Problems Shipping Posters

[rainbow71113]

Hello People,

would like some input on shipping posters.  I have huge boxes of extremely large posters to list and have listed a few over the years but find that even though I specify "do NOT pay the automatic invoice if you want it mailed in a tube- tube will cost $4.00 and shipping will be higher and I will have to send you a revised invoice"  I can no longer count on 4 hands how many people pay the folded price and put -" please ship in a tube" in the notes section.  Then I have to contact them, ask if they read the description (one person even quoted my $4.00 so I'm assuming he did but still paid and put that in the notes) and point out the shipping charge and then send a paypal money request to which I get no response for over a week and end up having to send multiple emails finally threatening to cancel and refund because I'm scared they will say they paid over a week ago and didn't get their item in a timely manner.   There is no way that I can figure out how to put a folded AND tube price in the shipping charges and it would still be up to the buyer to chose the right one even if I could.  Now with the really large posters I'm thinking I'm going to have to put that they will arrive folded because some are so wide Canada Post won't take them and I don't think they even make poster tubes that long.   I have figured out if I do the shipping through paypal I can get around the $1.50 surcharge Canada Post charges- I do have to fudge the dimensions for width though.  Does anyone sell posters and have any solutions as to how to ship them and overcome some of these issues?

[femmefan1946 · Accepted solution]

Go with the tube as the standard price.

It is easier to reduce the cost of shipping than it is to increase it. In fact you are not allowed to increase it.

Add the $1.50 tube surcharge to your handling costs along with the cost of the tube itself. Or make it part of your asking price .

"Free Shipping" is really "shipping included in selling price."

For the posters that are too large for Canada Post, look into the cost of UPS or other couriers.

Canadians are scared of couriers because cross-border courier shipment has incredible "customs brokerage " fees that start at $25 and because couriers don't ship to rural and isolated areas, trans-shipping by..... Canada Post.

BUT.

US buyers are working with a $200 import base compared to the Canadian $20 base.

And domestically, UPS is fast, insured and tracked to metropolitan areas.

So at least look into this.

When you say very large-- do you mean like billboard circus posters? If they are on fabric, they would normally be shipped folded. Tubes are better for paper though.

[rainbow71113]

Hello again Femme,

I'm not technically increasing the shipping charge if they are chosing a method that is not supported in the listing.  I put clearly that the shipping charge is folded and if paid automatically will BE shipped folded.  They are the ones requesting the tube so technically it would be the same as someone saying they prefer UPS and want to pay for the difference for the courier charge.  I would think that Ebay would allow for that increase.

These are huge movie posters, paper for the most part although I do believe there are some fabric ones.  I just don't want to put a $30 shipping charge for a tube on a $8.99 poster which is what the smaller ones are selling for.  I don't charge the $1.50 surcharge since I put them through paypal.  Thanks for the info on the shipping through UPS, I hadn't thought about them for tubes.  I have a UPS store nearby and will take one in and see how much it would cost.  If they poster is valuable then I'm sure a buyer won't mind the cost but like I said, for the cheap ones I was thinking of saying they will arrive folded.

[rainbow71113]

was looking into the seller policies and it says this

Delivery Confirmation and extra services: If these options are offered to the buyer, you can only charge what they actually cost. Examples of services include:

Certificate of Mailing

Certified Mail

Collect on Delivery

Delivery Confirmation

Registered Mail

Restricted Delivery

Return Receipt

Signature Confirmation

Special Handling

so if the buyer requests an additional service of shipping with a tube it seems that would fall under special handling and I only charge the actual shipping and for the tube.  Wouldn't that qualify?

[scifan57]

Not if you don't quote the price in the shipping details of the listing. You are not allowed to charge your buyer a price higher than that quoted in the shipping details section.

[rainbow71113]

okay, this is exactly what I say in the listing "Although I can ship rolled in a tube PLEASE NOTE-the tube itself is $4.00 and Canada Post charges a surcharge on mailing tubes of $1.50.  This is before shipping is added which usually runs around $10 for US or Canada.  So if you want it in a tube you are looking at approx $16 in addition to the poster.  I can also mail it slightly rolled in a padded envelope.  This will go as a parcel and the downside is it might get crushed by something during shipping and wind up with some folds but it is cheaper.  The cheapest method is to have it lightly folded which is the postage I will list. "

so does that qualify since I break it down in the listing?