Tipping your hand by expressing interest...

[3islanders]

More of an observation than a question, but it IS a "discussion" board; and I am a little curious whether more frequent users on here see this happening much.

I messaged a seller to ask about a DVD set, to confirm which edition it was.  Along with his response, he sent an offer for a 5% discount ($1).  The shipping when I inquired was $8 for a 4-disc set.  The shipping when I read his response is now $15.  !!!!  The most expensive shipping for his other DVDs is $8 for a 6-disc set.  His single DVDs ship for $2-3.

Ironically, his listings allude to fair pricing, and in his reply he said the DVD edition was the one with the "money-grabbing extra" features.  XD

MAYbe he made up a shipping amount previously, and then calculated the real cost once he got some interest.... MAYbe.  Calculating shipping for every item when you don't know if it'll sell IS a pain.  But sellers, if you jack up your shipping overnight when someone asks a question about an item, it looks shady, and you'll get what this guy got -- no sale!

*goes off to shop around*

Frequent buyers/shoppers:  Is this a Thing?

[reallynicestamps]

Calculated Shipping is not difficult.

It is a programmed response to the buyer's location.

If eBay has the dimensions and weight of the item, entered by the seller, plus the seller's chosen service, and the location of the buyer, which can be changed *by the buyer, but normally is the location of the buyer, the programming makes the pricing automatic.

If the seller had Flat Rate Shipping to Canada, and that changed when you looked again, that would be a fussy thing to do.  You could try using a different postal code and see what happens. (K1A 0A6 is the House of Commons in Ottawa, if you are not in Ontario)

Flat Rate works fine if the item can move by LetterMail, which means no more than 2cm thick and 500gr. 

Otherwise Canadian sellers are best to use Calculated Shipping, which automatically adjusts for destination.

* Not usually, but sometimes to see a US seller's offerings I will use a US zipcode (90210) to pretend I am an American buyer.  Most real buyers wouldn't do that.

[reallynicestamps]

If the seller is in Canada, he really needs this

https://www.canadapost.ca/information/app/far/business/findARate?execution=e1s1

 Because all the rates you mention sound low. Including the $15 which would be tracked (regular or expedited parcel) to a non-contiguous province.

If he is in the USA, $15 is a bargain.

https://postcalc.usps.com/?country=10440

[3islanders]

Agree the shipping prices for the other items seemed low.  He is in the province next door.  Trying a postal code from another province farther away, I got the same rate, $15.  If I am signed in and a seller is using calculated shipping, it should already show the correct price when I look at a listing, shouldn't it?  I think he just changed it.  (Also he deleted the listing photo.)  Weird. 

Oh well.  I can wait for another seller.

And yeah, calculating the shipping _cost_ can be left to eBay, but you still have to weigh & measure your packages, and pack them as if you were shipping them, to do that... a pain if you aren't selling a lot of similar items.

[femmefan1946]

Yes it does appear he is using Flat Rate Shipping and your query made him check that he could ship for the price he indicated.

Deleting the picture says to me that he realized he had several problems with the listing.

You probably save yourself, and the seller, a world of upset and pain.

Although you are disappointed, this was probably a Good Thing to happen all around.

you still have to weigh & measure

Yes. That's why when new sellers come here for advice one of the first things they are told is to buy a digital scale and a tape measure.

Guessing is expensive.

[3islanders]

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

you still have to weigh & measure

Yes. That's why when new sellers come here for advice one of the first things they are told is to buy a digital scale and a tape measure.

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Haha.  Which is still a time-consuming pain!  XD

When I first joined eBay, you didn't have to put a shipping price on a listing.  I recall being able to list without doing that and writing "PM for shipping cost" or something like that.

I found another seller so I'm happy.