richhotrainMIke, it's not a volume thing. From my own experience, I can tell you that it applies to single auctions by low volume sellers as well. In this link, eBay mentions discounts up to 37 percent, but I have experienced discounts up to 54 percent. If you spend some time Googling, you will find commentaries about this. http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/ship-smart/advanced-shipping/shipping-best-practices.html Rich
OK, that's useful. I did see the 35% discount. I'm definitely not 2,500 transactions. I guess my "above standard" status is not "top-rated" quite yet. I don't offer "free shipping" which may be holding me back there, too, as that seems somehow linked?
I start most of my auctions at 99 cents, so the "free shipping" thing is just too risky with my low volume. I'd never be able to cover the losses on auctions that don't go much of anywhere with profits that might be gained from "free shipping" -- which I'd have to pay for regardless.
I should take advantage of Regional Rates for Priority Mail when I can, as that looks easy enough.
This is a good page for buyers to note also, as it lets you know what options are available -- potentially.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Lion ! "Get over it. !" ? That is a very unusual comment from you. Gotta a thotnj stuck in the ole paw ?
YGW,
First....shipping costs have gone up considerably in recent years and the seller needs to recoup his costs for boxes, packing and tape. Some folks even have to pay someone to take shipments to the PO and have to get that money back too.
Second...feebay dictates the shipping costs and they are unreasonably low sometimes and high at times. I tried getting around the stupid cost structure and couldn't so just decided to not sell using feebay and concentrate on several Yahoo Groups. I had an auction for an S scale Overland N&W class A 2-6-6-4 and aux tender I was listing and the automatic feebay shipping calculator listed it with a $7.50 shipping cost. I was unable to change it and my phone call resulted in a comment that was not acceptable to me or the potential buyers. The actual USPS Priority Mail shipping cost for these items was about $54+insurance. They would not let me change it as they "didn't think it was a fair price". I've found USPS PM efficient and fairly cheap.
If you see an item listed you are interested in bidding on contact the seller and ask about working out something better as far as shipping. Most sellers will work with you as they really want to sell their stuff.
Happy hunting!
Roger Huber
Deer Creek Locomotive Works
mlehman richhotrain MIke, it's not a volume thing. From my own experience, I can tell you that it applies to single auctions by low volume sellers as well. In this link, eBay mentions discounts up to 37 percent, but I have experienced discounts up to 54 percent. If you spend some time Googling, you will find commentaries about this. http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/ship-smart/advanced-shipping/shipping-best-practices.html Rich OK, that's useful. I did see the 35% discount. I'm definitely not 2,500 transactions. I guess my "above standard" status is not "top-rated" quite yet. I don't offer "free shipping" which may be holding me back there, too, as that seems somehow linked?
richhotrain MIke, it's not a volume thing. From my own experience, I can tell you that it applies to single auctions by low volume sellers as well. In this link, eBay mentions discounts up to 37 percent, but I have experienced discounts up to 54 percent. If you spend some time Googling, you will find commentaries about this. http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/ship-smart/advanced-shipping/shipping-best-practices.html Rich
I never offer Free Shipping. It is too risky.
The big problem with shipping charges on eBay transactions is that you don't know beforehand where the seller lives (i.e., zip code). Except for USPS Flat Rate, which is a tough way to ship because of the limited box sizes (most are too small), you have to ship in customized boxes, so I keep every cardboard box that we receive in our household.
When I sell an item, I package it beforehand so that I know the size and weight of the box. Living here in Illinois, it will be cheaper to ship to Missouri or Wisconsin or Michigan than to ship to New York, Texas, or California.
But, if you use eBay's default shipping arrangement, it will automatically state a shipping charge based upon the bidder's zip code. But, as I pointed out earlier, the shipping charge is grossly overstated compared to what the seller will eventually be billed for by PayPal. So, this excessive shipping charge tends to discourage a lot of would-be bidders.
Blame eBay, not the seller. A relatively inexperienced seller, selling a used piece of MR equipment, is not going to wind up offering the least expensive shipping charge because he doesn't know better.
Rich
Alton Junction
YGW ...
Sellers pay big fees to Ebay and PayPal ..... It is 15% or more of your total payment including Shipping and Handling.
Your example.
Item Price: $15.00
Shipping and Handling: $7.50
Total .... $22.50.
Estimated fees paid by seller ... 15% X $22.50 = $3.38.
Add that to postage, and you can see that is a reason why sellers must charge so much for Shipping & Handling
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Heartland Division CB&Q YGW ... Sellers pay big fees to Ebay and PayPal ..... It is 15% or more of your total payment including Shipping and Handling. Your example. Item Price: $15.00 Shipping and Handling: $7.50 Total .... $22.50. Estimated fees paid by seller ... 15% X $22.50 = $3.38. Add that to postage, and you can see that is a reason why sellers must charge so much for Shipping & Handling
Small point, but the seller's fees are closer to 13 percent than 15 percent.
One other point. As a seller, I take eBay/PayPal fees into account when I price the starting bid. I do not try to recover my fees as part of the shipping charge.
Of course, either way, the buyer still pays the cost including the winning bid and the shipping charge. But, it rightfully appears more equitable to the buyer to see a fair shipping charge based upon what the seller will actually incur.
Another thing that I take into account as a seller is the fair market value of what I am selling. This is somewhat subjective of course. But say that I bought a locomotive for $150 and now wish to sell it in good condition, believing it to be worth $75 to a buyer. I will set that price as the starting bid without regard to the 13% fee that I will incur as a seller. To me, the eBay/PayPal fee is a cost of doing business with a nationwide set of interested buyers. Where else can I get such a widespread audience?
Rich .. I won't argue with your 13% ... My wife sells other stuff on ebay and her experience is 15% or more, but it is not model railroad items.
In either case, it is a big part of S&H.
Perhaps I do things too simply, since I'm having a difficult time following some of the comments.
I type in the amount of the shipping I will charge when I fill in the form that describes the item...the listing screen. It asks for "shipping". I type in anything from $5.95 to $9.95 depending upon the size of the item I'm selling, knowing that larger boxes take up more mail-truck space and size of box determines shipping price more so than weight (I think).
I usually make about 2 bucks on shipping, because most buyers just pay the reasonable stated shiiping charges right away and don't bother asking for an invoice. The few bucks I make on most of the transactions pay for the few dollars of shipping costs I lose when I have to ship an item to a buyer in CA, (which costs $14.00) and I've only collected $9.95 on shipping.
Most items that I sell can fit into a $12.35 Medium Flat Rate box, so I have a few of those laying around for when I need to ship to the west coast and just eat the few dollars difference.
Of course, I always sell with a high starting bid close to the items market value, so I don't get burned on selling something way underpriced, then have to eat shipping charges because I listed the item with a $7.95 shipping charge and someone from CA buys it.
No matter the buyers' locoation, old Proto locos with the huge bluish box take a medium sized USPS box to ship. If I'm selling one of those, I always list shipping as $11.95 knowing that I'll use one of the Medium Flat Rate boxes at $12.35, then just eat the 40 cents.
- Douglas
Doughless, you are using your own estimates to quote shipping charges, and that is fine. What I am talking about is using eBay's shipping calculator which almost universally overcharges the shipping cost as its default option.
As far as the USPS Medium Flat Rate shipping box is concerned, it is too small for items such as locomotives, set of passenger cars, etc., especially if it is to be packed and insulated properly.
Heartland Division CB&Q Rich .. I won't argue with your 13% ... My wife sells other stuff on ebay and her experience is 15% or more, but it is not model railroad items.
richhotrain As far as the USPS Medium Flat Rate shipping box is concerned, it is too small for items such as locomotives, set of passenger cars, etc., especially if it is to be packed and insulated properly. Rich
Doughless Circling back to the OPs issue, if that loco and set of passenger cars being sold are Tycos worth about $50, the shipping charge will still be the same as if they are a $400 Walthers set.
Circling back to the OPs issue, if that loco and set of passenger cars being sold are Tycos worth about $50, the shipping charge will still be the same as if they are a $400 Walthers set.
Yeah, that's what I meant. A $20 shipping charge isn't a big deal if you're buying a $400 item...its about the price of sales tax or lower. But if shipping is the same $20 for a $50 item, that's way more expensive than the sales tax you'd pay at the LHS.
I think the OP was complaining about paying $7.50 to have his $15 item shipped. The price of the item really has nothing to do with it's shipping costs.
I think ebay and online shops work best for expensive items...not so much for inexpensive items.
I am also a ebay seller as well as a buyer. I dont sell much now on ebay, but from 2005 to 2008 I sould alot. With ebay they want you to use paypal whenever possible which is most of the time. Beside the fee ebay takes (just sold something and ebay took 10% for their cut, but can be as high as 13% to 15%). Paypal also takes about .5% in addition for themselves of the total. Sellers have to be able to make something on the items they are selling.
On a side note, some ov the stuff for sale on ebay is way over priced. I like athearn cars and engines. Someone had 2 athearn cars (part of tropican orange juice train thing) 57 foot cars with a buy it now for $90 plus $7.15 for shipping. The shipping is ok, but the cars to me are high. It has a piece of paper stating they are limited edition, but still.
love any kind of train
richhotrainThe big problem with shipping charges on eBay transactions is that you don't know beforehand where the seller lives (i.e., zip code). Except for USPS Flat Rate, which is a tough way to ship because of the limited box sizes (most are too small), you have to ship in customized boxes, so I keep every cardboard box that we receive in our household
Rick,I hate to disagree but,90% of my e-Bay purchases for locomotive or freight cars comes in a USPS flat rate box and those that don't is either free or the majority being around $6.95.
The 11" x 8-1/2" x 5-1/2" flat rate Priority box is what my MBK orders comes in.
Several of my cars and locomotives I bought off e-Bay came in 11-7/8" x 3-3/8" x 13-5/8" flat rate Priority boxes wraped in bubble wrap.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Larry, a few months back, I made two separate purchases of new BLI steam engines, and each came in a BLI box measuring 13" x 7" x 3", too big to fit into a USPS Medium Flat Rate box which, as you point out, measures only 11 inches.
Those Flat Rate boxes are just not big enough for a lot of MR-related items.
yougottawa...
Here is the deal with shipping. You just have to check shipping on a case by case basis and decide if it's too much or not. That's it. Why get mad really? Just decide what you are willing to tolerate and ignore the rest. It's that way with many things out in the world isn't it? The Corvette is so expensive it makes you mad, so move on and buy a Toyota, or whatever. There, problem solved.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
richhotrainThose Flat Rate boxes are just not big enough for a lot of MR-related items. Rich
True dat but,as we know some manufacturers' boxes seems to be oversize for their content and there are larger flat rate boxes available.
Is that a advertising thing? Perhaps, since those big boxes are eye catchers-you can't miss a Genesis box since its large and colorful as is BLI boxes. .
richhotrain I have under 200 eBay transactions, total, as buyer and seller, so it is not linked to volume.
OK, I believe that, I've just never seen anything close to 35% discount on shipping. Then again, since ebay regularly changes policies and the wbesite, it's pretty hard to keep up with things. Not doubting it may be true, just that if there's a way to do it it's not obvious, so I would caution buyers to not get in a huff if a seller says he or she hasn't a clue about that deep a discount, because how one goes about enabling that is far from obvious.
richhotrainBlame eBay, not the seller. A relatively inexperienced seller, selling a used piece of MR equipment, is not going to wind up offering the least expensive shipping charge because he doesn't know better.
I wouldn't say I'm inexperienced since I've been on ebay since 2000 IIRC and have over 500 feedbacks (100% positive BTW). If ebay wanted people to use this, they could easily make it easy, like the way they started taking a cut of shipping, too...which may be why it's not at all clear how it works.
BTW, I actually have found the shipping calculator to be relatively accurate in the last couple of years after it being all over the place previously. But that's just for the standard 10% discount shipping.
As for them forcing everything onto paypal, I suspect that will change, given they two companies are no longer tied together as they used to be.
mlehman richhotrain I have under 200 eBay transactions, total, as buyer and seller, so it is not linked to volume. OK, I believe that, I've just never seen anything close to 35% discount on shipping. Then again, since ebay regularly changes policies and the wbesite, it's pretty hard to keep up with things. Not doubting it may be true, just that if there's a way to do it it's not obvious, so I would caution buyers to not get in a huff if a seller says he or she hasn't a clue about that deep a discount, because how one goes about enabling that is far from obvious. richhotrain Blame eBay, not the seller. A relatively inexperienced seller, selling a used piece of MR equipment, is not going to wind up offering the least expensive shipping charge because he doesn't know better. I wouldn't say I'm inexperienced since I've been on ebay since 2000 IIRC and have over 500 feedbacks (100% positive BTW). If ebay wanted people to use this, they could easily make it easy, like the way they started taking a cut of shipping, too...which may be why it's not at all clear how it works. BTW, I actually have found the shipping calculator to be relatively accurate in the last couple of years after it being all over the place previously. But that's just for the standard 10% discount shipping. As for them forcing everything onto paypal, I suspect that will change, given they two companies are no longer tied together as they used to be.
richhotrain Blame eBay, not the seller. A relatively inexperienced seller, selling a used piece of MR equipment, is not going to wind up offering the least expensive shipping charge because he doesn't know better.
As to the shipping charge discount of as much as 54 percent, I just checked with my wife who is my packer and shipper. She reminded me that to get the deep discount you have to create your shipping label through eBay and the discount is automatically applied. So, that is the key. Create your shipping label through eBay.
richhotrainhave to create your shipping label through eBay and the discount is automatically applied. So, that is the key. Create your shipping label through eBay.
Yup..Today is July 4th..My order that I bought last night has "shipped" according to e-Bay..What e-Bay should say is your shipping label was printed today..
I like that idea of being notified my order was shipped with the tracking number even though it hasn't been shipped.Very nice touch IMHO..
As someone who both buys and sells on Ebay, I can offer my experience that since I am not a store, packing economically can be difficult. My packing materials are limited to what I can scrounge from work, and what I save from my own purchases.
Also, you must consider the items being sold. I try to combine like items into a lot to save on shipping, but for some items, they are better off by themselves. My experience is that quickest shipping is worth the extra $, and I compensate by starting my auctions low (in some cases ridiculously low).
When you buy, a quick glance through the seller's other items will tell you about why the shipping costs are what they are. Most are also willing to combine shipping when you buy multiple items.
My two cents.
Modeling whatever I can make out of that stash of kits that takes up half my apartment's spare bedroom.
richhotrainMike, I wasn't suggesting that you were an inexperienced eBay seller. I meant that as a general comment. As to the shipping charge discount of as much as 54 percent, I just checked with my wife who is my packer and shipper. She reminded me that to get the deep discount you have to create your shipping label through eBay and the discount is automatically applied. So, that is the key. Create your shipping label through eBay. Rich
Rich,
Nah, didn't take it that way at all. I just wanted to note that, while I make not representations to being big time on ebay, I've been around long enough the obvious should be, well, obvious.
And it's not in this case, which is far from the first time for me to miss things. They're always coming up with new things, but the implementation for the user can range from EZ to Say What?!?
I do create all my postage through ebay, but there's no option at that point to fiddle with the discounts. You have to define what your shipping rules are beforehand is how I undertsand it. Since mine seem to work well enough, never dealt too deeply in that. I suspect that's what your wife meant in terms of how they're enumerated, as they will show when you print the label with postage unless you suppress actual cost on the label.
I suspect the really deep shipping discounts are tied to the regional rates you mentioned earlier when combined with the deepest USPS discounts. I can see those rates going that low and will definitely be looking into them when I make my next auction. The problem will be that these would only apply to packages sent to nearby buyers. Stuff sent from the Midwest to the coasts probably wouldn't benefit, for instance.
I looked at the language on USPS discounts.
USPS discounts for qualified eBay sellers. eBay Top-rated sellers and any seller with an average of 2,500 or more transactions per month now get Commercial Plus Pricing—savings of up to 35%—on domestic Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express shipments. No enrollment is necessary—qualified sellers automatically receive the discount when you pay for postage and print your shipping labels with eBay Labels.
So quantity is a qualifier for the 35%. Or being a Top-Rated Seller. I ship within 1 day of payment, which seems to be the qualifying metric. I suspect my intermittent use may be what's holding things back, no matter how good you are, I suspect doing that every week remains important. Wish I had enough stuff to sell to do that, could use the $$, but I don't.
But the bottom line is "qualified sellers automatically receive the discount" and ebay decides that. No box to check or info to enter.
Buyers of model RR items should keep this in mind, because what they usually care about, once they've decided ebay has assessed you won't rip them off, is the particular item they're bidding on. There is a lot of that out here in the hands of individual sellers who won't be able to offer such substantial discounts, but still offer good value. Sorry about the shipping, but drop them a note and, if like me, they'll see what they can do.
Mike, when using eBay to create the shipping label, I always choose to suppress the shipping charge, not because I am cheating the buyer but rather because you don't know the final discount until the shipping label is printed. In some cases, I have actually refunded a portion of the shipping charge to the buyer if the difference between what the buyer paid and the amount that I incurred is substantial.
As an example, I sold a collectible late last year to a buyer in Atlanta GA, and I live in the Chicago area. When I first listed the item using the eBay default shipping method (Expedited Shipping), the shipping charge appeared in the listing as $33.90. Yikes, that was more than 50 percent of the starting bid for the item. So, I took the listing down and then re-listed using USPS Economy Shipping. At that point, the shipping charge appeared in the listing as $22.80. When I eventually sold the item to the high bidder, I used eBay to print the shipping label. The shipping charge was $10.98. What more can I say?
Yeah, people really should do that when the shipping calculator delivers such a irregualr result. My policy is to refund the difference on shipping if it exceeds $1.
Thing is that most model RR stuff comes in under $50 (excluding high value items like locos, craftsman style kits, etc.) Shipping is going to be at least $5, so right there it's at least 10% of the purchase price, sometimes 20% or more. Older out of production, rare, collectible kits or stuff just unlikely to be found at a LHS any more are big reasons why people shop ebay. It's virtually impossible to find some things any other way. So customers do want what you have IF they're not scared off by shipping costs under those terms.
Guys,I thank those e-Bay sellers that places the real shipping charges in the auctions instead of trumped up shipping you are seeing with e-Bay's shipping costs..
Why is it 99% of the sellers (e-Bay stores) I use places the real shipping costs in their auction or they have you to use the USPS shipping calculator for the real cost.
The hidden dark side is some sellers tries to improve their profit by overcharging shipping costs--we all seen that.Only a fool would pay $12-15.00 for shipping on a single boxcar or locomotive yet there are those that try to charge that while other sellers charge the more realistic $6.95 shipping.. Guess who gets my business?
I'm no stranger to shipping and know it doesn't cost a small fortune to ship a 2-3 cars or 1 or 2 locomotives by using the flat rate boxes..
BRAKIE Guys,I thank those e-Bay sellers that places the real shipping charges in the auctions instead of trumped up shipping you are seeing with e-Bay's shipping costs.. Why is it 99% of the sellers (e-Bay stores) I use places the real shipping costs in their auction or they have you to use the USPS shipping calculator for the real cost.
The one exception is the USPS Flat Rate box, assuming that the item will fit in the box.
When an online retailer like MB Klein posts a fixed shipping charge like $8.99 for example, that may or may not be its real shipping cost. How can it be when the size and dimension, the wieght, and the destination of the shipping box varies by customer? MB Klein either eats some of the cost on larger, heavier packages or it has an agreement with one of the major shippers (Fed Ex, UPS, or USPS) to pay $8.99 on each and every shipment.
Lastly, yes, some sellers quote a fixed shipping charge that is unrealistically large as their way of protecting their profit margin or even making a little extra on the sale.
Rich,Again I'm no stranger to shipping and I know how to double check shipping charges against inflated shipping and why use a large box when a medium or large flat rate box can be used?
I don't want a large cardboard box stuffed with shipping peanuts protecting a bubble wrap car or locomotive that results in higher shipping charges.Use a flat rate box with minimal shipping and the seller with get my money.
Thankfully I never found the need to pay more then $7.95 shipping-exception being a large switch and flex track order from MBK and that was around $12.00.
Larry, the problem here is that you are looking at it from a buyer's perspective, and I am trying to present the issue from a seller's perspective.
Essentially, when a private seller is auctioning used MR stuff on eBay, and is not out to rip off a buyer, he has three options regarding shipping charges.
1. He can offer Free Shipping and try to recover his cost by building it into the starting bid.
2. He can offer a fixed shipping charge and pray that the law of averages will work to his benefit, depending upon the destination of the auctioned item.
3. He can use eBay's automated shipping calculator and hope that potential bidders do not get put off by the stated shipping charge for that bidder's zip code.
It is a real dilemma for the seller when using eBay.
If you have never paid more than $7.95 in shipping charges to buy used MR equipment from a private seller on eBay, then you may have passed up a lot of good deals because the average shipping cost in those instances is certainly higher than $7.95.