shipping & handling

[back alley]

first let me say that i had a very bad day at work and even though i'm about to head into bed- i'm still in a sour mood from it.

i have a beef with ebay sellers. well, one ebay seller.
i bought a soft release for 3.75. easily worth the $$.
she charged me 4.75 for shipping & handling.

it arrived today, nicely packed in a padded envelope. the postage was marked at 60 cents. at most that padded envelope was worth a buck. so maybe 2 bucks max to get this release to me.

is it fair to charge 4.75?

joe

 

[RML]

Joe, I understand your beef. I too sometimes doubt the sanity of shipping charges. Like you say, the mark is worth something, the packing is worth something, the time the seller spends going to and being at the post office is worth something, so what's a fair charge?

I'm still figuring out why a lens shipped from one US state should cost $25 to ship worldwide, while from another state the seller can ship for $15 worldwide. Whatever the reasons for the difference, such bloated charges make me think twice about buying from that seller.

 

[doubs43]

Over on the Russian Camera board there's a thread about an FSU seller on ebay who is charging $100 (one hundred) US dollars for shipping!! I emailed the fellow and he verified that the shipping charge was, in fact, correct. The item he's selling is a Jupiter-9 85mm f/2 lens that most sellers charge $10 to ship air mail from the Ukraine or the Russian Federation.

If the shipping charge isn't listed, I ask what it will be. If it's too much or I don't get an answer, I don't bid. Some sellers boost their profits with high shipping charges. I don't play that game.

Walker

 

[Roman]

Walker,
I looked at this auction, and what is even more ridiculous is that he states he won't combine shipping if you buy varoius items from him...
Roman

 

[g0tr00t]

Before I bid, I get the seller to commit to a shipping charge. I was told by a few that the extra $$$ is for handling!

 

[Pherdinand]

Joe, i had the same weird feeling of "am i stupid or just plain fooled" when ipayed 40$ for shipping of my contax and there was a 24$-payed-sticker on it.

From now on i'll always ask first and try to get it lower when possible.

 

[oftheherd]

I understand that ebay sellers wish to make a profit. Sometimes I can even put up with a big S&H if the bid is low enough. But for sure, I always include the S&H in what I am willing to pay for it. Although we don't see it, we are doing the same thing from a brick and mortar store. They just usually lower their S&H by ordering a lot of an item. But, as a rule, anything over $20 or $30, on a really heavy item, and I am gone, or at the most, put it in my watch list just our of curiostity. The same for over $10 or $15 on smaller items. I am always afraid that if a seller is that greedy and dishonest, I maybe can't trust their descriptions, and I don't really want to deal with them anyway. I just don't understand how they continue to sell. ???

 

[Pherdinand]

Oftheherd - well, as an example to "how do they sell", here's mine. I payed the seller almost immediately. I received the contax in time - but he DID NOT leave feedback until i did. I think, correct would be for him to leave feedback when he got the $$ "and checked it" (which is not needed with PayPal funds payment), and for me when i got the item and i checked it. But no, he waited until we agreed, i left positive, and only then i got his feedback.

In the end all went ok, but i wonder what would have happened if the things would not have worked out with the contax (if he did not offer a small refund for the extra shiupping and the non-reliable shutter) and i would have left negative feedback. I'm sure he would have reacted with negative - although the $$ he got did not stink.

OTOH, with another transaction, i payed by direct wire transfer (a dutch e-bay shop) very fast, and within 12 hours i got positive feedback. No "processing time", no waiting for my feedback, just plain, correct procedure.

 

[Pherdinand]

What i wanted to say above, is that many will not leave negative even if not 100% satisfyed, just because this risk of getting a negative in change. And, what else stops us thinking that it's a great deal.

 

[RML]

Pherdinand hits the nail right on the head. I too expect the seller to leave a positive feedback as soon as I paid. I pay immediately; I feel it as an obligation to do so.

Only once did I receive a negative, because I left a negative. Now my score will never ever become 100% again. I even will have to do thousands of transactions just to get to 99%.

On one or two occassions I didn't leave any feedback at all for fear of retaliation. I was not fully satisfied with the handling of the transaction by the seller but instead of leaving a negative I simply didn't leave any feedback at all.

On the topic of shipping, anyone who asks me a higher shipping rate after te auction is over will end up in my little black don't-ever-buy-from-this-@rse-again book. I have a few sellers in that book, and I'll never do business with them again; their loss, my gain.

 

[doubs43]

Walker,
I looked at this auction, and what is even more ridiculous is that he states he won't combine shipping if you buy varoius items from him... Roman

Hi Roman. Yes, I noticed that too. The seller obviously understands what he's doing and will continue until ebay puts a stop to it.

I once purchased an item from a seller in the States who didn't post a shipping fee. I ended up paying at least $5 too much and that has made me wary of excessive shipping charges. It seems standard for a seller in the Ukraine or Russian Federation to charge $15 for a camera and $10 - $12.50 for a lens. I'm OK with that but higher charges turn me off and I simply pass any such auction bye.

Walker

 

[r-brian]

I saw an auction the other day for a Yashica RF (I think). The BIN price was $5 with $25 shipping. $25 BIN with $5 shipping would be more appropriate but you pay Ebay fees on the selling price not on the shipping cost. Sounds like a way around the selling fees.

Brian

 

[back alley]

i once bought something on ebay and was not happy with the shipping cost.
i emailed the seller and said i would send him a money order for the amount requested but that i felt the shipping was too high and i would not be doing business with him again.
he replied that the cost did seem high after looking at it and he lowered it.
i was happy.

with this last purchase, the cost was not a surprise or concern until i saw the actual postage cost on the envelope.

it's a small amount, it didn't hurt and i'll chaulk it up to doing business and getting something i wanted that i could not find locally.

joe

 

[denishr]

Walker,
I looked at this auction, and what is even more ridiculous is that he states he won't combine shipping if you buy varoius items from him...
Roman

I saw that one, too - but thought it was a typo.
Don't think he'll sell anything in the foreseeable future with those s&h rates...

 

[nwcanonman]

Joe,
Some Ebay sellers are indeed charging OUTRAGIOUS shipping charges. Any time I look at auctions I check, Feedback, Payment options and then what is the shipping charge.
I've seen some (try to) charge $20 fee for shipping a 10 ounce lens, in the USA, ------- HA!
I won't even bid on those rip-offs.

 

[nwcanonman]

Yes Pherdinand,
Some do wait until AFTER you've left you Feedback before posting theirs --- so they can ZAP you with a phony negative as payback for your honest feedback.
I once gave Negative feedback for being ripped off by a liar. He then left me my only Negative (out of 300 auctions), even though he'd been paid in full immediately, saying I was a bad "seller" - and I was clearly the Buyer - what a moron!
Luckily 99% of auctions are basically honest people.

 

[nikon_sam]

I have a policy that I will only leave feedback AFTER the Seller has left theirs. If they don't, I don't...I don't really care about how many Feedback #'s I have next to my name.
I also do not bid on an item that I cannot get payment in the mail within one or two business days, I will not allow the seller to leave negative because I am late in payment (and that should be the only reason that the seller should leave negative feedback, along with non-payment).
AAAAAAnd I also include part of the S&H in the cost of an item, if the S&H charges are more than I think they should be or will take the final price beyond what the product is worth I will go elsewhere to find another one.
The only time I will give in to outrageous S&H costs is if I have no other options in getting something that I REALLY, REALLY have to have and it's rare that that happens.

 

[JohnM]

There is a Bessa R for auction right now that carries a $30 shipping charge inside the US! $30!!

At worst, shipping and insurance for that camera will total under $10 - even the USPS priority boxes are free for shippers.

He also has a CV 75 that I would be interested in, but there is no way I am paying $20 to have it shipped to me.

 

[Nick R.]

I saw that Bessa, also. Guys like that get what they deserve. In the end, their auctions go for less than similar units priced fairly. Less than the mere difference in shipping price.