[Whitebread]

I purchases some tools on ebay and was charged $1.25 to much for shipping. The label on the package says $5.20 and the charge was $6.45. $1.25 is nothing so I'm wondering if I should even bother the seller. What do you guys think?

 

[Samgotit]

Did you agree to the shipping price before it shipped?

 

[Steggy]

you get ****ed for shipping on ebay man. thats how they get ya. its no biggie, especially since most people guesstimate shipping costs anyways

 

[Whitebread]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samgotit /img/forum/go_quote.gif Did you agree to the shipping price before it shipped?

Naturally, ebay has shipping calculators that are supposed to accurately calculate shipping costs to your zip code. The item page even says that the shipping charges are calculated by the carrier.

There is no way to get an item shipped to you without agreeing on a shipping price before payment.

 

[JSTpt1022]

If the shipping charge was clearly stated in the auction then you weren't overcharged. This wasn't an exact figure, it was an estimate meant to cover the seller's bases as far as the potential range in shipping costs. It's often quite difficult to get an exact shipping figure without boxing the item up and taking it down to the shipper, even if you make an estimate based on a user input zip code.

 

[Whitebread]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSTpt1022 /img/forum/go_quote.gif If the shipping charge was clearly stated in the auction then you weren't overcharged. This wasn't an exact figure, it was an estimate meant to cover the seller's bases as far as the potential range in shipping costs. It's often quite difficult to get an exact shipping figure without boxing the item up and taking it down to the shipper, even if you make an estimate based on a user input zip code.

Ok, this is something I was thinking of as well. The seller has a 100% feedback rating so I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Since its only a dollar 25, I'll let it go.

 

[elrod-tom]

Don't forget the cost of shipping supplies (box, packing peanuts, etc...). Seems like many quote shipping and packaging, and $1.25 for packaging (depending on what it was) might not be unreasonable.

 

[hatethatgiraffe]

shipping includes packaging!! not first time have had a well packaged item from ebay that obviously took while to package and was boxed with packaging inside the box!
noone factors the cost of packaging when moaning about P&P but working in a place where we occassionally have to ship stuff off theses costs soon mount up trust me!!

 

[hatethatgiraffe]

musta been typing that at same time ellrod-tom lol

 

[breakfastchef]

Some sellers charge a flat handling fee to feed into their profit; that is a known. If a seller charges a ridiculous amount for shipping, ebay generally intervenes. A friend of mine was contacted by ebay to question his shipping fees and required him to justify the charges.

I sell stuff on ebay, for fun. As a seller, I have been burned on shipping as in I lost money on a deal. I try to estimate shipping costs as closely as possible to actual. If I charge a handling fee, it is for packing material , boxes, tape or whatever is needed to securely box up something that was purchased. These fees are disclosed.

I would not really concern myself with a few dollars of profit to a seller for an item I really want. When you sell an item, you have the opportunity to state your handling costs. As a rule, I do not print out the package weight or shipping cost on the label to prevent folks from questioning what I did and what I charged for S&H. Since I have 100% positive feedback, I assume all of my buyers are happy.

 

[Superpredator]

Quote:

Originally Posted by elrod-tom /img/forum/go_quote.gif Don't forget the cost of shipping supplies (box, packing peanuts, etc...). Seems like many quote shipping and packaging, and $1.25 for packaging (depending on what it was) might not be unreasonable.

I think those of us who do a lot of transactions on Head-Fi (as opposed to eBay) tend to forget that shipping supplies can cost money. I suspect many of us have an almost infinite number of boxes and peanuts from buying over the years, so we're not used to factoring supplies into our costs.

 

[chris downing]

Yea, having something packaged well can cost alot, depending on how big or what type of item it is. Also, If you package the item yourself and pay for the extra insurance on the item, you are not garanteed the insurance claim or money, be cause it was not "professionally" packaged by the shipping place. I always pay to have an expensive Item packaged at the shipping place just to avoid any trouble later on if the item gets broken or stolen during shipping.

 

[Zorander]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whitebread /img/forum/go_quote.gif I purchases some tools on ebay and was charged $1.25 to much for shipping. The label on the package says $5.20 and the charge was $6.45. $1.25 is nothing so I'm wondering if I should even bother the seller. What do you guys think?

That $1.25 difference most probably consists of the cost of the box/envelope and any other packaging materials. The costs of these things will obviously not show on the postage label.

 

[ecclesand]

$1.25??? I would consider yourself lucky and let it go. Just bend over and crack a smile. Life's too short to sweat the little stuff.

 

[davidr2287]

it might be the handling or insurance fee.