eBay high shipping prices?

[Loves2spoon]

I was looking at some apple bumpers on eBay and some sellers have item listed at $20 and $15 shipping or $1 buy it now and $29 shipping.

Why do they do this? Can they not get there listing removed for these charges?

 

[mscriv]

Shipping rates on ebay have steadily gone up over the years as sellers seek to make a little more profit by hiding behind the "and handling" part of shipping and handling. If called on the carpet they would claim that the cost covers their time involved in making sure the product is shipped properly. It's just an alternate way to ensure they get the price they want for an item. Instead of setting a reserve, just jack up the shipping cost and who cares if the item only sells for a few bucks. I typically avoid these kinds of sellers and opt for those with more reasonable rates.

 

[waloshin]

Yeah it's just a scam to make money.

 

[liamkp]

Thats just some of them. If you were to return it all they would have to refund you is the initial buy cost. So you only get a $1, and they make a profit of whatever.

 

[adk]

Ebay has an option where you can sort the listings by total price (price + shipping). Try that.

 

[flopticalcube]

Some do it to avoid the ebay fees that apply to the product but not to S+H.

 

[kernkraft]

At least you can filter out dodgy sellers with poor practices. I think everything that matters has been already said.

1. Check price+postage when searching.

2. If you want a refund, you won't have the P&P cost back, so find a seller with free postage or one with a reasonable charge.

3. If they are happy to save a few cents on the charges, what else do you think they considered? Do you get the best quality and service? Decent packaging that protects the item from damage?

 

[chrmjenkins]

Some do it to avoid the ebay fees that apply to the product but not to S+H.

Yup. Ebay is NOT a seller's market. They take 9% of your final item fee, charge you to list it, and they take around 3% of what you pay in paypal. After all is said and done, you're likely out 15% on your selling price.

 

[dmr727]

It's not a huge deal to me. I think about what I want to pay for an item, and if the total item price (including shipping) comes in less than what I want to pay - I'll buy it, even if the shipping is higher than it should be. IMO, how people make their money isn't really any of my business - all that matters is that I'm getting the price I want.

I understand why the practice pisses people off, though.

 

[ValSalva]

Yup. Ebay is NOT a seller's market. They take 9% of your final item fee, charge you to list it, and they take around 3% of what you pay in paypal. After all is said and done, you're likely out 15% on your selling price.

So true. Also eBay won't allow sellers to leave negative feedback for bidders. You have to file a non-paying bidder report. Although eBay is still huge it seems like it has peaked. It used to be fun selling there. Now it's nerve-wracking and as you say, sellers are gouged from all directions.

 

[Rt&Dzine]

You can report listings that have excessive shipping charges. Click on "Report Item," then select "listing policy violations," etc.

 

[flopticalcube]

Yup. Ebay is NOT a seller's market. They take 9% of your final item fee, charge you to list it, and they take around 3% of what you pay in paypal. After all is said and done, you're likely out 15% on your selling price.

That's why I always give MR marketplace the first option before I ebay.

 

[pilotError]

I'm pretty sure ebay reports to the feds on the highest grossing sellers. I wonder if their report is only the sale price.

Can you get taxed on Shipping & Handling fees?

 

[velocityg4]

I'm pretty sure ebay reports to the feds on the highest grossing sellers. I wonder if their report is only the sale price.

Can you get taxed on Shipping & Handling fees?

To put it simply you get taxed on your year end profits after all deductions are applied.

 

[notjustjay]

Yep, they do it for a few reasons.

1. To entice bidders and appear more competitive. "Look!" Err, wait, it's eBay, so that should be "L@@K! It's only a dollar!" Yeah, plus $20 shipping. And add another $20 if you want it shipped to the UK or Canada.

2. To reduce the "final value fee" that they end up paying to eBay when the auction ends.

3. To allow a flat shipping rate while covering off the variability of postage rates. When I was on eBay I hated having to ask sellers "So how much would shipping be to xxxx?" or as a seller having to look up postage rates or worse, visit the post office, to answer similar questions. I started guesstimating the shipping costs and posted a flat rate on my listings up front. But the real cost would depend on where the package was going. I wanted to do the honest thing so I based my cost around an "average" -- sometimes I'd make a bit of money on the shipping, sometimes I'd lose a bit. I could see a volume seller not wanting to lose and thus basing the flat rate on the "worst case" scenario.

(I also ran into issues when Canada Post changed their parcel pricing some time ago. That resulted in a hike in postage rates and I took a hit on a couple of auctions at the time.)

By the way, don't expect to get away with undervalueing the package when you do international shipping. I once bid on an item that shipped from Hong Kong, and it was one of those $1 items with the $40 shipping. The seller in fact valued the item at $1 on the green Customs form, but the border people would have none of that: they opened up the package, made their own assessment of the value of the goods, and charged me duties and taxes based on their own assessment. I was a little peeved...

 

[Loves2spoon]

Has anyone seen the prices people are paying for bumpers on eBay... lmao!

I want a green & blue bumper but will not pay $70 for one! Hopefully after my Speck PixelSkin HD arrives for the free case program I can exchange it at an apple store for a bumper.

 

[Consultant]

As already answered, Ebay in theory does not allow inflated shipping rates, as seller don't pay a fee on shipping and it's misleading. Does it happen? Yes. You can report excessive shipping fees and sometimes the auction will be removed.

I almost bought 1 orange bumper for resale. Grrrr business skills fail. =p

 

[ntrigue]

Almost every iPhone 4 has $600+ shipping!

 

[steadysignal]

Instead of setting a reserve, just jack up the shipping cost and who cares if the item only sells for a few bucks. I typically avoid these kinds of sellers and opt for those with more reasonable rates.

and you are probably the same kind of customer that avoids reserve auctions.

if buyers paid all the fees, this "and handling" would not be an issue.

 

[ace198]

eBay's fees are outrageous. I can see why sellers put the shipping prices they do. When I got the Verizon iPhone, I sold my iPod Touch 4G. I got below what I was looking for before shipping and the fees. Really disappointed after that auction. The buyer didn't even give me feedback. 😡 Really wished he/she did. 🙄

 

[senseless]

Nobody raises prices anymore. It's all in S&H, fuel surcharges, luggage charges, smaller cereal boxes, reduced quality, compliance fees, banking fees, etc, etc, etc.

 

[maflynn]

I noticed looking for a used iPhone that one seller (who had a high rating) was selling an iPhone 3GS for 200 dollars less then then others were, then I scrolled down and saw the shipping was 200 dollars 😱

While I could have emailed/complained to him, I just moved on. The only way sellers will learn not to do this is when people stop buying from them.

I generally avoid eBay and seeing this trend just reinforces this philosophy. If I need someone used or is a hard to find item, I go with craigslist and that's a cash transaction.

 

[vincenz]

Nobody raises prices anymore. It's all in S&H, fuel surcharges, luggage charges, smaller cereal boxes, reduced quality, compliance fees, banking fees, etc, etc, etc.

This is so true. You can tell that over the years, the quality of a lot goods have gone down even though prices have not. Heck, even food portions have gotten smaller at places. Not much you can do I guess.

 

[mscriv]

and you are probably the same kind of customer that avoids reserve auctions.

if buyers paid all the fees, this "and handling" would not be an issue.

I'm not sure I understand what you are saying. I don't avoid auctions with reserve prices. I understand why sellers use reserve prices or set a starting bid amount. There is nothing wrong with trying to ensure you get a fair value for your product as opposed to getting lowballed.

As many have posted, inflated shipping rates are often used to increase profit by avoiding the ebay fee structure. In my opinion that's unethical and I think doing business with unethical people is risky. If they are willing to cheat Ebay then how do I know they won't cheat me in the transaction.

It's the same when people do business through Paypal but want you to mark the payment as a gift instead of a purchase. That's unethical too.

Why do you think buyers should pay all fees? There is a cost to doing business and the seller needs to figure this into their operation costs and profit margin. In other words there's no such thing as operating a business for free. Sure there's nothing wrong with asking the buyer to pay all the fees as this can be a bargaining chip, but if they refuse or counter offer then don't be surprised.

 

[zcarm2013]

Hi, just read the threads here about this topic. I am an eBay buyer and seller since 2003.

It never ever came into my mind to cheat "Anybody".

But please lets be realistic.

Number one is, eBay just lets the seller decide if he wanna raise the shipiping fees, otherwise they would have found a barrier to do that. So its not cheating at all.

Please let me explain it why. Maybe you know Seller need to pay for eBay listing fees and final value fees and for Paypal as well whenever they receive an amount. "And" the actual shipping fees.

And example: I start with 1 Euro and a shipping fee of only 1.65 Euro Standard. Lets say only one person would bid on the item and nobody else I would have to give away the item only for 2.65 Euro. So its like throwing away an item....Everybody wants to make a bit profit these days.

Ok, lets say, I want to get 180 Euro for my guitar body (which I actually paid for) with normal shipping fees, the amount of the eBay listing fee would be super high....and maybe "nobody" would bid at all. So, I start with 99 Cents and a higher shipping fee. but if I would use the cheapest shipping fee and only one person would bid, I would have to give away a guitar body for just 99 Cents ???? Where is the logic ? Of course is a bidding system I understand that, but loosing money is not the point at all.

In my earlier selling times unfortunately it happened several times that I lost a lot of money as of my miscalculations with regards to all upcoming eBay and PayPal fees what "Buyer" does not see at all.

Not to talk about the efforts to pack the item, driving to the post office and queuing up. Nobody pays for that....

Thats why seller sometimes adding more to the shipping fee instead raising up the start amount as it cost much more to them. Of course there are some cheater and scammer out there. But I think it depends if its a professional seller who is doing that or a real private seller.

So, it also depends if the seller is a professional seller or only private. Some can afford to offer cheap shipping fees, other want to be on the secure side, just to make at least a little bit profit...

Thats my opinion to this subject - If you like my post, click "LIKE" 🙂