posted on December 7, 2006 08:30:37 AM new
I just bought an Olympic pin today. My winning bid was $32. There was NO price for shipping in the auction, so I included $3 to ship it from Italy. I double checked the auction, there was no shipping fee, it just said, "See Description." Of course in the description it says nothing. I have mailed things from Italy, and I know with packing material, it will cost less than $3, it just bugs me that I have to guess what he wants for shipping.
posted on December 7, 2006 08:43:03 AM new
I have a calculator so I don't do that either but you can't set the shipping yourself. You should request a total.
If you don't like it because they don't list shipping - use the ASAQ or don't bid.
posted on December 7, 2006 11:29:40 AM new
I've found that many sellers who don't list shipping costs will tack on huge shipping fees over the cost of postage.
I agree with ebabestreasures, ask first or don't bid.
posted on December 7, 2006 02:16:10 PM new
I have a pet peeve as a seller, do you do this?
I send out the invoices as my auctions end. By the time I send out the third or fourth notice, I have email, and it's not from eBay. It's from some overanxious buyer asking for his invoice.
posted on December 7, 2006 07:38:41 PM new
Wow, why can't you wait for an email? I have a lot of auctions and do not have a price for international bidders, if they ask a question, I answer it with a price. I really do not like buyers presuming a price. About 1/2 of my buyers are international and I have never had this problem, but as a seller, if you did not enclose enough then when you sent the remainder, I would be hit with another fee from paypal. Honestly, I would think you could wait a few hours for the seller to email you with a price or you should ask ahead of time.
posted on December 7, 2006 07:51:20 PM new
I think the point is: why not specify shipping charges or a shipping calculator in your auctions? It makes the buying experience easier, payments faster. Why should the buyer have to wait for an invoice or worse, have to request one through email?
posted on December 7, 2006 08:26:12 PM new
I'm in the dark here, do the shipping calculators only work for domestic shipping or can you also calculate for foreign shipments? As a buyer I agree. I won't bid on an item that doesn't specify or estimate domestic shipping. In the past vritually every time I've won an auction that didn't specify shipping, I've been dinged a small fortune for it. No more. Don't want to tell me how much to ship domestically without my having to ask? Thanks but no thanks....
____________________________________________
May 1, 2003, America brings "democracy" to Iraq. November 7, 2006, Iraq brings democracy to America.
posted on December 7, 2006 09:02:27 PM new
I almost always ask, but I honestly didn't think I would get this. Normally, this item sells for $125 to $175. I bid $40 and got it for $32. I paid by paypal and told the seller that if I didn't send enough, he could refund and put the right price. He is shipping from Italy, and I know it will cost about $2 for postage and maybe another $.50 for proper packing materials.
posted on December 8, 2006 07:39:23 AM new
Dejapooh,
So based on your calculations ($2.00 postage, $0.50 supplies) your $3.00 s/h fee leaves this guy just $0.50 for labor... assuming that your previous presumptions are correct. I do a lot of international shipping... and believe me... if all I charged was $0.50 for my labor, it wouldn't be worth filling out all the forms.
Sorry... but I definitely think you're in the wrong on this one. You got an excellent deal on an item, and now want to dictate s/h terms as well. There's a name for that... "bottom-feeder".
Next time... ask questions and/or don't bid without knowing the total picture. And NEVER send payment without requesting a total first! That's just completely unprofessional.
(As a seller, I do think it's a good idea to quote s/h charges somewhere in the auction... but this isn't always feasible with international shipments)
******************************
posted on December 8, 2006 08:13:08 AM new
My take?
Deja got an unbelievable deal on this pin and is anxious for the deal to be completed as quickly as possible lest the seller wake up and realize he could sell it elsewhere for a LOT more money.
posted on December 8, 2006 04:44:24 PM new
You can easily break shipping down to domestic, Canada, S.America and Europe, and Asia/Australia. Weigh the item, add handling fees, then state the price in your description.
posted on December 8, 2006 06:22:25 PM new
Max40, I thought I was the only seller who had that happen ! Those requests for a total 2 seconds after the auction ends!!!!
Since I email invoices within an hour of the end of the auction, I ignore them but it still bugs meeeeeeeeee!
Why would they think I WOULDN'T let them know the total ????
Do they think the quicker they get the total the quicker I'll run to the P.O. ? It doesn't open until Monday...don't they know that? WHY WHY WHY????
posted on December 8, 2006 08:41:13 PM new
I am afraid I am one of those sellers that don't give shipping in my auctions. I sell Internationally, and probably half of my buyers are multiple buys because I sell skeins of yarn, and often small craft leaflets. I have no idea how much something is going to weigh, and then the cost until I get the country, and address, weigh and measure, tax if applicable etc. etc. I used to add shipping costs for US buyers, but invariably someone would buy several items, and then pay the shipping cost for one item, or a buyer from another country would pay that amount.
I ask people to enquire about shipping cost, and answer each email quickly. Of course, I still get some who decide what they think they should pay, and just send it, even though I state clearly in my auctions not to send payment until I have given them the total.
posted on December 8, 2006 09:07:12 PM new
The following is posted on the ebay "International Trading" board. I thought that everyon would find it interesting.
"Polite request from across the pond..."
**xxxxx** (x ) View Listings | Report Dec-05-06 19:19 PST
Hi, I am sure most of you guys are aware of the sudden surge of customers from Europe - particularly the UK, as we currently get around $2 for the british pound, whereas usually it would be around $1.60.
There was a discussion going on in the forums and many UK eBayers have come across the same problem.
I have been interested in many auctions on ebay.com but I (and many others) have been put off by the fact that the seller does ship worldwide but most of the time shipping charges are not stated, meaning we have to contact the seller and wait for a reply.
Many just hit the 'back' button and go in search of one with the charges stated.
You would get much more business if this information was readily available, and we would really appreciate it!
posted on December 9, 2006 06:17:50 AM new
Dejapooh,
As for $.50 for shipping labor... Good luck with that.
I'm not quite sure what you mean by that. Are you honestly implying that people shouldn't get paid for legitimate labor costs? I calculate my s/h charges so that I am getting paid around $15 an hour (pre-taxes, so it's really more like $11 an hour after the taxman gets done).
I very rarely get any complaints about my shipping costs (in fact, I get far more praises about cheap s/h charges). And I can assure you, I am not hurting for sales.
It's okay as a seller if you choose NOT to charge for labor... but don't get upset with people who want to charge a reasonable amount for their efforts.
******************************
posted on December 9, 2006 06:30:37 AM new
eauctionmgt,
Don't you realize that all of the big retailers don't charge for shipping labor? They have volunteers who ENJOY packing for free, and they bring their own bubble, peanuts, tissue with them. Actually, they do it at home so that the company won't have to pay rent or utilities, in order that the free handling can continue forever.
Shame on you for not knowing.
dejapooh, if you give me your eBay ID, I'll do us BOTH a favor and put you in my banned bidders list.
posted on December 9, 2006 07:10:50 AM new
I ship a fair amount of stuff outside the US. I have a blurb in my listings asking international bidders to email for shipping charges before they bid. Really haven't had too much of a problem with it but, as kozersky's post says, I'm sure there are some who hit the back button rather than ask for a shipping quote.
I'd love to put international rates in the listings but it seems like boxing and weighing every item, calculating the rates for various parts of the world, and entering the rates in the listings would be too time consuming.
I've never used the shipping calculator, read too many horror stories about it. Does the calculator automatically calculate international rates?
[ edited by neatstuffusa on Dec 9, 2006 09:09 AM ]
posted on December 9, 2006 01:01:34 PM new
For most of you here, you sell the lightweight small stuff and could put some kind of shipping costs in your listings. I don't sell the smalls and stating the international shipping costs isn't an option as there are way too many variables and the shipping calculators just don't get it correct. I too ask international bidders to e-mail me first. If they hit the back button, then so be it. Been burned too many times to go that route again.
posted on December 9, 2006 05:27:14 PM new
I don't bid on auctions without knowing shipping first. But I can't imagine dictating the shipping amount (... & then copping an attitude!)
I have the Vendio calculator in all my auctions and on the checkout for international bidders.
My items vary in weight quite a bit, so I judge the packed weight when listing and add a small handling fee.
Occasionally I overestimate the weight, then I just do a partial Paypal refund.
I have had no problems with the Vendio calculator.
It has really freed me up from having to manually calculate shipping for every inquiry. And I am sure it has increased my international sales.
And regarding the handling comments: 50 cents handling...that is a bargain!
Our motto is to pack for postal football and that involves labor and materials!
Has anyone seen the increase in bubble wrap prices this year?
We often custom reinforce our shipping boxes with wood for many of the large pieces...also labor and material intensive.
Would you rather save on handling (and materials) or have your item arrive in pieces?
