Free Shipping on eBay..... Or Maybe Not

[leftygrove10]

I have had several experiences (with the same seller) on eBay lately where I buy an item from a listing that shows FREE SHIPPING but after receiving the invoice I am billed a MAILING and HANDLING fee of $1 or more. I have also bought items with shipping fees of $3 (for example) only to be invoiced later for an additional insurance charge. This is starting to really make me mad. This person is frauding people who have bid on their items.

Have any of you had similar experiences? What do you think about this "fraud"?

[BigDan502]

As far as I remember you're not allowed to charge for insurance
On eBay anymore

[novakjr]

I think a lot of times this happens because the seller was unhappy with the final winning bid. Sellers sometimes list stuff with lower than cost shipping to attract people, and then when it doesn't sell for as much as they wanted, they pull the "but it'll cost this to ship" pitty crap to try and get an extra few bucks..

I picked up a Feller signed ball on ebay a few years ago that had(something like) 3.50 shipping listed in the auction. The seller made the mistake of having the auction end on a monday at around 10 in the morning, so I won the auction for around $10. I promptly payed, only to get a message from the seller demanding an addition $4 for shipping because that what he said it would actually cost to ship it. I really did feel bad about such a low price, BUT a deal is a deal. I very "Un-politely" told him that the auction stated $3.50 so he was just going to have to deal with it.. The ball came somewhat quickly, and actually did cost him right around $7.50 to ship it, BUT the point is that he voluntarily chose to only charge $3.50.

He probably also should've mentioned the mlb authentication sticker in the auction, I'm sure people would've bid more had he mentioned it. I was pleasantly surprised to find it on the ball upon it's arrival.

Most people bid with shipping cost in mind. If someone was to buy an item for $15 with $3 shipping, that same person would've been willing to pay $18 with free shipping. Basically, they're buying an item that they know will cost them a total of $18 either way. There ultimately is no such thing as FREE SHIPPING, it's always built into the price.

Trying to tack on money after the fact is straight out classless.. Ebay should standardize shipping, by eliminating shipping prices. That way it would just be built into the bids.

[D. Bergin]

Trying to tack on money after the fact is straight out classless.. Ebay should standardize shipping, by eliminating shipping prices. That way it would just be built into the bids.


Agree with the first part............not with the 2nd. Especially with sellers who runs true auctions and not BIN storefronts.

If shipping is reasonable to begin with, the S&H is never "built into the bidding".

It would also kill Ebay sellers who take consignments on occasion like myself, and pay their consignors based on final sell prices. The shipping cost could actually outweigh the commission you are charging on many lower cost items.

If you think it's built into the bidding, try to find an auction house that offers free Shipping & Handling services..................typing this still smarting over the S&H charge from my Lelands invoice BTW.

[t206hound]

By 'built into the bidding' I would hazard to guess that the poster means that the shipping cost plays into the bidder's max bid. If my max on an item is $100, I will bid $100 minus the shipping/commission. Doesn't matter if the seller is charging $50 to ship or nothing, the most I will spend (in total) will be $100.

[novakjr]

By 'built into the bidding' I would hazard to guess that the poster means that the shipping cost plays into the bidder's max bid. If my max on an item is $100, I will bid $100 minus the shipping/commission. Doesn't matter if the seller is charging $50 to ship or nothing, the most I will spend (in total) will be $100.

That's exactly what I meant.

Dave- I can understand why it could be a problem.

This idea would basically eliminate any potentially shady practices that could occur in regards to shipping on ebay. Especially, if ebay includes fees based on sale+shipping(I remember a thread a while back saying that they might start, I don't know if they did yet as I haven't sold anything), then there would be no need for sellers to overcharge or undercharge on shipping. It would take the mind-game out of it, and put all sellers on equal footing. Eliminated shipping would take it the extra step, and make it so that no one can play any games as far as trying to tack anything on after the fact.

However, the downside of this would be that it would also eliminate choice in how you want an item to be shipped. If a seller wants something overnighted, and is willing to pay extra for it, then he really wouldn't have the option anymore. That right there alone, is probably the main reason my idea wouldn't work.. Plus, it would create extra work or possible confusion when it comes down to consignors..

[vintagechris]

[QUOTE=D. Bergin;

If you think it's built into the bidding, try to find an auction house that offers free Shipping & Handling services..................typing this still smarting over the S&H charge from my Lelands invoice BTW.[/QUOTE]

Yea, my shipping on a Lelands win for 700 cards that I won for $1700 was $70!

[steve B]

Unless it's really changed you can charge for insurance on Ebay. But it must be stated as being part of the shipping and handling, and you can't abandon responsibility for the item arriving if someone doesn't pay for insurance.

Adding additional charges after the auction ends isn't allowed, and I'd report someone who insisted on it. After completing the purchase of course.

For the few things I've sold that were expensive enough that insurance made sense I paid for the insurance myself. Charging the extra couple dollars on a $600 item just seems petty to me.

Someone who actually ends up paying extra to ship something - That's a thing I might work with them on. IF they were new. Lots of people just aren't familiar with the postal regs for packages and different rates etc. Like if it;s more than 1/4 inch thick it's a package. But if it's less than 3/4inch and not going priority you can't get delivery confirmation no matter what the Paypal click and ship allows. Or that anything with advertising can't be shipped media mail. But of they've been selling for some time or are a full time shop it's on them to get it right.

Steve B

[U240robert]

Some do charge a handling fee to make up for an auction.
In some cases it's also to get around the ebay system of paying
seller fees.
I knew of a dealer that would sell commons very cheap, say '63 topps at a $1 in NM condition. But on the page it would state a $4 handling fee for a $5 total.
So from a buyers perspective it all comes out the same but the dealer makes more money off of it since he didn't have to pay as much to ebay in fees.
Ebay was/is trying to crack down on this.

[Brendan]

Some do charge a handling fee to make up for an auction.
In some cases it's also to get around the ebay system of paying
seller fees.
I knew of a dealer that would sell commons very cheap, say '63 topps at a $1 in NM condition. But on the page it would state a $4 handling fee for a $5 total.
So from a buyers perspective it all comes out the same but the dealer makes more money off of it since he didn't have to pay as much to ebay in fees.
Ebay was/is trying to crack down on this.

Edited to point out eBay's lack of intelligence.