posted on March 23, 2003 01:28:24 PM new
check out the shipping charges in this auction.....god help anyone that is caught in a bidding war...#2819437360
posted on March 23, 2003 01:33:53 PM new
up to $20.00.........$6.95 $20.01-$50.00.......$8.95 $50.01-$75.00.......$10.95 $75.01-$100.00......$12.95 $101.00-$300.00......$15.95 $301.00-
6,95 for a shirt is not bad,they are charging up to 15 dollars for a print.
posted on March 23, 2003 01:48:32 PM new
This is a plus size shirt (4X/5X) this could easily weigh just over 1 pound packaged which would be $5.75 to Zone 8. I charge $6.50 for anything from 1.01 to 1.99 pounds so the shipping is not unreasonable.
posted on March 23, 2003 02:27:50 PM new
Being a plus size shirt it could easily go over 20.00(not this one it has a buy it now of 8.99 but)why should the buyer have to pay more shipping cost for something thats making them more money...seems like the shipping should go down lol or at least stay the same(clothes only...not everything they sell)Just cause the shirt sells for more... it doesn't grow ya know what I mean
posted on March 23, 2003 03:25:33 PM new
I don't think the initial shipping for one plus size item is too high, it is the shipping based on final price that is bothersome. This is not a mail order company, which I have quit using for this very reason.
if he is trying to show "combined shipping rates" then he needs to state that more clearly. I would be afraid to bid more than $20.00 on any one of his items in order to find out.
Of course, I would email and clarify that little item first.
posted on March 23, 2003 06:34:06 PM new
IMHO basing the shipping on the sales price is pure laziness. To quote a realistic shipping price on each item, one would have to go to the "trouble" of weighing it and supplying an interactive postal rate chart.
I detest doing business with comnpanies that charge shipping based on the sales price of the merchandise. Occasionally, I must buy from one but really resent the jacked-up shipping amount when I am buying something more expensive that weighs little.
posted on March 23, 2003 08:56:34 PM new
A lot of mail order companies do it.
Total bull!
But they don't loose sales because of it.
So why can't they?
I may even sit down and see if it could work for me!
May end a lot of dumb questions in the end!
posted on March 23, 2003 09:56:17 PM new
Companies that charge set rates based on total sale value do lose my business if I can find another source with reasonable prices.
posted on March 24, 2003 03:15:12 AM new
As someone that ran a medium size mail order company for eight years I may be able to shed a little light on the rationale for shipping rates based on total sale.
It is not only the easiest way to do it, it is also the most economical option.
Option 1) Flat rate shipping per item.
Problem) Each item will weigh different amounts. The only way to avoid loss is to base the rate on heaviest item however a customer paying the shipping rate figure for a 2 pound item will heavily object if their order is for a 4 oz item.
Option 2) Flat rate shipping price assigned to each individual item.
Problem) First would be logistics of programming an automated system. If you do not have an automated system you will need to employee a person(s) just to figure shipping. This persons wages have to come from somewhere - shooed you raise your product prices to cover this additional cost? Second - multiple item orders would be an additional programing logistics nightmare or add manual hours and wages to compute proper combined shipping charges.
Option 3) Variable rate shipping based on Order total.
Problem? We never found one. We spent two days running reports regarding average contents of orders in various price ranges. We then took items that were most frequently included in orders in each price range, weighed them, them figured in packaging and fulfillment costs, and came up with a standardized formula for shipping costs.
Before anyone complains that this was not an ebay business, we actually did expand into that area as well. As we prepared new catalog we examined which items should be continued and which should be phased out of it. As a general rule, we still had inventory on items that were no longer justified print space in the catalog and should be phased out. As ebay came into existence and popularity it became a fantastic way for us to liquidate those bits and pieces of merchandise that were stuck in the corner, or as we moved our shipping responsibilities into the hands of a fulfillment company, we were actually paying to sit stagnant in their warehouse. Just because we were selling via Ebay instead an of a catalog, our shipping procedures did not change and so neither did our shipping prices....at least on combined orders. We did set flat rate prices in individual sales as many times items would go for more on ebay than they were from our catalog and when appropriate, did offer discounts on combined shipping rates for the same reason.
Sorry about the length of this, didn't mean for it to be so long but I felt that it was important to show that while some may see Variable Rate shipping formulas to be the act of a "lazy" company or individual, they are most often the most economical method in the big picture.
To bring it down to an individual level - do any of us here see Fluffy individually weighing each item in her 600 auctions per week to program them into the rate calculators earlier mentioned?
posted on March 24, 2003 05:58:57 AM new
i agree.
ebay bidders dont want to pay,they want some one to give them the item free.
the time they spent looking for these petty issues and bring them to aw board ,they could go to mcdonald and flip burgers and make some real money.
i assume if tiffany and cartier sell on ebay ,they would have to send employee to the supermarket or back of domino stores and look for thrown out pizza boxes,wrap the diamond ring in toilet paper or day old newspaper and walk to the post office and stand in line for 1 hour and ship the item for 1.32 first class mail.
and then come back and leave glowing feedback to the bidder.
posted on March 24, 2003 08:00:22 AM new
I bought from a jeweler on Ebay. It was a tiny charm, smaller than a dime. The shipping was $7.00 !!!!!!!!!
They used some type of shipping service. I just sold it again and charged 50 cents, put it in bubble wrap, into a padded envelope and postage was .49
Nice stuff but I won't buy from the guy again because of that 7 bucks shipping
>^,,^^,,^<
MEOW pft pft
posted on March 24, 2003 08:16:06 AM new
I am not much of a buyer - for every 2 to 3 hundred sales I make, I "MIGHT" purchase one item....
I WON'T purchase from any seller who bases shipping on sales price - in fact, if the shipping is in my very experienced opinion is too high, I won't purchase from the seller at all - I don't trust people who gouge on shipping rates.
I ALSO, NEVER, purchase from sellers who ONLY take Money Orders -
Regarding the example in this thread, it naturally depends on what one is shipping - I couldn't use their method - as an item for me selling in the $50 to $75 dollar range could easily weigh up to 18 or more pounds, which their $8.95 would begin to cover.
HIGH shipping rates exist because too many are willing to pay, and too few ever check on line what shipping SHOULD cost via either the UPS site or the USPS site.
posted on March 24, 2003 12:03:55 PM new
some sellers live far away from post office or mail drop off and to drive 20-30 miles to mail packages,one would think buyers should contribute to gas and wear and tear on both car and driver,plus packing and handling .
what good is it to talk about how cheap and getting cheaper ,the whole idea of doing business is to turn a profit,pick up an accounting textbook and do some bookeeping on your business,take what you sell minus cost of good sold,thats your gross profit,minus that with your depre of the car,rent,gas and your wages,plus packing supply and see how many of us are turning a profit.
sure,make it dirt cheap and it is good for teh consumer??
really??
stores which charge high price pay the city and state and city can provide police and lights and street cleaned,when street hawkers move in,do they pay enough to pave the road and keep the policeman on payroll.dont roll back western civilisation,we have come a long way .
you like the well lit streets,the service of police,fire ambulance and toll free phone call and 911,we pay for it.
so lets not ruin a good thing.
posted on March 24, 2003 12:11:41 PM new
:: I just sold it again and charged 50 cents, put it in bubble wrap, into a padded envelope and postage was .49 ::
So in order to protest being overcharged you decided to lose money again when you got rid of the item? If bubble wrap and padded envelopes can be found in your area for a penny, please give me directions I need to stock up on some of those supplies
posted on March 24, 2003 01:37:15 PM new
there are discussions on diff sites why booksellers list book at one penny??
make money on shipping?
craving for quality emails??
or what??
go to cocktail party and brag about being an internet entrepreneur??
posted on March 24, 2003 03:08:36 PM new
"do any of us here see Fluffy individually weighing each item in her 600 auctions per week to program them into the rate calculators earlier mentioned?"
Good grief, no.
95% of what I ship is 2 ounces or less.
Nobody ever believes me when I say this, but standardizing the kind of widget you sell is a huge time and money saver. And I speak as a recovering scrounger, the kind of person who haunted garage sales and thrift stores in search of that rare Bud Man mug or hoping to pay $100 for a set of mint-condition Royal Copenhagen Flora Danica.
Too many scroungers, too little good stuff.
Along those same lines...
One of my competitors, who does much more volume than I, combines auctions for shipping. Nothing unique in that, you're thinking, and you would be right, except that she charges $7.00 for the first item and $5.00 for each additional item. This is for jewelry: rings, bracelets, necklaces, etc. She also has a very charming no-mailed-in-payments policy. That's right. She doesn't take checks OR money orders OR cash.
I love her to pieces. She makes me look great.
--
"I'm thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said `I drank WHAT?'"
