Thoughts on high cost eBay shipping?

I recently won a card where the shipping was $6, which made up 15% of the total sales price. I messaged the seller prior to bidding to ask if he had any other shipping options because it was listed as expedited and he lives less than 50 miles from me, thus knowing I would see it in 1-2 days regardless of how it was sent. He responded and said he ships in flat-rate boxes so it will arrive in 1-2 days, which is why he charges $6.

I did not bother responding and I went ahead and purchased the card anyway because the few dollar difference wasn't a deal breaker, but it got me thinking, would the $6 shipping warrant a slight ding to his DSR or do you have to go ahead and respect that he sent it using an expedited service when it did not seem entirely warranted considering the item that was for sale?

There is no right or wrong answer I guess, just curious to hear everyone else's thoughts on a high shipping cost to both the buyer and seller when it may not be fully necessary.

I have an idea of what the majority of the responses will be, but would like to see first

EDIT: FWIW, item was received well protected and 5 stars were already left across the board, but carry on, the whole point of this thread was just to gauge peoples opinions, not tell me what to do because I had my mind made up before its creation.

I take in to account shipping when figuring how high I'll bid so it's no big deal to me. As long as the seller spends near what he charges, I'm ok with it.

In reality, shipping in a flat-rate box is really just hurting the seller as he/she gets charged eBay and Paypal fees on the charge.

It's not up to you, and frankly, I would be SUPER PISSED if you hit me with a negative. No one was forcing you to purchase the item.

(Not my item)

If he advertised $6 and it actually cost him $6 to ship the card to you, then he held-up his end. I would not ding him for it. If he had charged you $6 and it showed up in a $1.xx bubble envelope, then yeah. I would contact him first and if no reply to my satisfaction, hit his ratings.

A negative or neutral would never remotely come into play.

I'm just talking about the 1-5 star DSR's for shipping cost, like [MENTION=9434]SteelBrad[/MENTION], I just set a total price that I am comfortable paying irrespective of shipping cost. It just got me thinking cause that was one of the higher amounts I've paid to ship a card like this.

Oh! Yes. That's totally within reason. Definitely rate according to your buying experience.....

I had a DSR talk with an eBay rep, I was told that the "intent" is positive 4 or 5stars, neutral 3 stars and negative 1-2 stars.

Price gouging is grounds for neutral or neg if the cost to ship is far below the advertised price.

SteelBrad said:

I take in to account shipping when figuring how high I'll bid so it's no big deal to me. As long as the seller spends near what he charges, I'm ok with it.

In reality, shipping in a flat-rate box is really just hurting the seller as he/she gets charged eBay and Paypal fees on the charge.

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This is exactly what I do.

I occasionally will check my DSR's and I'm amazed at two things:

1. How many people will give a 4 for shipping cost when it's clear my costs are calculated and exact and directly dependent on the shipping option they choose (I offer 1st class and Priority)

2. How many people will give a 4 for shipping time. They all get the shipping notification within 24 hours, the rest is dependent on the option they chose and the post office.

I know 4 is not the end of the world, but come on. Just annoys me.
As a buyer, I too account shipping cost with total I'm willing to pay and I'm pretty sure most people do. The only time I'll ding the DSR is for clear abuse of the system, like charging $5 and then shipping in a reused mailer with a craptastic scratched up top loader and no bag. In those instances the seller deserves it.

I have asked buyers to allow a different method. In this case, maybe he may have agreed to a bubble mailer, had you asked? Other than not wanting to invest in shipping supplies, using flat rate boxes for everything seems unreasonable. It's not necessary.

I don't think a seller has much to complain about if his shipping cost score suffers if the only option he offers is an unnecessary and somewhat expensive option when it is clearly not beneficial in anyway to anyone buy himself.

The goal of a seller should be to grow customer your base through satisfaction and keep them happy (and spending), not alienate them with rigid policies and inflexibility.

He sent it Priority Small Flate Rate Box. His cost was either $5.15 or $5.85.

You knew how he was going to ship it before you bid.

You agreed to pay $6.00 to have the card sent in a Small Flat Rate Box.



I'm not quite sure why you would ding him. He probably even lost money on the shipping cost.

Why is this even a question, I'm a free shipping guy, but, what kind of a personality even considers dinging someone for this. If he was charging $20 it wouldn't matter because you should always be considering shipping as a part of the total cost. This is just a scammy way to get someone to lower their price after you agree to do a deal with them. What's the difference between someone who sells an item for $20 and free shipping and someone who sells the exact same item for $10 with $10 shipping? Nothing. Just an opportunity for a buyer to try and get out of paying what they agreed to pay.

TwinGnats said:

Why is this even a question, I'm a free shipping guy, but, what kind of a personality even considers dinging someone for this. If he was charging $20 it wouldn't matter because you should always be considering shipping as a part of the total cost. This is just a scammy way to get someone to lower their price after you agree to do a deal with them. What's the difference between someone who sells an item for $20 and free shipping and someone who sells the exact same item for $10 with $10 shipping? Nothing. Just an opportunity for a buyer to try and get out of paying what they agreed to pay.

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Disagree. If a guys charges $10 and ships in a bubble envelope for $2 he is getting dinged.

I've been charged $8 for shipping and I get a priority shipment with signature confirmation and insurance. The seller received glowing reviews. And he should because I knew what I was getting in to before I bid.

I would understand this if he promises priority and sends first class, but if method isn't mentioned. You're simply paying a price and agreeing to that price.

SteelBrad said:

Disagree. If a guys charges $10 and ships in a bubble envelope for $2 he is getting dinged.

I've been charged $8 for shipping and I get a priority shipment with signature confirmation and insurance. The seller received glowing reviews. And he should because I knew what I was getting in to before I bid.

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Feedback is so subjective.

Has anyone ever paid more than they really wanted to, but just felt like they needed an item? Maybe it is a seldom seen insert or the last card you need for a tough set. Maybe the price was ok, but the only seller offering one had unreasonable shipping charges, but you still pulled the trigger. Just because you bought the item doesn't mean that you agree with the sellers' practices. I looked at the star ratings before commenting too, because I seldom take the time to use the stars. It's either a positive, negative or neutral with me, the way it was in the beginning. However, here is what you are being asked to grade the seller on. You know it, they know it, so the question is: Can you enter into a transaction with a seller who posts his policies and still not agree that this seller is "doing it right"? The answer is of course YES.

It didn't ask you to agreed with the charges, it asks you if you think they are reasonable. Of course, reasonable will have a wide range too, depending on the user. If a seller is not charging a reasonable rate for shipping, then maybe he gets dinged. In the original example though, maybe the s/h charges are not unreasonable, knowing how the item will be sent and the costs involved, but no other options are available for a more economical s/h method and in that case that particular aspect of the transaction isn't really represented in the star ratings.

I think in the end, ebay users who are predominately sellers would tend to say that this type of behavior is unfair to the seller and users who are predominately buyers would be more apt to ding the seller, because each party empathizes with their own situation better.

Rate details about this purchase

How accurate was the item description?

How satisfied were you with the seller's communication?

How quickly did the seller ship the item?

How reasonable were the shipping and handling charges?

Really cool topic. I wouldn't ding him because he advertised a price and method and you agreed. He held up his end and that's about all you can ask for.

As GC said, 4 or 5 should be considered positive I guess.

Also, has anyone not made a purchase with a seller because his stars weren't all 5s? I think that whole system is over rated. People either give all 5s or they ding you hard. It's like ratings of a product on yelp... You either see super supporters or people pissed the F off. Never someone that's like "well it was middle the fairway. Not great not bad. Just wanted to write"

Anyways, carry on


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Buying Albert Belle cards! PM me!

Just a thought and something I do. Some sellers charge for shipping according to the weight of the package for shipping to the furthest distance. Example: If I am selling a packege that weighs 4 lbs then I will post shipping charges according to how much it will cost me to ship to California since it costs more to ship from my business here in Georgia. I have had many instances when I would charge, say 8.00 and shipping cost me 10 or 11 dollars. Ultimately, just take into consideration what you are willing to pay and if the seller isn't obviously scamming and shipping charges are close to the cost, just proceed forward to the next purchase. My 2 cents. Bryan

TwinGnats said:

I would understand this if he promises priority and sends first class, but if method isn't mentioned. You're simply paying a price and agreeing to that price.

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Maybe it's just me, but if a seller charges me $10 to ship their item I expect the total fees associated with the shipment to be in that ballpark.

I'm not one of those people that argues to reuse bubble envelopes or buy them in bulk. I just expect added charges that I pay above and beyond the auction price to be realistic.

I'll ask a practical question, I do free shipping as a rule, I figure out what I want for the item add my shipping costs and I have my price. The question I have is if I have an item for $10 delivered and someone else has it for $6 plus $5 shipping and that shipping is to the penny of the sellers cost. Will you purchase the $6 because the seller is charging exact shipping and thus is selling his item cheaper than I am?

SteelBrad said:

Maybe it's just me, but if a seller charges me $10 to ship their item I expect the total fees associated with the shipment to be in that ballpark.

SteelBrad said:

Maybe it's just me, but if a seller charges me $10 to ship their item I expect the total fees associated with the shipment to be in that ballpark.

I'm not one of those people that argues to reuse bubble envelopes or buy them in bulk. I just expect added charges that I pay above and beyond the auction price to be realistic.

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I tend to buy more from sellers who have good shipping prices and decent combined shipping rates. I have been known to spend well beyond my initial item price, because a seller has other good stuff I would have never found without that one item bringing me to their site and because they are reasonable when it comes to shipping costs. You have a friend for life in me if you are a seller who doesn't charge any more for additional items and sees the value in getting more business and maybe they eat some of the shipping cost if i buy a ton of items in order to win a loyal customer.

I recognize the practice of building in the shipping cost to the final price as well and I always have that factored into what I pay, but I guess i'll be petty and admit that no matter how you slice it, excessive shipping charges (even if i get a good deal otherwise) bothers me. The reality though is that most people who charge higher s/h rates are not offering cards for less than average sellers are, they are probably asking more!