eBay

electric-pixel · ‎03-12-2013

As always i am scouring ebay for Star Wars goodies and i have noticed lately that there is a flare of idiots that way overcharge for shipping. I have seen some folks carge 41$ to ship a single loose action figure! Personnally i think this is insane. Do they actually think that people will buy in into their auction and pay 41$ for their shipping charges? I know that postage has gone up and all and you gotta make profit and factor in the packaging and eveything else but this is to the point of getting ridiculous. I know Ebay as been trying to combat this in different ways but they should really have a system where you actually could report such behavior to them and the sellers could suffer the consequence of trying to be a little too greedy for their own good. To begin with, if they dont wanna sell their product under a specific amount then dont try to get your money back on the shipping. I know that waht i am saying is nothing new. But the sad truth is that some very desirable items on in the hands of the nutjobs and it makes it very hard to collect since you have to shell out more for postage than the actual amount for the toy. Ok some people would reimburse you if they overcharge you but that is pretty rare now. But i see that flare right now and it burns me. I wanna pay fair price for the item depending on its condition but i hate being ripped off on shipping.

my 2 cent rant for the day.

pierrelebel · ‎03-12-2013

" they should really have a system where you actually could report such behavior to them"

eBay does have a system in place for that very purpose.

The "report" button in every listing.

lady.stark · ‎03-12-2013

Sometimes it's not the seller's fault: it is just the way they set up their listing (assuming you talk about US sellers). Sometimes, they just use Priority Mail and don't ask themselves how it looks like internationally. I've found out that if you write to sellers nicely, many don't know how their listing look like in other countries. 50% of them will accept to ship First Class Mail, the other 50% will not.

But now, since First Class Mail to Canada includes Delivery Confirmation, maybe that percentage will increase. And before someone says I'm wrong, I have proof: LZ103313460US and LZ344133794US. These are 2 shipments I received last week by FCMI and BOTH have a delivery confirmation.

Moreover, as Pierre said, if there is an overcharge shipping, you can still report the seller to eBay using the "Report" button you find on every listing. 🙂

pierrelebel · ‎03-12-2013

"Sometimes it's not the seller's fault"

Correct. Sellers depend largely on information provided to them by USPS:

http://ircalc.usps.com/Default.aspx?country=10054

i*m-still-here · ‎03-12-2013

But the sad truth is that some very desirable items on in the hands of the nutjobs and it makes it very hard to collect since you have to shell out more for postage than the actual amount for the toy.

That should read: It makes it hard for Canadians ............................ etc.

Ebay is really an American toy, and the rest of the world plays along the best they can.

For Canadians is harder to buy and sell on ebay than it is for Americans, but it's also opened the world to collectors.

Most sellers will work with you regarding shipping costs if you ask, but it's a lot of work if you buy a lot and it may not be worth the effort to you.

Shipping costs have changed a lot during the past months for a number of reasons.

One is that actual USPS postage has gone up for international shipments.

FCI has also changed a lot in the sense that it now comes with options such as insurance, delivery confirmation etc.

I guess if you want the item bad enough you'll work a little for it............. or not.

portfelt · ‎03-12-2013

This has been my pet peeve ever since I joined eBay many years ago. When I had some spare time I would report a number of sellers every day for excessive shipping charges. Nothing has changed and eBay has done nothing to educate the dumb United Statesmen who think Canada is somewhere near Krakatoa east of Java. When I complain to the seller directly the usual excuse is PayPal forces me to do it. I very rarely buy from them anymore and whenever I do a search I click on Canada only. It's a losing battle, so why bother.

recyclemikey · ‎03-12-2013

you are allowed to rant all you want.

But do you sell on ebay? or just buy?

Did you know that ebay chages a final value fee on the shipping? it's about 10%

so the nutjobs are only hurting themselves by having such high fees, I can relate to that.

Though I have offered FREE shipping numerous times (just to escape that fee) and even then, the buyers want to know why I didn't ship their $2.99 cell phone case by expedited parcel with a tracking number and insurance.

If you don't like the shipping fees, ask the seller if that is the correct rate for your ZIP/Postal Code. Usually, they just pull a number out of their back pockets that will cover the whole country. IF they do overcharge, leave negative feedback. Sometimes that alone is worth the $30 in extra fees.

aqyera · ‎03-13-2013

If they want tracking number, the rates to Canada start at $30-$35 for first lb (Priority, Express).

Can't blame them, Canadians are difficult buyers, and in my experience especially those from Quebec. Somewhat they get needlessly angry, defensive and vocal very quickly for no reason.

lady.stark · ‎03-13-2013

"Did you know that ebay chages a final value fee on the shipping? it's about 10%

so the nutjobs are only hurting themselves by having such high fees, I can relate to that"

The OP doesn't say if he talks about US sellers or Canadian sellers... But assuming it concerns US sellers, they pay fees on the lowest domestic cost and not on the high international cost.

lady.stark · ‎03-13-2013

"If they want tracking number, the rates to Canada start at $30-$35 for first lb (Priority, Express)."

Not anymore. There is Delivery Confirmation on First Class Mail since January.

"Can't blame them, Canadians are difficult buyers, and in my experience especially those from Quebec. Somewhat they get needlessly angry, defensive and vocal very quickly for no reason."

Wow, I am from Quebec and I'm not like that. Maybe you had bad experiences, but please do not put us all on the same boat. And from *my* experience, Canadian buyers are not difficult at all!

pierrelebel · ‎03-13-2013

"But assuming it concerns US sellers, they pay fees on the lowest domestic cost and not on the high international cost."

That is correct.

Howewer, I feel most American sellers are unaware of the difference. They know they pay FVF on shipping charge and few would check if they pay lower FVF on shipping charge to Canada.

While sellers are not supposed to include fees in their "shipping and handling" charge, the reality is that many sellers do. Rightly or wrongly, in disregard to the rules, they look at these extra fees as part of "handling".

I am not making excuses for them breaching the rules, simply stating the reality of the marketplace as I see it.

pocomocomputing · ‎03-13-2013

"But assuming it concerns US sellers, they pay fees on the lowest domestic cost and not on the high international cost."

That is correct.

Howewer, I feel most American sellers are unaware of the difference. They know they pay FVF on shipping charge and few would check if they pay lower FVF on shipping charge to Canada.

While sellers are not supposed to include fees in their "shipping and handling" charge, the reality is that many sellers do. Rightly or wrongly, in disregard to the rules, they look at these extra fees as part of "handling".

I am not making excuses for them breaching the rules, simply stating the reality of the marketplace as I see it.

My understanding is that it is on the lower of the first domestic shipping cost and the international shipping cost. So if your first domestic shipping option is setup with more than one shipping option, the lowest cost should be first. eBay will not look at all domestic shipping options to see which is the lowest. It will use the first domestic option.

mgelectron · ‎06-29-2015

I agree. It just started like last year. I looked at a kickstand for my motorcycle. Weighs maybe 5 lbs, $15.00USD for the product $60.00CDN for shipping!!! It's very simple, they're cutting out any bids or sales from Canada with that attitude. After they loose sales or get no bids from Canada, (That may be the best way to educate them), maybe they'll get the hint. Let's hope.

marnotom! · ‎06-29-2015

@mgelectron wrote:

I agree. It just started like last year. I looked at a kickstand for my motorcycle. Weighs maybe 5 lbs, $15.00USD for the product $60.00CDN for shipping!!! It's very simple, they're cutting out any bids or sales from Canada with that attitude. After they loose sales or get no bids from Canada, (That may be the best way to educate them), maybe they'll get the hint. Let's hope.

What's the shipping method? Strikes me that they're not using the postal system, for starters.