How many are amazed at how some sellers blatantly charge two to three times the shipping charge

[trepfra]

I am not amazed but I see blatant rip offs by sellers who use the shipping charges to double or triple the price of an item.  One large seller is almost always double plus the shipping of all the rest including those who ship from further away.  Ebay does nothing and in fact has no direct way of reporting such rip offs making one wonder if they condone the situation

[pierrelebel]

eBay is a venue allowing sellers from around the world to advertise their products.  Sellers are expected to follow policies.

Buyers have the choice to purchase items they wish.  Their buying decision should be based on several factors, including the total cost including shipping and, potentially, taxes and brokerage fee when importing goods from outside Canada.

Whether the price is $10 + $20 shipping for a  total out-of-pocket cost of $30

or $20 + $10 shipping for a  total out-of-pocket cost of $30

or $30 with free shipping to your location

what is the difference?  Base your decision on your total out-of-pocket cost.

It is no different than going to some store where an item sells for $10 while the other store is priced at $20 with 50% off.

[sunjuggler]

 I agree that ultimately the buyer makes a decision but seriously, where are these sellers heads sometimes?

A used paperback book would be $5 or less in any used book store, no shipping costs. Yet sellers routinely put used paperback up for $7-$10 with another $10-$15 shipping cost, insane. Other sellers follow the trend and before you know it, it is almost impossible to pick up a used paperback for under $6 or $8 total, which is what I would be willing to pay if I couldn't find it in a used book store.

Surely sellers should be required to use a postage cost that at least resembles some level of reality?

[pierrelebel]

"$10-$15 shipping cost, insane"

Insane?

Take a paperback from your house.  Nothing big.  One inch thick..  Wrap it up and bring it to the post office.  Ask them how much to mail to Vancouver?  How much to mail to Halifax?

Please come back here with the answer you get from the post office and tell us if you think the sellers are still insane.

I know that mailing such small book from Belleville Ontario to my sister in Edmonton Alberta costs me over $12 plus HST..

[Anonymous]

Actually it is Canada Post's being insane with postage rates and it depends on what items are being shipped.

I have many heavy large expensive items that have to be shipped by Expedited or XpressPost with insurance and tracking number.  There is no way I can ship them without insurance and tracking number any more, I have to protect myself.  So it depends on what items, the value, rarity, weight, etc.

As for across Canada, I prefer to ship posters by Expedited or XpressPost with insurance and tracking number.  Only one out of 100 got damaged and I was able to recover the cost and refund it to my buyer.   That is fact of doing business.

[sunjuggler]

Challenge accepted.

Actually I'll do it from the comfort of my own home.

"Compared to other shipping options through USPS, Media Mail is cheap. It costs $2.38 to send up to a pound of media and 39 cents for each pound after that up to 70 pounds."

So for your average paperback purchased from a seller in the States the postage should NEVER be more than $2.69.

In fact many Canadian sellers are shipping via the U.S.A to take advantage of USPS Media Mail.

[sunjuggler]

Completely agree, Canada Post is out of touch on this one.

I buy a lot of used books, usually one at a time, I don't care how long it takes to arrive, so USPS Media Mail is ideal and I won't buy from anyone trying to screw me on postage.

[amethyst1415]

No, take the real challenge. Canada Post will charge you 10 - 15 to ship out a book (a regular book, not a comic or magazine) From the comfort of your home does not tell you that Canada Post has ridiculous rates. Now try living in the Yukon. The rest of Canada is lucky.

[pjcdn2005]

---

@sunjuggler wrote:

Challenge accepted.

Actually I'll do it from the comfort of my own home.

"Compared to other shipping options through USPS, Media Mail is cheap. It costs $2.38 to send up to a pound of media and 39 cents for each pound after that up to 70 pounds."

So for your average paperback purchased from a seller in the States the postage should NEVER be more than $2.69.

In fact many Canadian sellers are shipping via the U.S.A to take advantage of USPS Media Mail.

---

What does shipping media mail from the U.S. to someone in the U.S. have anything to do with the cost of shipping within Canada?  Media mail is a domestic service only and is not available for international packages.  If you are receiving media mail packages from the U.S. then you must have a U.S. addresses or use a reshipper. 

You said earlier that Canadian sellers are overcharging shipping but you have still neglected to show how that is true or even to show that you know how much shipping within Canada can cost.

[dmil8030]

Hello 'tepfra',

If you are planning to do much buying online, one of the best things you can do for yourself is become

familiar with the various postal websites and their rates.  Sometimes you would be truly surpised what it can

cost to mail things.  That said, I would agree that there is no shortage of ebay sellers who gouge on shipping,

so I urge you not to buy from them at all.

It is reasonable to expect that sellers will charge for packaging materials, - and if you buy fragiles that can be a lot

of bubble wrap and styro peanuts, and even new boxes.  Obviously items packed in newspaper and grocery boxes

will not incur the same costs.

But books?  Those are heavy, and thus expensive to ship anywhere.  Have a look at Canada Post's rates:

http://www.canadapost.ca/cpotools/apps/far/personal/findARate?execution=e1s1

Do you buy from the US much?

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

The UK?

http://www.royalmail.com/price-finder

Shipping fees are expensive everywhere, - no matter what the item and where it comes from.

There are sellers who will offer 'free' shipping on items within their own country and then greatly overcharge

on international orders because as you say, you can do nothing about it.  So find a seller who does not do this.

It takes a bit of buying practice to get to know what items weigh and therefore what they should cost.

You can always ask a seller what the packed weight of the item is.  The honest ones will tell you.

Ebay is definitely not the cheapest place to buy books, however it is a great place to get rare or

hard-to-find books.  So even with the shipping fees, getting one's hands on a long-sought book feels like

a bargain no matter what the cost.

Some places, like France, offer a 'book rate' which costs comparatively little, but Canada does not.

Moreover, it is unlikely a seller will ship an important 'special edition' book cheap-o mail, but would use

a more expensive insured service.

It may depend what you are looking for, -- but if it is something unusual, eventually an affordable title will

turn up on ebay.  Just keep checking.

Happy shopping  

[sunjuggler]

I never said Canadian shippers are overcharging (although they may be) and I agree with the rates people have shown, my only point regarding Canada post is that they should have some kind of book rate. You may be mixing me up with the original poster.

With regards to overcharging it must be clear that it does happen. There are many examples of massive differences in the additional postal fee even when the same book is coming from the same geographical area. I stand ready to be corrected but can the postal cost for the same book from two different areas of California (within 100 miles of each other) to Ontario, Canada be more than a $10 difference? I have seen this very example.

I only buy books. I only buy from sellers who have free postage or have somehow taken advantage of the US book rate, I don't know or care how they have managed to do that when shipping to Canada.

If a seller can't sell a used book on ebay at a combined (price plus shipping) cost of under $11 then why bother when I can buy a new copy for less?

[greenmangoes]

When I was a buyer I wondered why shipping rates where so expensive until I started selling myself and realized that the rates that were listed where fair.  Sometimes when I go to ship an item I still have to pay more on shipping that I have listed.

I have even seen a few postings where sellers stop selling because of shipping cost.

[pierrelebel]

Post # 3 (from you) "Yet sellers routinely put used paperback up for $7-$10 with another $10-$15 shipping cost, insane."

I urge you to go to the post office with a typical paperback 1" thick and ask how much it would cost (cheapest method) to mail to Halifax, Vancouver, and your own town.

The problem is NOT with most Canadian sellers overcharging but the reality of the postal service.

In many instances, it is simply not worth it to list used paperpacks unless they can be mailed using lettermail service (less than 20mm thickness (about 3/4") within Canada and Light Packet to the USA.  Even then, the costs of packing and mailing are relatively high when matched against the selling price.

[pierrelebel]

"can the postal cost for the same book from two different areas of California (within 100 miles of each other) to Ontario, Canada be more than a $10 difference?"

Yes

Different sellers may decide to use different type of services.  Some feel they require "protection" when shipping outside their country and may use more expensive shipping services.  Others may consider using the cheapest shipping method, ignoring the risk of loss.

[pierrelebel]

"I only buy from sellers who have free postage or have somehow taken advantage of the US book rate,"

Does the USPS offer a book (media) rate to Canada?

[femmefan1946]

In fact many Canadian sellers are shipping via the U.S.A to take advantage of USPS Media Mail.

Possibly true, if they live close enough to the border to make a trip to the USA worthwhile. Or live near bookstotheborder, chitchat express or the new guys in Calgary.

But those companies charge a small amount on top of the USPS postage for their services. And sellers who are carrying their own product across the border also have expenses that only start with gas money.

These costs may well be less than Canada Post charges, but they are costs and must be accounted for.

[femmefan1946]

If a seller can't sell a used book on ebay at a combined (price plus shipping) cost of under $11 then why bother when I can buy a new copy for less?

Well, basically, you can't. Maybe at your local used book store.

Most of my books are $10 US plus shipping. But I sell vintage paperbacks some as much as 50 years old . Out of print, scarce, particular editions or artists.

If it is in print, then your local bookstore will either have it or can order it. Independent bookstores are great at this, especially with 'print on demand' titles, which seems to cover most Canadian writers.

As a constant haunter of bookstores, I notice most of my recent purchases run from $16 to $22 CDN for softcovers and easily twice that for hardcovers.

Even comic books. Each issue of Leaves on the Wind, the new Firefly story, was only $3.95 but there were six of them so a total of $23.70.

And I'm not even sure if I think he was wrong. I believe... I just... I think I'm on the wrong ship.-- Shepherd Derrial Book

[2011limey1]

You seem to be blaming Canada Post - yes their rates are crazy.....even International stamps are a crazy pricel  Books? well, sometimes I buy from Amazon (free shipping over $25 - but mostly  I LOVE browsing used book stores.  The other day, I purchased 2 books, looked brand new, one published this year and the other in  2013.

You might have heard on the news today that France passed a law that no shipping charges for books was illegal - they want to support their local book stores (which I totally agree with).  But then you know who got AROUND the law by charging $1.00 to ship!