Being overcharged for shipping !!

^^ To be honest, I've never experienced being overcharged on shipping (at least not to my knowledge) so im just speaking hypothetically. But IMO, its wrong to charge excessive shipping just because its your auction and you can. But to each his own...

To answer your question, yes. I always ask questions or let a seller know if im not pleased with something. And I've been fortunate because the few times I've reached out to a seller with an issue they were all actually quite pleasant.
 
I am a ebay seller (power seller, consistent for many years). I find it easiest to include shipping costs in the price and just offer FREE SHIPPING.
I have had people ding me even if the they paid $15 for shipping, but the actual cost was $14.65(Large flat rate priority).
Some people will never be happy and thats how it is. You really cannot please everyone.
I am VERY glad that ebay has made it impossible for buyers to rate stars on free shipping and shipping time if it was delivered within the time frame.
In regards to this situation, if you were aware of the shipping charges before hand and agreed to proceed with the sale, that should be final. Some sellers may try to recuperate fees, time, packaging supply, ink, paper, gas, etc in that shipping charge even though they most likely didn't pocket that much from the fees. This is why ebay started to charge a fee on top of shipping charges...because of those who killed it for others by excessively over charging for shipping to avoid fees before.
 
^^ I think those who charge $15 to ship what costs them $3-5 to ship are among those who excessively over charged for shipping to avoid fees and pay for packaging for many items.

Personally, I have not charged for ink, time, fees, packaging supply, paper, gas, etc. when I have sold items. I just considered that part of the cost of doing business; guess I'm not such a good business person. I try to only charge what the actual shipping cost is.
 
I offer free shipping on the small things. I used to offer free shipping on everything but I want to discourage returns and knowing that the shipping charge won't be refunded is a deterrent. I worry every time that the buyer will ding me on the shipping charge even though I usually figure it out before I list so it is usually accurate. A lot of times I don't print the postage amount on the label so the buyer may not know how much it actually cost me.

I don't think buyers realize how much it costs to ship shoes, for example, or anything that weighs more than 3 pounds or so.

As a buyer, even if the shipping charge seemed reasonable when I was bidding, if I get a package and I can see the actual postage cost was a lot less than the stated amount, I am a little annoyed but I don't ding stars usually. It's not that big of a deal. I know that a lot of sellers overstate the shipping when they start the auctions low, so when I bid, it is based on the total price. I bought a GPS for $20 and the shipping was $20. The overall price was very good, but the shipping was clearly four times more than it should have cost to ship, since it would fit in a small flat rate box. In this case, I just consider it as an item that cost $40 total.
 
yep,,, until youve actually sold and shipped on ebay you have no idea how much it really costs these days,,, its outragous!!!! & than to pay for confirmation and or insurance,, just to protect yourself and the buyer, so these nitpicky buyers need to lighten up or should i say cough it up and shut up,,,, especially if its already specified in the auction and theyve agreed to it.
 
yep,,, until youve actually sold and shipped on ebay you have no idea how much it really costs these days,,, its outragous!!!! & than to pay for confirmation and or insurance,, just to protect yourself and the buyer, so these nitpicky buyers need to lighten up or should i say cough it up and shut up,,,, especially if its already specified in the auction and theyve agreed to it.


:ps:
 
yep,,, until youve actually sold and shipped on ebay you have no idea how much it really costs these days,,, its outragous!!!! & than to pay for confirmation and or insurance,, just to protect yourself and the buyer, so these nitpicky buyers need to lighten up or should i say cough it up and shut up,,,, especially if its already specified in the auction and theyve agreed to it.

I have actually sold, and after having a super scammer buy my first item, I ship everything with delivery confirmation/signature confirmation and full insurance, so I know how much that costs, but i still pay for my own gas, tape, boxes, etc. I charge for shipping, but not for handling, but that's just me. I would never charge someone $15 for something I knew I could ship for $5.
 
yep,,, until youve actually sold and shipped on ebay you have no idea how much it really costs these days,,, its outragous!!!! & than to pay for confirmation and or insurance,, just to protect yourself and the buyer, so these nitpicky buyers need to lighten up or should i say cough it up and shut up,,,, especially if its already specified in the auction and theyve agreed to it.
:tup:
it just makes sense to factor everything into the final price.
if i buy a small top from j. crew (or wherever) and they charge $8 or $9 to ship, im not going to ask them for a shipping refund. why would ebay sellers be different? because they can be more easily taken advantage of because of the feedback system.
 
IMO, that wouldn't be fair at all.

IF the seller posted their shipping fee in the auction listing and the auction listing was for a single t-shirt, then it was obvious the fee was on the high side.

Don't bid then, or negotiate a lower fee before bidding.

Buyer in this case should chalk up the excess fee to her mistake in not settling this before bidding ended.
Truth
 
I've sold stuff before and usually shipping prices are set at a certain rate because the seller doesn't KNOW where the buyer will be from. It would be such a hassle to adjust the shipping rate depending on where the buyer is from. Sorry to be a negative nancy but it's possible to lose money on shipping (if you price too low. What if you're shipping from like.. NJ to Alaska or whatnot?)
 
As a buyer I'd rather have a higher price for the item. I like everything to be clear. I agree that when we bid we commit to accept the shipping fee. But that is base on trusting. Some sellers will write that the shipping fee might be over-charged because of such and such. I like that too. What is a reasonable handle fee? The seller should give the reasons. Why a buyer need to find the reasons for seller?

I was over-charged on the latest buy. The purse came in a messy envelop. I am so grad that the purse is OK (some fold but no scraped). But I am going to contact the seller.
 
I'm so glad I found this thread. I just started selling and buying on eBay and I charge a flat $10 for everyone, but I also have always shipped USPS priority and it can be anywhere from $8-$13. So I think its fair, also I've never had anyone say anything to me.

But, I just bought a pair of shoes for $10.49 and shipping was $29.99. It said is was for expedited shipping USPS Priority (Same as me). I'm not complaining because I really wanted the shoes and I did bid for them after all, but I am kind of perturbed because they have been shipped but the seller didn't even add a tracking number and those are like less than $2.

Anyways, I'm happy I got the shoes, but if a seller is going to charge that much I think they should at least add a tracking number.
 
I need y'alls opinion / advice .
I won a t shirt off eBay and the shipping was $7.50. ( the seller and I live about an hour from each other . Traffic and construction would've made it a nightmare to pick it up in person)
I asked her if the shipping would be less because we live so close . She said nope ,it's $7.50 regardless.
Well I got the shirt today and she paid $2.05 shipping .
What would y'all do? Does EBay have a policy regarding sellers overcharging buyers ?
TIA for y'alls help.

I am an ebay seller, and we charge for weight, plus $1.00 that pays for insurance, delivery confirmation and supplies. If we over collect, we refund immediately after the shipping label is printed. This, in my opinion, is the only way to do it. Even though mailers, bubble wrap, etc., are a little pricy, we figure that that is just part of the cost of doing business. You know, the buyers really have the sellers over a barrel, that is, if the seller is honest and cares about their stars and feedback. She should try to work with you, in my opinion, but you all know what they say about opinions! Good luck! If she gets enough bad stars, she'll either change her shipping, or E-bay will eventually shut her down with enough bad ratings.
 
Question for frequent ebay sellers...I am new to selling and just sold my first item this past weekend. I sell figurines and a few purses. But trying to unload figurines.

My question has to do with calculating costs...even if I include in the price of item or not. Figurines come in boxes, but I end up having to put in another box to protect item. Do you have a special way of weighing your package...such as buying a special scale; going to post office and having item weighed; or just putting on bathroom scale and weighing? Do you use the postage/shipping calculators on ebay?

Sorry for this to sound so naive, but I am trying to prepare myself before I start listing other pieces that weigh more.

Just want to get opinions on ways others handle the weight issue of shipping and how they figure things out as far as costs. I see that shipping can be a touchy issue with buyers, but in this instance, shipping will get costly due to weight of items being shipped. Just any feedback would be helpful to this "brand new seller".
Thanks
 
Question for frequent ebay sellers...I am new to selling and just sold my first item this past weekend. I sell figurines and a few purses. But trying to unload figurines.

My question has to do with calculating costs...even if I include in the price of item or not. Figurines come in boxes, but I end up having to put in another box to protect item. Do you have a special way of weighing your package...such as buying a special scale; going to post office and having item weighed; or just putting on bathroom scale and weighing? Do you use the postage/shipping calculators on ebay?

Sorry for this to sound so naive, but I am trying to prepare myself before I start listing other pieces that weigh more.

Just want to get opinions on ways others handle the weight issue of shipping and how they figure things out as far as costs. I see that shipping can be a touchy issue with buyers, but in this instance, shipping will get costly due to weight of items being shipped. Just any feedback would be helpful to this "brand new seller".
Thanks
I bought an electronic scale that goes up to 11 lbs for weight and weigh my items that way vs going to the post office. Saves me time and gas. :smile: I'm also able to know exactly how much something will weigh (so there are no surprises to myself or to the buyer), and I will roll over that cost into my listing price via "free shipping".

I think figurine buyers realize shipping charges can run high. After all, you are making sure the product reaches them safe and sound. If you didn't house your product within another box, then you risk the item being broken. Now you're left with an unhappy buyer, a claim, etc.