REALITY CHECK- Gas at $1.50+/L

[lina-mallows]

For real- earlier today I have just RAISED our shipping prices for Coffee MUGS. (from US$10 to US$12 within Canada and the US)
AND- dropped discounting THIRD MUG PURCHASED. (explained in our auction's copy)
Over the weekend- I will proceed to RAISE our mailing rates for ALL other items. US$1.oo for shipping ANY number of cards purchased is not even remotely profitable- as anything we ship is OVER 30g- and that's a minimum of $1.15 postage to the US.

I have just moved our suggested time for sending item from 3-4 days- TO 3-5days. (I am considering pushing that to SEVEN days.)

AND- we will clearly state in our auctions that we will now MAIL items, once or twice a week- AT OUR CONVENIENCE.

COME ON EVERYONE- ignore this eBay nonsense- 'shipping within 24hours of payment', and running to the Post Office TWICE a day ?????'
WHAT NONSENSE!
GET REAL . WITH GAS AT $1.50+ a litre- NO WAY- NO HOW!
Let's ALL take a stand for the reality that we live in. And not the fantasy shopping experience that eBay would like to present!

WE WILL ALSO ADD THE FOLLOWING NOTE to ALL our auctions:
"There are many fine sellers on eBay who offer similar products.
Our goal has always been SAFE delivery of your items, and not speed.
We appreciate the feedback of thousands of our happy customers.
IF TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE- AND YOU EXPECT NEAR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY- PLEASE SHOP ELSEWHERE!" (or something very similar)

And, YES- I am serious!
For those who don't believe me- check our listings next week, and compare them to those that are archived!

PEOPLE- take charge of your business.
IT IS YOUR BUSINESS...NOT eBAY'S!
DON'T be bullied by all this eBay DSR nonsense.

[dipmicro]

Reality check:

http://www.oilweek.com/news.asp?ID=16424

But the gas price is not important. Because of population density, for many people everything is further than elsewhere. I know a person that drives from Peterborough to Toronto daily for work (that is little extreme, but true). Another guy has been driving from Niagara Falls to Burlington daily (90km one way). With $1.35/L and 8L/100km and 22-23 workdays a month it's approx $450/month in after-tax money to earn taxable income.

[lina-mallows]

I also have many friends who work in Niagara Falls, and drive from Toronto & Mississauga to work every day- FIVE DAYS a week. ( the FOUR day a week- 10 hour day was less expensive on gas)
AND WHY DO YOU INSIST ON CHANGING THE SUBJECT?

Regardless of what you think- GAS PRICES do have an impact on many eBay's seller's profits.

AND- REGARDLESS of what the price of gas is- if you drive to the POST OFFICE to get your items out- every time you go- there is a cost.
SO- drive there less- SAVE MONEY- YOUR MONEY!

[lina-mallows]

Inflation in CHINA is mostly being driven by the increase in the price of eggs.

I don't buy my eggs in China! Nor do I buy my gas in FRANCE!

What this thread has to do with the price of eggs in China, you may ask....absolutely nothing.

BUT- it is a fact nonetheless!

[dipmicro]

Oh no, I did not change the subject Lina. I am saying that people blow the gas money out of the window. There is way too many people driving unnecessarily.

Why does someone need to go to the post office twice a day? It does not matter, all packages except Puro will leave for sorting facility after 5pm anyway.

Why to drive across the country for a job? Find different job, move or take a bus.

Why to drive anywhere that is within 1km vicinity if one does not need to move heavy item? That's 10-15min of walking for god's sake. With the traffic jams, street lights and looking for parking, you spend that much time anyway.

So $1.50/L is a lot for ya? You spend 12.5min burning it (60km/hr, 8L/100km). If the $1.50 gas price is the reason not to take two trips to post office, you must have very sad hourly income.

[lina-mallows]

dipmicro- just to set the record straight- I do not now, nor have I ever held a valid driver's licence.
So- from the perspective of an actual DRIVER- I have little clue as to the real impact gasoline prices have on driving.
I can't even rememeber the last time I earned an hourly wage- I think it was back in the early 70's!

I will leave it to your imagination how I get around.
And- no- though I vocally support public transit- I am not a regular user.

For those not in a major urban centre- you never took into account the distance some people have to travel to get to a Post Office.

[shari_nat]

LOL, I know the twice a day trip to the Post Office was directed at me. Yes, I frequently stop at the post office twice a day. But in my defense I was driving right past it 4 times a day driving my kids back and forth from school. During the summer I will most likely only go once a day and it is not out of my way. It's about 5 minutes from my house.

Shari

[lina-mallows]

shari_nat- I wasn't aiming this particularily at any one particular seller- but at the general consensus some have that shipping ASAP matters. Even it means running to the Post Office whenever anyone buys anything.

We have a Canada Post red mail box- about 50 feet from where I am typing this, So- I could simply walk accross the street, and drop everything in the box. I can even watch them scan packages, where I have preprinted the label. It's that close, and right outside my window.
We choose to go to the Post Office- that's our choice.
I amy re-think this, as dropping somethings in the box late at night, would be picked up first thing in the morning. This may actually speed up our deliver. However- I don't have those hang ups at delivery time. So, like you, when we happen to be going near a Post Office, we take the mail. At other times- it waits until it's convenient.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to be minutes away from a Post Office. Not everyone has a Post Box outside their window. Gas is a very real cost- right up there with boxes, and bubble wrap. And maybe that's a BIG thing eBay has never truly factored into their notion of what actual shipping and handling charges are.

[ameroindustries]

I just call canada post any time i need something picked up there like about 40 km away too . Saves me lots of money . Gives me a giggle when i see them kicking packages around on the truck . Gosh they run them over with there Dolly and Cages LOL . But im the crazy one when i get a broken LOL