Shipping

Anonymous
Not applicable

Why are the Sellers  On Ebay charging so much for shipping its not are to see they are putting the money in their Pockets Im buying less & less because of this & buying on Amazon you pay a fee for the year & free shipping.

Message 1 of 14
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Re: Shipping

Most Sellers CANNOT ship for free, although many roll their shipping costs into the price of the item...even on Amazon, sellers' shipping has to be accountable...on the surface shipping may "appear" free but you are paying for it and the sellers have their fees to pay for.. selling on line has its fees!  NOTHING is free!

and BTW, that yearly Amazon membership applies whether you purchase one time or many so you are still paying for having that purchase shipped to you...

Message 2 of 14
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Re: Shipping

Shipping is expensive. Regular parcel shipping in Canada is on average 15 dollars for small items. Larger items can cost as much as 30 dollars to ship. 

 

Untracked shipping is between 2-6 dollars, but this is only applicable to very small items, since there is a 2 CM limit on thickness. 

 

If Amazon offers you a better value proposition, there is nothing wrong with choosing to shop there, but it's not like most individual sellers are pocketing shipping. A regular small business does not have the economy of scale Amazon does, so they cannot offer free shipping on every order. 

 

One thing to consider is that, if you only shop at Amazon rather than supporting local or small Canadian businesses (which most Canadian eBay sellers are), in time Amazon will be all that is left. We've already seen a mass consolidation of wealth during the pandemic. 

Message 3 of 14
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Re: Shipping

@Anonymous 

 

Also very important to consider, eBay sellers are located all over the place. Shipping is based on distance, weight, final dimensions (dimensional rates apply to express services) and the services available according to that criteria. For Canadapost there is also GST/PST/HST as applicable along with a fuel surcharge. Remember when searching to also try closest and lowest shipping in options and confirm you are using your postal code when you search. You can also click on the calculator attached to a listing to see if there are other options included by a seller. The actual listing only shows the first one selected.

 

-Lotz

 

As for Amazon (most but not all) items are shipped from a central warehouses. They have access to much better shipping discounts compared to a single seller located in the suburbs of Chibougamau or downtown Nackawic.

Message 4 of 14
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Re: Shipping

They have access to much better shipping discounts

 

True of AZ itself, but as a very occasional AZ seller, they insist that my books have a shipping price of $6.49, although on eBay most of those titles have Free Shipping.

And I can ship a paperback for a lot less than that.

Nevertheless, about one third of myAZ listings are the lowest price on Amazon.

And I can ship a paperback for a lot less than that.

Look at the bottom line, for sure.

Message 5 of 14
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Re: Shipping

That's right. Shipping is expensive,

But short to the point, few websites offer great shipping rates; I ended up using labelnship.com, which is still the most economical for my online CA parcels; it's worth checking out.

All the best.

Message 6 of 14
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Re: Shipping

If you think that company is worth checking out, compared to our Paypal, Shippo, or SnapShip discounts, or the discounts available through chitchatexpress and USPS, or even by using discount postage stamps purchased here on eBay as I do,  post under your selling name for added credibility.

Message 7 of 14
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Re: Shipping

I dunno, shipping cost 40$ to ship an item the size of a silver dollar and weight about the same as a bic lighter seems kinda high...

i dont care where it is shipping to

Message 8 of 14
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Re: Shipping

I would add that ebay is part of the shipping problem.   ebay charges sellers a percentage of their shipping costs.  They are charging a fee on top of a fee.

 

ebay should only levy a fee on the cost of the goods sold.  ex.  book cost - $25.99 -- NOT $25.99 plus the postal charge.  When I sell something, the cost of the item plus the postal charge are added together and ebay charges based on that total.  As a result, many sellers must pad their item cost or shipping to cover the additional cost.

 

Why does ebay bill sellers a percentage on shipping?  

Message 9 of 14
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Re: Shipping

In the distant past eBay did not charge sellers a percentage of the shipping charges.

So you got sellers increasing their profit by selling high value items for 50c with $200.00 in shipping charges. etc etc

Message 10 of 14
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Re: Shipping

Also consider that sellers who offer “free” shipping have their shipping costs built into the item price. Charging for shipping levels the playing field and doesn’t discourage offering free shipping.
Message 11 of 14
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Re: Shipping

It hardly levels the field. ebay makes money at the expense of both the seller and the buyer.
Message 12 of 14
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Re: Shipping

I don’t follow you.
Message 13 of 14
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Re: Shipping

Yes that's how business works.

You pay eBay for their services.

BTW, when the shipping FVF was added, the selling FVF was reduced.

Message 14 of 14
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