eBay Auction for High Value Item

Hi, I'm thinking about starting an auction for a high value item, as in I expect it to fetch over $750 CDN. I mention that amount because I've read signature is required for delivery on items (or orders) above that amount to ensure seller protection. I've never sold anything over $750 before so I'm not sure what to do about the auction's shipping options, specifically to the US.

From what I can see, no Canada Post shipping options below Xpresspost USA include signature confirmation and it seems like it can't be added on to services like Tracked Packet USA or Expedited Parcel. This leaves me wondering if the only shipping option I can offer on the listing to US bidders is Xpresspost USA.

It concerns me that the high shipping cost will turn off potential bidders from the US. But also the item could sell at auction for less than $750, in which case Xpresspost USA and the signature that goes with it wouldn't even be necessary for seller protection. So I'm left wondering what to do about shipping options. Could I offer Tracked Packet or Expedited Parcel USA in the listing and if the item sells for more than $750, pay the difference myself to upgrade it to Xpresspost USA to get signature confirmation (and the seller protection that comes with it)? Maybe I'm overthinking this but I've done a lot of searching and can't seem to find anything that makes me sure of what to do. Thanks fin advance or any advice.
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eBay Auction for High Value Item

I do not sell many high volume items myself but I do believe you ar right in having to use Xpress Post USA if signature is mandatory.

If you are setting up as an auction it means you are willing to sell at a lower cost if it doesn't get bid up as high as you'd like. If that is the case then just have the lower priced Tracked Packet or Expedited Parcel as shipping price in your listing. If it does go over the $750 (which would be a good thing!) then pay the difference yourself, you made more money so it should have covered it. You are right that if the shipping cost is showing to potential buyers as quite high they may not bid as much (or bid at all!)

I do auctions often and I know it is quite a thrill when the item goes high but always be prepared to accept the lowest amount you are starting it at (including the shipping charge). Good luck!

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eBay Auction for High Value Item

Hi @emersion ,

     To adjust your theory and clarify for others tuning in, the signature is required if THE TOTAL SALE AMOUNT INCLUDING TAXES AND SHIPPING COLLECTED FROM THE BUYER IS $750CAD OR HIGHER and not "I've read signature is required for delivery on items (or orders) above that amount to ensure seller protection. I've never sold anything over $750".

  As you added "(or orders)" you may be aware it's the total sale amount but others may be confused. Signature has nothing to do with the item's selling price.  It's about the ORDER's  TOTAL.  Let's clarify it for others.

   If the item sells for $600 plus shipping eg: $100 plust taxes eg: $50 = $750 you need a signature on delivery to receive eBay protections. It is not the value of the item when it sells. It is the total amount collected by ebay from the buyer. Read the policy and not what others post.

  As far as the shipping goes you did not mention dimensions or weight. For those types of items I figure out a flat rate based on the weight and dimensions AND insurance included. You will need to charge for your additional insurance cost. If it's a lot, say to ship Coast to Coast, I might absorb some of the flat rate.

  If the item is over 2 Kilograms I would only have shipping to the USA and Canada (exclude overseas). If you require a signature UPS would be worth looking at. They will get a signature from certain locations. All other locations must be excluded in the listing. This means you need to exclude places like Peurto Rico if your courier won't provide a signature. 

    Do your due didigence. If you sell it to someone in the wrong location it's difficult to "back peddle."

Bindare Dundat

 

 

 

 

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eBay Auction for High Value Item

Thanks for the replies with tips and info. The package is 35 x 27 x 16 cm and weighs 0.7 kg. Nothing huge or heavy. I definitely intend to limit the auction to Canada and US bidders. I always have though (using the exclusion option). I believe Canada Post only offers insurance up to $1000 so that was a concern I had too about potentially shipping a higher value item to the US. Then it all comes back to shipping cost and not wanting to turn off potential bidders. Ultimately the issue is that I need to figure out shipping costs when I don't even know for sure if the total will be over $750 at auction end.
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eBay Auction for High Value Item

You can add additional features to Regular Parcel and Expedited if you print the label through Canada Post's online Snapship service. Go to canadapost.ca, click the Login Or Register text at the top right corner. The only thing you need to register is an active credit card. While it is aimed at Small Businesses, you do not need a business number to sign up. 

When you choose your label, you will see additional add-ons below. Click the box next to signature confirmation. 

Additionally, for unique collectibles that cannot be replaced or expensive orders I would recommend selecting the 'card for pickup' feature. Buyers generally don't like this, because it means they have to pick up the item at the post office. Still, it is a good anti-fraud measure. While it doesn't really do much, it might spook someone who intends to scam you. Keep in mind, you STILL need to select the signature option on top of this. Canada Post won't collect a signature by default with card for pickup. 

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On a side note, I would consider putting the item up as a Buy It Now w/ Best Offer for a period of time before auctioning it. Even if you inflate the price a bit higher than what you expect to get for it, and accept offers, you will likely get more than you would with an auction. Auctions rarely realize or exceed peak values for items. There are a few exceptions, but generally, they are only good for when you want to liquidate stuff and you don't care what you end up getting. This is especially the case if your item is a more niche collectible with a slimmer audience of potential buyers. 

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eBay Auction for High Value Item

XpressPost USA appears to be the only Canada Post service that allows for a signature.

You're probably looking at $60-$70 without insurance. 

Chit Chats Tracked ships via USPS Priority Mail. They offer signature confirmation for only a few dollars. If you use Chit Chats, it will cost you around $30 without insurance. They only insure up to 300 USD. Additionally, if you have not used Chit Chats before you need to provide a business number and sign a power of attorney in order to enable a return to sender. Otherwise, your item will be destroyed if there is an issue with delivering it. So this may not be an ideal option. 

For the most part your shipping cost is only a marketing choice. If this item has a high demand and you expect it to attract enough attention to reach the upper end of it's value, you might be better off either including free shipping, or charging a lower shipping price. If you charge the actual face value of $70 to the US, you might risk turning off bidders from the US. Which will end up costing you more money than if you enabled "free" shipping, which would increase your pool of bidders.

I would still recommend to try Buy It Now w/ Best Offer. In which case, you can still opt to roll the shipping price into the BIN price and offer either free or discounted shipping.

The only downside to offering free shipping is if you offer returns. In the case of a good faith return (Not an item not described forced return) you would be out the shipping cost if you roll the shipping cost into the listing price.

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eBay Auction for High Value Item

In this price range most of my items are large and bulky . I use UPS without issues. In your case the first thing I would do is determine the item's FMV. At auction you have the choice to use a starting price or a reserve price. Both could be adjusted to cover your lowest acceptable amount for the item. Then use calculated or flat Rate shipping with Signature required. 

Do not use free shipping for reasons Ilikehockeyjerseys mentioned. Then I would estimate the cost to ship it anywhere from your point of origin to anywere in the continental USA or Canada using the parameters I gave in my first post.  We don't have chit chats here so I don't know about that. UPS has always been very good but they have restrictions on locations. 

Be sure to say in the listing you do not ship outside of the Continental or Contiguous states. One time there was an eBay gliche with my exclusions. My xylophone was sold to a guy in Puerto Rico. Because of the disclaimer in my listing ebay looked after it.

After calculating the cost of the shipping I would set a flat rate and add it to the listing. If it seems high then you may choose to "crop it" based on the FMV and your competition on the item. 

Also be sure to say in your listing that a signature will be required on delivery. 

Finally, if carefully done, auctions can be good however...I would first list the item as a BIN for at least 2-3 months. I would list it high with the Best Offer "Minimum" set to the least acceptable amount you would like. During this time you will gather watchers. You may even sell it but if not you will get a good idea of what people will pay if you change the listing to an auction. Im currently doing this with a large (36"x36"x6") item. 

If you haven't run many auctions study the  good advice out there on when to start, end, reserves, and starting prices etc. 

Another poster here did well with a comic book at auction a few months back. It depends on your item. auctions only last days so if the buyer isn't online at that time the item goes cheaper. I like "long tail". 

Good luck and let us know what happens. Your title has great key words and is on a popular subject. I think this thread will be around for awhile!

IT

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eBay Auction for High Value Item

Carification:

"Also be sure to say in your listing that a signature will be required on delivery. "

buyers tend not to know about the $750 limit. This lets them know someone needs to be home when it arrives or for pick up at a terminal. It also helps to weed out "looky lou"s and scammers. If it turns out it isnt required you can ship without it. You can also refund some of the shipping charged to a buyer if he lives somewhere below the cost set by your flat rate."

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eBay Auction for High Value Item

You can deal with shipping a couple of ways:

Put part of the shipping cost into your asking price.

  • If it costs $10 to ship across town but $40 to ship to Dallas, use a Flat Rate Shipping of $30 and raise the opening bid by $10 (the nearby shipping cost).

Use Calculated Shipping with ExpressPost + Signature.

Use a third party insurer* like shipinsure.com.

Use Fixed Price/Immediate Payment Required, but allow Best Offers**.  Start a little higher than you expect to get in the auction. Set high /low parameters for automatic acceptance/rejection of the BO.

 

 

 

 

*What are you insuring against?

  • Loss in transit is very rare. Delayed delivery is much more likely.
  • Any tracked shipment has the Proof of Delivery as protection against false claims of Not Received. Signature Required provides more.
  • Damage in shipping comes down to your packaging.It is very rare that packages get run over or caught in machinery, although it does happen.

**Best Offers negate the IPR, though.

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eBay Auction for High Value Item

Thanks again to everyone for all of the tips, guidance and feedback. I may stick to Buy It Now with Best Offer for now.
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eBay Auction for High Value Item

@emersion Another possible approach is to put it up for auction with the start price as what you want it to go for and would list it at as a BIN.

If in your best situation $850 is the most you anticipate, and what you would list at as a BIN start the acution at that price. You have nothing to lose if it doesn't sell, you can simply relist it at $850 as a BIN when it closes. If it turns out to be something extra special, bidders may take it up beyond $850.

As a note, starting auctions with a high start price doesn't feed the "multibidder" type world which ebay recognizes and rewards with increased visibility, but if it is indeed something that has lots of interest I don't think  it will dampen the final result too much.

As a note this is what I do ALL the time, at the moment everything I list for auction is at the eventual BIN price if it does not sell. My regular buyers recognize this and they wait for it to end and me to relist as a BIN but what I'm protecting myself against is underlisting an item's value because I can't be an expert on everthing out there in my category. (There are other benefits but I'm starting to spill my "bag of tricks")

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eBay Auction for High Value Item

Canada Post USA shipping doesn't have a wide variance in cost. We're talking about a fuel surcharge difference of a few dollars depending o the state. Otherwise, the price is determined by the volumetric weight. For example, the fuel surcharge difference between New York and California from Ontario is about $2. Otherwise, the base cost is the same for the dimensions the OP provided. 

That is part of the reason why I would suggest baking the shipping cost into the item with "free shipping". If he auctions it, his goal is to get as many people as possible to bid so that it can reach the $750 he believes it is worth. It's a marketing choice. Even if he raises the starting bid by $70 and includes free shipping, he is probably better off. 

At the end of the day, the designation between the price for the item and the price for shipping doesn't matter for items with no returns, and no chance of cross selling other items from your store. (aka People buying a second item they otherwise would not have to benefit from combined shipping.) What matters is getting the highest total price. In cases where shipping is very expensive, free shipping will sometimes lead to a higher total price than charging the actual shipping price. 

With that said, I would use BIN w/ BO, not an auction. 

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eBay Auction for High Value Item

"Canada Post USA shipping doesn't have a wide variance in cost. " ?.. It sure does when you sell musical instruments. It also makes a difference where you live in Canada if the USA is your market for items over 2 kg requiring expedited shipping. The surcharge is not $2.

With respect to auctions, I buy a lot that is sold by auction. It's my experience most buyers are attracted to auctions to obtain something sold well below FMV. 

Starting an item at auction with it's FMV as starting price and then "BAKING"  the total cost of shipping into that is pointless if it has active comps. This is particularily true if the buyer is located in the USA with cheap domestic shipping.  Doing that will  turn off prospective buyers and put your item on "ignore".     

Shipping chargebacks, (there's no such thing as free shipping) and methods of selling are unique to the nature of a specific item, the location of the market, the appropriate choice of courier, the economic climate and the seller's experience.

This is why approx 12 years ago eBay had  a program called "eBay Trading Assistants".  It wasn't a consignment seller but rather someone who had experience navigating one offs like this one. They would lower the risk and take a cut.  If you vetted a good one it was worth it. We used one to sell a rare vintage Impala convertible as we had no experience selling cars on eBay. If I remember right he charged 10% and made the right choices.

There is no "one size fits all" strategy for unique high value items. 

IT

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