay who is hurt, not the consumer. Although in the end the consumer pays the cost somehow.
07/06/2006 11:45:17 AM · #13
It really doesn't bother me that ppl use stupid pricing tactics to sell their goods... I mean, if makes someone feel good to pay a penny for the item and 20 bucks on the shipping, so be it. Whatever works for them.

I have even purchased items (batteries) that used this tactic when the overall cost was considerably lower, but I wont do it again. The product was lame.

The way I see it, Ebay is a penny-pinching scamland and paypal is their evil servant. Once you understand this and equip yourself with enough knowledge and experience to travel safely within their realm, you might be able to turn a small profit on larger items. Which I define as anything that sells for around 50 bucks. Anything less is too much of a hassle to be worth it.

And selling stuff for other ppl? I did this, once. I thought that 10 percent of the net would be worth it. It's not.
07/06/2006 11:47:20 AM · #14
Originally posted by coolhar:

Originally posted by Prof_Fate:

What's crooked? Confusing until you understand it, sure.
I've been on eBay since late 2001 and have not had a single problem. I can't say the same about Dell, Amazon, my pharmacist, local gov't or some of my past employers!

If you've never had a problem you wouldn't know how hard it is to get a resolution to one. Has anyone ever been able to get a response other than an auto-responder or a form letter when e-mailing ebay? Has anyone ever been able to get to talk to a real person at ebay on the phone to try to get some help? It is impossible to get them to help you to resolve even the simplest of problems. The kind of things that could be resolved by a single phone call, or a simple e-mail, from ebay become so frustrating to deal with that people give up.


I actually had a problem with an ebay spoof email--someone stole my id/password and attempted to "list" a very expensive camera using my seller id. I caught it very quickly, realized what happened, and resolved it, all in about an hour's time through talking with an ebay representative on Live Chat. No harm was done...I got my identity back, changed my password, and learned a valuable lesson about spoof emails.
07/06/2006 11:52:10 AM · #15
I don't understand why people bid on an item on ebay even thought it is above what you can purchase it for new online. It's like people don't research the price
07/06/2006 11:56:52 AM · #16
Originally posted by melismatica:

I actually had a problem with an ebay spoof email--someone stole my id/password and attempted to "list" a very expensive camera using my seller id. I caught it very quickly, realized what happened, and resolved it, all in about an hour's time through talking with an ebay representative on Live Chat. No harm was done...I got my identity back, changed my password, and learned a valuable lesson about spoof emails.

I'm glad you got your problem resolved so favorably. But the fact that you even had such a problem points up how weak a system ebay really is. If they had just a little sympathy and forethought for the customer's point of view they could just as easily, and just as profitably, set up their software to prevent almost all of the many, many scams and ripoffs that go on there. But they were only concerned with growth and profit, while security and protecting a user's privacy were merely an afterthought.
07/06/2006 11:58:19 AM · #17
The gouging of shipping fees are why I buy things like books, music, and DVDs from Amazon's used sellers instead.
07/06/2006 11:59:30 AM · #18
Originally posted by coronamv:

I don't understand why people bid on an item on ebay even thought it is above what you can purchase it for new online. It's like people don't research the price

Yeah, I love this one too. When I was getting my 300D I looked on eBay, where people were buying them left and right, and often used at a price that was hundreds of dollars above what I bought mine for brand new, from a reputable dealer. Go figure.

Personally, I don't care about the shipping thing. I'm really picky about shopping on eBay - if something feels "off", I move on and don't bother looking at it. Things that ship for multiple times their selling cost seem "off" to me, so I don't even consider them.

As others have said, trying to sell cheap stuff doesn't work - you lose half the sales in fees. And it is time consuming and a hassle. But for some things, it's useful - both buying and selling. I don't find any of it evil. You have to be careful and pay attention. So far (knock on wood) I've had only good experiences.
07/06/2006 11:59:52 AM · #19
Originally posted by coronamv:

I don't understand why people bid on an item on ebay even thought it is above what you can purchase it for new online. It's like people don't research the price

Those are the same kind of buyers that the people here are looking for when they don't want anyone to "price police" threads that offer cameras and lenses for sale here at dpc.
07/06/2006 12:33:02 PM · #20
Originally posted by coolhar:

Originally posted by melismatica:

I actually had a problem with an ebay spoof email--someone stole my id/password and attempted to "list" a very expensive camera using my seller id. I caught it very quickly, realized what happened, and resolved it, all in about an hour's time through talking with an ebay representative on Live Chat. No harm was done...I got my identity back, changed my password, and learned a valuable lesson about spoof emails.

I'm glad you got your problem resolved so favorably. But the fact that you even had such a problem points up how weak a system ebay really is. If they had just a little sympathy and forethought for the customer's point of view they could just as easily, and just as profitably, set up their software to prevent almost all of the many, many scams and ripoffs that go on there. But they were only concerned with growth and profit, while security and protecting a user's privacy were merely an afterthought.


Actually, ebay can't really do anything about password theft other than alert their users and provide an educational forum on how to spot phony emails and web pages, etc. They do do this so it is up to the individual to learn to spot the spoofs. The scenario is, a scam artist sends an email that looks very much like an ebay notification. There is usually a link to a very realistic ebay log-in page. Remember, this is NOT an ebay page so thus far ebay has nothing to do with it. Once you 'log-in' to this page, the scam artist now has your password which he promptly uses to log-in to the real ebay. He immediately changes the password and uses the account to list a phony item. If he's lucky, the ebay seller whose password he's stolen will not spot the problem in time to do anything about it before an unsuspecting bidder has purchsaed and paid for the item through Buy it Now. How is ebay supposed to know the password has been stolen? I was fortunate and spotted it right away. I contacted ebay through LiveChat and it was resolved very quickly. Now I know to forward all supsicious emails to the appropriate spoof account, e.g., spoof@ebay.com, spoof@paypal.com. You get a response within the same day , usually telling you the email didn't come from them.

Ironically, the phony listing on my account was for a digital camera...$400.

Message edited by author 2006-07-06 12:34:01.
07/06/2006 01:45:24 PM · #21
Originally posted by coronamv:

I don't understand why people bid on an item on ebay even thought it is above what you can purchase it for new online. It's like people don't research the price

It's part of the competitive spirit most have. The bidding starts, and goes up from there -- but once money is put down on it, many feel it should be theirs; that they are being defeated personally if they don't win. So they bid without thought of price, just of winning.
07/06/2006 02:02:49 PM · #22
Originally posted by OdysseyF22:



As others have said, trying to sell cheap stuff doesn't work - you lose half the sales in fees. And it is time consuming and a hassle. But for some things, it's useful - both buying and selling.


I agree about the cheap things, but I have 200 CDs that i've not touched in years. Tried two local stores that buy used CDs..one would give me $101 for 200 disks, and the other only wanted 40 of them for $35. I've made thatn on ebay at this point and have 150 or so more to sell. And CDs are easy to pack and ship so it's not too bad - as long as they have the UPC the info is even autolisted for auctions.

I sold some books on ebay and one an amazon - talk about fees! Man. Amazon sucks 20% and tells YOU what the shipping will be, take it or leave it, so no handling fee allowed. And it takes 2 or 3 weeks to get the money, by then the buyer has the product (you have to ship in two days). Not a better system IMO.
07/06/2006 02:04:38 PM · #23
Originally posted by David.C:

Originally posted by coronamv:

I don't understand why people bid on an item on ebay even thought it is above what you can purchase it for new online. It's like people don't research the price

It's part of the competitive spirit most have. The bidding starts, and goes up from there -- but once money is put down on it, many feel it should be theirs; that they are being defeated personally if they don't win. So they bid without thought of price, just of winning.


Go to any 'real' auction and watch the action. Many buyers are buying wholesale, but some are willing to pay retail. I went to several to buy stuff to sell on ebay. Most interesting. Seems to be no logic to what peiople pay (or won't) for things, just like ebay!
07/06/2006 02:17:43 PM · #24
Originally posted by Prof_Fate:

Originally posted by David.C:

Originally posted by coronamv:

I don't understand why people bid on an item on ebay even thought it is above what you can purchase it for new online. It's like people don't research the price

It's part of the competitive spirit most have. The bidding starts, and goes up from there -- but once money is put down on it, many feel it should be theirs; that they are being defeated personally if they don't win. So they bid without thought of price, just of winning.


Go to any 'real' auction and watch the action. Many buyers are buying wholesale, but some are willing to pay retail. I went to several to buy stuff to sell on ebay. Most interesting. Seems to be no logic to what peiople pay (or won't) for things, just like ebay!

I have been to 'real' auctions. I grew up hitting all the auctions around the area with my Grandma. She made a living for her and Grandpa (and spoiled us grandkids!) by buying boxes of items at a time and then selling individual items from the boxes at another auction house.

I learned not to get into bidding wars from her. Learned to set the price I was willing to pay for an item and bid up to that -- the sooner I buy it or it goes above what I'm willing to pay the sooner I can move on to something else. Moving the auctions online hasn't changed how they work, just the number of people that can fit in the tent.

David
07/06/2006 02:31:57 PM · #25
Originally posted by David.C:

Originally posted by coronamv:

I don't understand why people bid on an item on ebay even thought it is above what you can purchase it for new online. It's like people don't research the price

It's part of the competitive spirit most have. The bidding starts, and goes up from there -- but once money is put down on it, many feel it should be theirs; that they are being defeated personally if they don't
win. So they bid without thought of price, just of winning.


Yeah but come on that is kind of crazy the whole point in bidding is trying to get it for a good price. I could understand if it is a rare or limited item that is hard to come by then you will pay more than the value to get it. As far as most of the photpgraphy items you can buy it from any online vendor and some retail stores for less than the bidding war price you see on ebay. Not saying you don't find deals they are just harder and harder to get. Take away the fact about warranty and other issues with buying from an online auction like the shipping etc. My point is do your homework before buying anything. Check out the prices get a good feel for what the average is. Then pay for conveniance if you want it right away.
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