Handset on Ebay with A Seller Warning

[pbghmike77]

ebay link

The seller had this listed as a $9.99 BIN, but with $12.35 for shipping.  I asked them if they would please ship it for the actual rate for 2 pounds, which is $8.19.  They insisted that the USPS website showed that shipping was $12, and I tried in vain to prove to them otherwise.  I even sent a screen shot of the USPS postage rates for a two pound package between Pompano Beach and here, but they claimed that they could not see it.  They then asked me to pay for the postage and email them a PDF file with the shipping label, and as soon as I agreed, they sent me an angry message complaining that I was nitpicking about the postage and that I should shop elsewhere.  I would probably want to avoid doing any business with this seller.

Larry

I have mixed feelings about this. I'm primarily a seller so heres from a sellers point of view. Even though the shipping cost is more than the actual cost of shipping, thats what they have listed and if you buy it thats what you agree too. To me I dont see a difference if they have $22 and free ship or the $9.99 +$12 shipping. Would you question them if it was just listed as $22 ?

I dont fault you for asking at all, that never hurts. I'm not sure all the extra stuff for $3 is worth it. I know a few sellers that add 1 pound to there cost to cover packing supplies etc. The stuff isnt cheap. I'm sure if anything you taught the seller to just build the cost of shipping into the price.

The sellers response was very unacceptable. I would never respond to someone like that. If I have valuable items I will add a few pounds myself to help offset insurance costs as well. This clearly isnt the case here. I wouldnt buy from someone like that just due to principal.

[LarryInMichigan]

I wasn't complaining about the price but rather the seller's insistence on paying 50% extra for shipping and charging me for it.  I responded to the seller that it is his business if he wants to overpay for shipping but that it will not help him on ebay.

Larry

[pbghmike77]

I wasn't complaining about the price but rather the seller's insistence on paying 50% extra for shipping and charging me for it.  I responded to the seller that it is his business if he wants to overpay for shipping but that it will not help him on ebay.

Larry

No I understand that Larry. I can see why you would ask him to reduce it. My point was if you are ok with the price, what would the difference be if they had it listed for $21.99 and free shipping? Would you buy it then? IMO it just seems like it makes no difference if it is listed as $9.99 +$12 shipping or $21.99 and free shipping.

Honeslty I talk to a fair amout of people who sell on ebay being I do a good bit myself. The more I listen to other sellers talk, the more I understand why I do so well. There are a lot of people that just don get it. Good Luck in the future...

[George Knighton]

I have mixed feelings about this. I'm primarily a seller so heres from a sellers point of view....

I am very, very new and ignorant, but from what I have seen so far, the insiders who collect and sell are atypical, unique to this particular kind of collecting.

It's almost as if they (most of them) hearken back not just to the days of rotary phones, but to the days when shipping cost a lot less than it does now, and when a penny was worth a lot more than it is now and that penny was very much worth the pinching.

The thought and care that goes into a relatively small purchase and the shipping thereof, it seems to me, is also unique to the phone collector breed.

[George Knighton]

I think I understand because I am old enough to remember when there were 20 shillings and 240 pennies to the pound, a time when smaller things required more and non-linear thinking compared to those same small things in 2013.

:-)

[Nick in Manitou]

George,
I remember a large and tasty dinner of fish and chips (wrapped in real newspaper) purchased in central London for 3 and 6. 

It was cheaper to live in London in 1970 than it was to live in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.  (Not the same now!)  Tickets to the opera were $12!

Nick

[twocvbloke]

Yeah, if you were to want to live in london these days, having a 7-figurebank balance helps, but there's nowt special about that place, there's more to see up here in the north...

[K1WI]

   I have been following this discussion closely , very closely. Now feel it is time to voice my opinion. I agree wholeheartedly with pbghmike77
  If the seller has what seems to you very high costs  , then don.t buy from them. I think it's that simple.
   I actually have decided recently to totally stop all my e-bay auctions just for this reason. If  I list an item and include what I consider a fair amount for shipping ,remember I feel it is fair ...but if you don't..then simply don't bid.
 Just my opinion......based on my circumstances. For me the only practical way to ship IS with USPS flat rate , as the will pick up parcels , (UPS says they do..but might take days )..and will even insure they are taped securely.\ (something I don,t have the ability to do.)    
    Sorry if I am appearing to come on a bit strong  , but I think many buyers (including myself at times) fail to see realities.   The $12.35 quoted for shipping is the correct price for flat rate Priority Mail med box. These may be the only boxes readably available. I know my rural PO only stocks flat rate boxes and regular boxes must be ordered and that takes a few days. I know for my self I can only drive to PO about once a week , so these flat rate boxes are a help.


   Andy F     K1WI


)

[benkeys]

You pay about 10% of your final selling price on the item for final value fees and most of the time 1-2.00 of fees on the shipping charge. When i sell on ebay i will list my item slightly higher then what i would ask locally, usually about 5.00 higher which is still a fair price on all my items and on shipping i may charge 1.00  or 2.00 more on items i'm not sending flat rate. If i send flat rate then its actual postage. Flat rate is the best way for me to ship do to not having a scale. However when you purchase postage online you already get a slight discount. All in all i may only make a small profit on my items, just to help offset the fees. 

Speaking of ebay fees, idk if anyone noticed but the fees are going up in less then a month. It looks like they are going up by about 1.00 or so...

[pbghmike77]

  I have been following this discussion closely , very closely. Now feel it is time to voice my opinion. I agree wholeheartedly with pbghmike77
  If the seller has what seems to you very high costs  , then don.t buy from them. I think it's that simple.
   I actually have decided recently to totally stop all my e-bay auctions just for this reason. If  I list an item and include what I consider a fair amount for shipping ,remember I feel it is fair ...but if you don't..then simply don't bid.
 Just my opinion......based on my circumstances. For me the only practical way to ship IS with USPS flat rate , as the will pick up parcels , (UPS says they do..but might take days )..and will even insure they are taped securely.\ (something I don,t have the ability to do.)    
    Sorry if I am appearing to come on a bit strong  , but I think many buyers (including myself at times) fail to see realities.   The $12.35 quoted for shipping is the correct price for flat rate Priority Mail med box. These may be the only boxes readably available. I know my rural PO only stocks flat rate boxes and regular boxes must be ordered and that takes a few days. I know for my self I can only drive to PO about once a week , so these flat rate boxes are a help.


   Andy F     K1WI


)

Interesting post. I ship around 80 items a month. I use maybe 1 flat rate shipping box every 4 months. I think this helps clear up Larrys issue as well. Sounds as if people dont like to stock other boxes etc. I personally love regional rate boxes. Therefore they just do what is easiest and not what is cheapest. I can understand this if you dont do it on a regular basis.

As far as getting the boxes from the PO, I never do that either. With shipping 80 items a month I set foot in the PO aprox 1 time a month. I get all my supplies online and have them dropped at the door. All shipments leave my front porch on a daily basis.

I didnt mean to stir anything up with your post Larry, I was offering my unsolicited 2 cents. I like helping find cheaper ways to do things as well. I have a few people that are friends local that I help regularly with questions. My wife says I should charge a fee...

[benkeys]

I never go to the post office, i order everything online and its shipped to me.  I usually use flat rate, but have regional rate boxes but they are large boxes and i hardly have anything that large to ship. I also have all my packages picked up off the porch. Its just much easier that way. If i had to go to the post office all the time i'd have to be charging triple the actual cost.

[LarryInMichigan]

My point is simply that it is illogical and wasteful to stuff a large 3 pound item into a flat rate box which isn't big enough for it and pay $12 when the item could be shipped in a much larger box by Priority Mail (using a USPS-supplied box or other) for $8.

Larry

[Dennis Markham]

My point is simply that it is illogical and wasteful to stuff a large 3 pound item into a flat rate box which isn't big enough for it and pay $12 when the item could be shipped in a much larger box by Priority Mail (using a USPS-supplied box or other) for $8.

Larry

I agree with you Larry.  Recently someone shipped a 500 housing to me in a Medium Flat Rate box at whatever that costs.  At the time maybe $11.  For return shipment I put it in the larger 12X12X8 Priority Box and it cost under $5.00.  I had better protection from damage and saved a few bucks.  It all depends on the proximity of the destination from the sender.  I try and explore both methods before I ship.  I would also pay a few bucks extra to ensure a larger box (more room for padding)  even if it costs more than the flat rate box.

[pbghmike77]

I couldnt agree more Larry. Why fund the post office they're just going to waste it anyhow. I was simply saying people using the flat rate boxes and not exploring other options sounds like the issue.

I find flat rate boxes are usually the worst possible option. I agree 100% with you as well Dennis why not protect your sale for a few bucks more.

[WesternElectricBen]

Its now for sale for 22 bucks..