SHIPPING/HANDLING

FIRE760

I just bought a coin on an e-bay auction for $20.50.
The shipping & handling was $4.00 + $1.30 for insurance.
I received the coin today in a folded up 9x12 manila envelope and a small piece of bubble wrap. The postage was $0.60 No names memtioned, but who does this guy think he is Columbia House or Book of the Month?

That is the last time I'll bid on one of his auctions

Placid

Who was it so I can avoid them as well ?

gmarguli

You should have factored the shipping into your bid. That way it doesn't matter.

airplanenut

I would think it matters... a big envelope can tear if not protected, and a small coin could fall out... if you pay for insurance, you sure as hell should get it in case the coin does fall out... he frauded you and i would give him appropriate feedback as such (unless he refunds you)...

Jeremy

gsaguy

I hate receiving coins in standard envelopes but it's amazing how many dealers ship them that way. It surely is a lot nicer to see your prize arrive alive!!

GSAGUY

canadiancoinguy

Always take into account what the seller is charging for S/H. I usually avoid anyone who charges more than $2.50 unless it includes insurance, or if it's an heavy lot.

gemseeker

I got several of my coins in a plain envelope, or in that sticky cardboard in a manila envelope.

halfnut

I charged 3.50 for priority mail and 1.10 for insurance my last Auction - forgot about the rate increase so I lost money on shipping. I do hate paying 3.50 or more for shipping and getting a package that cost less then a buck to send. I will not bid on a auction if shipping is more the 4.00 dollars ( 5.00 if that includes insurance ) and if i get a cheap package and paid priority money I will put them on my dreaded black list.
Sellers should not be making money off of shipping. IMO


Dan

U S NAVY WITH PRIDE

Bikingnut

I would definitely let the seller know that I wanted a refund for the lack of insurance and lack of appropriate shipping materials.

tompkins

Two notes along the lines of "devil's advocate" here.

1. You knew the shipping charge before you bid. You should consider that in your bid amount.

2. On small items, I offer buyers the opportunity to buy insurance (usually for $1.00). I never buy USPS insurance for items less than $50.00 because it is such a time-consuming hassle to collect. Instead, if anyone ever buys a coin from me and pays for insurance, if they tell me they didn't receive the coin (or it was damaged), I just send them a check to refund their money --- it's only happened once and I sent the buyer his total purchase price, including the $2.50 he paid for shipping and insurance. This seller may do the same thing. So some may have thought I scammed them out of the cost of insurance, but I am merely selling them insurance for the same (or less) than the post office and being a lot easier about paying off. Anyone who thinks that is dishonest, please put me on your "don't bid" list!! For anything over $50 I do buy USPS insurance.

You might ask why I don't tell people---if someone knows in advance I am doing this, I feel I am just asking to be scammed. If someone complains once they receive a coin, then, at least, I know they got it, so they cannot claim non-receipt. If they say it is damaged, I'll pay them and ask to have the damaged coin returned (at least i think I'd ask for the coin back---it's never happened). If someone one wants to scam me for less than $50, they probably need the money more than I anyway.

One more piece to this: I formerly sent coin inside sticky cardboard in a #10 envelope. I have received so many coins that way, including coins from large reputable dealers, that I never saw a problem. Until one day, two different coins to two different people arrived with the slabs broken in half!! Fortunately, in both cases, the coins weren't damaged and a simple re-holder fixed the problem --- but I learned and send things differently now. Again, perhaps your seller is operating out of ignorance (as I was) rather than greed.

Pete

gtx

quit complaining, there is a wayne gretzky card on ebay right now, current high bid is just over $15,000, would u like to guess S&H if u win? how about $150!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
plus the seller has a rating of 11000+, he's no novice, but how does one justify such practices, even if it is sent next day air, still sounds like a ripoff to me

UncleJoe

tompkins, I agree with your post.

The only problem I have is with shoddy packaging, especially if shipping is $4.00 and no insurance.
I do not purchase insurance for items under $50. as in the long run I don't think it is worth it. So far there have been no problems. But I would hate to think I paid $4. for shipping and the coin turn up missing because of shoddy packaging and then have the seller tell me I should have purchased insurance.
That would not sit very well with me. Thankfully that has not happened to me (yet). I can imagine that it has happened to someone though.

Joe.

BAJJERFAN

I recently had an insured package show up in my mailbox no signatured needed. Value was $200. Seller asked for $4 for insurance. It was obvious he did not purchase insurance. I photocopied the package as received and sent a copy to him. Since he could not offer proof he purchased ins I asked for a refund which he sent even tho he was not obligated to do so. However had the package gotten lost he would have been on the hook for the $$ or the coin. He was lucky that I am honest as I could have said I never got the coin and he would have no proof to the contrary. If you are going to charge a hefty fee for S&H and ins at least make sure the item is well packed and properly insured.

DRG

I always simply think of the S&H as part of the purchase price and bid accordingly. From the sellers point of view S&H is a time consuming part of the business that you deserve to be paid for. Furthermore the S&H part is not calculated by Ebay for there fees so it is money you actually get. That is why I simply include iy in the purchase price and don't give it another thought. Not bidding on reasonbly or low priced coins because of the S&H doesn't make sense to me especially if even with the S&H fee you are still getting a great deal. I think you have to look at the whole picture.

baccaruda

i avoid bidding on anything that mentions "handling". he priced shipping to make it look like he would be shipping priority mail, then went the cheapest possible route. if you complain he'll just say "you agreed to handling charges".

i just went through it with a seller on ebay. i bought a tiny 1 ounce, garage-sale filagree onyx ring for my girlfriend. the auction said i had to use priority mail, which was my fault for not seeing. then the seller tells me to send $7 shipping for something that should cost maybe 75¢ to ship. we get into a huge e-mail shouting match over a $5 ring because he wants to charge me HANDLING on top of an already inflated shipping bill. supposedly for "quality packing material" and "gas to the post office" which of course is a million miles away.

told him that if he's too good to handle his own merchandise he should put it in the listing or not sell on ebay. so finally he agrees to only $5.15 shipping. days later i get a priority mail package in pristine condition that's stuffed with newspapers. the ring had been bent intentionally and you can see a flat spot on the silver where it had been struck with something. it was easy to fix but it ticked me off. i'm thinking doing some feedback sniping on this one - as it's a mexican standoff on feebback right now.

alright i'm done ranting...

dakra

>I just bought a coin on an e-bay auction for $20.50.
>The shipping & handling was $4.00 + $1.30 for insurance.
>I received the coin today in a folded up 9x12 manila envelope and a small piece of bubble wrap. The >postage was $0.60 No names memtioned, but who does this guy think he is Columbia House or Book of >the Month?

Fire,
As per my previous thread, I spend $110 on a proof set. The Seller placed them in a manilla envelope, did not fold it, did not have any bubble wrap, charged me $5 for shipping while the shipping was $1.75. Said he shipped priority but it was sent third class. He did tape the top of the envelope.. but not the bottom... The envelope could have ripped and I would have just received an empty envelope

Since it arrived safetly, I decided to give him a positive but before I could, he sent me an email requesting that I leave him feedback... to me, that's not right, especially since he has yet to leave me feedback. I emailed him and told him I'm awaiting his feedback... no response yet

I hate to make a bigger deal than it really is but I think in the future, I am going to ask how the person ships (package/delivery method) and will make suggestions on how to ship. I could have opened up the envelope and found a cracked case but both me and the seller got lucky.

-David

coindaughter

A question for you: we plan on shipping most everything priority mail. We can print labels and pay on-line, and shipping boxes are free, and it is not much more than parcel post for most items. We pack carefully, and we charge exact shipping cost.

But, what do you buyers prefer...priority or parcel post?

newbiecollector

For what it may be worth I want to offer my observations and personal experiences.
As some of you may know I am not in the USA, I am located in Norway. Every time before I purchase a coin or bid on a coin I ask if the seller will ship international (most won't)...I always....ALWAYS say I will pay all extra posting costs and request it be air mail. I also ask for good packaging to avoid damage.
Some sellers insist that I take insurance..I do it with no question. It is my understanding that insurance for items posted outside of the USA is nothing more than a scam. No way for the seller to prove anything other than it went to the clearing house (end of US post responsibility) and zero chance for the overseas buyer to try and assist.
I always say I will take the full risk on shipping.

NOW...... When my coin(s) arrive.... and everyone has! and the quality of the package is porr to bad...it does upset me. I suggest paying more than I know is necessary for a little consideration... I accept I must "pay to play" and I will never have a seller loose on one of my deals.

So why is there such a lot of seller, in the USA, that sell local, ship local and treat their customers like.. well I can't type that word.

My 2 cents worth or if you don't have 2 cents send a Morgan!

crito

lets do the math: $5 silver coin realizes $3.70 because the bidders factor in the $.80 first class shipping and the $.50 packaging into max bids . eBay takes approximately another $.70 in insertion, final value, and billpoint fees. Just sold a $5 coin for $3 NET and didn't even get any feedback. Then, to add insult to injury, the IRS sends you a 15% SS bill on the $3 too. Or I could get $3.50 selling it locally as scrap silver and save myself a lot of hassle. Pity the numismatic world had to lose another nice coin to the smelter.

coinnerd

It appears that I am guilty of shipping coins improperly. What would you consider a good method of packaging coins for the mail?

TheNumish

I buy 00 size padded envelopes off ebay and then put the coin in a safety mailer. never had a problem. When I first started I had a problem with slabs breaking in the mail when using a regular #10 envelope.

Even if the item is only $1 if the person pays the $3 mailing fee I insure it. Pete's thoery of not insuring items under $50 makes complete sense to me and I have palyed with the idea of doing that. I'm just afraid my customers will feel ripped off. Pete has anyone complained about it?

baccaruda

i don't care what shipping is. i factor shipping into the final price and then decide who's price is best. i understand that seller's have to ship the coin and no seller i've EVER dealt with has had to eat shipping costs - at worst they break even and usually profit from it slightly - so the boo-hoo story on seller's expenses doesn't really move me.

i had a dealer do that to me before. he screwed me on an SAE proof by not disclosing that everything was missing with the item (typically sellers disclose that an item is not complete - particularly the SAE proof). when i went to pick up the coin (it happened to be local) i balked when he handed me a raw coin. he worked the "quick screw" as i call it by listing a very reasonable BIN price that suckers you in. when you realize you've been screwed later it's not possible to retract your bid. Anyway he then gets out magazines and ads and this and that trying to prove that i got a great deal. he points to this guy that would buy the coin for $3 more than me and he could avoid auction fees.

i asked him why he didn't sell it to him then. he couldn't answer. he changed the subject and tried to make it sound like he was some kind of philanthropic coin dealer playing robin hood for the little guy. like if he didn't provide this raw 91 SAE proof for me, no one would.

bottom line - if coins yield more profit outside of ebay then that's where the seller will sell them. if a coin is worth more melted, then melt it. it's all a big laissez-faire market and let's not pretend that sellers are costing themselves money using ebay. they're there for one reason - it is in some way beneficial for them to use ebay.

silverandvinyl

I do not do business with sellers who make a profit on shipping and handling.If they rip you off on this end,what ya think there going to do with the product?If you are going to purchase a coin that list for the MAX.value and they throw a shipping charge of $4.00,then handling $1.30 and ins of $1.10(I've had this happen to me)It would take 2 or 3 years for you do break out even.We all do enough shipping to know where the price range is.When I want to bid on something,the first thing I look at is the S+H and the Ins.If it's not in line I will not bid.Then I will send the seller e-mail and tell him/her why I did not bid on their product.

baccaruda

i think a seller can charge whatever they want for shipping as long as it's clearly stated.

at $30 close with $5 shipping is the same as a $5 close with $30 shipping in my eyes - makes no difference to me.

FIRE760

In my origional post I wasn't complaining about the way he shipped the coin. Maybe I should! What I was complaining about was his cost of shipping and what he charged me. He put the coin in a minila envelope (cost .05), used bubble wrap and postage was .60.

Yes I knew the cost of S/H before I bid, but I feel ripped off at the difference.

IMHO I think the best way is a bubble wrap envelope (50 cents) and insure it if the buyer pays for the insurance. For 4.00 it should go priority.

Placid

<< <i>A question for you: we plan on shipping most everything priority mail. We can print labels and pay on-line, and shipping boxes are free, and it is not much more than parcel post for most items. We pack carefully, and we charge exact shipping cost.

But, what do you buyers prefer...priority or parcel post? >>



I prefer priority just make sure you get a signature either way.

Pushkin

This thread brings back fond memories of my first eBay coin purchase, which I have been waiting for a long time to share with others.
I paid about $7.50 for "insured shipping and handling". The coin arrived in a beat-up plain manila envelope with a red "insured" stamp on it. When I called the dealer to complain he replied "What's the problem, it happens all the time! - the coin probably won't come out of the slab, just don't take a bath with it!". I'm sure he was ROFL. Yes, those good old days as a newbie on eBay.