Why it pays to read the fine print (re: eBay auctions)

[geno]

I was all set and ready to order a MMC for my phone, I figured I'd take a peek on eBay. I saw this auction with a few mins left and the price was right! Now, normally I don't read the fine print, or even shipping charges, but from here on out I'm playing it smart. Why you ask
This is why. I was all set to bid on the auction until I saw that there was an $8.50 flat shipping rate. No matter where in the country I am that's how much it'll costs. Seems a lot to ship one tiny MMC card, in the fine print the seller says it covers such critical activities as "copying receipts, securing packages, applying postage and labels", wow, is that what I'd be paying you 4 extra bucks than I should have to? WTF is securing packages anyways? Making sure there's enough tape on the boxes so they don't fall apart? In a sense, something you should be doing anyways? And about label application...don't hurt yourself, by all means take more money for your troubles. I've sent out plenty of things I've sold online, I know boxes and packing material cost money, but there's no way I could charge someone 8 bucks with a clear conscience. Then, to top it off, there's a pic of 4 miscellaneous memory cards at the bottom, oops, I guess this auction wasn't for a Sandisk mem card as pictured above! "Also Works on NOKIA 9210, 9210i, 650" how can I be sure when I don't even know what brand card you're selling??? So let me get this straight, I had a chance to win a mystery MMC card? Damn, wish I won...

bah, this has turned into a rant. I know stuff like this is ALL OVER eBay, just let it be a warning, know what you're buying I almost fell into it like an idiot, then I smacked myself and said "hey, stop being an idiot", and it worked.

 

[Lawrencetan21]

You didn't know that part of the profit from Ebay is the money that's left over from shipping. Always.

 

[DaWhim]

recently started my ebay experience. sold some tiny stuffs. for 2 different items, i raped them for $10 in shipping, then I packed it in the padded envelopes I got for free and send it to them FIRST CLASS mail with tracking. pocket $6....

 

[Balt]

I always checking shipping charges. And if the auction description only says "Buyer agrees to pay all shipping charges" without giving a firm figure, I move on to the next auction.

 

[shimsham]

i always check shipping charges also. when they are high, it seems the item ends for less than normal. to me, it all balances out in the end depending on how bad you want the item. i never bid on something that doesnt have the shipping price listed. that just seems shady to me.

 

[geno]

Originally posted by: shimsham
i never bid on something that doesnt have the shipping price listed. that just seems shady to me.

Whenever I sell something, I just say that any shipping charges are up to the buyer. Reason being, I need to calculate shipping based upon where they live. I usually just charge the cost of packing materials + shipping charges, so I don't have a definite number before the auction is up...

 

[shimsham]

Originally posted by: geno

Originally posted by: shimsham
i never bid on something that doesnt have the shipping price listed. that just seems shady to me.

Whenever I sell something, I just say that any shipping charges are up to the buyer. Reason being, I need to calculate shipping based upon where they live. I usually just charge the cost of packing materials + shipping charges, so I don't have a definite number before the auction is up...

im sure a majority are honest such as yourself, but my luck ill get the one person that will gouge me.

 

[Pepsei]

How hard is it for you to bid 8.50 less than the total amount that you would've paid?

 

[dartworth]

Originally posted by: DaWhim
recently started my ebay experience. sold some tiny stuffs. for 2 different items, i raped them for $10 in shipping, then I packed it in the padded envelopes I got for free and send it to them FIRST CLASS mail with tracking. pocket $6....

You are such a class act....

 

[geno]

Originally posted by: Pepsei
How hard is it for you to bid 8.50 less than the total amount that you would've paid?

At least if I pay 30 bucks I know what brand card I'm getting. That auction is a grab bag.

 

[DealMonkey]

Most people will bid higher on your items if you list reasonable shipping charges. In other words, with the exception of a few people like the OP, most bidders are mentally calculating the shipping in their highest bid.

Most sellers don't care though, because if their $20 item sells for $10 w/ $10 shipping, rather than their $16.15 w/ $3.85 shipping, they come out ahead. Ebay doesn't charge fees (not sure about PayPal) on the amount of the S&H. It's almost like the rules encourage sellers to use the excessive S&H technique.

They should force sellers to list shipping charges and then show a "true cost" figure in the search listings.

 

[Spencer278]

Originally posted by: Pepsei
How hard is it for you to bid 8.50 less than the total amount that you would've paid?

How hard would it be for ebay to added that 8.50 into the price of the auction when it is displayed with a search or something?

 

[NFS4]

I normally just set a standard shipping fee for particular items NON-NEGOTIABLE

Games: $5.00
Hard Drives/Routers/DVD drives/etc: $10-$11
Digital Cameras: $19.95
Small Printers: $19.95
LARGE Printers: $29.95

I came up with my pricing for digital camera and printers by looking at the majority of the auctions listed. $29.95 seems to be the going rate for printers and $19.95 and up seems to be the going rate for digital cameras (surprising considering they don't weigh much), but I just go with what the market will bare.

I make little to no profit shipping games and such. I make usually about a 50% profit on shipping hard drives/routers/etc. I usually net 60-70% profit on the digital cameras.

But the printers are where the fun comes into play. Depending on weight of the package and location of the buyer, I net anywhere from 0-70% profit on the printers.

 

[kami333]

Originally posted by: Spencer278

Originally posted by: Pepsei
How hard is it for you to bid 8.50 less than the total amount that you would've paid?

How hard would it be for ebay to added that 8.50 into the price of the auction when it is displayed with a search or something?

Then they would have to make posting shipping charges mandatory and they don't do that since the seller could state pickup only or be using frieght, for which it is hard to use an online calculator for.

I'm currently in the market for a sculling shell, I wouldn't want them displaying what shipping would be for one of those things since it'll definately be over $200, so therefore I'm only interested in the bid price since I will be picking it up.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Here's another reason to read the fine print.

- M4H

 

[Spencer278]

Originally posted by: kami333

Originally posted by: Spencer278

Originally posted by: Pepsei
How hard is it for you to bid 8.50 less than the total amount that you would've paid?

How hard would it be for ebay to added that 8.50 into the price of the auction when it is displayed with a search or something?

Then they would have to make posting shipping charges mandatory and they don't do that since the seller could state pickup only or be using frieght, for which it is hard to use an online calculator for.

I'm currently in the market for a sculling shell, I wouldn't want them displaying what shipping would be for one of those things since it'll definately be over $200, so therefore I'm only interested in the bid price since I will be picking it up.

Ebay could just add an * next to any item with out a fixed shipping charge and require that the shipping be the actual postage charged.

 

[LeetViet]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
Here's another reason to read the fine print.

- M4H

Oh man.:Q

 

[geno]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
Here's another reason to read the fine print.

- M4H

What an asshole :disgust:

 

[AlienCraft]

I always send the item Priority Mail with Signature required. $3.85 + $1.65 = $5.50
The auctions say (generally ) $6.00 flat rate shipping AND Handling.
$.50 for my gas and time to drop off at Post Office isn't too much to ask, imo.
If you don't like it, don't bid.
Signature required for delivery keeps Mail fraud to a minimum, which can be investigated as a criminal offence by the USPS Inspectors.
Beats PayPal Buyer protection all the way through court.

 

[fyleow]

Originally posted by: Spencer278

Originally posted by: kami333

Originally posted by: Spencer278

Originally posted by: Pepsei
How hard is it for you to bid 8.50 less than the total amount that you would've paid?

How hard would it be for ebay to added that 8.50 into the price of the auction when it is displayed with a search or something?

Then they would have to make posting shipping charges mandatory and they don't do that since the seller could state pickup only or be using frieght, for which it is hard to use an online calculator for.

I'm currently in the market for a sculling shell, I wouldn't want them displaying what shipping would be for one of those things since it'll definately be over $200, so therefore I'm only interested in the bid price since I will be picking it up.

Ebay could just add an * next to any item with out a fixed shipping charge and require that the shipping be the actual postage charged.

Or people could like READ THE AUCTION TERMS AND CONDITIONS. How hard is that?

 

[nageov3t]

I bought a poster once. it was $1.50, but then the seller said shipping was $10.

$11.50 is still pretty cheap for a poster (especially since it was a hard to find poster). When I got it in the mail, I found out that this "poster" was an 8.5" x 11" computer printout on glossy paper of what the poster looked like.

I was pretty pissed. The seller offered to refund me the purchase price -- $1.50. woohoo! lol.

since then, I've been careful to always read all the fine print. I don't mind if sellers pad the shipping a bit, as long as a) I'm happy with the item and b) they don't pad it a rediculous amount (unless, that is, it's one of those deals where it's understood that the seller is padding the shipping. I've seen a couple retailers that will charge $1.00 for, say, a 80mm fan, and then charge $4 shipping, coming out to $5, which is a pretty reasonable price, depending on the fan)

 

[sillymofo]

A lot of times, sellers, due to intense competitions on eBay, has to sell products at cost. They only make a couple of dollars on shipping charges, whatever's left after paying listing fees and associated S/H costs. That's why the shipping charges on eBay are almost same with all sellers, for the same items.

 

[Yo Ma Ma]

You should always check shipping and feedback before bidding, I've seen much more outrageous than $8.50!!

 

[PingSpike]

You have to read the auction.

I bought a video card off of ebay awhile back, and it was 13.95 for shipping UPS ground. Thats pretty bad...but it was a ti4600 for $78 so in the end...who cares?

I think they just do it to try and recoup the good sized chunk ebay takes out of your auction.

 

[Yo Ma Ma]

Originally posted by: Spencer278

Originally posted by: Pepsei
How hard is it for you to bid 8.50 less than the total amount that you would've paid?

How hard would it be for ebay to added that 8.50 into the price of the auction when it is displayed with a search or something?

If the seller enters the shipping cost into the form then it will be displayed near the bottom of the auction, as it is in the case of this auction --

Shipping and payment details
Shipping and handling: US $8.50 (within United States)
Buyer pays for all shipping costs
Shipping insurance: Included in shipping and handling cost
Sales tax: 8.250% (only in CA)
Will ship worldwide.

Sometimes the seller will mention shipping cost in the text of their auction but not enter it into the form, then it's not as easy to see. More irritating than high shipping is the 'unknown' shipping where you have to email the seller and wait for a reply.