Don't You Love Those Open-Ended Shipping Costs?

Machodoc

Never bought anything from this guy, but it's an interesting concept - what would you do if you won an item and then got socked with a $10 shipping fee for one card? Hmmmm...

BTW, this is my first post where I (hopefully) posted a link! Old dogs, etc...


1959 Topps Auction

mariner

Steve.....

Actually, he has some great stuff and is an excellent dealer. I have met him at some shows and he is a good friend of Joe Tauriello whom many on this forum know well. He always has fantastic vintage baseball cards. He won't screw you on the shipping, but priority insured does cost a little more, I think. I agree, his shipping arrangement is a little different.

LateBloomer

Machodoc,

Personally I've sold many of my items on ebay using this same method. As a buyer, I'd rather see "Buyer to pay actual shipping" in a listing than any thing else. Well, let me clarify that statement.... "Free Shipping" might be better!

I purchase a lot of graded cards on eBay and its typical to see $2.50 to $5.50 for shipping a single common card when the actual 1st class postage is only about 60 cents. So remember to factor shipping costs into what you're willing to pay for a given card. I always rationalize that it helps the seller cover costs and also that it's less than I would have to pay for gas to drive somewhere to buy the card. (I live in Colorado where dealers and local card shows are just about extinct... I might have to drive all the way to California to buy a PSA graded card!!!)

I've also dealt with the seller you've linked to and have been happy with my purchases.

Hope that helps...

Machodoc

LB -

First of all, I love the icon! I do have to disagree strongly as a buyer. The fewer unanswered questions going into an auction, the better from my POV. When I bid on something I don't want to have to worry about any open ended items, such as shipping. Unless the costs are specified up front, someone would be 100% permitted in charging me anything they want in s/h AFTER the fact and I personally will never bid on any item that leaves that option open to the seller.

We get a lot of people on these boards whining about excessive shipping charges, and my heart is with them to a degree. I happen to sell only a few times a year to get rid of stuff I have upgraded, and I can say from hundreds of times that a single card in a Staples padded mailer between two pieces of heavy cardboard sent first class costs $1.06. Having said that, if someone states up front that they will charge me $6 for s/h, then I don't whine, I just factor it into my bid and will often not return to their auctions unless it's something I truly need.

So, for my two cents, I will never bid on an item where the s/h is at the seller's discretion, as the beautiful thing about eBay is that if I miss a particular bus, another one always comes around that is not so expensive to ride....

scottsusor

As a buyer I prefer to see a fixed cost. As a seller, I believe the buyer should know up front what's he/she will be paying for shipping. My main concern is when people don't understand all of what goes into shipping cost. Its not just the exact money paid to ship. If you package things up appropriately and securely, you also have to factor in the cost of your packaging materials and the time it takes you to do the packaging and get the item to the post office. I think a lot of people think -- "Aw, all that stuff should be free." And let's not forget that eBay charges a fee, and so does PayPal for business accounts. If you sell a lot of stuff, you'll soon find out that you are spending lots of money on fees and shipping materials, and lots of time packaging, and getting $0 for it, thereby getting a much lower "net income" than you should be. And unlike straight retailing, once you put an item up for AUCTION (other than a Reserve Price, and most people don't like those), you have no control over what you end up getting for it, so you can't "build in" a cost of sales other than setting a reasonable shipping cost.

Scott

marty

As a seller, I list a fixed cost for shipping at what I expect the card to sell for. If the card sells for a higher amount, and I have to pay more for insurance, I figure that I have a higher selling price than I planned on and I can cover the added expense out of the added income.