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Do you leave negative feedback for excessive shipping?
Curious if you leave neg. feedback (eBay) for high shipping charges? Do you feel it is warranted if you know the shipping charges before you bid? Should that even matter? Do you leave 1 or 2 stars then for what you may fee are high/excessive shipping charges? What do you feel is reasonable vs. excessive? Do you leave neg. for cards sent not well packed or protected - regardless if arrived damaged or not?
From my perspective, I don't leave neg. for shipping bcse I know it going in, but won't hesitate to tag 1 or 2 stars if I feel it's high/excessive. Especially if it's for a $40-$50 card, over $5 and comes in a reg. white envelope or .59 cent bubble wrap envelope. Just interested in your take here :) |
I agree, Ed. It's not right to leave a neg for excessive shipping if the fees are stated in the listing, but I'll definitely ding the stars.
Edited to add: I buy a lot of single cards, so "excessive" to me is anything over $6. |
I'll leave neg. feedback if they send it in an envelope with little to no protection, and charge a price that warrants better care. As a buyer, if I pay $3 or more for shipping I have an expectation. I have this expectation because I sell on eBay and I know what things cost. I can ship an item in a bubble mailer, with a sleeve, and a top loader; Costs me $2.50 total for all of that combined with the cost of shipping. I understand that eBay charges 10% on shipping, which is a joke BTW, so if they charge $3, even $3.25 I won't think anything of it; as long as they ship it properly. But, to charge that much and throw it in a white envelope; to me that's gouging a customer and should be dealt with accordingly. And by accordingly I mean contacting the buyer to see if they'll make it right, if not then I leave neg. feedback. I should mention that I've only ever had one seller who took issue with that.
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I won't, since I knew the charge ahead of time, and so far I've been lucky that when the sellers I've bought from have charged high rates, it's because they're shipping it in a bombproof box.
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Mail Cost: $2.54 Bubble Mailer $.11 Cardboard Pads $.16 Tape $.03 Biz Card and/or marketing Materials $.03-$.40 CS1 $.05 eBay charge 10% $.35 I charge $3.50 and payout $3.51~ on every shipment to get it to the door. Buyers who complain about shipping charges and how "you try to make money on them" get blocked. |
I have only written a few sellers telling them their shipping fees, using Global, are outrageous.
Surprisingly, a lot of sellers are not aware it is so expensive for us CDN's. I have also seen other outrageous fees, like $47.00 dollars charged for one card using something other than Global but I haven't bothered wasting my time telling them as I am sure they are aware of it? Needless to say, neither seller ever receives any bids from me. Edit: I should add, a couple sellers I have notified have now changed their shipper from Global to something way more reasonable and affordable. |
I try to notice shipping charges before I buy. I think the only time I've ever left negative feedback was on an overly difficult transaction, probably only once or twice in a couple thousand transactions.
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I think it would be pretty ridiculous to leave negative feedback for shipping charges that you are aware of before you bid.
If a card is mailed to me unprotected in a white envelope I would leave negative feedback regardless of the shipping charge. As far as people complaining of a $3-5 shipping charge that's why I don't sell on ebay and consign anything I'm looking to move. The time it takes to pack, ship, drive to the post office, cost of gas, etc more than makes up for the perceived discrepancy in materials alone. |
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Shipping 3 oz or less is now 2.45 after the USPS rollback a few weeks ago. The 9 cents per package savings should make a nice rebate for volume shippers.
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eBay taking $.35 per shipping charge which is something that is unable to be passed on to the consumer. eBay also charges to list each item and Paypal charges to sell each item. |
What about the cost of printer ink and labels???...:)...
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Hey, Weeping Willow, err, I mean Jolly Elm, how about sharing your eBay ID here so that several of us can block you? |
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How many of you guys are here that are collectors, but have a business card for your hobby business? I meet quite a few guys who set up at card shows on the weekend that pass out business cards and are collectors. Their table cost and business card cost may be minimal, but it still factors in. Let's get back to the topic: negative feedback for excessive shipping. Would you leave a negative feedback for an charge of $3.50, disclosed at the time of listing? |
I feel a heart felt apology coming on
Any who , I don't mind what someone charges for shipping.i make a price on a card and factor in the shipping. If it more then I'm willing to pay for the card. I don't buy it . I hate when I get a ridge card holder and not a top loader. I just might never buy a card from you again.
I will leave neutral feedback and low stars if you ship me any card between only two piece of cardboard and blue tape! ✌🏽 |
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Any way we look at it this is a matter of a few cents and washes out. I didn't add in label cost, the $.05-$.10 eBay cost to get the item up, or the $.30+2.9% Paypal fee. At the end of the day the only entity winning on shipping cost is eBay/Paypal. |
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Anyway, with that being said, NO I don't think $3.50 is excessive for shipping an item, and I wouldn't leave negative feedback... |
to answer you question directly...
it depends: q: if i pay $3.50 and it's properly packed? a: great. posi feedback. q: if i pay $3.50 and it shows up in a white envelope, but still unscathed? a: i say "wow", note the brass balls but still don't leave neg feedback. q: if i pay $3.50+ and it shows up in a white envelope and is damaged? a: heaven help them. |
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Oh, and it involves you being a fucking tough guy, d-bag. Complaining and carping because in your dumba** mind I was posting too much for a new guy. And you obviously thought I would be 'frightened' of you. So I specifically asked you where you live so maybe we could have a little meet up. Because if you were anywhere near me on the east coast, anywhere, I would've been happy to meet up with you and see how tough you really are. But, alas, you were in Texas. And I believe you sent me a pic of your license but said something to the effect of, I'm moving so I won't be living there very soon. Aw, you saved the PM's. How cute. |
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this is hilariously sad, guys....
got the popcorn ready regardless. http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...pshbjs5tqd.gif |
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http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=152334 |
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http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=208060 Page 5, Post #44 I'm done with this. |
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And I like how you referenced the original thread. In it, I provide a screenshot showing what you were saying was completely untrue. It's right there for everyone to see. And like I said back then, YOU don't make the rules. And yet you just had to keep coming back again and again instead of simply moving on. |
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Both of you, knock it off. You wanna have a battle of words, or fists, take it to the PM.
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Saves a lot of drama and time. I have very rarely had a card arrived damaged. Once a package arrived opened with no contents. That was from COMC and they refunded me with no questions asked. Recently the PWE and card in the photo arrived in a plastic bag and a note from the post office apologizing for the damage. This was from a board member so I didn't bother mentioning it. |
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The seller apologized for sending in plain white envelope, blamed it on his secretary and made a partial refund. Luckily, card wasnt damaged. Sent it to SGC and received same grade.
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Infraction given. Either leave that language at the door or you will be shown where it is. ANd I should add, your next outburst of profanity on this board will in fact be your last one.
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I tell the person up front that their shipping costs are too high. If the person doesn't negotiate, then I move on. One exception recently was a group of Willards Chocolates I picked up on eBay. The charge was $3.00 s/h on each lot and shipping was not reduced with multiple winning lots. The reason I didn't object to $18.00 s/h was only because the cards were coming from Canada. It was evident from the postage that the guy wasn't make money off the deal.
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As long as a seller discloses his shipping costs up front, I see no reason why a buyer should not leave 5 stars for S/H charges. It's up to a buyer to walk away from a listing when they believe the costs are too high. Many buyers forget that the seller also has to include insurance costs.
Why don't I see any complaints about the outrageous shipping costs that some of the AH's charge? One side note, I think that if someone wishes to show a badly damaged envelope on the board, at least cover up the sellers address. Yes, he should have shipped it in a more secure envelope but I would hope that he has learned from his past mistakes. There is absolutely no reason to show the board where the seller lives. Just my opinion. |
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Just my $.02 |
I get asked about high shipping charges. Its written on the Ebay listings that I use Priorty Flat rate boxes and I also insure the items. Items under 50, I will use signature confirmation. You may be asking why??? I use these boxes for protection, since most items are slabbed cards.
Now I recently sent 1 slabbed card (200$ value) it cost $6.80 for the box plus insurance cost $3.35 for a total of $10.15, and I acutally only charged 9.50 on this listing. And folks complain it being high??? Another cost example: (a $1700 card)- it cost $6.80 plus insurance $17.25 for a total of $24.05 Another listing: (a $1900 card)- it cost $6.80 plus insurance $26.35 for a total of $33.15 **Also note that SMALL flat boxes are $6.80 and MED flat boxes are $13.75 and LARGE flat boxes are $18.75, so when I put $20 and use a MED box, on larger items/groups with $3 signature confirmation, and insurance, plus bubblewrap/tape/popcorn --it does cost that, and I don't have a mail pickup service. |
Why do discussion about shipping expenses sound more like political or religious arguments? It is amazing how polarizing something as simple as sending a package in the mail can be.
I think that the answers should be pretty simple: 1. If the shipping cost is clearly noted and reasonable care and effort warrants the cost, then reasonable feedback should be left. 2. If the shipping cost is clearly noted and less than reasonable care or effort was made, then stars should be dinged. 3. If the shipping cost was misrepresented, no responsible care or effort was taken or the packaged arrived in a less than desirable manner, then negative feedback should be left to alert and warn other potential buyers. What is a reasonable price for shipping falls back into specific personal opinion, but I think that trying to figure out if someone is making a couple of pennies on shipping and then grabbing a pitchfork, torch and a noose might be a little extreme. After all, the seller is still responsible for the item arriving to you safely and in the condition advertised, and with that responsibility comes an assumed risk that very few buyers consider. Shipping or including personal or business materials in a package is an expense that need not be passed on to the seller, however. So, to answer the question raised by the OP, if you know the rules in advance, and the seller delivers as expected, I don't believe a negative is in order. However, I don't see anything wrong with making a statement on the: "How reasonable were the shipping and handling charges?" section by leaving fewer than 5 stars. |
I don't move as much merchandise as Sean, but I have calculated the exact same way. I don't have promo materials but I do include a business card. I send cheap cards (under $5) in a PWE for $1. I've had people pay extra shipping to get the cheaper cards in a mailer, because they understand shipping isn't free. Everything else at least gets a bubble mailer and is $3.
Everything I mail goes in a top loader or semi rigid and is double bagged before it is mailed. It gets the cardboard and bubble wrap treatment if it is going in a mailer. I have never understood someone being dinged for shipping charges as long as the item is received in same condition AND THE CHARGES ARE IN BLACK & WHITE, right there in front of you, when the purchase is made. When the seller undercharges on shipping does anyone send extra money? Of course not. I see absolutely no problem with the way Sean does business. His .10 each additional item is actually quite fair. |
The people that bitch about shipping are the same people that would go in a corner store and ask if the fountain soda is cheaper if you just poured it in their hands. Then asks if you can break a hundred.
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I believe that many buyers who ding the stars do not even know what reasonable shipping costs are. Do they factor in the cost of materials, the cost of insurance, the actual cost of the shipping?
Many items that I ship cost more to ship than I actually state in my listing. I don't go back to the buyer and complain that it's costing me more to ship than I stated. If I said it cost something in my listing, that is exactly what the buyer is charged. |
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did you ever notice that he actually got the rib for free?
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This guy undercharged me for shipping. Charged me two bucks, and it cost him $3.22 to ship out. Unfortunately he only used about 3 cents in supplies.
Big stack of unique paper items, lost in the bottom of a sort bin, somewhere in the USPS postal system. Wish he'd charged me 10 bucks and packed it so it would have actually made it to me in one piece. |
That's a different story. He wasn't trying to make money off of shipping. He is just an idiot. Also, do you assign any blame to USPS? I would. They took money to transport one item from one place to another. Regardless of contents or shipping material, shouldn't they be able to do that ONE simple thing. Did you purchase insurance on the stuff?
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Guy knew he screwed up and refunded me right away. I got a great deal on the lot so would have much rather had the items. I didn't ding him. Just felt really bad about some great vintage material being destroyed. No, I didn't blame USPS. If you saw the way it was packaged, there was no way it was ever going to make it to me in one piece. Especially seeing that he shipped it "Media Mail". At least 2 lb's of loose paper items, stuffed into a plain white envelope, very little if any tape, and a mailing label which consisted of a single piece of copy paper barely scotch taped to the top of the package. I was shocked the mailing label even survived to get the empty envelope to the right address. If the USPS have any blame along the way, it's perhaps that they never should have accepted the package to begin with, but he printed out the mailing label himself, so he could have easily just tossed it in a Mail Deposit box. Once it was in the system, it had no chance. |
Above a certain price I sell with free domestic shipping. Saves me the hassles of dealing with pissy buyers over a few centavos. And I recycle all the envelopes and boards and card holders I receive from my buys so my cost is postage and tape. Environmentally friendly and economical.
If a shipping cost is disclosed up front I factor it into the deal same as a BP from an AH I will ding a seller for poor packing and if he won't combine shipping charges. |
I'd like to add this to the thread...
How big a boy are you? How do I get to where you're at? You going to be there all day?:D |
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(Just assuming a Post Office was an option and not knowing the details of the transaction/shipping agreement?) |
What is frustrating to me are the buyers who buy multiple cards, and subsequently make a payment for each card individually through paypal. Even more frustrating is when the buyer then turns right around and asks for a refund back on ALL of the excess s/h. Most recently, I had a buyer pay for 9 cards (each with $1 s/h) separately through paypal. These 8 additional payments caused me to incur an unexpected $2.40 in paypal transaction fees. The buyer called me and asked if I would still honor my s/h cap of $3.....not likely, as the extra $2.40 in fees are not covered by the $3 s/h cost.
In addition, my descriptions mention that the $3 s/h cap is only applicable to orders paid for on a single payment...in other words, I will try to find a way to appease the buyer w/o going in the hole on expenses. In this case, I appeased the buyer by sending him 5-6 off grade cards of his favorite player. |
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Yeah, that's a pet peeve of mine to. Sometimes it's an impatient buyer, sometimes it's an Ebay software issue that's causing the buyers problems in the shopping cart. That's why I try to make it clear to buyers to not attempt to pay for their auctions or purchases if they have won more then 1 item from me, until I send them a separate adjusted invoice. Doesn't always work, but I think it cuts down on the occurrences. |
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Mail Cost: $2.45 Bubble Mailer $.10 Postcard sized penny saver to protect slab: $.02 eBay charge 10% $.33 I put a thin piece of cardboard (from the free small priority mail boxes) on each side of the card. I also tape the packing slip to the cardboard with the buyer's address showing in the very unlikely event the card is separated from the package. I charge $3.25 for shipping (and it used to be $3 before the postage rates went up at the beginning of the year). Using this rate, I've never gotten a negative feedback on my sales. I've been dinged a little, but never down to 1 or 2 stars, and never anything to threaten my Top Rated Seller status. And you can say that I technically think I make a small profit on my shipping. Personally, I really think a key to getting good ebay satisfaction from buyers is if you ship the card really fast, and the buyer has it in his/her hands really quick, they will forgive a lot of things, even slightly higher shipping charges. About marketing charges, I would never charge the buyer for that. C'mon you're charging the buyer slightly more, and you want to win more of their business by giving them a business card? If you want more of their business, I think they'd much prefer lower shipping cost. And anyway, if you file Schedule C for your business, those marketing costs (and costs of the bubble mailer, etc) are all tax deductible. And I saw that Just Collect posted to this thread also. The last time I won from them on ebay, they even sent me a free Just Collect t-shirt. (Granted my winning was over $1K.) Seriously, that is marketing that you remember. I toss business cards straight into my recycling bin without ever looking at them whenever I get them in my packages. |
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Another excuse I have heard is "I did not realize I was buying all of these items from the same seller".....wow, just wow. To me, it appears that part of the problem causing buyers to make these multiple payments centers around the fact that most buyers are only given the option to checkout/pay for items when using the BIN option. It may be an extra click for a buyer buying one item, but if ebay removed the BIN option and only went with the "add to cart" option, this problem would be severely cut back. Awhile back I called ebay and had my buying account set up so, in most cases, I can use the BIN option and NOT have to send an immediate payment. This would allow me to buy multiple items from one seller over time to save on s/h. However, I still have to use the cart to receive and "promotional" discounts that the seller is offering. |
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I have a question for you guys that do sell on eBay. Do you have to use the eBay shipping system or do you just process and mail on your own?
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I use Stamps.com for most packages, and it sends the tracking info back to Ebay. Will use Ebay for Internationals because they give better discounts for that. Ebay used to give discounts for heavier Priority packages, but not so much anymore. Stamps still showing $2.60 to me for 3 oz's and under. Doesn't make much difference though, since I pack everything heavier then 3oz's anyways, even if it's just a card. You could say it's wasteful, but it's going to get where it's going in the same shape it left in. |
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The majority of the cards I purchase now are way cheaper than Global and certainly cheaper than the price of the card I am purchasing. Global is expensive and on the cards I purchase, is sometimes double and triple the price of the card.:eek: It makes zero sense purchasing a $4.00-$5.00 card only to have to pay $14.00 dollars+ in shipping fees plus another few bucks for import fees which get applied using the Global shipping as well. Most I usually pay now, to my door, is $4-$5 or less. |
Shipping is just part of the cost of the card. If the card is worth $X to you, you pay up to $X to have it. And part of having it is having it sent to you. Neither the buyer nor the seller should care what the shipping cost is. If you charge $40 for shipping buyers are just going to bid $(X-40) for it. How the cost is distributed between the card and the shipping charge really doesn't matter.
So no, don't leave negative feedback for high shipping charges. Just put in a lower bid than you would otherwise. |
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That's how I look at it. I have left negative or neutral feedback for shipping when costs are obviously skewed, such as failing to combine shipping, higher shipping costs for an item shipped relatively unprotected. I will say, in my comments, my bid reflects the cost of shipping. On auction houses, especially those who charge for postage, supplies, handling, etc, I don't bid mch, if at all for many AH these days. In my prior life managing a profit center, many of these descriptive items are actually labor and material costs. I consider this no more than an attempt to increase profitability and, with the A H juice running up to 20%, any explanation is no more than justification for suckers. Just my two bucks worth, which is now $2.60 with S&H. By the way, I make several purchases from shippers in Japan. Costs are all over the place, but several ship for under three bucks. Food for thought. |
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I feel sorry for the people in other countries who have to deal with Global Shipping and the associated costs, but I still use it because it's the only safe way for ME to send something internationally. I was losing so many packages in customs around the world or just plain getting screwed over by unscrupulous buyers that it was no longer worth it to ship international. Now all I have to do is get it to Kentucky and my part is over.
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If you live out of the country, especially Canada, do one of the following.
A. Find someone stateside you trust to collect your purchases and ship all together once a month. Or easier: B. Set up a COMC account and have all your purchases shipped there. You can bundle and and ship groups whenever you feel like it. Your monthly fees will be drastically less than you pay in shipping for your purchases. |
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