Shipping and Handling Price
I like to know your opinion on sellers that make up the real price they want on S&H Price. I've seen it on E-Bay and now it is here Why? do they do this? [?][:(]
0
-
quote:Originally posted by sixteau
I like to know your opinion on sellers that make up the real price they want on S&H Price. I've seen it on E-Bay and now it is here Why? do they do this? [?][:(]
I don't really understand what you're saying, but I'm not going
to figure shipping to each location and time/materials for each
package seperately. I have a flat rate for shipping knives, $10. in
the U.S., $20. outside the U.S.. Sometimes I may make a buck, and
some[:)][:)]times lose a buck, but it all works out.0 -
If you are talking aout the ones that will list, lets say, a Milwalkee Drill for $1 with shipping $150. My guess is to stiff the auction company the listing and final sale fee.
If you are talking about $5-10 off on shipping here or there, I just forget about it and my bid price will reflect.
Ben0 -
quote:Originally posted by jbw1776
a Milwalkee Drill for $1 with shipping $150
Outrageous shipping charges, to make up for the low auction price, is called "fee avoidance" and is against the rules here.
There is no way for the management to check every auction listed, so they can only rely on people to report these sellers.0 -
quote:Originally posted by pickenup
Outrageous shipping charges, to make up for the low auction price, is called "fee avoidance" and is against the rules here.
There is no way for the management to check every auction listed, so they can only rely on people to report these sellers.
Yeah, so why isn't there a "report this auction" link on each page?0 -
quote:Originally posted by jbw1776
If you are talking aout the ones that will list, lets say, a Milwalkee Drill for $1 with shipping $150. My guess is to stiff the auction company the listing and final sale fee.
+10 -
I know where you are coming from but if you are talking auctions, then I don't know of anyone who looks at the bid price alone. You have to figure in the shipping too. If there is one gun starting at $1 with $20 s&h and all I want to pay is $240 total then I don't bid over $220. If there is an identical gun starting at $1 with $50 s&h then I won't bid over $190. Everybody else will bid accordingly as well. That's just how it works on auctions.
I don't stiff folks on shipping, just a flat rate and like spryor, sometimes I lose and sometimes I make a buck. I'm not going to look up and answer 20 emails throughout the week asking, "what's shipping to 71112?". I don't, but some of the bigger business folks have to pay folks to package and ship all those boxes, maybe 20 or more a day. That price is reflected in the handling charge. There are also packaging expenses, for me it would cost $5+ to drive to the P.O. to pick up a supply of free priority boxes, another $5 everytime I drop off something to mail. I'm in the country and not close to the P.O.
Lots of things to consider but the easiest thing to do is if you think the shipping is too high, pass on it or let your bid reflect.
EDIT: If you are talking about the folks that don't list the shipping price in the auction, "buyer pays actual shipping costs", then I won't bid without getting a TOTAL quote beforehand.
Ben0 -
I thought the same thing until I sold something on here and had to actally ship it a long distance. I do this as a hobby, albiet an expensive one and was surprised at how much the charges add up for the box, GOOD packaging, shipping and insurance. Let's not forget the time, too. 0 -
I usually try to get a ballpark idea on what it's going to cost before I list anything. I just go to the post office with the item in the box and ask what it's going to cost to ship and then go from there. It depends, if it's pretty cheap, I'll make a couple bucks on it, if it's expensive, I break even on it.
I think it's stupid when you have for example a little fishing lure that weighs less than an ounce and shipping is $3-5 on it. That's just dumb.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Huntingnerd33
I usually try to get a ballpark idea on what it's going to cost before I list anything. I just go to the post office with the item in the box and ask what it's going to cost to ship and then go from there. It depends, if it's pretty cheap, I'll make a couple bucks on it, if it's expensive, I break even on it.
I think it's stupid when you have for example a little fishing lure that weighs less than an ounce and shipping is $3-5 on it. That's just dumb.
Save yourself a trip. Just go here and type in size and weight of box.[:)]
http://www.usps.com/tools/calculatepostage/welcome.htm?from=home&page=0061calculatepostage
Ben0 -
jbc
your right I have shipped a couple of rifles I charged 25 for shipping,it cost me 35 to ship that cut into my profit.0 -
quote:Originally posted by jbw1776
I know where you are coming from but if you are talking auctions, then I don't know of anyone who looks at the bid price alone. You have to figure in the shipping too. If there is one gun starting at $1 with $20 s&h and all I want to pay is $240 total then I don't bid over $220. If there is an identical gun starting at $1 with $50 s&h then I won't bid over $190. Everybody else will bid accordingly as well. That's just how it works on auctions.
I don't stiff folks on shipping, just a flat rate and like spryor, sometimes I lose and sometimes I make a buck. I'm not going to look up and answer 20 emails throughout the week asking, "what's shipping to 71112?". I don't, but some of the bigger business folks have to pay folks to package and ship all those boxes, maybe 20 or more a day. That price is reflected in the handling charge. There are also packaging expenses, for me it would cost $5+ to drive to the P.O. to pick up a supply of free priority boxes, another $5 everytime I drop off something to mail. I'm in the country and not close to the P.O.
Lots of things to consider but the easiest thing to do is if you think the shipping is too high, pass on it or let your bid reflect.
EDIT: If you are talking about the folks that don't list the shipping price in the auction, "buyer pays actual shipping costs", then I won't bid without getting a TOTAL quote beforehand.
Ben
Is your mail delivered to your house? If so, you can order shipping boxes on line and they will deliver them to you.(free) They will also pick up packages from your house. (free).0 -
quote:Originally posted by pistoljim
quote:Originally posted by jbw1776
I know where you are coming from but if you are talking auctions, then I don't know of anyone who looks at the bid price alone. You have to figure in the shipping too. If there is one gun starting at $1 with $20 s&h and all I want to pay is $240 total then I don't bid over $220. If there is an identical gun starting at $1 with $50 s&h then I won't bid over $190. Everybody else will bid accordingly as well. That's just how it works on auctions.
I don't stiff folks on shipping, just a flat rate and like spryor, sometimes I lose and sometimes I make a buck. I'm not going to look up and answer 20 emails throughout the week asking, "what's shipping to 71112?". I don't, but some of the bigger business folks have to pay folks to package and ship all those boxes, maybe 20 or more a day. That price is reflected in the handling charge. There are also packaging expenses, for me it would cost $5+ to drive to the P.O. to pick up a supply of free priority boxes, another $5 everytime I drop off something to mail. I'm in the country and not close to the P.O.
Lots of things to consider but the easiest thing to do is if you think the shipping is too high, pass on it or let your bid reflect.
EDIT: If you are talking about the folks that don't list the shipping price in the auction, "buyer pays actual shipping costs", then I won't bid without getting a TOTAL quote beforehand.
Ben
Is your mail delivered to your house? If so, you can order shipping boxes on line and they will deliver them to you.(free) They will also pick up packages from your house. (free).
I'm not leaving a $700 gun under my carport for them to pick up if I'm not here.[;)]
Ben0 -
Speaking for myself, if I can ship something that has a packaged weight of less than 12 ounces, I'll send it First Class Mail. Chances are it will be delivered just about as soon, if not just as fast, as that of Priority Mail. Besides, that can normally be done with insurance and a $5.00 bill. Then, too, I'm not paying an employee, and/or buying packing material either. However, I've seen some people who make money on shipping charges, sometimes more than they can make on their product. 0 -
I recently started charging a little more ($25) for shipping long guns. Here's why
Gun box - $3.50
Packing Peanuts - $ .75
Bubble wrap - $1.00
Packing Tape - $ .20
Shipping & Ins. $15.00 to $18.00
Gas to PostOffice $1.00
Time packing - 10 minutes
Time driving to PO 10 minutes
time in PO line 10 to 20 minutes0 -
I flat rate and to the west coast costs more than my charge and east coast usually about right. Midwest about a buck or 2 less depending on cost of item because of insurance as it is included in shipping cost. My thought, less shipping cost the higher the bid. [8D] 0 -
quote:Originally posted by jbw1776
quote:Originally posted by Huntingnerd33
I usually try to get a ballpark idea on what it's going to cost before I list anything. I just go to the post office with the item in the box and ask what it's going to cost to ship and then go from there. It depends, if it's pretty cheap, I'll make a couple bucks on it, if it's expensive, I break even on it.
I think it's stupid when you have for example a little fishing lure that weighs less than an ounce and shipping is $3-5 on it. That's just dumb.
Save yourself a trip. Just go here and type in size and weight of box.[:)]
http://www.usps.com/tools/calculatepostage/welcome.htm?from=home&page=0061calculatepostage
Ben
Thanks a bunch!! Didn't know they had a deal like that.[^]0 -
if everyone was out to make a profit, theyd be involved in commerce, charge tax, buy at wholesale, sell retail, and pay off their overheads. the auction site is one of those overheads. business is designed to make revenue.
but, most here are private sellers who are trying to sell their own personal goods....who unfortunately must abide by retail commerce rules and compete with retailers. so what happens is they get caught having to pay overheads that are normally absorbed by being able to buy things wholesale and getting tax breaks as companies and businesses do. so, they end up selling a gun or an item at a loss, well below its worth in the end. good for you, bad for private sellers.
bottom line, when bidding, you must add all the overheads that a person charges, subtract it from what youre willing to bid and call that your final bid.
next, time is money. whether its in your storefront on the clock or in your basement at night clicking pics for auctions. time deserves to be compensated. labor is labor. dont like paying for labor? push the keyboard away and drive to the gun store and buy your products instead of clicking and complaining. the store with your product is 2000 miles from you? oh well, start driving!
how is it that the buyer gets to have convienience but the private seller doesnt? by listing his auction, he saves you things like a gunlist subscription, numerous private phone calls to talk to the seller, and the gas to drive to the gun store with the item you need, etc...; yet, when he charges you 2.00 for handling you complain? see my point?
no gun 'owner' is in the auction game to lose money. if his gun is worth 300.00, then he deserves 300.00 plus all the related small stuff. if the gun is worth 300.00 but he only paid 100.00 for it because he is a business and bought it wholesale, then he can afford to chip some overheads for you.
and what really gets me is, private guys are saving bidders TAX, yet buyers complain about 3 or 4.00 handling?
this is the beauty of reserves. it allows sellers to set a price that will cover all his expenses. if it doesnt hit his break even, he holds on to it and no loss is occured.
and the last time a checked, a 7 day subscription to the local newspaper is about $70.00 plus. newspaper packing material is not FREE.
and, around here, the wait line in a usps store is on the average 15 to 20 minutes. remember? time is money. time away from the business is money lost.[;)]
i guess it boils down to how bad you want an item. auctions are designed to empty your pockets, yet most that shop auctions expect a sticker price and thats it. and that goes for most retailers too.
auction houses were meant to be an area where no rules applied and skies the limit, in either direction....but too many today just turned them into storefronts.
as you can see, there is always 2 sides to a story. hope this helps.[^]0 -
Some people pad their profits with the shipping overage. I can understand them doing it but not to the excess it is used. I always add the shipping to anything before I bid. Conversely, I recently reduced my shipping of handguns down to $15 total. I ship USPS priority mail which ranges from $9 to $17. They supply me with boxes and all I need is a gun case and newspaper or bubble wrap. I buy gun cases from NcStar for less than $3 each and use them to protect the handgun. I drive by my post office daily so it is just an added stop for me to mail something. (Long Guns I use $25) I may be the exception, but anyone who gets something from me knows I have not cheated them anything on shipping.
However, those that price shipping too high, I never buy from because I don't trust them. Especially those on fleabay where it is part of their racket to make a profit off shipping and handling. If someone wants to make money off of me for handling charge that is excessive - I DON'T BID.0 -
Sometimes it is not the seller fault.
I recently sold a Ruger Old Army (black powder revolver) and stated "actual" shipping charges.
Well, I can't use the US MAIL as a non-ffl and UPS won't take a handgun from a private person unless it is going to the manufacturer for service.
I ended up paying my FFL dealer $20 to "transfer", plus the $10 registration fee he had to pay to his county (in Michigan, dealers have to first register the gun in their name to remove it from the registration list being in my name) before they can run it thru their books. I then had to pay the dealer another $16 for the US MAIL and it's insurance. I charged the seller only the $16 shipping fee because I unknowingly listed it thinking I could ship a black powder revolver directly to him. I know that he did not overcharge me for the mailing and registration fee, as he is a friend of mine.
Bottom line was I ended up eating $30 of my final price plus the sellers fee. This amounted to over 10% of the guns price just to ship it. On top of all that, I drove 20+ miles to my dealers and back plus spent a bunch of time on the phone with US MAIL and UPS.
Next time I sell a handgun, there will be a $50 shipping charge and the buyer can take it into account on the amount that he bids, but what else can I do?0 -
quote:Originally posted by jbw1776
I know where you are coming from but if you are talking auctions, then I don't know of anyone who looks at the bid price alone. You have to figure in the shipping too. If there is one gun starting at $1 with $20 s&h and all I want to pay is $240 total then I don't bid over $220. If there is an identical gun starting at $1 with $50 s&h then I won't bid over $190. Everybody else will bid accordingly as well. That's just how it works on auctions.
I don't stiff folks on shipping, just a flat rate and like spryor, sometimes I lose and sometimes I make a buck. I'm not going to look up and answer 20 emails throughout the week asking, "what's shipping to 71112?". I don't, but some of the bigger business folks have to pay folks to package and ship all those boxes, maybe 20 or more a day. That price is reflected in the handling charge. There are also packaging expenses, for me it would cost $5+ to drive to the P.O. to pick up a supply of free priority boxes, another $5 everytime I drop off something to mail. I'm in the country and not close to the P.O.
Lots of things to consider but the easiest thing to do is if you think the shipping is too high, pass on it or let your bid reflect.
EDIT: If you are talking about the folks that don't list the shipping price in the auction, "buyer pays actual shipping costs", then I won't bid without getting a TOTAL quote beforehand.
Ben
Ben,
If someone lists "buyer pays actual shipping costs", then charges more than actual postage, isn't that false advertising? Most of my auctions state "buyer pays actual shipping costs", and that is what I charge them. Sometimes my scales may be +/- an ounce or two, if it is over $1.00 too much, I try to refund it. If I didn't charge enough, my fault. I like the way, on most auctions, you can add the postal rate calculator. Saves emails.0 -
GunFunCo-Move to a gun friendly state?[}:)][:p]
I have noticed two magazine dealers, one charges $5.95/mag and ships priority in a very well padded box. The other charges $7.50/mag (don't know how he ships). The auction starting prices for the same mag are usually the same. Who to buy from seem like kind of a no-brainer to me.0 -
I would love to move to a more gun friendly state but my wife is still working. It might just be cheaper for me to open a gun store and get a FFL.
Another thing is I enjoy being reasonably close to my family members.
That having been said, I would love to move out west someplace where gun laws were more reasonable and someplace that I could try shooting aerial targets with a handgun. Is is just something I always wanted to try and I would have to go to the upper penninsula to try it. There aren't too many places around here where I wouldn't have to worry about where my bullets came down.0 -
quote:Originally posted by bama55
quote:Originally posted by jbw1776
I know where you are coming from but if you are talking auctions, then I don't know of anyone who looks at the bid price alone. You have to figure in the shipping too. If there is one gun starting at $1 with $20 s&h and all I want to pay is $240 total then I don't bid over $220. If there is an identical gun starting at $1 with $50 s&h then I won't bid over $190. Everybody else will bid accordingly as well. That's just how it works on auctions.
I don't stiff folks on shipping, just a flat rate and like spryor, sometimes I lose and sometimes I make a buck. I'm not going to look up and answer 20 emails throughout the week asking, "what's shipping to 71112?". I don't, but some of the bigger business folks have to pay folks to package and ship all those boxes, maybe 20 or more a day. That price is reflected in the handling charge. There are also packaging expenses, for me it would cost $5+ to drive to the P.O. to pick up a supply of free priority boxes, another $5 everytime I drop off something to mail. I'm in the country and not close to the P.O.
Lots of things to consider but the easiest thing to do is if you think the shipping is too high, pass on it or let your bid reflect.
EDIT: If you are talking about the folks that don't list the shipping price in the auction, "buyer pays actual shipping costs", then I won't bid without getting a TOTAL quote beforehand.
Ben
Ben,
If someone lists "buyer pays actual shipping costs", then charges more than actual postage, isn't that false advertising? Most of my auctions state "buyer pays actual shipping costs", and that is what I charge them. Sometimes my scales may be +/- an ounce or two, if it is over $1.00 too much, I try to refund it. If I didn't charge enough, my fault. I like the way, on most auctions, you can add the postal rate calculator. Saves emails.
Hey bama,
I agree and see nothing wrong with stating buyer pays actual shipping. My point was that I HAVE to get a total from them before bidding, is all. Example would be buying a S&W pistol, "buyer pays actual shipping". Well if the seller happens to be a dealer, actual shipping might be around $15 (USPS). If the seller is an individual shipping might be $45 (UPS). I need to know that before bidding, as that will affect my bid by $30.
Ben0 -
A close friend of mines girlfriend sells used Horse accesories on Ebay and one night I asked her about bullslime shipping charges and she just laughed and said on avg, it earns her an extra $375/week.
Crap like that is why I always confirm shipping up front to my zip and pay actual only or I don't buy it...period. Same with handling charges 99% of these fruitcake sellers don't realize that there are inherent costs in any sales business and you can't always single out the items and surcharge people. However there are enough ignorant buyers on eBay, that don't give a crap or don't notice it...
Cheeers0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
24 comments