Guys, this thread comes up from time to time. Bottom line, READ the sellers shipping rules. If you have any questions, email them PRIOR to bidding. Don't expect the seller to change the rules for you after you bid, than come to a message board and whine about it. Build the shipping charges into your bid (if you believe they are too high) and go live life.
I won 26 raw 1973 cards from him, all on the same day. His s/h terms do state $2 plus 50 cents each additional. Nonetheless, I pleaded with him to charge me a reasonable amount for the lots.
When I read something like this, no insight is necessary. Maybe the next thread that needs to be started is " Buyers who agree to sellers terms, than decide to reneg after deal is done"
I never post messages to these boards, this is my first. When I saw this thread pop up I thought that this would be a perfect avenue to explain why I charge what I do for shipping on my Ebay sales; I get a fair amount of complaints about how much I charge for shipping (for nearly all of my sales I charge $7.00). I do get a lot of people on Ebay claiming that they will never buy from me due my shipping fees. I'm going to try to break down what goes into a shipping charge of $7.00:
1) UPS is my prefered way to ship. I am a one man operation (occasionally I have help on heavy shipping days) and UPS comes by to pick up my packages every day between 3:00 and 3:30 pm. US mail will sometimes be 50-75 cents cheaper but their pick up time is about 1-2 hours before I get to my office so anything that is going US mail requires a trip to the post office. I do go to the post office 2-3 times per week to accomidate customers that have P.O. boxes or specify U.S. mail. The base cost for shipping a package either way(UPS or US mail) is anywhere from $5 to $6.50.
2) I never ship anything in padded envelopes, it is a very unsafe way to ship collectibles. If the envelope gets dropped, bent, or mis-handled in any way the chances of something getting damaged is greatly increased. It just seems wrong that a card could survive 30++ years in realatively good shape just to get damaged in transit on the last leg of it's journey. When I ship, each card (or group of cards) is padded (usually with a padded envelope or bubble wrap) then placed in a box with shipping peanuts. The cost to me for these shipping materials runs about $1, probably a little more.
3) On everything I ship, I request signature confirmation. US mail charges over $1 for this. Some people ask that I just ship their items without signature confirmation, I have no interest in this. I know that this will sound odd to honest buyers of cards but of all of the items I've shipped without signature confimation I've had problems with about 40% of them. 100% of all items that I've shipped that have resulted in loss have been from shipments not requesting signature confirmation.
4) INSURANCE! I do not buy insurance from any of the carriers that I ship with. I carry a seperate policy that covers shipments. This policy covers all of my shipments and the cost to me ends up being between $1.50 and $10 per Ebay shipment.
I understand why buyers would want cheaper shipping, they have the first and last right of refusal for any transaction. If a card does not arrive or arrive to them in the condition that they were buying they can either request a refund or recall their PayPal payment without even contacting the seller. When a seller ships their item(s) it is out of their hands.
Thanks for reading this long-winded entry to this thread,
"The base cost for shipping a package either way(UPS or US mail) is anywhere from $5 to $6.50."
Are you serious, Louis?
How heavy of a package are you shipping for that price? Surely, not one slabbed card? Or even two slabbed cards. Or, three slabbed cards.
I certainly respect the diligence and the dedication you put into your shipping...as I said above, I would never begrudge a seller who puts effort into his packaging the opportunity to make a buck. But still...
Bottom line...I guess fabfrank was right a couple of posts ago. There's not much we can do about crazy s/h costs except to not pay them. So, effective immediately: I quit whining about them.
funny thing is...if the costs were made reasonable....and you got more sales from it..and repeat business builds itself...wouldn't it make more sense to do so??
I.E. hire a high school kid for $7.50/hr. to help you with shipping and go to the P.O. ..keep the standards up....but lower your cost to the customer! If you loose $5K in sales a month due to high shipping...is it better to just turn your back on it, or to try to capture it?
Sorry, but I use 400 ct boxes or Priority Mail boxes (which are FREE) and bubble wrap...packing peanuts...or padded envelopes...but $5-$6.50 an order..cummon. 6 graded cards, wrapped in plastic...bubble wrapped and sent with peanuts in a 400 ct box comes to just around $2.00...maybe $3.00 if it's coast to coast..and King Kong would have a hard time getting through my packing!!
I just think that if someone knows they are loosing sales..then they should think about what they need to do to tweak their business practices.
And yes, protecting your back against scammers is another problem... As far as delivery confirmation....if they do not sign for it....it does NOT matter to Paypal....BUT with simply getting insurance for say $60..protects you in 2 ways...they HAVE to sign for anything over $50...the item is insured (for far less than your company seems to be charging)....again 2 birds with one stone..
The whole insurance/signature deal is a scam anyways...anyone ever try to get payment from the P.O.?? it can be done..but they try to skirt all responsiblity 1st..blame the packing....or labeling...and not take the blame... I had a glass canister set come in for my fiance....it was a SET of 4...it was packed awesome from the vendor...but came with black streaks and dents all over the box. It obviously fell off a conveyour...or was hit with a fork lift... ONE of the canisters was broken....the Post Office response: Give me back 25% of the insured value, as the other 3 were fine!! It's a SET....
and lastly...even if they sign for it...even if you can prove you mailed it....they can always just say...."Item not as advertised"..or package empty upon receipt....
In trying to protect ourselves from the scammers, we all take difference measures to try to limit it. But it's a cost of doing business....not the honest customers fault!!
All I know is that if I could cut my costs alittle and get a helper....and add to sales...it will more than pay for itself in the long run! (one kid- $150 a week to help out.....#1 it gives you more time to list/scan and sell more..#2 the capturing of lost sales should easily pay for the helper...now...how much can you get done with 2-3 helpers??)
It's not a rant...and we all have out own opinions...but there has to be a better way. If not....the customers will just keep on walking!!
Louis> You mention that your shipping charge is $7 and it does sound like a lot - especially for 1 card. However, your auctions say "Multiple purchases may be combined to save on shipping." How about some details? Considering UPS charges for a minimum of 1 pound, I would guess that that you could probably ship up to about 7 cards with almost no increase in your costs. I would argue that -
"Buyer pays $7 shipping and insurance if inside the US. All items are shipped UPS unless you request otherwise. Multiple purchases may be combined to save on shipping."
Sure, $7 is a lot to pay for shipping on 1 card. But if you clearly illustrate the incentive for people to win multiple items, I think it will make your shipping charges easier to swallow. I think a lot of eBay card buyers are a little cynical when they see something as vague as "Multiple purchases may be combined to save on shipping". All you have to do to see this is go back in this thread and see the complaints about Fairway54's shipping (something like $5 for 1st card + $0.50 each addtl with no max).
If you can make it clear that sure, the first card is $7 - BUT - if you win 7 cards from me, the shipping is $1 each. . .then I think most of the complaints stop - AND - I think you'll see more people bidding on multiple items.
Here's a suggestion for sellers who handle quite a few items. I find it works especially well for PSA graded cards.
I use stamps.com.
They charge a monthly fee of about $15. For that, you can print postage right at your desk from any printer or computer. You can use plain paper for most. When you sign up, you get a free scale to weigh your stuff. You can send virtually everything from home. For anything over $20 I ship via delivery confirmation which is .45 ( I think) thru the Post office, but less than half that with stamps.com. That savings just about pays for the monthly fee and gives me the security of knowing my pkg is tracked but I don't have to go to the post office. I can leave pkgs right at my mailbox..or for larger ones, schedule a pickup by USPS. I can also insure pkgs thru stamps.com with one more click.
I find it to be an incredible time saver and convenience. They usually have a promotion where you get some free postage (usually quite a lot) to start with along with the scale when you sign up. Sounds like a commercial I guess, but I've been very happy with them and when I read stuff like what was just posted here, I feel smarter than I actually am!
I also use the automated postal kiosks that are popping up at post offices all over. They're very easy to use when the lines are long.
I've purchased from LouisBollman in the past. I'm glad he has decided to post to give his side of a sellers story. Now I'm primarily a buyer on Ebay. When I do sell items it is usually to fellow board members or other collectors who contact me directly. In defense of Louis he is correct in his shipping charges. I recently sent 7 85 topps football cards to board member ArnyVee. They were shipped in the brown box (free) that PSA sends our cards in. Total cost with insurance and delivery Confirmation $7.90 Postage was $4.05, Insurance 3.35, Delivery Confirmation .50. If anyone wants to post the pic of the postal receipt I have that too. So even if I dropped the insurance and delivery confirmation, and not include the cost of the bubble wrap and packing (free also). The minimum via priority mail would be $4.05 Still more than around the $2 that people think it costs to ship. Now granted, this is one instance. But I'm showing the actual cost which is right where Louis claims is costs are. I than decided to compare the shipping of the packages I received Saturday. Here the item #'s if anyone wants to check. Now this is not to disparrage any of the sellers. I agreed to the shipping charges when I bid on their items and will be leaving positive feedback to them all this afternoon. All cards were shipped in yellow lighly padded envelopes with little or no protection. Here goes: Item# 8752845885 Shipping $1.50 Actual charge .87 cents Item# 8752355131 Shipping $2.00 Actual charge $1.47 Item# 8748867464 Shipping $3.00 Actual charge .52 cents Item# 8752407620 Shipping $5.00 Actual charge $1.98 Item# 8752761031 Shipping $2.25 Actual charge .63 cents
Bottom line. Everyone overcharges on shipping. Whether its .50 cents or $5. Like I said in my previous post Bottom line, READ the sellers shipping rules. If you have any questions, email them PRIOR to bidding. Don't expect the seller to change the rules for you after you bid, than come to a message board and whine about it.
Sorry Frank, not everyone overcharges on shipping.
Read my sig line.
A simple promotion to get my store up and running has worked wonders. I can ship most items for $1.49 with delivery confirmation and I'm glad to eat it for the amount of sales the free s&h promotion has generated.
Bob C.
EDIT: I do agree with your second bottom line:READ the sellers shipping rules. If you have any questions, email them PRIOR to bidding. Don't expect the seller to change the rules for you after you bid, than come to a message board and whine about it.
Fabfrank> Actually, for what you seem to have described, UPS is even cheaper. $6.69 for a 1 pound box via UPS Ground from Chicago to LA insured for $100. That's the rate if you're dropping off at a customer counter. If you set up your business with a UPS account (as Louis implied he has), the cost drops to less than $5. With every UPS shipment, you get a signature confirmation and the first $100 of insurance included.
I do agree that by bidding, the bidder is saying he's read the shipping terms and is OK with them. However, not everyone overcharges for shipping.
I noticed they have shipping charges in clear bold numbers right there for each item practically underneath the current price. It also says "Meet the Seller" there by your handle. Probably not a bad idea since many older folks I know of, think you are actually buying the stuff from ebay, not some other person.
the worst is when you pay a high shipping cost and have to wait weeks to get the card and ask the seller if its shipped yet.
What is even worse then that is to pay minutes after an auction ends, pay the high shipping and then wait 2 weeks before you can email and ask if it has been mailed yet. i
<< <i>Is anyone else here fed up with dealers overcharging with sihpping costs??
I need to vent.
I got a package this morning from a dealer that shall remain namless for now. I won three common cards from him. Well, the shipping was $5 for the first card and $1 for each additional. Now don't get me wrong, I do not mind paying that much for shipping as long as the cards are sent for that much...i.e....priority mail, or insured or so on.
Considering when ever I sell a card, I do splurge on the shipping of the card, making sure the paerson that gets them is happy and they are well protected. Also when ever I send something it is always sent priority mail and usually with a return receipt. Since it is rare when I do sell something, I want to make sure people get what they pay for.
When I got the package, it was a sinlge bubble envelope (cost approx. 50 cents) and the postage label on it was for a whopping $1.35.
So said dealer paid a whole $2 for shipping my cards, and pocketed the other $5 that I sent him.
What is everyone elses thoughts on this.
Rob Ruth >>
Absolutely!another thing I do not like is when I emailed a seller no names mentioned that I was intrested in a half dozen or so of his graded cards but needed to know what the shipping price would be as there was no S/H indications whatsoever the seller never replied that is just as irritating as what you mention.
<< <i>the worst is when you pay a high shipping cost and have to wait weeks to get the card and ask the seller if its shipped yet. >>
In one defense to this, Post Offices vary considerably throughout the country. I used to live in Phoenix and the Postal Service there is great. I never had a problem with stuff getting there in 2-3 days. I now live near Cleveland and it's a joke here. Everything goes great most of the time and then all of a sudden, a couple items take 2 weeks to get there. I think everything is fine and then the "where is my item" emails start rolling in. Some people are really rude about it too right off the bat even though my feedback is perfect. Everything always shows up eventually. It's just frustrating when about 1 in every 100 packages seems to take a couple weeks.
Hey Wabbittwax...where near Cleveland??? I'm out Parma way.....my horror stories near Cleveland all started when the mailman switched....had the same guy for about ten years and then he was transferred...guess he was doing too good of a job....now it's an adventure for me also...I get items with postmarks ten to fourteen days old...it is almost like they store them somewhere and then whammo eight things at once....
The worlds worst is packersportsworld. No combined shipping, no response when inquiring. Made the mistake assuming they couldn't possible charge me $32 to ship $32 (16 - $2 Lots) worth of cards. WRONG! They did. I'll never go back, ever.
I figure the cost into my bids. If I am willing to pay $40 for something and he is charging $5 s/h then my bid is $35. I only look at the total cost to me for the item and as long as it arrives safe, I am happy.
My sentiment as well.
Now looking for a 1950 Bowman Baseball Box as pictured below.
A word of caution to all about ISOLDIT auctions (operating out of Washington state) which I think are some type of eBay listing service franchise. I won 4 auctions from the for 4 different baseball cards and didn't bother to click on the link to estimate the cost of shipping before placing my bids. After the auctions ended, I received 4 invoices telling me the shipping charge was $10 per lot and could not be combined. I ended up having to pay $40 to have them ship 4 single cards to me (each worth about $20)!
At first I thought the jacked up shipping charges might be due to the fact that I live in Hawai, however when i changed the mailing address to a Southern California address, I got the same message. It turns out the only other option that was cheaper was if I paid $5 per lot to pick up the card in person at their bricks & mortar address.
The cards arrived in 4 different envelopes that were comprised entirely out of free Priority Mail postage supplies from USPS. We're talking not only the envelopes, but also the clear mailing label adhesive sleeve that held a copy of the eBay invoice printout, and priority mail stickers substituting for scotch tape. Obviously, the $10 per lot was not used to pay for any shipping supplies.
I have since seen other ISOLDIT franchise listings and noticed that one lowered their minimum shipping charge to $8 and that additional lots could be shipped together for an extra $1 per item. Still not a great deal but still way better than the $40 i paid to 4 single cards mailed to me.....
alnavman, I live in Orwell. It's about 40 miles east of Cleveland. I go up to Mentor a lot but that's usually about as far west as I go unless I'm going to the flats or something.
blue227, I think I would have opted for the negatives. 4 negatives would have stunk but $40 isn't right. Granted your fault was to even bid on the item but that doesn't give them the right to rip you off. That's like saying that it is ok for a used car salesman to sell you a lemon just because you signed on the dotted line.
I seriously thought about taking the 4 negatives but i've recently been more active in selling things and thought it would hurt my overall selling efforts. It was an expensive lesson to learn and one i hope others won't repeat after reading my post.
Some Buckeyes here! I'm in Richland COunty, near Mansfield!
I charge 2.50 for shipping in a bubble mailer with Del. Con. I take the card or cards and wrap them in a piece of cardboard, tape it closed and then put in the mailer.....tape the mailer.
My dad actually buys the cardboard things for his 45rpm record selling and of course we buy the bubble mailers. 2.50 seemed like a very fair amount judging from some conversations with others and from perusing feebay card listings.
goose, do you know a good place to buy the cardboard inserts? I'd love to ship that way but I hate cutting up cardboard. I'd like a quicker way to do it.
As for Ohio, there is a TON of collector's here. In Arizona, there aren't as many. I've noticed also NY state has a ton, seems like I'm always shipping there.
Comments
Build the shipping charges into your bid (if you believe they are too high) and go live life.
Steve
When I read something like this, no insight is necessary. Maybe the next thread that needs to be started is " Buyers who agree to sellers terms, than decide to reneg after deal is done"
1) UPS is my prefered way to ship. I am a one man operation (occasionally I have help on heavy shipping days) and UPS comes by to pick up my packages every day between 3:00 and 3:30 pm. US mail will sometimes be 50-75 cents cheaper but their pick up time is about 1-2 hours before I get to my office so anything that is going US mail requires a trip to the post office. I do go to the post office 2-3 times per week to accomidate customers that have P.O. boxes or specify U.S. mail. The base cost for shipping a package either way(UPS or US mail) is anywhere from $5 to $6.50.
2) I never ship anything in padded envelopes, it is a very unsafe way to ship collectibles. If the envelope gets dropped, bent, or mis-handled in any way the chances of something getting damaged is greatly increased. It just seems wrong that a card could survive 30++ years in realatively good shape just to get damaged in transit on the last leg of it's journey. When I ship, each card (or group of cards) is padded (usually with a padded envelope or bubble wrap) then placed in a box with shipping peanuts. The cost to me for these shipping materials runs about $1, probably a little more.
3) On everything I ship, I request signature confirmation. US mail charges over $1 for this. Some people ask that I just ship their items without signature confirmation, I have no interest in this. I know that this will sound odd to honest buyers of cards but of all of the items I've shipped without signature confimation I've had problems with about 40% of them. 100% of all items that I've shipped that have resulted in loss have been from shipments not requesting signature confirmation.
4) INSURANCE! I do not buy insurance from any of the carriers that I ship with. I carry a seperate policy that covers shipments. This policy covers all of my shipments and the cost to me ends up being between $1.50 and $10 per Ebay shipment.
I understand why buyers would want cheaper shipping, they have the first and last right of refusal for any transaction. If a card does not arrive or arrive to them in the condition that they were buying they can either request a refund or recall their PayPal payment without even contacting the seller. When a seller ships their item(s) it is out of their hands.
Thanks for reading this long-winded entry to this thread,
Louis Bollman
Are you serious, Louis?
How heavy of a package are you shipping for that price? Surely, not one slabbed card? Or even two slabbed cards. Or, three slabbed cards.
I certainly respect the diligence and the dedication you put into your shipping...as I said above, I would never begrudge a seller who puts effort into his packaging the opportunity to make a buck. But still...
Bottom line...I guess fabfrank was right a couple of posts ago. There's not much we can do about crazy s/h costs except to not pay them. So, effective immediately: I quit whining about them.
Nick
I.E. hire a high school kid for $7.50/hr. to help you with shipping and go to the P.O. ..keep the standards up....but lower your cost to the customer! If you loose $5K in sales a month due to high shipping...is it better to just turn your back on it, or to try to capture it?
Sorry, but I use 400 ct boxes or Priority Mail boxes (which are FREE) and bubble wrap...packing peanuts...or padded envelopes...but $5-$6.50 an order..cummon. 6 graded cards, wrapped in plastic...bubble wrapped and sent with peanuts in a 400 ct box comes to just around $2.00...maybe $3.00 if it's coast to coast..and King Kong would have a hard time getting through my packing!!
I just think that if someone knows they are loosing sales..then they should think about what they need to do to tweak their business practices.
And yes, protecting your back against scammers is another problem...
As far as delivery confirmation....if they do not sign for it....it does NOT matter to Paypal....BUT with simply getting insurance for say $60..protects you in 2 ways...they HAVE to sign for anything over $50...the item is insured (for far less than your company seems to be charging)....again 2 birds with one stone..
The whole insurance/signature deal is a scam anyways...anyone ever try to get payment from the P.O.?? it can be done..but they try to skirt all responsiblity 1st..blame the packing....or labeling...and not take the blame...
I had a glass canister set come in for my fiance....it was a SET of 4...it was packed awesome from the vendor...but came with black streaks and dents all over the box. It obviously fell off a conveyour...or was hit with a fork lift...
ONE of the canisters was broken....the Post Office response: Give me back 25% of the insured value, as the other 3 were fine!! It's a SET....
and lastly...even if they sign for it...even if you can prove you mailed it....they can always just say...."Item not as advertised"..or package empty upon receipt....
In trying to protect ourselves from the scammers, we all take difference measures to try to limit it. But it's a cost of doing business....not the honest customers fault!!
All I know is that if I could cut my costs alittle and get a helper....and add to sales...it will more than pay for itself in the long run!
(one kid- $150 a week to help out.....#1 it gives you more time to list/scan and sell more..#2 the capturing of lost sales should easily pay for the helper...now...how much can you get done with 2-3 helpers??)
It's not a rant...and we all have out own opinions...but there has to be a better way.
If not....the customers will just keep on walking!!
"Buyer pays $7 shipping and insurance if inside the US. All items are shipped UPS unless you request otherwise. Multiple purchases may be combined to save on shipping."
Is VERY different than -
"Shipping costs are - 1-7 cards = $7. . .8-15 cards = $15. . . All orders shipped UPS Ground insured."
Sure, $7 is a lot to pay for shipping on 1 card. But if you clearly illustrate the incentive for people to win multiple items, I think it will make your shipping charges easier to swallow. I think a lot of eBay card buyers are a little cynical when they see something as vague as "Multiple purchases may be combined to save on shipping". All you have to do to see this is go back in this thread and see the complaints about Fairway54's shipping (something like $5 for 1st card + $0.50 each addtl with no max).
If you can make it clear that sure, the first card is $7 - BUT - if you win 7 cards from me, the shipping is $1 each. . .then I think most of the complaints stop - AND - I think you'll see more people bidding on multiple items.
Mike
I use stamps.com.
They charge a monthly fee of about $15. For that, you can print postage right at your desk from any printer or computer. You can use plain paper for most. When you sign up, you get a free scale to weigh your stuff. You can send virtually everything from home. For anything over $20 I ship via delivery confirmation which is .45 ( I think) thru the Post office, but less than half that with stamps.com. That savings just about pays for the monthly fee and gives me the security of knowing my pkg is tracked but I don't have to go to the post office. I can leave pkgs right at my mailbox..or for larger ones, schedule a pickup by USPS. I can also insure pkgs thru stamps.com with one more click.
I find it to be an incredible time saver and convenience. They usually have a promotion where you get some free postage (usually quite a lot) to start with along with the scale when you sign up. Sounds like a commercial I guess, but I've been very happy with them and when I read stuff like what was just posted here, I feel smarter than I actually am!
I also use the automated postal kiosks that are popping up at post offices all over. They're very easy to use when the lines are long.
Postage was $4.05, Insurance 3.35, Delivery Confirmation .50.
If anyone wants to post the pic of the postal receipt I have that too.
So even if I dropped the insurance and delivery confirmation, and not include the cost of the bubble wrap and packing (free also). The minimum via priority mail would be $4.05
Still more than around the $2 that people think it costs to ship. Now granted, this is one instance. But I'm showing the actual cost which is right where Louis claims is costs are.
I than decided to compare the shipping of the packages I received Saturday. Here the item #'s if anyone wants to check. Now this is not to disparrage any of the sellers. I agreed to the shipping charges when I bid on their items and will be leaving positive feedback to them all this afternoon. All cards were shipped in yellow lighly padded envelopes with little or no protection.
Here goes:
Item# 8752845885 Shipping $1.50 Actual charge .87 cents
Item# 8752355131 Shipping $2.00 Actual charge $1.47
Item# 8748867464 Shipping $3.00 Actual charge .52 cents
Item# 8752407620 Shipping $5.00 Actual charge $1.98
Item# 8752761031 Shipping $2.25 Actual charge .63 cents
Bottom line. Everyone overcharges on shipping. Whether its .50 cents or $5. Like I said in my previous post
Bottom line, READ the sellers shipping rules. If you have any questions, email them PRIOR to bidding. Don't expect the seller to change the rules for you after you bid, than come to a message board and whine about it.
Read my sig line.
A simple promotion to get my store up and running has worked wonders. I can ship most items for $1.49 with delivery confirmation and I'm glad to eat it for the amount of sales the free s&h promotion has generated.
Bob C.
EDIT: I do agree with your second bottom line:READ the sellers shipping rules. If you have any questions, email them PRIOR to bidding. Don't expect the seller to change the rules for you after you bid, than come to a message board and whine about it.
61 Topps (100%) 7.96
62 Parkhurst (100%) 8.70
63 Topps (100%) 7.96
63 York WB's (50%) 8.52
68 Topps (39%) 8.54
69 Topps (3%) 9.00
69 OPC (83%) 8.21
71 Topps (100%) 9.21 #1 A.T.F.
72 Topps (100%) 9.39
73 Topps (13%) 9.35
74 OPC WHA (95%) 8.57
75 Topps (50%) 9.23
77 OPC WHA (86%) 8.62 #1 A.T.F.
88 Topps (5%) 10.00
I do agree that by bidding, the bidder is saying he's read the shipping terms and is OK with them. However, not everyone overcharges for shipping.
Mike
SORRY!!!!!!!
Okay Frank but does that mean I'll have to change my store name to HOCKEY HOCKEY FOOTBALL ??
Bob C.
61 Topps (100%) 7.96
62 Parkhurst (100%) 8.70
63 Topps (100%) 7.96
63 York WB's (50%) 8.52
68 Topps (39%) 8.54
69 Topps (3%) 9.00
69 OPC (83%) 8.21
71 Topps (100%) 9.21 #1 A.T.F.
72 Topps (100%) 9.39
73 Topps (13%) 9.35
74 OPC WHA (95%) 8.57
75 Topps (50%) 9.23
77 OPC WHA (86%) 8.62 #1 A.T.F.
88 Topps (5%) 10.00
I noticed they have shipping charges in clear bold numbers right there for each item practically underneath the current price. It also says "Meet the Seller" there by your handle. Probably not a bad idea since many older folks I know of, think you are actually buying the stuff from ebay, not some other person.
Collecting:
Brett Favre Master Set
Favre Ticket Stubs
Favre TD Reciever Autos
Football HOF Player/etc. Auto Set
Football HOF Rc's
What is even worse then that is to pay minutes after an auction ends, pay the high shipping and then wait 2 weeks before you can email and ask if it has been mailed yet. i
<< <i>Is anyone else here fed up with dealers overcharging with sihpping costs??
I need to vent.
I got a package this morning from a dealer that shall remain namless for now. I won three common cards from him. Well, the shipping was $5 for the first card and $1 for each additional. Now don't get me wrong, I do not mind paying that much for shipping as long as the cards are sent for that much...i.e....priority mail, or insured or so on.
Considering when ever I sell a card, I do splurge on the shipping of the card, making sure the paerson that gets them is happy and they are well protected. Also when ever I send something it is always sent priority mail and usually with a return receipt. Since it is rare when I do sell something, I want to make sure people get what they pay for.
When I got the package, it was a sinlge bubble envelope (cost approx. 50 cents) and the postage label on it was for a whopping $1.35.
So said dealer paid a whole $2 for shipping my cards, and pocketed the other $5 that I sent him.
What is everyone elses thoughts on this.
Rob Ruth >>
Absolutely!another thing I do not like is when I emailed a seller no names mentioned that I was intrested in a half dozen or so of his graded cards but needed to know what the shipping price would be as there was no S/H indications whatsoever the seller never replied that is just as irritating as what you mention.
<< <i>the worst is when you pay a high shipping cost and have to wait weeks to get the card and ask the seller if its shipped yet. >>
In one defense to this, Post Offices vary considerably throughout the country. I used to live in Phoenix and the Postal Service there is great. I never had a problem with stuff getting there in 2-3 days. I now live near Cleveland and it's a joke here. Everything goes great most of the time and then all of a sudden, a couple items take 2 weeks to get there. I think everything is fine and then the "where is my item" emails start rolling in. Some people are really rude about it too right off the bat even though my feedback is perfect. Everything always shows up eventually. It's just frustrating when about 1 in every 100 packages seems to take a couple weeks.
My sentiment as well.
At first I thought the jacked up shipping charges might be due to the fact that I live in Hawai, however when i changed the mailing address to a Southern California address, I got the same message. It turns out the only other option that was cheaper was if I paid $5 per lot to pick up the card in person at their bricks & mortar address.
The cards arrived in 4 different envelopes that were comprised entirely out of free Priority Mail postage supplies from USPS. We're talking not only the envelopes, but also the clear mailing label adhesive sleeve that held a copy of the eBay invoice printout, and priority mail stickers substituting for scotch tape. Obviously, the $10 per lot was not used to pay for any shipping supplies.
I have since seen other ISOLDIT franchise listings and noticed that one lowered their minimum shipping charge to $8 and that additional lots could be shipped together for an extra $1 per item. Still not a great deal but still way better than the $40 i paid to 4 single cards mailed to me.....
blue227, I think I would have opted for the negatives. 4 negatives would have stunk but $40 isn't right. Granted your fault was to even bid on the item but that doesn't give them the right to rip you off. That's like saying that it is ok for a used car salesman to sell you a lemon just because you signed on the dotted line.
I charge 2.50 for shipping in a bubble mailer with Del. Con. I take the card or cards and wrap them in a piece of cardboard, tape it closed and then put in the mailer.....tape the mailer.
My dad actually buys the cardboard things for his 45rpm record selling and of course we buy the bubble mailers. 2.50 seemed like a very fair amount judging from some conversations with others and from perusing feebay card listings.
As for Ohio, there is a TON of collector's here. In Arizona, there aren't as many. I've noticed also NY state has a ton, seems like I'm always shipping there.
the work PERFECTLY! fold them over in half, stick the PSA slab in, tape it on 3 sides and BAMM! ready to go!
link