US SELLERS EXCESSIVE SHIPPING CHARGES.

gagfran
Community Member

Why is it that virtually ALL U.S. sellers charge Canadian eBay buyers exorbitant shipping? America is extremely wealthy. Why can't they have worldwide  free shipping services like China or Canada. It would benefit their sellings.

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US SELLERS EXCESSIVE SHIPPING CHARGES.

marnotom!
Community Member

What you may be seeing in the US listings you're looking at are items that aren't sent directly to international buyers, but are forwarded through the Global Shipping Program instead.  Look at the listings to check the shipping method used.

The Global Shipping Program's shipping rates are the seller's shipping price for getting the item to a warehouse in Kentucky, plus the program's fee for forwarding the item from Kentucky to you.  In some cases, "import charges" (GST/HST/PST, duty and processing fees) may be added to the shipping charges, or they may show up as a separate line item.

Careful what you wish for when it comes to cheap/free shipping from China, however.  There are several posts on this board from people complaining that their free/inexpensively shipped items from China are taking forever to reach them, and this is due to small packages from China getting held up in customs for inspection for fentanyl, as well as receiving postal systems such as Canada Post not receiving enough yuan from China Post to cover their delivery in Canada and thus having to economize on the Canadian leg of the item's journey.

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US SELLERS EXCESSIVE SHIPPING CHARGES.

"America" may be wealthy,but many US sellers are not.

Many smaller sellers are supplementing tiny incomes or pensions.

 

Unlike Canada Post, the USPS is a subsidized service and not required to make a profit.

(Yes, Canada Post turns over millions of dollars to the government coffers every year.)

While USPS domestic shipping is fairly low the department tries to make it up on international mailing.

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

 

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US SELLERS EXCESSIVE SHIPPING CHARGES.


@gagfran wrote:

Why is it that virtually ALL U.S. sellers charge Canadian eBay buyers exorbitant shipping? America is extremely wealthy. Why can't they have worldwide  free shipping services like China or Canada. It would benefit their sellings.


What makes you think that Canada has free world wide shipping. Have you checked Canada Post rates?

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US SELLERS EXCESSIVE SHIPPING CHARGES.

Hello! I have ordered severals items from any where in Canada and it was always free for me. ''Wonder why'' China makes a fortune shipping worldwide!! Bye!

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US SELLERS EXCESSIVE SHIPPING CHARGES.

Free Shipping is not free.

 

The seller has included the cost of shipping in the asking price for the item.

Which is cheaper?

A $10 item with $5 shipping ?

Or a $15 item with Free Shipping?

 

And since the seller's cost to ship in included in the price he charges you, and he is still making a profit, how much do you think the doohickey you bought is actually worth?

 

Now take that a step farther.

While China Post does have low rates for international shipping

https://www.travelchinaguide.com/essential/postal-service/rate.htm

that cost is being subsidized by the postal system in the receiving country.

 

 

 

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US SELLERS EXCESSIVE SHIPPING CHARGES.

Which is better?

Depends on what type of item being sold & if you are buying only 1 or multiple items & if the seller offers combined shipping (which most do, when asked).

 

For small items.....to me, a $10 item with $5 shipping is much more attractive than a $15 item with free shipping.

 

That is, when I am planning on purchasing more than 1 similar item from the same seller.

And....the seller offers combined shipping (with their combined shipping rules adding only a few cents more).

 

I would end up buying 2 items costing $10 x2 = $20   plus $5 shipping + another 50 cents for combined shipping = a total of $25.50

 

From the second example, I would end up paying $15 x 2 = $30  + free shipping = $30  (saving me $4.50)

 

If you are buying more than 2 items from the same seller, then the difference becomes exponentially greater.

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US SELLERS EXCESSIVE SHIPPING CHARGES.

I agree.

Sellers can use Free Shipping as a profit centre.

Or they can send a small refund of the difference in their cost and their charges.

 

If you plan on buying several items from a 'free shipping' seller, it is worthwhile negotiating the cost of shipping before buying.

 

Note that in Best Offers, the cost of shipping is specifically NOT a part of the negotiation, probably on the basis that those costs are out of the seller's hands.

 

Many buyers don't realize how expensive shipping is. Nor do many understand that the cost of shipping is not related to the value of th goods. For sellers, this makes Free Shipping (which is never actually free of course) a good choice when pricing.

Which is cheaper?

 A $5 item with $10 shipping?

 A $10 item with $5 shipping?

A $15 item with Free Shipping?

https://www.canadapost.ca/cpotools/apps/far/business/findARate?execution=e1s1

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

 

In case you are bored. I use 90210 as my go-to zipcode.

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US SELLERS EXCESSIVE SHIPPING CHARGES.

Thanks for validifying my take on the "which scenario is best".

 

The other point which I have a minor concern is when sellers remit a part of overpayment on shipping.

 

If buyers overpay on the shipping part of the transaction even when sellers are advising & pleading for them to wait for the combined shipping before paying.....(so for the long run-on sentence)

....when part of the payment is refunded to the buyer, paypal still charges a fee on the amount being refunded.

 

This small amount can add up over time & because of the continuing increases in costs of selling on ebay, it is prudent to try one's best to minimize their expenses in order to survive on ebay.

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US SELLERS EXCESSIVE SHIPPING CHARGES.

a fee on the amount being refunded.

 

The beady-eyed businesswoman in me kicks in here.

 

I don't think the seller should be refunding the difference in the postage cost.

I think she should be refunding the difference in the cost of shipping.

The costs of shipping include packaging, postage, fees, taxes and fuel surcharges.

The seller can and in my opinion should massage the numbers to make a fair refund, fair to both buyer and seller.

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US SELLERS EXCESSIVE SHIPPING CHARGES.

I agree with your thoughts & comments regarding how much to refund for shipping cost overpayments.

 

However, if a seller only remits what their actual costs are, the buyer may still be upset.

For ease of understanding the convoluted math involved, I am not considering any shipping costs related to packaging, actual postage, etc....

 

In the scenario of an auction with advertised shipping of $1.50 with no extra shipping charges for additional items....

 

If a buyer buys 5 items & pays for each one separately (even though they are warned twice not to pay yet), they have paid 5 x $1.50 shipping = $7.50

They then request a refund on the shipping & fully expects a refund of 4 x $1.50 = $6

Anything less than $6 will result in an unhappy buyer.

 

The buyer most likely is unaware of the extra paypal costs resulting from their method of paying for each item separately.

 5 unnecessary ppay transactions costing 30 cents/transaction + 6 cents ppal fees = 36 cents x 5 =$1.80

 

So for the seller who has overpaid $6, they want $6 refunded & any less will result in an unhappy buyer.

Paypal is running to the bank to deposit their extra $1.80 & the seller only has $4.20 to refund the buyer.

 

This is why so many wise sellers put in their auctions the warning to :

 

          " WAIT FOR THE SELLER TO ISSUE THE COMBINED INVOICE BEFORE PAYING"

 

And this is why I don't offer FREE SHIPPING., which I have unsuccessfully tried.     As sometimes buyers may purchase 10 items & pay for each separately & results in a nightmare trying to fix everything after the cows have left the barn.

 

As my items are usually very low costs, this extra ppal fee of 30 cents/transaction often can leave me with a negative profit on each item.   I don't want to sign onto Paypal's lower priced transaction program as sometimes I will also have higher priced transactions.

 

 

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US SELLERS EXCESSIVE SHIPPING CHARGES.

I wonder if buyers do know how much sellers pay for shipping.

Again, ignoring packaging costs, the postage is raised by the (invisible) taxes and fuel surcharges but is reduced by discounts from SnapShip, Shippo, or using discount mint postage stamps.

 

I opt for less communication. "Thanks for your multiple purchase. I am refunding part of your payment because the shipping, which is included in the asking price of each item, was lower with the larger purchase."

My business costs are not the customer's business.

I'm not telling her how much I paid for the item she's buying. I'm not telling her what my eBay fees are. I'm not telling her my cat's name either.

This is just business.

Buy more, get a discount. Period.

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US SELLERS EXCESSIVE SHIPPING CHARGES.

Inquiring minds may just want to know your cat's name nonetheless.

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US SELLERS EXCESSIVE SHIPPING CHARGES.