Shipping standards on B/S/T

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Posted By: Bill K@sel

I recently had my first card deal go south on the BST because I apparently charged too much for shipping. When I post a card for sale the asking price includes shipping (and I state that as such very clearly) so there should be no misunderstandings, but the recent deal was broken because the buyer assumed that I included insurance and maybe delivery confirmation in the asked price. I didn't. Nevertheless I am returning his payment + return shipping charges as I already have the card back (without warning). Take into account he received the card just fine and it was wrapped in cardboard in a bubble mailer. This begs the question...

Should I just assume to include insurance on ALL sales, should it be specified directly in the post, or is it the responsibility of the purchaser to inquire about shipping fees? There are obviouly no standards in place now (nor should there be).

I certainly never intended to swindle anyone out of $3 measly dollars on a $60 deal but my integrity was severly called into question. I'm just trying to get it right going forward and your thoughts are appreciated.

Thanks for listening.

Edited to say: I forgot to mention that he threatened to bash me to fellow collectors and in all sorts of chat rooms if I failed to comply to his wishes. BLACKMAIL I TELL YA!!! BLACKMAIL!

Bill

My personal collection - <a href="http://s47.photobucket.com/albums/f176/fkm_bky/</a" target="_new" rel="nofollow">http://s47.photobucket.com/albums/f176/fkm_bky/</a&gt;

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Posted By: barrysloate

It's best to post your shipping costs. However, it's hard to imagine they were so onerous as to warrant the return of the card.

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Posted By: Gilbert Maines

I do not assume that shipping is included in the asking price. I do not insure items under $100. I do not want anything shipped that I have to sign for (I guess that my postal people did not like the $0. I gave them for Christmas last year, and now they make delivery difficult when signatures are involved. This problem will persist for only 6 more months, I hope).

I imagine that each purchaser has their own preferences. Apparently these preferences and expectations should be detailed upon the closing of the purchase.

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Posted By: Tim Newcomb

Bill,

If it were me I'd be assuming something else was going on. The buyer basically reneged on the deal after the fact, maybe for some unrelated reason. It's hard to believe he would send a $60 card back, after it had arrived safely, just because you hadn't insured it.

The very most that he should have expected was maybe a buck or two refund from you, but even that strikes me as unreasonable: he should have specified his shipping demands before paying.

It seems to me that your actions were completely reasonable. On a $600 card, buyers have a right to expect insurance, but not for $60.



Here's hoping your future BSTs will go better,

Tim

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Posted By: leon

After the card arrived is not the time to send it back because it didn't have insurance. That's stupid. I am always careful to put a "delivered" price on my items or spell out the shipping in detail. For some reason there seems to be a lot of issues with the BST lately. I know I could cure them all at once by not having a BST area but I don't believe in punishing everyone because of a few knuckleheads. I have had several private complaints in the last week. Is there something in the air? Let's be careful over there...regards

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Posted By: Bill K

Leon - In no way would I propose to get rid of the BST. Get rid of ebay first! I think this is more of a case of a knucklehead than that of a growing problem. I thought (since I don't do a lot of deals) that maybe I misstepped here. Sadly Barry, he was that oenerous to just return the card without any notification or request for a few bucks back. Oh well....I guess I'll stick it back up on the BST!!!

Bill

My personal collection - http://s47.photobucket.com/albums/f176/fkm_bky/

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Posted By: Joe D.

no matter how small the value.

It sometimes seems silly, but I do it for all of my b/s/t packages.


When I first started using the b/s/t I would list as "plus shipping". I found it easier to later just figure the shipping in my pricing and list everything as "shipped/insured".


But - since the person already received the card -- I think the return has nothing to do with how you shipped. The person just changed his/her mind and sent the card back. I think that stinks - mainly because you mentioned it happened "without warning." A better way to handle it would have been through discussion prior to a return.

jmho.

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Posted By: davidcycleback

I say "price includes shipping." People can't complain about shipping charge because they don't know what it is. On a $200 purchase, it could be $199 for all they know. Perhaps the shipping is $205 and I charge them -$5 for the item.

For an 'includes shipping' item, a German buyer asked me how much it cost me to ship to Germany. I said, "I don't know. I haven't shipped it yet."

Some collectors would rather pay $105 instead of $80 for the same item because the shipping charge is less on the $105 purchase.

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Posted By: Matt E.

Remind me not to do business with this guy in the future.
Most people would not refund return shipping charges either. You are going above and beyond on this one.

What happened to common courtesy of emailing you to say the insurance was missing or we had a simple misunderstanding. We are somewhat of a family here.

Hey a reasonable person who would like to do repeat business with the board may give you some guff privately but in the end say nothing hurt because the card arrived. Can you send me a buck or two etc.........Or just add it in for me next time.

Check to see if he bought another one just like it off Ebay.

Mailing a card back is WRONG. I love opening packages that arrive in the mail containing baseball cards, but not my own cards!

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Posted By: warshawlaw

It is just so much easier that way even though it costs me over $10 to ship a $500 item with insurance via priority mail. I just factor it into the price. If someone wants a specific type of shipping and/or insurance and asks for it, I will give them a price on the extra service. I don't bother marking up items for "handling" though; again, too much hassle for too little reward. If someone wants to send me an SASE and have me throw it into the mailbox, that's fine too. Besides, we are all colleagues here; I treat people the way I hope to be treated when I buy.

The only time I react like your buyer did is when the seller specifically charges me for a service like priority mail or insurance then doesn't come through. Someone did that to me last week on ebay (demanded insurance money then didn't insure the package) and I raised a stink and got a refund of the extra shipping costs. That sort of stuff ticks me off. Otherwise, the price is the price and if it gets to me in good shape, I have no complaints.

One other shipping "standard" does come to mind, as long as we are on the subject: recycle your shipping materials when possible. I don't mind and I don't think many others would either, especially if all we are talking about is added padding inside a USPS priority envelope. It is a great way to keep your costs down to nothing on shipping and at the same time save some landfill space.

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Posted By: Russ Bright

Only if i specify that shipping is included. I also make sure to say that insurance and delivery confirmation is extra. for a buyer to assume that you will ship and insure and confirm delivery on a card for less than 100 dollars, shipping gets expensive. Something that could be shipped for less than a dollar turns into a 6-8 dollar ordeal. I personally DON'T want my cards insured unless they're really expensive. First thing, it's a red flag to someone who wants to take the cards. if it's insured and delivery confirmed there MUST be something worth stealing. Secondly, my post office isn't close and i work during the day (most of us do) so when i have to spend an hour to go to the post office and wait in line for a 15 dollar card that someone insured ur used delivery confirmation on it makes me mad.

I guess I'm saying that I think the buyer was in the wrong on this one. Always clarify, and if you're a buyer ask about insurance and confirmation. This will clear up a lot of B/S/T headaches!

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Posted By: T206Collector

...include shipping, and I specifically state that I'll cover insurance for purchases over $50.00.

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Posted By: Bob

Agree with Tim N. 100%. Who in the world returns a desired card AFTER it arrives safely???

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Posted By: joe

I include delivery confirmation and let the buyer know if he wants insurance just add to the total shipping cost. If they don't and item is lost or damaged the buyer had the chance to buy insurance so it would be his loss. I do the same for EBAY unless it is a really a low amount. 5-10 dollar cards usually are not insured, although I have had buyers insure items for 10 dollars or less.

Joe

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Posted By: JimB

I do not add insurance usually because I have an insurance policy on my collection that includes shipping cards. I think that paying the insurance on a package puts a red flag up for unscrupulous postal workers. So there may not be "postal insurance", but that does not mean that the card is not insured in transit. And it certainly does not mean I did not pay for it. Sometimes the scope of people's perspectives is very limited.
JimB

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Posted By: barrysloate

I think there are too many insured packages that travel through the post office for workers to think about stealing them. That is a major crime and they will lose their job and might even be looking at some jail time. If you send registered, it's even safer and everyone who touches a package must sign for it. I think it is a bad policy not to insure packages because if one were to get lost the buyer and seller are likely to be pretty upset with each other. That's the easiest way to lose a customer. I've sent thousands of insured packages and I can't even remember the last one that got lost. I say insure everything over $50.

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Posted By: edacra

The thing about insurance is you're basically paying that extra couple bucks for the piece of mind that if the Seller rips you off, they're not going to come back and say "hey man, you didn't pay for insurance!". I just got a bunch of packages from Ebay today that I paid extra to insure. None of them were stamped insured. A couple had delivery confirmations on them, which is something I'd never request.

I also had a strange thing happen today. When a card I got a steal of a deal on didn't show up, I emailed the Seller with a reminder, in case they got busy. Without prompting, he sent me a full refund, plus a dollar for Paypal fees AND told me to keep the card if it showed up. Well, it showed up today. That makes me wonder how much insurance he must have put on the card! Or maybe he's just a really nice person.

I'd say if you're including shipping, make sure it's the deluxe, send it priority with insurance included, and tack it into the price. That way you don't risk hard feelings (as in, "I would have paid for better shipping", or "you didn't ship it the way I wanted, rip off!") when your intention is just to sweeten the pot and make a clean sale.

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Posted By: leon

I usually self insure so if something is lost I pay the buyer. (knock on wood) It's on all of my auctions.....so the extra buck I get on shipping (as I only buy confirmations) will eventually go to a card that is lost...I hate spending all of that money on insurance....someday I might do it differently but for now that's the way it is. So, if someone pays my "delivered" shipping they will get a confirmation only.....and my shipping isn't usually too extravagantly high....though I guess on a $20 card $4-$5 is a lot...I always state shipping charges clearly so they can be factored into the final price folks want to pay for something too...

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Posted By: Rick

On ebay once i had a guy pay me 15 dollars for next day shipping...the card sold for about 20 bucks or so.

He only wrote a note saying ..."here is extra money for next day shipping".

I sent it next day ...but it always bothered me that he took it for granted ...not even a "could you please ..its for a birthday ..etc"

I have one negative on ebay ...it was over such a small issue on a card that sold for 5 bucks ...I would have gladly given his money back and let him keep the card, But instead he just negged me with out ever even sending an email.