Is this considered bad e-bay business?

julen23

Ooops, forgot to type body here...

Anyway, I was bidding on some unopened material on e-bay and the seller (waxpacks.com) had 20 items up for bidding. The items were being sold individually, however the auction indicated that there were 20 available to bid on. I bid on all 20 and was ready to pay and the shipping and handling was $40 (the friggin same price as the items!!!).

I e-mailed the seller and asked them to consolidate s/h charges and they stated that their auction describes their policy towards shipping and handling.

I pose the following question: Is it good business practice to attempt to make profits via s/h charges?

"Shipping & Handling for this item is $6.95. Additional items ordered from us within 72 hours (3 days) may be combined for just $3.00 S&H per additional item unless the item is a single pack of cards in which case the charge is just $1.00 per additional item. Items won more than 3 days apart will not be combined. Combined S&H is calculated by taking the highest base S&H charge for any one item you have won and then adding $3.00 to each additional remaining item(s). "

Julen

MorrellMan

I would consider it bad business in that his s/h policy would keep me from bidding on his auctions. There are lots of sellers like that out there. They clearly describe their excessive terms and I choose to not pay. Not unethical from a seller's standpoint, but certainly bad business since it discourages customers.

baseballfanatic

There are entirely TOO many sellers like that out there. I once purchased 7 cards from someone and the seller still charged me 3.00 each. Of course we all know how the story ends. The seller sent all the cards in a plain envelope with 2 stamps...

packCollector

i think it is bad business but not unethical if it is clearly stated , this is how some deep discount sellers operate. I bought a watch winder and the guy charged $20 shipping and clearly stated that they did not offer shipping discounts. They listed about 8 of the same items a day everyday so i suspect the shipping is what they use to cover costs and any lost revenue from the huge volume. I was happy with the setup as I just kept bidding my amount until I got one.

rbdjr1

Sounds like CU shipping charges to me!

rbd


edit: Order 20 PSA storage boxes from CU, and figure out the shipping costs.
edit: One good thing I noticed on the waxpacks.com Website. They offer a 30 day ruturn/refund on packs.

wick70

According to their description....... your total S&H should come to $25.95.

$6.95 for the original purchase plus (19) additional wax packs at $1.00 per comes to $25.95.


Wick

julen23

My total was $79.95.

12 rack packs for $40 and s/h for $39.95???

I ain't Rick James B$tc$!

Julen

donnnster

Also, I believe that ebay only bills the seller based on the final value of the auction ending price and does not include shipping in their costs...so sellers sometimes charge ridiculous shipping prices because they know ebay isn't taking a cut of whatever they charged for shipping.

Yes I believe its bad business but I guess if they warn us ahead of time, then its fair...but its something that would definitely deter me from buying from them again.

Griffins

One seller flat out told me shipping is where he buries the pay pal and listing costs.

phreakydancin

<< <i>According to their description....... your total S&H should come to $25.95.

$6.95 for the original purchase plus (19) additional wax packs at $1.00 per comes to $25.95.


Wick >>

First let me state that I don't know the seller from Adam. That said, I would say in his defense that his shipping policies have a lot of "if" statements which are impossible to figure into eBay auto-calculating shipping structure. Every "Pay Now" invoice has a line where you can add or subtract a surcharge/discount. Just put in a negative amount in that line and click Recalculate.

I don't see any blatant attempts at ripping you off. I see this all the time. Anyone who has purchased multiple cards from making_the_grade/4_sharp_corners in the past knows that it took them a while to get their shipping charges calculated correctly too.

Tabe

<< <i>There are entirely TOO many sellers like that out there. I once purchased 7 cards from someone and the seller still charged me 3.00 each. Of course we all know how the story ends. The seller sent all the cards in a plain envelope with 2 stamps... >>


By doing that, the seller is committing mail fraud. If the seller refuses to combine shipping costs, then they are obligated to ship the items separately.

Tabe

CDsNuts

I agree. As long as what is spent on shipping is close to what the buyer pays, there's nothing unethical. Here though, it seems like they're trying to profit off shipping charges. I would pay the price and if they don't spend nearly as much on shipping then file a complaint with ebay.

Lee

blacksoxfan

We get shipping complaints about our items all the time, people honestly have no idea what is a fair price for shipping and what isn't. So many sellers on ebay do one of two things: A) Intentionally price shipping too low to increase bidding prices or Intentionally misrepresent what shipping and handling is to cover ebay expenses. That leaves sellers like us...we charge what we pay for the boxes and packing material (often upwards of 7-8 per item) and then add whatever the shipping calculator spits out for ups ground. Unfortunately...the shipping calculator leaves a lot to be desired. Bad prices and does not properly calculate insurance. We have sold only a handful of cards on ebay..but regardless.... we have run into many buyers who either think shipping is A) negotiable or b) don't look at shipping until after the item closes and then complain to us. Other peoples bad practices make us look like we are bad business but we're actually effective and reasonable.

kingraider75

I don't try to make money on S/H charges, but I also don't want to lose money after the whole transaction has taken place. That includes the listing price, ebay fees, and paypal fees. So I try to make sure my S/H will cover these.

Since it won't $40 to ship 20 packs of cards, that's really insane. A sane price would be $10, that at least covers priority mail in the flat rate box, and any fees. It's still a little high, because parcel post on 20 packs would probably be $8.00 or less. Of course if the seller has an account with UPS then the cost is even lower for them.

I agree that's a little too late to do much after you bid and win. The seller obviously knew that someone would overpay to get all the packs, and then hoped they wouldn't care that is S/H is insane. If that's the stated S/H, and you think it's too much, then don't bid.

zef204

Guys its pretty simple. If you don't like the shipping costs, don't bid! Whatever they may be you should do your due diligence to find them out prior to bidding and then decide whether or not you are willing to pay them. And the "mail fraud" comment holds no water.

It has been said time and again on here to factor the s/h into the total cost you are willing to pay for the card/pack/box/set/whatever and bid accordingly. I hate getting bit in the a$$ by s/h charges too, but it happens and I get mad at myself for bidding! If you think our arena has high shipping you should check out some auctions in the electronics field. Guys selling harddrives some times charge $20+ for shipping and those weigh less than a wax box. But they salivate over people who don't pay attention to the $20 s/h prior to bidding and tell the people the are S.O.L when they complain after they win.

I don't mean to come off so harsh, but every few weeks this comes up and honestly if you adjust your bidding to include s/h and factor it into the total you are willing to pay, you will never run into these dilemmas.

That being said, for good customers exceptions should and usually will be made. That is just good business, but for a 1st time customer the rules are clearly stated and cannot be deviated from.


edited to add: Julen, I understand much of what you enetered into was misleading and my remarks are mostly directed at the responses and previous discussions that relate to what I refuted. But I would say that you probably should have asked the seller prior to bidding as his auction and s/h were confusing.

BigRedMachine

<< <i>

<< <i>There are entirely TOO many sellers like that out there. I once purchased 7 cards from someone and the seller still charged me 3.00 each. Of course we all know how the story ends. The seller sent all the cards in a plain envelope with 2 stamps... >>


By doing that, the seller is committing mail fraud. If the seller refuses to combine shipping costs, then they are obligated to ship the items separately.

Tabe >>



Really? That's not exactly a petty crime.

baseballfanatic

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>There are entirely TOO many sellers like that out there. I once purchased 7 cards from someone and the seller still charged me 3.00 each. Of course we all know how the story ends. The seller sent all the cards in a plain envelope with 2 stamps... >>


By doing that, the seller is committing mail fraud. If the seller refuses to combine shipping costs, then they are obligated to ship the items separately.

Tabe >>



Really? That's not exactly a petty crime. >>



It was early when I was on Ebay and my feedback was held hostage. The seller told me the reason he didnt combine shipping was because the cards were on consignment. Before anyone jumps in with a comment, I already knew at the time that that was just about the lamest excuse for the shipping charge. It was just a way to make some profit since the cards went so cheap. It did plainly state in the auction that he did not combine shipping charges. I tried talking with him after the auction and that was when he gave me the "consignment" excuse. I just told him "No big deal, just make sure that they arrive in seperate envelopes". Of course, he sent them all in one. I would leave one feedback at a time, and he would recipricate. He never would leave feedback until I did. This was in the early years of Ebay and I didnt want to risk a negative, so I knew if I left one, that would be what he would leave also. He wasn't a bigtime dealer. He was just a ripoff scum and I knew the game he was playing. I now know to stay away from any auctions of that type because that is how small time crooks make thier profits on Ebay....

cardaholic

I was reading a book on eBay myths, and one of the myths is that eBay gives a hoot about excessive S&H charges. Acccording to the author, they don't. They only care if the most blatant and extreme fee-avoidance is taking place, such as $20 S&H for a small item priced at $1. But they have no interest in sellers who charge $7.50 shipping for a $7.50 item that only costs a dollar to mail, or $39.95 for something that costs $12.50 to send (true on computer peripherals!)

Based on what I see so far in eBay auctions, the author is pretty much correct. These people are clearly building some profit into their S&H, and thus avoiding some final value fees, but they know where the line is and stay on the safe side of it.

JoeBanzai

I agree with zef204, seller sets his prices and if you don't like it, don't bid. What I don't like is when shipping is not stated clearly in item description. When I sold a few items a while back, I charged just what it cost for the supplies and postage, but that was my decision. Sellers have every right to charge for their time. If you don't like their "unfair" prices don't bid.

Outlaw bid retractions.

JoeBanzai

jmbkb4

I recently bought a printer for $50 and shipping was $40.

From a powerseller.

jmbkb4

<< <i>According to their description....... your total S&H should come to $25.95.

$6.95 for the original purchase plus (19) additional wax packs at $1.00 per comes to $25.95.


Wick >>


I was thinking the same thing!!!