Final Value fee on shipping to Ebay sellers

[clothes2ewe]

This is ridiculous, I charge actual shipping and lose 1.42 which means it costs me that much more to sell on here. I called Ebay and they say it is t protect buyers from sellers who list items for 1 cent but charge 45.00 shipping on small items, but that has nothing to do with me. I am losing more than I am gaining on here, has anyone else noticed this change besides me. I alwys thought that when I bought something if I agreed on the terms I.E. price and shipping that it is a contract, but I guess I am wrong????

[scifan57]

In the case of the seller choosing a delivery confirmed service in the case of a high value item it is absolutely the seller's right to choose this type of service and require the buyer to pay for it.In the case of shipping insurance,I agree with you,the buyer has PayPal buyer protection and has no need for insurance.

[pierrelebel]

"The buyer has nothing to gain by purchasing those perks."

I see it very differently... and so should you.

The Canadian buyer has a lot to gain: availability and larger selection.

Every day we see posts about American sellers refusing to sell to Canadians.  They have many reasons but the most important is the risks they perceive in shipping goods to a foreign country (Canada) without adequate protection against loss.

By having American sellers offer only one choice of shipping - including insurance and proof of delivery (if needed for protection) - Canadian buyers would have more items to select from.

WIN- WIN

[it*s-not-me]

The Canadian buyer has a lot to gain: availability and larger selection.

Every day we see posts about American sellers refusing to sell to Canadians.  They have many reasons but the most important is the risks they perceive in shipping goods to a foreign country (Canada) without adequate protection against loss.

By having American sellers offer only one choice of shipping - including insurance and proof of delivery (if needed for protection) - Canadian buyers would have more items to select from.

WIN- WIN

I'd like to see it your way just to be agreeable, but I don't.

The buyer may have more items to select from if Americans can charge higher shipping........... but so what?

Items with high shipping oosts don't sell well anyway......... at least not in the categories I deal in.

So what you end up with are a lot of items listed that you'd like to buy but can't because shipping is prohibitive.

The effect is the same as blocking us.

As a seller I like it........... but as a buyer I'm tired.

It's a lot of work to buy here and constantly dealing with shipping costs is the #1 reason for that.

Shopping should be fun............. but too often eBay shopping is a lot of work.

I'm not the only buyer who feels this way.

[cumos55]

The cost of shipping is in many respects perception.

Shipping of $12.00  for a $5.00 item is perceived as expensive.

while

That same $12.00 for a $75.00 item is not.

So  sellers play with a balance between shipping cost relative to the cost cost of an item for sale.

For my heavy books  I drop the cost of shipping by $3   and increase the price  of a book by $3 to $5.

My heavy books are usually the most expensive books in my inventory

Buyers see that $12  and do not realize, perhaps,  that the price of the book was higher.

At the end of 2011   the total for shipping paid by buyers was higher than that paid to Canada Post... that is the total and not for each sale, or for each parcel mailed.

and then..

The average sale price  in 2011 was $4 higher  than that in 2010... and that paid the extra FVF on shipping.

There are ways to make it work... and Canadian sellers  who work at it do make it work...

I have started my tenth year on eBay....

What I sell today  is not even close  to what I sold in January 2003.   One changes with the times  and the availability of inventory... 

Go with the Flow.

[scifan57]

I'd like to see it your way just to be agreeable, but I don't.

The buyer may have more items to select from if Americans can charge higher shipping........... but so what?

Items with high shipping oosts don't sell well anyway......... at least not in the categories I deal in.

So what you end up with are a lot of items listed that you'd like to buy but can't because shipping is prohibitive.

The effect is the same as blocking us.

As a seller I like it........... but as a buyer I'm tired.

It's a lot of work to buy here and constantly dealing with shipping costs is the #1 reason for that.

Shopping should be fun............. but too often eBay shopping is a lot of work.

I'm not the only buyer who feels this way.

No,but you are in the minority.

[it*s-not-me]

............ but I'm not in the minority as far as buyers are concerned.

Buyers are becoming more and more sophisticated all the time.

[it*s-not-me]

I'd like to pose this a ittle differently:

I just won an item for $50 and the shipping cost is $25.

I know it could be shipped for $8.

I ask before buying but this one slipped by me by mistake so I'll pay......... my mistake but I'm not happy about it.

As a seller I'm pretty sure if I billed like this that my items would either not sell, I'd have a rash of non-paying buyers on my hands, and I'd my DSRs would get trashed.

I know that as a buyer I hate that kind of thing........... but.........

This thread suggests that most sellers feel OK about charging for upgraded shipping methods .............. and by implication that it does not hurt sales.

Does it realy work out?

[cumos55]

Within Canada....

Some sellers will list a book... weighing less than 500 grams  and less than 2 cm thick

for $5.00 plus $11 shipping

with shipping having a tracking number.

Other sellers will price that same book  at $12.00 plus $4.00 shipping...  using airmail.

No tracking with airmail... but a seller does make more money.

There is a seller of books  on eBay that ONLY sells books that will ship using airmail.... plus a few  that are over 2 cm thick

[nonstopchatter]

This thread suggests that most sellers feel OK about charging for upgraded shipping methods .............. and by implication that it does not hurt sales.

I don't think thats the case at all.  And I don't think that you, or I, are the average ebay buyer.  Not even sure there is an average ebay buyer any longer. 

Is this one of your US sellers?  You do know that they already have a massive domestic market.  They don't have to cater to your wants or needs to make a buck.  They are not charged a final value fee on what they charge you for shipping. That rate depends on their much lower domestic cost.

Shipping within Canada is a whole different ball game.  My buyers hate to pay for the cheapo methods let alone upgrade.  In my experience as a buyer, most sellers are using the cheapest method possible for their items. 

[it*s-not-me]

You do know that they already have a massive domestic market.  They don't have to cater to your wants or needs to make a buck.

That should be true logically, but it's not what I see.

We are much more important to them than the above statement suggests.

In the auction format, sellers who only ship within the US make a lot less money when it comes to collectibles and antiques (and that's the only type of item I understand).

It makes no sense to me because 90% of my buyers are American but I only sell via BIN.

I've seen it so ofen I have no doubts about it.

I'm not sure why, but foreign bidders really drive prices up even if they don't win.

As for the other stuff about shipping costs......... perhaps I just need a long break from buying here.

I'm tired of having to email every seller about shipping, and this one time I forgot to deal with it before-hand I get stuck with $25 shipping charge.

Time for a break.

You're right.....

"This thread suggests that most sellers feel OK about charging for upgraded shipping methods .............. and by implication that it does not hurt sales."........

If that were true I'd be happy to do just that, but it's hard to believe.

[nonstopchatter]

In your category...perhaps that is true...in the categories that I buy and sell in....Canadian sellers and buyers are just a drop in the bucket. 

Auction format is nearly dead for the items that I buy and sell.  In my categories..they garner the lowest prices when I search for items sorted as to end price as compared to buy it now.

I suppose a blanket statement across all categories simply doesn't play out but its been clear for some time that fixed price is the new wave...its far more popular overall than auction style listings.

[it*s-not-me2]

I wish that the auction format would die in the categories I buy and sell in.......... antiques and collectibles.

I'm tired of buying and auctions hurt my sales.

Unfortunately auction listings do very well........ especially since so many items are listed at ridiculously low prices.

[guru-god]

I charge exactly what it costs to ship and my honesty is penalized by eBay with their fvf so I loose rather than make money.  This is totally unfair for honest sellers and what bothers me is that it forces me to go beyond my code of ethics and charge higher prices in some ways that I'm not comfortable doing  to cover Ebays strict and greedy fees.  Nowadays with the Internet being so transparent the fvf has certainly turned away sellers from using eBay (I personally know several people that have stopped using eBay) and as a result eBay is loosing business and will certainly be a continuing trend going forward.  If I were a shareholder, I'd be very concerned...

[blaynertfm]

I just stumbled on to this topic as I was blown away by some of the high shipping fees on eBay. It's not the first time I have heard us Canadian buyers referred to as "just a drop in the bucket" or some other comment basically calling us irrelevant or worse as far as consumerism is concerned.

What I don't understand is, if most U.S. sellers feel this way, why do they advertise on eBay Canada? Why do they advertise and then purposely make the shipping rates outrages to discourage International buyers.

I was just looking at a listing on eBay Canada for some Sega games. The price is $49.99 for 36 games which I can tell you weigh very little. Shipping anywhere in the U.S. is $0.00 - $9.00. They then list shipping anywhere else and specifically Canada as $149.99 U.S. I could ship a small fridge for half that price to the U.S. There is no way it would cost even 1/4 of that to ship to Canada. They obviously put that in to discourage international buyers so, why it is listed on eBay Canada at all. They know nobody outside of the U.S. will buy it and it makes it annoying to have to sift through all the garbage listings to finally find one that is relevant.

I've heard some sellers say they only sell 5 - 10 items a month to Canadians. Are you really that well off financially that 5 - 10 extra sales is meaningless? Maybe if some people changed their attitude and their shipping policies, selling to Canadians may become more lucrative. If not then maybe they should stay off of eBay Canada and stick to the U.S. only listings.

[brandeentertainment]

what amazon does would be a perfect change .. set shipping prices elimnates dsr issues and customers complaining because some sellers chrge too much .. Then all you do is add the extra shipping if not enough to your buy now price .. Ebay would do wonders if they changed to that ....

[grannio204]

Sellers obviously do not like the change.

Especially those crooked seller who want $40 to mail a CD or pocket book.

[brandeentertainment]

More then sellers buyers should hate it because they are the ones paying for it not us sellers we just up what you pay ..

[grannio204]

More then sellers buyers should hate it because they are the ones paying for it

I think most buyers, me included, will not purchase from sellers who have obviously boosted the shipping cost to try to make more money.

[brandeentertainment]

Not what I mean .. I mean as A seller I pay 13% shipping fees but it is actually the buyer who pays it for me .. if that was not their you would pay 13% less .. I am an honest seller not one whom jacks his prices but either way I pay more it all ends up coming out of the buyers wallet ... IF you look at my listings you would never know your paying that 13% because I list free shipping but you the buyer are 100% paying that fee for me ..

Which is the same for all sellers I am not getting rich here in many cases barely breaking even but This really cuts some sellers out of the picture with bigger cheap items but for me it just ends up being 50cent-$3 more for the buyer

[grannio204]

I hear you b.a.d. - you're one of the good guys.

I just saw a listing for an Xbox 360 where the seller wants $398.60 for the machine and $1,119.99 to mail it! The seller is in Florida and has a FB rating of 4000 plus.

There are hundreds of these silly listings on eBay. I figure these guys are just fooling around, but why does eBay allow this nonsense, and do the sellers really expect any serious buyers?