Amazon marketplace shipping: are seller's raising S&H, or is it my luck?

[Rakehellion]

,.. you quoted me,.. but, didn't seem to understand this part,.. So, here is a 2nd pass.

"At all costs." So $10 to $15 isn't the actual problem, it's some passive political stand. Got it.

 

[DesiPower]

Any item with a fixed shipping cost is the same as free shipping. it is priced with a gimmick to get people buying it for either the lower pre-shipping price (like a case w/ $20-30 shipping), or because of free shipping (even if it has to be Egg saver).

If you get items that don't have such fixed costs, they add up by weight, after the initial minimum. IE, you might start with $7.68, and after adding another 5 things, it'll be $12, despite each thing showing up with a normal cost, like $7.68 (because that would be the cost of only getting that one item, which of course is higher than getting more).

OK, I get your point but I can give you example of so many other sellers doing that all over the internet like ebay, monoprice, even newegg. That's how people do business, deal with it. No one etailer will be better than the other, they are all the same. Amazon sellers change all the time, they are trying to compete with each other, doing penny business. There is no bait and switch, if you are willing to go to ebay then might as well but one item at a time from Amazon, its will solve all your problems.

 

[imagoon]

Amazon's system is pretty simple.

If the item comes from Amazon or is fulfilled by Amazon, you get one shipping price that covers all items.

If it comes from someone just on the store but not using other Amazon services, you pay shipping for each item from each shipper.

I have yet to pay "multiple shipping charges" unless the seller is not using Amazon fulfillment.

 

[Rakehellion]

If shipping is not flat rate or free, it should vary nominally with weight, size, and item count

Why would you assume shipping would be anything other than the stated price? That's your own screwup.

 

[Cerb]

Why would you assume shipping would be anything other than the stated price? That's your own screwup.

Because it differs from past experience using Amazon, and is not stated anywhere (I quoted what little that was stated in the OP, and no seller pages had anything clarifying it for any specific seller). For example, if you buy from Amazon themselves w/o FS, shipping does not stack per item the same way, but instead adds up by volume/weight like most other places. I don't recall it doing that in the past from Amazon sellers, either, but it has been quite awhile since I've done an order using sellers through Amazon with many items (usually I'm doing that kind of order directly through Amazon).

Using the sellers, where possible, outside of Amazon, seems to be the best of both worlds, ATM: using the Amazon and its cart for searching and keeping a list, then the seller's separate website for actually buying. I'm now up to 3 of them, and none have higher prices on their own websites than on Amazon (I guess either they are forced to do shipping costs that way, or it makes up for Amazon-specific fees). If the sellers were just playing with price+shipping for low stated prices, their own sites should either do the same, or have higher prices; yet neither are the case.

 

[Cerb]

monoprice

Monprice? Since when. I ordered from them just a few months ago, and the S&H costs had a typical small nominal increase per item. Same with Newegg.

I regularly order from both Monoprice and Newegg, and both have normal by-weight shipping costs in the actual order, shown in the cart, despite every item having a stated shipping cost that is the cost if only that item is in the package, for any items not clearly showing a fixed cost, or if choosing a shipping method that the fixed cost does not qualify for (I usually want my order this week, so cases or monitors with $20 shipping get $20 shipping, nothing gets free shipping, and the cost reflects charges by weight being far lower than the total that it would be if it were the stacked costs shown on each item's page).

1 mobo at Newegg: $5.39
10 mobos at Newegg: $7.31 (not $5.39*10, as it would be if stacked)
10 mobos and a case: $21.67 (no shipping cost given for the case on the page where you add it to cart)

 

[Newell Steamer]

"At all costs." So $10 to $15 isn't the actual problem, it's some passive political stand. Got it.

Is that like a lemonade stand?

Or, were you trying to say stance?

 

[Newell Steamer]

Sucks for you. Some of the best deals on Amazon come from the affiliate buyers.

Not when they charge you the savings in shipping - which is not always, but pretty common (as noted as well by someone else in this very thread).

But, thanks for your armchair sourcing and procurement guidance.

 

[Craig234]

These $3.99 third party charges are not to get you to buy Prime. They're the same with Prime.

 

[Midwayman]

This is why I often find the lowest price on amazon and find the vendor through google or on ebay to complete purchases. Amazon has been pulling this no discount on shipping multiple items thing for years. Sucks, but if they want to drive away larger sales, that's their business I guess.

 

[imagoon]

Not when they charge you the savings in shipping - which is not always, but pretty common (as noted as well by someone else in this very thread).

But, thanks for your armchair sourcing and procurement guidance.

You seem to assume that they always do. Sucks for you. Even with shipping the deals can be better.

 

[Rakehellion]

Is that like a lemonade stand?

Or, were you trying to say stance?

Like a lemonade stand, but not quite.

 

[Rakehellion]

You seem to assume that they always do. Sucks for you. Even with shipping the deals can be better.

He doesn't care about price. He' s boycotting all Amazon sellers because some overcharge for shipping.

 

[Cerb]

These $3.99 third party charges are not to get you to buy Prime. They're the same with Prime.

And among the reasons I don't have it. Not $3.99 specifically, as that's just a minimum, but When finding a few items to buy on Amazon, I often end up with non-Prime items or buying from selling not doing FBA/Prime. I don't pay anywhere near $100/yr from them as-is (could have, today, though ).

So, it looks like now, I'll have to make new accounts at some other places, but end up saving $60-80 in the process, buying the same items from the same places, at about the same [base] prices (and Amazon doesn't get a cut of it, despite being used to help find everything).

 

[imagoon]

He doesn't care about price. He' s boycotting all Amazon sellers because some overcharge for shipping.

Makes sense. It's nonsense but ok. To each their own.

 

[Newell Steamer]

You seem to assume that they always do. Sucks for you. Even with shipping the deals can be better.

No assumptions needed - there is section on the top right, which sums up everything nicely:
1) the price they charge for the item
2) the price they charge for shipping

The price they charge for the item is indeed usually lower (SAVINGS!), but, the price they charge for shipping is usually the exact amount they 'saved' you. And, if that is the case, I might as well just buy direct from Amazon, specifically for Prime eligible items.

If the 3rd party seller did indeed want to save me money, they would not be charging me that SAME amount in savings from the item, on shipping. It is not savings. It is a wash. It is an attempt for the 3rd party seller to come up as #1 in best price.

3rd party sellers on Amazon.com are dirt bags and they will not get my money. You can give them all you money,.. but, I am not sure what crawled up your exhaust pipe for what I choose to do with my money.

 

[Newell Steamer]

He doesn't care about price. He' s boycotting all Amazon sellers because some overcharge for shipping.

I think you should stick to 'writing' shitty poems & jokes, instead of speaking for other people.

But, since you set the tone; You aren't even from Brooklyn. You sound like someone who moved to NY, because he thinks he is clever, but, he just isn't. Maybe back in whatever patch of earth that tries to pass for a civilized town you are clever - however here, you are just lame & pretty damn basic.

 

[imagoon]

No assumptions needed - there is section on the top right, which sums up everything nicely:
1) the price they charge for the item
2) the price they charge for shipping

The price they charge for the item is indeed usually lower (SAVINGS!), but, the price they charge for shipping is usually the exact amount they 'saved' you. And, if that is the case, I might as well just buy direct from Amazon, specifically for Prime eligible items.

If the 3rd party seller did indeed want to save me money, they would not be charging me that SAME amount in savings from the item, on shipping. It is not savings. It is a wash. It is an attempt for the 3rd party seller to come up as #1 in best price.

3rd party sellers on Amazon.com are dirt bags and they will not get my money. You can give them all you money,.. but, I am not sure what crawled up your exhaust pipe for what I choose to do with my money.

You keep saying this. I keep disagreeing. I find better deals through the 3rd party sellers on a regular basis. You can drop the Internet tough guy charade anytime.

 

[Cerb]

If I treated the Amazon sellers themselves that way, rather than the use of Amazon's system, I would hardly have been able to buy some of what I did, at any price, much less the prices I ended up paying.

Just from ImportCDs, that I already mentioned, and which was the largest marketplace seller portion, even including the slightly higher subtotal, it was $45 less to go direct, rather than through Amazon, because of the shipping being sane ordering direct.