Can a seller charge over 4 times the shipping fee? I am buying two different auctions from the same
Summary: 705sellitall expressed frustration over high shipping costs for two small items purchased from a single seller on eBay, despite receiving a $7 discount. ericsells75 and mrdutch1001 advised that sellers can set any shipping price, and it's up to buyers to accept or decline. marnotom! pointed out potential discrepancies in shipping calculators and suggested checking specific shipping methods. ilikehockeyjerseys explained factors that influence shipping costs, including packaging and eBay policies, and suggested buyers communicate with sellers about possible discounts before purchasing. femmefan1946 and others discussed the different pricing strategies like flat rates versus free shipping, emphasizing looking at the total cost when deciding on purchases.
I am buying two different items from the same seller and the shipping is way too high for two tiny items. I asked for combined shipping and he gave me $7 off but the cost is still way too high. I worked out the cost to be $15 at the most but he is charging me $43.00 US and putting all this extra cash in his pocket. What do I do about this? Ebay should not allow this.
reallynicestamps
·1 year agoConversely there is Free Shipping.
This means the seller is putting all their costs for shipping into the asking price for the item.
Which is cheapest?
A $50 item with $15 shipping.
A $65 item withFree Shipping.
A $15 item with $50 shipping.
Look at the bottom line, not at how the bottom line got there.
Can you afford it? Can you emotionally afford it?
If not, don't buy.
In an auction, subtract the posted cost of shipping from your highest bid, before bidding.
If you are willing to pay $65 and the shipping is $15, bid $50.
If you are willing to pay $65 and the shipping is Free, bid $65.
brettjet38
·1 year agoWhat shipping method was offered in the two listings?
That dictates your replies, apart from the "The Seller can charge what they like" or variations on a theme response...
I always offer a combined shipping discount but that does not mean the buyers get to dictate the amount, shipping includes packaging, and time, and is based on the total weight, volume, and value of the shipment.
femmefan1946
·1 year agoAnd I left out the cost of packaging.
I may use eBay branded poly envelopes to ship my soft, flexible sewing patterns, but a first edition hardback book will be tissue wrapped, bubblewrapped and boxed.
A china bowl would be tissue wrapped, bubblewrapped and double boxed with bubble wrap between the boxes which is why I don't sell china.
femmefan1946
·1 year agoThe value of the purchases has no effect on the cost of shipping.
The dimensions and weight of the items does have an effect on the cost of shipping.
The destination of the shipment has an effect on shipping.
The service chosen by the seller has an effect on the cost of shipping.
Also.
Some sellers include all or part of their cost of shipping in the asking price for the listing. When all the cost is included, this is advertised as Free Shipping.
Some sellers use a Flat Rate for shipping, no matter what the destination, dimensions, or weight. This will make for a bargain for some buyers but an "overcharge" for others.
Most of the time, when Free Shipping is advertised, the buyer is unaware of the actual cost of shipping.
Which is cheapest?
A $100 with $10 Flat Rate Shipping.
A $110 item with Free Shipping.
A $90 item with $20 Calculated Shipping.
https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/tools/find-a-rate.page
https://postcalc.usps.com/?country=10440
ilikehockeyjerseys
·1 year agoSellers can charge what they want, it is displayed on the listing.
When it comes to combined shipping, or if you think there is a way that a seller can ship something to you for less (like using a flat rate box), it is always best to message a seller before buying the item to inquire about what combined shipping discount they can offer you.
I sell on eBay, so I have a good indication of what it costs to ship within Canada. I also know what flat rate boxes cost. Etc. When I purchase an item, I don't haggle on shipping. There are multiple cases where I believe the seller either overpaid for shipping by not taking advantage of the most efficient prices (eBay discounted labels, flat rate boxes, etc), overcharged, or included expensive security features that weren't needed for the type and cost of purchase (paying an extra $5-$10 for insurance+signature confirmation on a cheap item for example). With that said, I don't message the seller and ask for a discount, or ask them to change their policy. I usually look at the shipping price and the BIN price, if both of those combined are what I value the item at, I buy it.
The other thing is, a lot of time buyers simply don't understand what shipping costs. Most recently, I had an item that used flat rate shipping at $19.99. In this scenario, I would lose money on almost every location, and when you account for supplies and fees, probably break even if it is a regional order. The item was too big for a small or x-small flat rate box. I had a buyer message me with the "if shipping wasn't so expensive! routine". I looked up their actual location, and it would cost me nearly $40 to ship, either by printing a label or using a large flat rate box. I don't believe they were trying to be deceptive, but it shows you that some buyers have a disconnect with shipping costs to the point that they were getting shipping at 50 percent off, and they still felt it was too expensive.
There are also other factors like labels, fees, insurance, and supplies. I am preparing to list an item that requires a double layered box. The box and bubble wrap alone will cost nearly $10-$15. Sure, I could recycle a paper thin Amazon box and use newspaper as padding, but it won't get there safely if I do that. When you pay a seller whatever their prescribed shipping rate is, they only get about 80 percent of that in their pocket because of fees. While I do not always account for that portion when choosing a shipping rate, I would not blame a seller who does.
Ultimately, it's possible that the seller wasn't happy with the auction price and is refusing to give you the best possible rate to use shipping as a means to recoup some money, but you also have to consider all the factors that go into the shipping rate along with the disconnect that a lot of buyers have about the real out-of-pocket cost to ship an item (not just the label).
lucmoli-85
·1 year agomarnotom!
·1 year ago@lucmoli-85, if the seller of the stylus is in Canada, they’re probably using regular parcel post shipping and unaware that a less expensive shipping method for smaller items being shipped within Canada is available to Canadian eBay sellers.
If a Canadian seller prefers to list their items on the .com site and have them show up in US dollars rather than Canadian dollars, that's their choice. There's no eBay policy against doing this.
marnotom!
·1 year agoIf the listing states that the item is being forwarded through “eBay International Shipping,” there can be complications with the system’s ability to calculate an accurate shipping price if the seller doesn’t provide it with information on the item’s shipping dimensions and weight, which is sometimes the case with listings for small, lightweight items. The system also doesn’t do a great job of combining shipping, if it works at all.
By the way, last I checked, the cheapest USPS counter rate (item sent from the post office with no discounts applied) for a small item bound for Canada was about US$17.50.
mrdutch1001
·1 year ago"I am buying two different items from the same seller and the shipping is way too high for two tiny items. I asked for combined shipping and he gave me $7 off but the cost is still way too high."
When you are "buying" items from a seller you are also agreeing to "buying"(paying for)whatever shipping is quoted>>>>and that is YOUR choice! Buy or Not to buy, that is the question and the answer lieth with whatever choice you must make. No One is forcing you to make that purchase>Not the seller, Not eBay.... only you.
ericsells75
·1 year ago