Sort of a Rant: astronomical shipping costs killing my ebay options

[Zoidberg]

I had started trying to ship in re-used Amazon boxes and etc. but that's gotten untenable b'c of shipping fees, so for the duration I guess I'll switch to only selling things that ship in flat-rate USPS envelopes and boxes so there's no bullshit from bidders regarding shipping costs.

[Gareth]

Zoidberg wrote:
Ebay notes a retail shipping rate based on the weight and the dimensions of what you're shipping, your ship-from ZIP code, and then the bidder's ZIP.

You might get a discount as a seller, but it's not shown.

Yea, I think that’s messed up (retail rate shown to buyer, seller gets discounted rate). Was it always this way? I don’t remember it being this way. I didn’t notice it until I saw an auction for one of my laptop’s with $40+ shipping! Actual shipping was probably a little over half of that, but I did use the extra for insurance and to pack in a bigger box with more padding. Luckily no one has complained to me yet (but I might be getting hammered in the star ratings, but I don’t have enough feedback to show that yet…). At least one buyer appreciated the “correct” packaging I use (instead of throwing a laptop in a box with some Amazon packing air bags… (as I sometimes receive them…)

[samintx]

I agree with too high shipping on eBay. I have given up on eBay pretty much.

[mstudio]

Was it always this way? I don’t remember it being this way.

No, it wasn't always this way...but what is anymore? Ebay never charged the seller final fees on shipping. Then the sellers that always want something for nothing would list their items super low but have a ridiculously high shipping charge. So as always, the few ruin it for everyone else and ebay started charging the final fee on shipping, too. I think their way to appease sellers was to give pretty good discounts. I get the same complaints about shipping costs so I usually mention in the auction that I only charge what I pay and will refund the difference (I only do it if it's more than a few bucks). The complaints have eased a little.

[Gareth]

Although one (potential) “benefit” of high shipping costs to buyers is that they may not have to pay sales tax on the shipping charges (at least it works that way for CA, may vary by state).

So you just have to consider the total cost and accept that eBay isn’t necessarily a “fair” marketplace (for auctions at least) because you might be competing with bidders with no or lower sales tax costs, or reduced shipping costs if they are closer to the item, and wait for the item that works for you.

[Grateful11]

Acer wrote:
The stuff I sell is mostly under 16 oz or fits in a flat-rate small priority box. That's not too bad. But yeah, wow, get up into a pound or three that won't fit in a flat rate box and it skyrockets.

I had one auction for a camera I knew was going to sell in the $50-$60 range. I had the box and the manuals. I went to ship it, and discovered I had grossly underestimated the shipping cost when i listed it, like it was going to cost me ~$25 to ship, and the buyer had not paid nearly that much. I canceled the sale. I relisted with a bare camera and got almost the same bid. Shipped it for <$8, buyer paid. Can't cancel as a seller often because ebay will ding you, but in this case I had to do it.

90% of what my wife ships is under 16oz. and anything 16.0oz. and under goes First Class. The delivery time is nearly the same as Priority nowadays. She gets a good discount on shipping by printing them out through eBay.

[Zoidberg]

Grateful11 wrote:
[quote=Acer]
The stuff I sell is mostly under 16 oz or fits in a flat-rate small priority box. That's not too bad. But yeah, wow, get up into a pound or three that won't fit in a flat rate box and it skyrockets.

I had one auction for a camera I knew was going to sell in the $50-$60 range. I had the box and the manuals. I went to ship it, and discovered I had grossly underestimated the shipping cost when i listed it, like it was going to cost me ~$25 to ship, and the buyer had not paid nearly that much. I canceled the sale. I relisted with a bare camera and got almost the same bid. Shipped it for <$8, buyer paid. Can't cancel as a seller often because ebay will ding you, but in this case I had to do it.

90% of what my wife ships is under 16oz. and anything 16.0oz. and under goes First Class. The delivery time is nearly the same as Priority nowadays. She gets a good discount on shipping by printing them out through eBay.
True, but won't work for me, as what I'm talking about are boxes that are pretty big (one measurement typically around 20") and heavier (4 to 6 pounds). I'm kind of locked out of any reasonable shipping option these days.

[Acer]

Zoidberg wrote:
[quote=Grateful11]
[quote=Acer]
The stuff I sell is mostly under 16 oz or fits in a flat-rate small priority box. That's not too bad. But yeah, wow, get up into a pound or three that won't fit in a flat rate box and it skyrockets.

I had one auction for a camera I knew was going to sell in the $50-$60 range. I had the box and the manuals. I went to ship it, and discovered I had grossly underestimated the shipping cost when i listed it, like it was going to cost me ~$25 to ship, and the buyer had not paid nearly that much. I canceled the sale. I relisted with a bare camera and got almost the same bid. Shipped it for <$8, buyer paid. Can't cancel as a seller often because ebay will ding you, but in this case I had to do it.

90% of what my wife ships is under 16oz. and anything 16.0oz. and under goes First Class. The delivery time is nearly the same as Priority nowadays. She gets a good discount on shipping by printing them out through eBay.
True, but won't work for me, as what I'm talking about are boxes that are pretty big (one measurement typically around 20") and heavier (4 to 6 pounds). I'm kind of locked out of any reasonable shipping option these days.
Yes, that is really hard to ship economically. But to be clear, this is not really an eBay thing. It just feels worse at eBay because of the pound of flesh eBay suck out of every deal for their own fees before you get to the shipping.

[pqrst]

I've not used this option, but there is something called USPS cubic priority shipping. Perhaps it will lower the cost.
https://www.fp-usa.com/how-to-save-money...mail-cubic

[Gareth]

pqrst wrote:
I've not used this option, but there is something called USPS cubic priority shipping. Perhaps it will lower the cost.
https://www.fp-usa.com/how-to-save-money...mail-cubic

USPS wrote:
Priority Mail® Cubic is a special rate or sub-service of Priority Mail® for smaller packages where a mailer pays based on the size of the mail piece instead of the weight. It has a maximum weight of 20 pounds and the size can be no bigger than .5 cubic feet.

Zoidberg has the opposite problem, large packages that don't weigh much (for the size of the package). Seems like anytime you get over 12" in one dimension, you get put into "dimensional weight", where the weight of the package no longer matters and they bill you based on the size of the package (i.e. how much space it's going to take up on the truck).