ebay shipping
 

seems to me that the ebay shipping charges are where they build in some minimum profit. obviously. prices of items in closed auctions tend to reflect overall price sensitivity among customers. rational behavior, that.

seems to me then one easy way to game an advantage buying off ebay is never to bid on one item with one seller, but always go for multiple items and combine. thats one way of cutting these ridiculously high shipping charges.

any other thoughts on this topic?

Re: ebay shipping
 

I simply include the price for shipping in the total I am willing to pay, i.e. if the shipping is $3.00 and my max is $15 I bid $12. It works quite often surprisingly enough.

Re: ebay shipping
 

I do both - look for combined shipping as well as include the listed shipping price in what I'm willing to pay. It works quite well.

Then again, there are those missed by most people and I wind up winning for next to nothing (inaccurate descriptions, misspellings and even non descriptive titles). This came in the mail yesterday, exactly as pictured -

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=150118357608

I purchased a 1946 year set for my father in law (birth year set) for father's day and it cost me more than what I paid for those 5 all together. It's funny how ebay works sometimes.

Re: ebay shipping
 

Wow, you got a great deal there! $50 worth of coins for $15; that seller must have been pissed. I wonder what percentage of sellers on something like that would simply fail to follow through with the transaction so they can relist at a later date?

Re: ebay shipping
 

Yeah, I was amazed I got it at that price. I was also wondering the same thing you were - what if he didn't send them because no one bid on the auction? Nevertheless, the package showed up and they look great. I actually emailed him and told him I felt bad no one bid - his reply was something to the effect of "I didn't expect to get much for them because they were circulated". Evidently he doesn't know spot prices.

Anyway, referring to shipping, many people will charge more than cost, but I always try to ship at cost + insurance, just because of all the paypal schemes that are out there. I also offer combined shipping and this actually generates more bids as people bid higher in order to win more, so they will pay less (does this make sense?). It works out for both parties, as the combined shipping charges are almost always more than actual cost (so I make a little), but are cheaper for the buyer if they were to purchase them separately.

Re: ebay shipping
 

It's amazing to look through eBay, and notice how many people actually make more money on shipping and "handling" over-charges than they do on their merchandise. CAVEAT !

Re: ebay shipping
 

i must admit i was one of the sellers with high shipping charges intentionally. ebay takes a percentage frrom sales...not from shipping so it was in my best interest to sell something for a penny with $10 shipping versus selling the same item for $10 with free shipping. i sold dvds in this manner....penny dvds with $5.99 shipping.

Re: ebay shipping
 

As j-son mentioned, it's largely a way to avoid eBay fees. I think a small fraction of people get suckered by low prices/high shipping fees. But honestly, if you're not smart enough to figure out how to add shipping costs in, you deserve to pay them.

When I sell something, I generally put in a shipping fee that will cover the cost of the shipping + any eBay fees. So I generally inflate my shipping fees a couple bucks.

Re: ebay shipping
 

thanks, that is good info

Re: ebay shipping
 

I offer actual rate shipping with a $2.00 "handling" & packaging charge, AND, combined shipping on any and all of my items.

I wouldn't charge the $2.00 if it were not for the fact bubble envelopes, "peanuts," and quality tape cost a lot. I can usually find "free" boxes, but not always.

Re: ebay shipping
 

eBay now has a policy, not yet readily enforced, that prohibits "excessive" shipping charges. $5.99 S/H for a penny DVD is clearly covered by this policy, as the policy is designed to protect eBay profits, not buyers. Shipping a DVD costs no more than $3.00, especially when bubble envelopes are purchased in bulk.

Re: ebay shipping
 

Yeah, some sellers gouge big time!!

Here's the thing, as a seller, cover your ebay listing costs, your paypal fees & real shipping in the "shipping costs" area.
Or, if I am sure something will sell, I'll just say "free shipping" and start the bidding at a price that factors in all my costs.

Personally, I like sellers who do that.

Nothing I hate more than someone clearly making money on the shipping. Usually its the first thing I look at.

Re: ebay shipping
 

I was mildy pleased today, I got somebody to reduce their shpping cost from 4.80 to 95 cents. Just by asking them to ship it a less expensive way.

Re: ebay shipping
 

Ditto that......however, if I do win then I proceed to check other items and bid accordingly.

If I find several items all ending near the same time then I bid as if I would only win (1) of them.......i.e. paying $15 total subtracting $3 for shipping, etc.

Shipping is subtracted accordingly whether it's 5% or 50% of the cost the total should be the same. Likewise, high shipping charges get lower bids from me........

You (eBay seller) can charge me $15 shipping on a $20 item but I'm only willing to bid as high as $5, end of story.

Re: ebay shipping
 

Didn't someone order from this guy a couple weeks ago? That looks like a darn good deal to me.