Need some eBay advice when it comes to shipping fees ~ please help! :)

J

jennifer1207

Member
Sep 3, 2008
6
0
#1
I'm a seller on eBay and I personally make it a point to ship out all my items within 12 hours from when payment is received/cleared which is noted on all of my auctions. However, I'm trying to figure out which would be better when it comes to shipping costs. For example...

Is it more appealing to a buyer to sell an item at $39.99 (that has an avg. full retail price tag of say $80) and a $9.95 shipping fee?

OR

Would it be better to sell the same item for $44.99 and charge $4.95 for shipping?

I currently charge $9.95 shipping for domestic but everything is Priority (2-3 business days) and I ship it off right away (within 12 hours of payment received/cleared). But I keep getting these messages from eBay that buyers are sensitive to high shipping costs.

Guess I'm just kinda at a loss here at which option looks better. And I'd also like to know if everyone thinks $9.95 is too high? Would $8.95 seem more reasonable instead?

Thanks everyone!
 
#2
Depends on what you are selling. I normally sell handbags and charge 10.50. I do not get that message from ebay. I think buyers add in ALL costs when determining on if they will bid or not. Sometimes free shipping is appealing, but it doesn't always do it for me. The total cost is what I consider.
 
#3
fashion_mom1 said:
Depends on what you are selling. I normally sell handbags and charge 10.50. I do not get that message from ebay. I think buyers add in ALL costs when determining on if they will bid or not. Sometimes free shipping is appealing, but it doesn't always do it for me. The total cost is what I consider.
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I sell clothing like dresses, skirts, tops, shoes, etc. but I charge the same shipping rate for everything.

Oh and also, I charge $19.95 for Priority International Shipping since it's very pricey.
 
#4
interesting question. i price my shipping based on what i'm selling. i have a postal scale and after selling for many years can estimate what my shipping costs would be (though i have been off a bit lately and tend to end up losing a few dollars on most shipments). i guess i would look at the total but in truth nothing makes me more annoyed than people charging too much on shipping. so if you're charging 10 dollars and shipping is 5 that would bother me. i try to build any costs i would incur shipping (boxes, tissue paper, my time, etc) into my auction/ selling prices.
 
#6
jennifer1207 said:
I sell clothing like dresses, skirts, tops, shoes, etc. but I charge the same shipping rate for everything.

Oh and also, I charge $19.95 for Priority International Shipping since it's very pricey.
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Your shipping does seem a little high. I would charge $5-$7 for 1 item of clothing. If you need more add it in to your auction price.
 
#7
fashion_mom1 said:
Your shipping does seem a little high. I would charge $5-$7 for 1 item of clothing. If you need more add it in to your auction price.
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I charge depending on whether it fits into Priority Mail box or Priority mail envelope. Most of my clothing simply won't fit into the envelope so it's $10.00 for the box.

p-WA
 
#8
pippaWA said:
I charge depending on whether it fits into Priority Mail box or Priority mail envelope. Most of my clothing simply won't fit into the envelope so it's $10.00 for the box.

p-WA
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Are you shipping flat rate or regular priority? Since it is light I would ship regular priority and not flat rate. I am having a hard time understanding why it is any more than $7 including delivery conf. However I do not sell clothes that often so I could be totally wrong.
 
#9
pippaWA said:
I charge depending on whether it fits into Priority Mail box or Priority mail envelope. Most of my clothing simply won't fit into the envelope so it's $10.00 for the box.

p-WA
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Same thing for me too! Those paper priority envelops don't work out for me and the soft flimsy priority envelopes don't have much support. So I purchase very nice large yellow envelops fully-lined with thick bubble wrap. I also wrap everything in nice tissue paper and I tie a ribbon and a little flyer for my store thanking them for their purchase to each item sold. I know you're not supposed to charge for your driving time to the post office, prep-time, or efforts in the shipping process within the shipping costs but I do put a lot of time and energy into it. Or maybe I'm just trying to justify? lol :smile:
 
#11
so use boxes. you can order all sorts of priority boxes free from usps.com. and i do the same as you and still don't charge extra for shipping. if you're serious about selling i would invest in a postal scale too.
 
#12
hlfinn said:
so use boxes. you can order all sorts of priority boxes free from usps.com. and i do the same as you and still don't charge extra for shipping. if you're serious about selling i would invest in a postal scale too.
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Priority Flat Rate Shipping Boxes in size Medium would cost me more to ship and are less eco-friendly than the envelopes I purchase.
 
#13
fashion_mom1 said:
Are you shipping flat rate or regular priority? Since it is light I would ship regular priority and not flat rate. I am having a hard time understanding why it is any more than $7 including delivery conf. However I do not sell clothes that often so I could be totally wrong.
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Example: regular priority from WA to NYC in a priority mail box. Weight: 1 lb 6 oz. Postage value: $8.82. Signature confirmation: $1.95. Total shipping cost: $10.77.

I have just copied my recent Paypal shipping info. I have shelled out about $9 for shipping alone.

I just don't see how one can ship a medium-sized Priority mail box for less than $9, really. Envelope, totally. Box, not so much. This is NOT a flat-rate box.

p-WA


​
 
#14
Jennifer1207 - they have priority mail boxes that are not flat rate, you just weigh and ship!

I just completed a transaction from CA to WY for an item that weighed 1lb, and was sent in 6x6x7 Priority Mail box (not a flat rate box), for $5.05.
 
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#15
pippaWA said:
Example: regular priority from WA to NYC in a priority mail box. Weight: 1 lb 6 oz. Postage value: $8.82. Signature confirmation: $1.95. Total shipping cost: $10.77. ​
Click to expand...

Just wanted to add that this would be really close in price to a flat-rate box. It seems that the PO has been closing the gap between the cost of flat-rate postage and the weighted / metered postage. I guess their flat-rate boxes were not very popular.

p-WA
 
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