POLL: The Shipping & Handling Discount

relayer · October 19, 2003 11:24AM

I sold a 2003 Lincoln Cent PCGS PR69DCAM for $9.99 plus $3.95 S/H. On the PayPal payment I get this note:

So I returned the PayPal payment along with the note below. Am I being cheap here?

Sir, I hope you don't mind but I don't require any special shipping method,
first class mail is fine for this value of coin, so I reduced the shipping
fee to $2.00 and hope this will cover regular postage fees. My email is
down right now so I couldn't ask ahead of time and was making all my PayPal
payments this weekend. Thank you. Charmy

----------------------------------------------------------

Hi Charmy,

I'm returning your PayPal payment for $11.99 as the total due is $13.94.
The winning bid was $9.99 plus the S/H of $3.95 that was stated both in the ad and in the checkout.

If you think $3.95 is too much, I'll give you a breakdown on my costs.

$ 1.99 coin
$12.00 PCGS grading fee
$ 1.25 S/H/I to and From PCGS
$ 0.30 eBay listing fee
$ 0.25 eBay gallery fee
$ 0.52 eBay final sale fee
$ 0.63 PayPal fee
$ 0.22 padded envelope
$ 0.60 postage
------
$17.76 My cost

Just to cover the eBay and Paypal fees alone is $1.70 and $0.88 to deliver it to you comes to $2.58
The handling fee also includes my time at the post office, taking pictures, listing ads, tracking sales, shipping and emails.

I sold one last week item #3052729076 ( http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3052729076 ) as you can see for $17.95 and I made $2.39

Thanks,

Louis · October 19, 2003 11:38AM

I think you were correct in asking the buyer to pay the shipping you posted on the auction, but whineing about all your costs will do no good. Why should the buyer care what it cost you to certify the coin or what it cost in shipping to do so. Having said all that, the buyer bid knowing what you listed as shipping and in my opinion agreed on that when bidding.

ms70 · October 19, 2003 11:39AM

If people want to play on eBay, they should learn the rules.

RULE #1: Don't bid if you can't abide by the seller's terms.

stman · October 19, 2003 11:43AM

I believe you forgot to include staples, tape, printer ink, wear and tear on tires, and having to wake up in the morning in your shipping and handling justification.

tlhoy · October 19, 2003 11:43AM

Maybe he thought he had a coupon.
You did the right thing.

itsnotjustme · October 19, 2003 12:02PM

Buyer should not have done that.

However, your note supported the buyer's case. Yous S/H was 88 cents, yet you charged $3.95.

airplanenut · October 19, 2003 12:47PM

Brian is correct- it's against eBay rule to pass on fees to buyers- PayPal or eBay...

What you had in the item was irrelevant, and what the item cost to sell was, too, irrelevant. All you needed to/should have asserted was that your stated shipping/handling fee was stated to be $3.95, and that $3.95 was required... PERIOD. To say more is simply self incrimination and could hurt you in the end.

Jeremy

Dog97 · October 19, 2003 1:03PM

Plain & simple: neither party renegotiates the TOS. Their bid is a contract to buy blah blah blah
You don't owe the seller any explaination either. Just wait till the coin gets "lost" in the mail and see how long the seller <<<don't require any special shipping method>>>
With all that said I don't think I would neg anybody over $1.95

relayer · October 19, 2003 1:19PM

<< <i>Yous S/H was 88 cents, yet you charged $3.95 >>

The Shipping was 88 cents, the Handling was $3.07

Assuming it takes 12 minutes to photograpgh, list, track and pack the coin the handling income would be $15.35 an hour, which is less than I pay my gardner. Of course there are expenses (fees) which takes up all of the handling charges.

You're right Jeremy I should have kept it simple and just said pay the $3.95 as the ad stated. I don't mind making coins at my expense for the nice people on eBay.

But Charmy could have easily "Ask The Seller A Question" if her email was "down" instead of deciding what rate I should be working for her at, so I found her annoying instead of charming.

Brian, is it true you only charge 88 cents for S/H?

flaminio · October 19, 2003 2:18PM

You were correct in sending his payment back, but incorrect in whining about it. Keep it straight, calm, and business-like. You should have asked for the full payment including your s/h/i/t costs. If he refuses, he gets a NPB/FVF on his record and a negative feedback.

DCAMFranklin · October 19, 2003 2:27PM

I've handled it both ways. Yet, your coin was just $9.99 and it probably made sense to just take the payment and send the coin. When the coin is of a higher value and the postal insurance cost is significant, as is the Paypal fee, then it is wise to make an issue of the differencial. Some buyers will take exception to your making an issue of the S&H costs and you take a Negative feedback over a couple of bucks.

BigE · October 19, 2003 2:38PM

relayer, it is good that you did not tell him what you pay your gardener-he would probably take a bus over to your house and start pulling weeds. You did the right thing, he should abide by the terms of the deal----------BigE

Rnealw · October 19, 2003 3:09PM

Did you report him to the Ebay police?

RiffRaff1967 · October 20, 2003 12:43AM

I cannot believe the nerve of some people - I have never sold anything on ebay, but I have read many of the threads on problem buyers in this forum. I'm sure that there are sellers who would have just taken the payment and sent the item - I'm glad that you didn't. I have never seen any auction on ebay that states that s/h is $3.95, but is negotiable to what the buyer would want to pay. ugg

Shamika · October 20, 2003 1:30AM

The bidder is an A-hole. Return his money, block him from future bidding and relist the item.

billboat · October 20, 2003 1:52AM

Bidder is wrong--I just avoid bidding on items which have unreasonable (to me) S/H. I generally look at what it adds to the probable cost of the coin I'm interested in buying. In this case S/H comes to 39.5% of the winning bid price. I also agree with what others have said about passing along fees --recouping Ebay and PayPal fees is actually against Ebay policy. The bidder could forward your email to them and cause you problems.

MadMonk · October 20, 2003 1:56AM

You had the Auction terms outlined. I've actually had some buyers threaten with negative feed back for not changing certain clearly stated conditions, usually payment or shipping related options. I never give in unless it will cause no real issue for me. Otherwise, I stick to my guns!

nwcs · October 20, 2003 2:00AM

Actually, listing the costs is not against ebay rules. Passing on the costs is. It's a simple cost of goods sold issue. He's outlining his costs (unnecessary to do, but not wrong). No problem there.

billboat · October 20, 2003 2:13AM

Just to cover the eBay and Paypal fees alone is $1.70 and $0.88 to deliver it to you comes to $2.58
The handling fee also includes my time at the post office, taking pictures, listing ads, tracking sales, shipping and emails.

>>

Not trying to quibble--I'm on Relayer's side in this--but it sounds like he is including the fees in his S/H--terms like "to cover" and "also includes" imply recovery of costs. Just not a good idea give a bidder so much information.

Keyrock · October 20, 2003 4:07AM

As long as you state the cost the buyer is out of luck. Just like biding in the big boy auctions like heritage, my bid adds in the commision and the shipping.

I would have also refused the paypal funds.

airplanenut · October 20, 2003 4:46AM

I've asked for lower costs before- sometimes after the auction ends (Priority to First Class, for example)... but I always bid with the intention of paying the stated shipping- if it's not dropped, oh, well; if it is, what a nice seller.

Either way, I saw relayer was right, except listing the costs could come back to bite him.

Jeremy

bigindie · October 20, 2003 6:38AM

I agree with the majority here. Your only mistake was giving the buyer an explanation.

BTW, do you need another gardner?

Barry · October 20, 2003 8:00AM

I agree with the majority of comments. Even if you did gouge the buyer on s/h, the terms were specified.

I had a recent buyer who shorted me on insurance. In my auctions I say: US. Insurance ($1.30 for up to $50, $2.20 for $50.01-$100, plus $1 for each additional $100) optional at the buyer's discretion and risk.
The auction closed at about $130, and the buyer included $1.30 for insurance, when it should have been $3.20. This buyer also tried twice to pay via Paypal with a credit card, after I twice explained the terms included No credit cards thru Paypal. I figured it was a dumb mistake from a dumb person, and since the auction closed higher than I expected I threw in the full insurance without making a fuss. However, if I thought it was deliberate, I probably would have done otherwise (emailing the buyer it would only be insured for $50 and they're responsible for any loss).

jdimmick · October 20, 2003 8:41AM

relayer,

If it makes you feel better, this guy bidded on an 1877 Ngc-55 Indian I had for sale on e-bay last year. Chose buy it now, and wanted to pay with pay-pal, even though It clearly states I dont accept it. I Lost the sale because he had no other means to pay for it. I was nice an let him off the hook, and it was a pain after two months trying to get my fee's back.

jim

POLL: The Shipping & Handling Discount

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POLL: The Shipping &amp; Handling Discount

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POLL: The Shipping & Handling Discount