Shipping charges compared to actual shipping charges

[mr2good2]

I bought a item from a seller that was charging $15 shipping fee. Buyer and Seller are both in Canada. I accepted that, expecting it to be shipped express. When the package was delivered it had a $1.34 cent stamp on it. If you add up the supplies and stamp it would cost about $2. How can a seller get away with that. I looked at the sellers other items that are for sell (similiar product) and they are charging between $2-$5. His shipping prices are all over the map.

[pierrelebel]

Contact the seller.  Politely explain there was a mistake in the shipping charge and ask for a refund of the overcharge.

See what happens.

[mr2good2]

I tried that, he never replied. I opened a dispute, seller escalated this dispute to a PayPal claim and Paypal denied me.

[pierrelebel]

It is too bad the seller did not reply to your initial inquiry. There was nothing to gain opening a dispute with PayPal as no PayPal policy was violated by the seller. Negotiation would most likely have resulted in a better results for you assuming you could get a hold of the seller by email or by phone.

In any case, at this time you have only one option open to you: appropriate feedback and DSRs.

[rroader94]

It WAS my understanding, and it's probably changed, that eBay was concerned about Sellers gouging Buyers on shipping costs.

I know for a fact there was a procedure in place that addressed that problem.   I didn't see the answer in this forum that I had

hoped for.  Would eBay's charging 10% on the shipping cost perhaps have changed their opinion on this?

[pierrelebel]

"Would eBay's charging 10% on the shipping cost"

eBay charges FVF on domestic shipping charge. 

For example, if you buy from an American seller offering free shipping within the USA and $100 shipping to Canada, no FVF would be paid by that seller on the shipping charge.

[rroader94]

True when there is Free shipping a Seller may not be charged 10% on shipping BUT be sure that Seller has inflated his selling price to include shipping and eBay still gets 10% of the price which includes shipping.  Who can ship Free with the mailing costs in the US and in Canada and eBay keeps promoting "Ship Free"?????     Fees and mailing costs are killing us!!!

[ronbchamps]

This is why I don't buy from ebay much anymore. Shipping is charged at double and sometimes 3 times the cost of the item and ebay doesn't value their business enough to do something about it. There are other options to ebay and alot of people have moved on, including myself. 

I still check ebay for stuff once in a while hoping I won't get gouged for shipping, but its like gambling sometimes you get lucky. I have made a couple of purchases from overseas in the past year and was very pleased with the shipping costs and time. One from Poland and another from China. Both items were perfect and the transactions were flawless.

Try buying overseas if you don't mind waiting for your item to arrive. Actually in both cases my items arrived within 3 weeks. 

Just my 2 cents or if using ebay:  just my 2 cents plus 10 cents shipping

[bb_cool_stuff]

I have also noticed a lot of increased shipping rates during the past year & that is without the inclusion of the GSP.

Two to three times seems accurate to me also.

I just think some US Sellers have no interest in shipping to Canada.

[pjcdn2005]

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@bb_cool_stuff wrote:

I have also noticed a lot of increased shipping rates during the past year & that is without the inclusion of the GSP.

Two to three times seems accurate to me also.

I just think some US Sellers have no interest in shipping to Canada.

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Some U.S. sellers have no interest in shipping anywhere out of the U.S. Heck..some of them won't ship to Alaska, Hawaii or APO's.

But...USPS prices did go up by a lot this year so that explains some of the increases.

It's interesting how many buyers comment that a shipping cost is more than the item cost even though 1 has nothing to do with the other. But that does tell me that in many cases, it is better to increase the selling price rather than increase the shipping price.

[marnotom!]

A doubling to threefold increase in shipping price isn't terribly meaningful to me if I don't know the original shipping cost being referred to.  Is this an increase from 15 to 35 dollars?  Or an increase from two to six dollars?

Something to keep in mind for shipments of very small,lightweight items is in the last round of USPS rate increases, a bigger price distinction was made between international letters being shipped as documents and international letters being shipped as packages.  Prior to the last rate increase, there wasn't much--if any--price difference between a three ounce international letter and a three ounce international packet.  Now there is.

[femmefan1946]

when there is Free shipping a Seller may not be charged 10% on shipping BUT be sure that Seller has inflated his selling price to include shipping and eBay still gets 10% of the price which includes shipping.  Who can ship Free

Nobody. Free Shipping is an advertising gimmick and one that works very well. Like BOGO sales and 'we pay the sales tax' promotions.

Which is cheapest:
A $5 item with $10 shipping
A $10 item with $5 shipping
A $15 item with Free Shipping.
The wise shopper purchases based on total price, not broken down by category.

And customers love to see that word "free".

Couple that with the perception that the more expensive the item, the better it must be, and that $15 item with Free shipping will sell faster and more often that the others at identical cost. (And the slowest will be the 'cheap' $5 item with "gouging' shipping, which will also get lower DSRs for high shipping cost.)

Note that the seller pays the same fees on all three items, with the exception of fees on international shipping as pierre points out.

[bb_cool_stuff]

Saw a lot of shirts with a previous shjpping price of ten increase to thirty in the New Year, Marn.

Could be a myriad of reasons for the increase.

I know my stateside buying has decreased 75% this year.

When considering a purchase I always click on Canada Only first.

If I did not have some great connections across the country I would have crashed & burned this year.

[bb_cool_stuff]

And customers love to see that word "Free."

How has that worked for everyone ?

Never really worked for me, probably my category.

[marnotom!]

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@bb_cool_stuff wrote:

Saw a lot of shirts with a previous shjpping price of ten increase to thirty in the New Year, Marn.

Could be a myriad of reasons for the increase.

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Strikes me that you're seeing Priority International parcel class shipping for these items now whereas in the past you saw First Class International letter class shipping for the shirts.

[bb_cool_stuff]

Sometimes, but I have found over the years a lot of sellers ship First Class when they have charged me Priority.

Quite a few complaints from others in regards to this topic over the years.

[mat7341]

I think many sellers have realized the money to be made in over charging on shipping costs.  One of the bell weathers of this phenomenon is the number of sellers who now refuse to combine multiple purchases for shipment on small items such as jewelry and fishing lures.  Too bad.