USPS rates higher

[Guest]

Because $20 doesn't matter.

Guess what? Not everyone has the bank roll you apparently have.

Eating $3 for shipping, or even $1 for shipping, adds up quick. For comparison, I quit smoking last year. Put away the $6 a day I was spending on cigs and saved it. Used the savings to go to Disney World for a week in December.

Don't you dare tell me small amounts of money are inconsequential

Then I would argue that these people should not be buying cards in the first place. If $20 matters to you, then you should be saving your money, and developing a plan to get to where I am, rather than cutting your finances by purchasing baseball cards.

 

[JoshHamilton]

Because $20 doesn't matter.

Guess what? Not everyone has the bank roll you apparently have.

Eating $3 for shipping, or even $1 for shipping, adds up quick. For comparison, I quit smoking last year. Put away the $6 a day I was spending on cigs and saved it. Used the savings to go to Disney World for a week in December.

Don't you dare tell me small amounts of money are inconsequential

Then I would argue that these people should not be buying cards in the first place. If $20 matters to you, then you should be saving your money, and developing a plan to get to where I am, rather than cutting your finances by purchasing baseball cards.

Not every dealer is like Levi Bleam or Len Pottie

Selling a bunch of $500+ cards, $3 doesn't cut in to your profit margin or cost you anything (relatively speaking).

But for modern dealers like anythingu and brentandbecca, who bust mass amounts of cases and sell cheaper singles and lots, $3 shipping vs free shipping can make or break you. Losing $3 a pop on 200 yearly transactions isn't that big of a deal. Losing $3 a pop on 200,000...really big deal. You're eating half a million dollars in your own cost

 

[Guest]

Because $20 doesn't matter.

Guess what? Not everyone has the bank roll you apparently have.

Eating $3 for shipping, or even $1 for shipping, adds up quick. For comparison, I quit smoking last year. Put away the $6 a day I was spending on cigs and saved it. Used the savings to go to Disney World for a week in December.

Don't you dare tell me small amounts of money are inconsequential

Then I would argue that these people should not be buying cards in the first place. If $20 matters to you, then you should be saving your money, and developing a plan to get to where I am, rather than cutting your finances by purchasing baseball cards.

Not every dealer is like Levi Bleam or Len Pottie

Selling a bunch of $500+ cards, $3 doesn't cut in to your profit margin or cost you anything (relatively speaking).

But for modern dealers like anythingu and brentandbecca, who bust mass amounts of cases and sell cheaper singles and lots, $3 shipping vs free shipping can make or break you. Losing $3 a pop on 200 yearly transactions isn't that big of a deal. Losing $3 a pop on 200,000...really big deal. You're eating half a million dollars in your own cost

Then my advice to them would be is to throw everything in one big box, pay one time for shipping, and let the pro staff at CheckOutMyCards do it for them.

 

[JoshHamilton]

Do you work for COMC?

 

[Guest]

Do you work for COMC?

No. But I think they're the best way to sell a card worth under $50.

 

[All The Hype]

I mostly agree what Chris is trying to say, but I'm not as harsh about it.

Edit... I should say that I agree with postal increases being part of being in business. As a seller one needs to adjust to the inflation.

I also believe that if you sell on ebay you should have to have a sellers permit and pay taxes for sales.

I also agree with what Chris is trying to say, but am not as harsh about it.

Shipping costs and eBay fees are built-in expenses that come with selling cards (or anything) on eBay. A 20 cent increase in shipping price is not the end of the world by any stretch of imagination.

That means for every HUNDRED sales you make, you pay USPS an additional $20. If your average sale on ebay is $25, that's $2500 with an extra $20 for shipping. That's less than a 1% increase that goes to the invaluable service provided by USPS. If that truly cripples you, then maybe it's time to reevaluate your goals and your position in the hobby.

I'll be the first to admit I don't have a large bankroll, but this just isn't that significant of an increase. Twenty cents? You can find more money than that on the ground in the WalMart parking lot. No one likes to pay extra money, but USPS provides a service, and services are not and should not be free. One of the unavoidable caveats of using eBay and USPS are the increases in fees over time, and if we as individuals are going to sell things on the internet, it should be a given that we have already willingly accepted the fact that this will inevitably happen.

 

[aminors]

Look at the positives. They aren't raising the cost of stamps.

They need to.

I am not posting this out of ignorance, but what would be the benefits?

I suppose they would make a bigger profit, or the same profit since their quantity goes down.

Let me preface this by saying the Post Office reported a loss of $8.5 BILLION in 2010.

Look at gas prices. People need gas. People will pay for gas regardless of if it sees a near 400% increase because they need to get from place to place.

People also need to get their stuff from place to place. I'm not saying they'd pay a buck sixty or more for a stamp, but I'm saying that I at least would pay seventy-five cents for a stamp.

I say this because the postal service NEEDS the money. They need to stop operating at a loss. Think about it this way...if you owned a business that sold something people NEEDED, something people bought every single day, and you were still operating at a loss, what would you do?

Not only are they operating at a loss, they are funded by the Federal Government of the United States of America. This just digs our country into a deeper hole. I'm not talking about a million dollars a day. Not that we'd have an ice cube's chance in Hades of getting out of this debt anyway, but it's a step in the right direction.

 

[bigalbert]

Look at the positives. They aren't raising the cost of stamps.

They need to.

I am not posting this out of ignorance, but what would be the benefits?

I suppose they would make a bigger profit, or the same profit since their quantity goes down.

Let me preface this by saying the Post Office reported a loss of $8.5 BILLION in 2010.

I say this because the postal service NEEDS the money. They need to stop operating at a loss. Think about it this way...if you owned a business that sold something people NEEDED, something people bought every single day, and you were still operating at a loss, what would you do?

If I was running a business and lost money every year I would be broke and no longer running a business wouldn't I? They need to cut out the fat and run a tighter ship. That freakin pension plan is a killer to pay. They need to go bankrupt and restart the business. To many former emplyees taking pieces out of the pie.

 

[BunchOBull]

The USPS claims losses whenever they fail to meet projected revenue. The Postal Service retirement system is a heavy burden; while, in theory, the USPS isn't about profit, they need it to fulfill that burden. So, is the USPS losing money at a rate that requires internal contributions to keep business running? Not exactly.

 

[Guest]

I love this hobby. It is my link to my childhood. Makes me feel young, and it's the one symptom of my case of Peter Pan syndrome.

The reason why I can enjoy collecting the cards I do is because I'm the result of the previous two generations of financial planning. My grandfather was in the streets of NYC during the Great Depression and had nothing going. World War 2 came along and with Navy training he became an electrician after the war. He spent nothing, he suffered long hours so his family could advance. It killed him, but his children were able to go to college and get high paying jobs for their era. It enabled me, the third generation of his labor, to enjoy a life of leisure, advanced education, and enjoy the hobby. It comes with great responsibility to the generations past when I spend any money.

However, I treat everything I buy as "lost money." I just spent $1370 on an 1895 Delahanty. Someone might come along and say "Hey. $1500" or they might find a case of mint ones in a warehouse in St. Louis and it becomes $200 over night. I don't care either way, because I spent what I could afford for the pleasure of owning the card and I got what I paid for. I don't expect to make money on it. I don't even expect to break even. That money is gone. I have a piece of old, wrinkled cardboard in it's place. To me, that is more valuable, but I realize everyone is different.

However, many people in this hobby feel entitled to make money off this hobby. Now look, I'll be the first to admit that I'm in a fortunate position. I know that making a profit off your prospect cards is the only way many of you can afford to buy the cards for your own collection. However, it makes me upset when I see people being 'cheap' about it and effectively complaining about nickels and dimes.

Many of you are upset about eBay fees, but do you ever stop and think about all eBay does for that money? Think of where we'd be WITHOUT eBay. There'd be no FCB. There'd wouldn't be much of anything. eBay makes selling painless. They're one of the most well known names in the world. The world. Millions of buyers. Yes, they wet their beak like any business ... but right now they're offering the best service money can buy.

But, back to shipping costs. I paid $21 for shipping on my last purchase and didn't complain, because I'm a grown man and I know the cost of doing business. If someone wants to charge me for shipping, I'll pay. If eBay wants to mandate free shipping, I think that's great because what's happening here is that it's forcing out the smaller guys.

Why am I against smaller guys?
If a small-time seller is worried about eBay fees, shipping costs, and struggling to make ends meet, BAD THINGS TYPICALLY HAPPEN. They start cutting corners. How many times has a card arrived late, damaged, or gotten lost because a seller was trying to make an extra FIFTY CENTS. These people are ridiculous. And they're just not bad for the hobby, they're bad for eBay, and that's why they're coming down on them. I want to deal with a professional who ships correctly and understands the cost of business.

I do not want to deal with an ameteur cramming a $100 card into a dirty old toploader who sends it off without insurance or DC because he's worrying about an extra couple of bucks.

Do you?