Getting Ripped in shipping?!

[Xargon321]

thanks for bidding you won the item for $1.00 shipping is $7.00 for a total of $8.00 Thanks

RYAN XXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

GREENSBORO, NC 27405

this is the email ive gotten because i won this item

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2441550780&category=42612&rd=1

this item couldent cost that much to ship, what do you think?

[2ManyZs]

He's probably charging a flat rate shipping/handling fee.... for this, a padded envelope and about 2.00 or less in postage.....

Or, he's trying to make up some of his lost profit since the bid didn't go as high as he would have liked.

FWIW, I tend to stay away from auctions that won't post their shipping/handling fees, for exactly this reason.

[ZmeFly]

I just shipped a ECU, wrapped 4 times over in bubble wrap and then padded on all sides with popcorn styrofoam.

2 day priority mail was like 9 dollars. Im sure this item weighed more then the dimmer switch, this was with insurance and delivery confirmation and tracking.

[Arizona240z]

If they don't state the shipping charges, ask them before you bid that way you can bid or not bid with knowledge. For what it's worth just about any item you order online or in a catalog is going to have about a 40-50%markup in what they pay for shipping unless they are running a "free shipping" promo.

[Bambikiller240]

My experience on eBay has been that if the shipping charge is not stated, and you don't get a quote before the end of auction............you will get screwed on the shipping at least 70% of the time.

Now days there is only one reason for the shipping cost to be secret, and that is to allow the seller to rip off bidders if the sale price doesn't reach what the seller hoped it would.

When you set up an auction you can select the option to have a "shipping calulator" included on the auction page ( for free!)with your choice of shipper, AND the option to add an amount to the actual postage for packing materials, etc. Any potential bidder simply enters his zip code and the exact cost is displayed.

IF the seller uses USPS Priority mail, they can get FREE boxes, tape, labels etc by simply logging into the USPS website and placing an order. FREE!!! Delivered to the sellers home!

[Kerrigan]

Experience over the years on eBay has shown that if a shipping charge isn't posted, and you don't ask before bidding, you usually get screwed on the shipping/handling/packing/packaging charges.

Always ask before hand or don't bid is the advice.

[abas]

I'd agree with all the comments about no shipping quoted=seller going to try and stiff you on the shipping.

I've also been shafted where there is a choice of shipping ( particularly as I am outside the US) of either surface or airmail. Unless I really need it badly ( or unless I trust the shipper) I now go for surface mail as more than once I have paid for airmail and the seller has sent it surface mail ( 6weeks delivery!!!) and pocketed the difference.

[Zvoiture]

I sell quite a bit of stuff and might present a flip-side to this discussion. I try to price my shipping very fairly, but ALWAYS lose money on it. There are three kinds of car parts (I am excluding blocks and tranny's, which are HEAVY and LARGE):

1. Really lightweight, but BIG (like window regulators, door trim, consoles, dashes, grilles etc.)

2. Really f'n heavy and often quite small (diffy's, brake rotors, halfshafts, A/C compressors.....)

3. The easy ones: Appropriately sized and weighted (heads, valve covers, struts, headlight buckets..............)

You're screwed on #1 because the size of the package puts you in a heavier shipping bracket.

You're screwed on #2 because you have to pack these things VERY WELL or they punch through the box. Oh, and they weigh a lot!

#3 is the only thing you really break even on.

Sure, $30 bucks sounds like quite a bit to ship a set of headlight buckets. Shipping itself is only about 10-12 $. But the packaging is where you have to really love what you do in order to keep doing it. I bill myself out every day at somewhere north of $50/hr, as I am sure most professionals do. Obviously, many trades bill at somewhere above $100/hr. What is my time worth? If I happen to have a box that works, great, but that is rare! Or, I have something CLOSE that has to be modified, smaller or larger, with a box cutter and tape. Ker-ching! Or worse: I have to go BUY a box. Ker-ching, Ker-ching. Grab whatever you have around for packing and jam it in there and tape the shoot out of it. Ker-ching. Then I have to take it to the UPS depot and fill out the shipping info and write a check and drive back to where I am working. Ker-ching! Then about three days later the buyer (understandably) e-mails to know why he hasn't received it. Retreive shipping info from truck and e-mail him tracking number. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the Z community and LOVE helping people, but time is money! How much is my time worth?

steve77

[texasz]

I too sell things on ebay and I typically only add about $2 (sometimes even less) to the actual shipping cost unless the item is VERY heavy, then I do add a bit more. For some items I charge a flat rate, like CDs are $3 which barely covers the shipping and Jiffy-Pak.

Tip: I ALWAYS email the buyer their tracking number immediately, this eliminates that email three days later, plus then I don't have to try and find that damn receipt with the tracking number on it.

[Bambikiller240]

Originally posted by Zvoiture

Sure, $30 bucks sounds like quite a bit to ship a set of headlight buckets. Shipping itself is only about 10-12 $. But the packaging is where you have to really love what you do in order to keep doing it. I bill myself out every day at somewhere north of $50/hr, as I am sure most professionals do. Obviously, many trades bill at somewhere above $100/hr. What is my time worth? If I happen to have a box that works, great, but that is rare! Or, I have something CLOSE that has to be modified, smaller or larger, with a box cutter and tape. Ker-ching! Or worse: I have to go BUY a box. Ker-ching, Ker-ching. Grab whatever you have around for packing and jam it in there and tape the shoot out of it. Ker-ching. Then I have to take it to the UPS depot and fill out the shipping info and write a check and drive back to where I am working. Ker-ching! Then about three days later the buyer (understandably) e-mails to know why he hasn't received it. Retreive shipping info from truck and e-mail him tracking number. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the Z community and LOVE helping people, but time is money! How much is my time worth?

steve77

OK, Steve. To start out I'll say that I also sell a bit on eBay, and my comments are directed at the statements, NOT DIRECTLY AT YOU. To my knowledge I have never bought anything from you, and even if I have, I HAVE NO AXE TO GRIND AGAINST YOU. Period.

1. Packaging an item for shipment is part of the job of completing the sale for items sold via the internet, It is a known cost of doing business this way. The cost of this should be either included in the minimum starting bid, stated up front on the auction page, or provided upon request to any potential bidder. If Bob Zola (eBay id: rzola), or Chloe (eBay id midwest_z), or other sellers such as "stockcuz", can do it, anyone can do it. eBay makes it easy to add a shipping calculator to your auction. You can even preload fees above the actual cost of UPS, USPS or Fed EX costs to be included when a bidder enters their zip code for a quote.
   
2. Boxes, tape, and mailing labels can be ordered for FREE from the USPS website and will be delivered to the sellers door. FREE! Sure they won't have huge boxes for engines, transmissions, diffs, or other giant or extremely heavy/bulky items, but many local retailers will set aside sturdy boxes if they are asked nice, and aren't expected to store them for long time periods. Save the daily newspapers, they make great packing for many (though not all) items. There are simple ways to minimize expenses. Note: I have used the free USPS boxes to ship via Fed Ex and UPS, though USPS frowns on it.
   
3. Any seller should know the size, shape, weight of the items being sold AND the materials that will be needed to pack said items for delivery to the buyer. If materials are not at hand, they should know the cost of acquiring them. Shipping costs can be calculated at home with a simple bathroom scale and and a scan of the info on the various shipper websites. Don't ship everyday, ship 2 or three times a week and be organized about it. Anytime a tracking number is provided by the shipper, it should be forwarded to the buyer immediately. After all, they paid for it!
   
4. Most eBay sellers have regular "professional" jobs, but to expect the buyer to pay "professional" wages for a job (packing and shipping) that almost any idiot can do with a bit of thought and minimal skills is unreasonable. If the seller values their time so greatly that large fees must be added to the actual shipping cost perhaps they should be in some other business; or those fees should be included in the starting minimum bid, stated up front, or be available upon request before bids are placed so that the buyer can bid accordingly with full knowledge of what he/she is going to be expected to pay. Anything less is DISHONEST.
   
5. I wonder how many sellers would accept a buyer deducting the cost of a money order, envelopes, stamps, and the cost of going to the post office from the winning bid? Are the buyer's expenses, and time worth less than those of the seller? I think not! Each has entered into the contract to buy/sell of their own free will and should conduct themselves in a honorable and ethical manner.[/list=1]

[Mike]

I don't understand you guys sometimes. Why would you want to ship something and actually LOSE money? What's the point? If the guy posted his shipping fees up front, then what's the big deal? If he's selling this stuff to make a profit, he probably wants to feed his family. The key here is... if it was posted in the auction before the bidding began. If it was something he threw in at the last minute, then that's another story. The shipping fee shouldn't change depending on the auction results.

-- Mike

[seerex]

been selling on ebay for a while and its a double sided sword, you try to ship for a fair price and recover your costs of packaging and time to packed up the item and not to charge to much to discourage people from bidding, If its an item thats already preboxed I just charge the actual rate, but got to be honest , some things I hate to sell because you know its a pain to pack up and make sure it gets there and not be in multiple pieces. I honestly rarely bid on anything that doesn't have a fixed price of shipping , also been ripped off in my mind because I know what it takes time and packaging wise, I just hate the people that show up at UPS or USPS and just lay an item on the counter and say I need to ship this < they are always righ infront of me > , but I love ebay just for the fact you never know what z parts you will find , but you have to look through the crap sometime to find the good stuff,