E Bay shipping seems to of got out of hand lately.
Item price .02c Shipping $17
Dont E Bay realise how ridiculous this looks.

You do realize that the price of an item and the cost to ship are not connected in any way?

It costs that much to ship a bubble mailer up to 8 ounces. One ounce or eight, it does not matter.

eBay requires shipping via a tracked method. Seriously, if you can't live with that then don't shop on eBay.

Now, I won't get into how silly it is to even sell something for 2 cents. You literally lose 28 cents in the deal because eBay charges you a percentage plus 30 cents for every transaction.

Ed

quote:

Originally posted by Scifi Cards:

eBay requires shipping via a tracked method.

Ed

I assume this is only if the seller wishes to claim for a lost shipment. Would sellers agree that it is not worth tracking an item that is sold at less than x amount.

This takes me back to years ago when eBay first switched to charging fees on the shipping charge that sellers asked for. eBay said that as a result of 'lots of' (I forget their exact wording) sellers asking really low prices for the item being sold while charging extortionately high shipping fees, they were going to start taking their fees from both the final selling price and any included shipping fees.

Amongst the people I knew at the time, this was seen as both a rip-off by eBay and a way to get sellers to start listing things with 'free shipping'. To put it politely, it did not go down well with anyone at the time.

quote:

Originally posted by wolfie:

quote:

Originally posted by Scifi Cards:

eBay requires shipping via a tracked method.

Ed

I assume this is only if the seller wishes to claim for a lost shipment. Would sellers agree that it is not worth tracking an item that is sold at less than x amount.

You are correct wolfie. However, as I do not sell very much I always make a point of obtaining a Certificate of Posting from my local Post Office for anything I send without tracking. That way, I can still place a claim with the Royal Mail if something fails to arrive or gets damaged in transit.

quote:

Originally posted by Kevin F:

You are correct wolfie. However, as I do not sell very much I always make a point of obtaining a Certificate of Posting from my local Post Office for anything I send without tracking. That way, I can still place a claim with the Royal Mail if something fails to arrive or gets damaged in transit.

Is the proof of posting any good for items sent out of the country?

quote:

Originally posted by wolfie:

quote:

Originally posted by Kevin F:

You are correct wolfie. However, as I do not sell very much I always make a point of obtaining a Certificate of Posting from my local Post Office for anything I send without tracking. That way, I can still place a claim with the Royal Mail if something fails to arrive or gets damaged in transit.

Is the proof of posting any good for items sent out of the country?

As long as the value is less than £20 it should be. I cannot say for certain as I have fortunately never had anything sent overseas valued at less than £20 go missing, so never had to put it to the test.

One thing for certain is that without one you cannot make a claim at all as you cannot prove you sent it. My thinking is that it costs nothing but gives me a little peace of mind so is well worth the effort

quote:

Originally posted by Kevin F:
Amongst the people I knew at the time, this was seen as both a rip-off by eBay

Given that people were in fact listing item with low prices and high shipping fees, why was this a rip-off by ebay? What should they have done instead?

quote:

Originally posted by Bill Mullins:

quote:

Originally posted by Kevin F:
Amongst the people I knew at the time, this was seen as both a rip-off by eBay

Given that people were in fact listing item with low prices and high shipping fees, why was this a rip-off by ebay? What should they have done instead?

It was seen as a rip off by the majority of honest sellers charging postage at cost . There were other ways to stop the practice such as actually investigating complaints by buyers but Ebay took the easier and more profitable option . I don't blame them as a company boosting their profits , just didn't like it at my expense !

quote:

Originally posted by wolfie:

quote:

Originally posted by Kevin F:

You are correct wolfie. However, as I do not sell very much I always make a point of obtaining a Certificate of Posting from my local Post Office for anything I send without tracking. That way, I can still place a claim with the Royal Mail if something fails to arrive or gets damaged in transit.

Is the proof of posting any good for items sent out of the country?

It is . Say what you will about Royal Mail but the free insurance on items up to £20 is a great perk not offered by any other postal service that I know of .

quote:

Originally posted by Triple-Frog:

quote:

Originally posted by Bill Mullins:

quote:

Originally posted by Kevin F:
Amongst the people I knew at the time, this was seen as both a rip-off by eBay

Given that people were in fact listing item with low prices and high shipping fees, why was this a rip-off by ebay? What should they have done instead?

It was seen as a rip off by the majority of honest sellers charging postage at cost . There were other ways to stop the practice such as actually investigating complaints by buyers but Ebay took the easier and more profitable option . I don't blame them as a company boosting their profits , just didn't like it at my expense !

That is a perfect explanation of the situation

quote:

Originally posted by wolfie:

quote:

Originally posted by Scifi Cards:

eBay requires shipping via a tracked method.

Ed

I assume this is only if the seller wishes to claim for a lost shipment. Would sellers agree that it is not worth tracking an item that is sold at less than x amount.

Unfortunately, the eBay system isn't this flexible. No way to make an agreement on less shipping if they promise not to claim loss if it never arrives.

eBay has gotten too big to be flexible for tiny orders. There's no money in it for them.

Ed

quote:

Originally posted by Triple-Frog:

It is . Say what you will about Royal Mail but the free insurance on items up to £20 is a great perk not offered by any other postal service that I know of .

this is good, it means i don't have to bother with what ebay wants because if my £20 card does not arrive i can get my money back from Royal Mail so i can offer free postage and no need for tracking etc.

quote:

Originally posted by Triple-Frog:
It is . Say what you will about Royal Mail but the free insurance on items up to £20 is a great perk not offered by any other postal service that I know of .

They have made a subtle change to the insurance cover they offer. If you use their 1st or 2nd Class Signed For option, the cover sticks at just £20. Up until quite recently, 'Signed For' gave cover up to £50.

Now if you want/need more than £20 of cover, you have to shift to Tracked 24 or Tracked 48. If you want higher cover and 'guaranteed' delivery, you still have the more expensive Special Delivery options. It is all getting needlessly complicated and frustrating

....and don't even get me started on the overseas shipping options

Shipping costs are high, but there's nothing anyone can really do about it. For me to ship a card in a bubble mailer is like $6 now (including the cost of the mailer). I like charging flat fees, so I sometimes lose money on shipping.

Ebay started a thing for cards with cheaper shipping in standard envelopes, but then I see a bunch of horror stories of items being returned for postage when Ebay are the ones who set it! Guess they didn't do their due diligence with USPS?

Not wanting to deal with that and potentially receiving negative feedback I charge the $6 (unless it's my original art - that's always free). Not ideal, but it is what it is. And as a buyer I've come to understand that high shipping costs are the norm, and I have to factor that into my bid amount, as well as sales tax now. A $20 card ends up costing me $28, and I find myself losing more and more auctions because I'm not going to bid $20.

These days when we send cards to each other we just put it in a birthday card, stick a stamp on and send it....It Always arrives!!

I guess if you are an ebay seller sending to people you don't know this would not be an option.

quote:

Originally posted by wolfie:
These days when we send cards to each other we just put it in a birthday card, stick a stamp on and send it....It Always arrives!!

I guess if you are an ebay seller sending to people you don't know this would not be an option.

That's the trouble, too many dishonest people who will claim they didn't get the item. So the only way to cover yourself is tracked/Insured postage.

quote:

Originally posted by Ted Dastick Jr.:
A $20 card ends up costing me $28, and I find myself losing more and more auctions because I'm not going to bid $20.

An $8 card from USA costs me $28 including postage! It's tough if it's a card you need!

International postage is what it is, unfortunately. It makes me only buy the cards I really want, and leave the 'whims' alone, which isn't a bad thing

As a seller I don't take risks. I have very little energy most of the time, and I'm not a business, so I get everything tracked and pack everything really well. With Tracked 24 or 48 in the UK it's a really good tracking service, much better than Signed For and cheaper, with compensation up to £150. Plus I can print off at home and get Royal Mail to collect from my house for free.
I do use Ebay Global Shipping for overseas sales, and I know it can cost more for buyers, but it's soooo hassle-free for the seller. I can sell to any country and not worry about losses or customs forms, as once it's at the ebay depot in the UK, it's no longer my problem. Also, they accept larger and heavier parcels than Royal Mail.
International postage has got more complicated in recent years, with even Europe split into multiple zones. Again, it is what it is. All the costs are listed up front on ebay, so it's up to the buyer to decide.

you won't have to cry if you sell fewer cards