OT: Excessive shipping - does ebay care?

[tschock]

Thanks for the (obvious) opinions on taking account shipping costs when bidding. But I think I found the information I was looking for with the applicable details:

Here's what we found for "A seller may be overcharging for shipping costs"

If you think an item's shipping cost seems excessive, try to find a better deal. You can also use our Shipping Calculator to research shipping rates.

It's against our rules to have unreasonable shipping charges in a listing, or to provide unclear or misleading shipping information. Learn more about our selling practices policy.

Sellers are allowed to:

Charge actual shipping costs.
Include the cost of packaging materials, insurance, and delivery.
Include delivery confirmation or extra services in the handling cost.


Sellers aren't allowed to:

Charge more than the maximum shipping costs in categories with shipping caps.
Charge a separate fee for insurance.
Charge for business-related fees such as employee wages or gas mileage.
Include contradictory or confusing shipping terms in your listing.


When dealing with the Global Shipping Program, remember that:

A seller only has control over the domestic shipping cost; the cost of international shipping and import fees is determined by the Global Shipping Center.
All costs are paid for at the time of purchase; no payment is needed upon delivery.

Regarding sellers not being allow to "Charge more than the maximum shipping costs in categories with shipping caps." This only seems to apply to 'media' type listings such as books, DVDs, etc, specifically found in this link: http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/maxi...g.html#maximum

So it is against their "rules" to have "unreasonable" shipping charges (with "unreasonable" being the operative word).

The reason I had asked this? Because at one time ebay would not even ALLOW you to list something if it violated the maximum shipping price, and I just wondered if that was still in effect. I didn't THINK it was (based on the lack of option for reporting this), but I just wanted to KNOW the actual answer.

But I still believe they do take their cut out of shipping as well. This was a recent (last 2 years or so?) change to collect from sellers who would list cheap BINs with outrageous shipping. Unless that has now changed as well.

[vthobby]

"against their "rules" to have "unreasonable" shipping costs"

My experience on over 4500 Ebay deals both buying and selling is that this statement from Ebay means nothing. Literally.

The only place that they have ever limited me for postage is on books or videos (DVDs) and the max is usually $5. I have never seen it on any other category.

"The reason I had asked this? Because at one time ebay would not even ALLOW you to list something if it violated the maximum shipping price, and I just wondered if that was still in effect."

No it is not except in a very small amount of categories (books and movies).

"But I still believe they do take their cut out of shipping as well. This was a recent (last 2 years or so?) change to collect from sellers who would list cheap BINs with outrageous shipping. Unless that has now changed as well."

Yes, they still take their cut on P&H on EVERY transaction EXCEPT when you offer free shipping. Ebay always wins!

Sorry if it appears jumbled above but I cut and pasted some of your questions and put asterisks on them and put my answers in BOLD.

I think the biggest question however was "Does Ebay care?"

The simple answer as a few have pointed out is NO they do not.

#1 Ebay cares about Ebay. Nothing else.
#2 Paypal cares about Paypal. Nothing else.
#3 When in doubt and if you get angry at either please see note #1 and #2.



Peace, Mike

PS If you have ever had a dispute with Ebay or Paypal and tried calling their "customer service" phone number just refer back to Rule #1 and #2 also!

[Rookiemonster]

I've seen a card that was 5 miles away from me and charged 12.50 for shipping . When asked for a lower shipping price because of how close by I was or for a pick up if I win he said no . Because everything is certified mail only . People are just weird

[JustinD]

In the past sellers used to use shipping costs as a way to get around ebay fees as ebay would not charge final value on shipping.

There were many auctions with a .99 cent win and a 60.00 shipping charge. PayPal stole that as they take their cut on the whole kit and kabootle.

Ebay then cracked down on that as it was wrecking the double dip of fees they were normally doing.

They want their cut on the front and back.

[D. Bergin]

In order to reign in S&H fees, Ebay started to take a cut of S&H fees (= to or higher then the percentage taken for final value fees on the actual item). In order for sellers to not lose their shirt, they have to raise S&H fees.

EBay is a snake swallowing its own tail.

[drmondobueno]

Too much lawyer speak here for me, so will say this. I factor in my bid with the shipping prices in mind.

If the card does not meet description, or if the seller offers no description, and creases or some such are not apparent in the photo but are obvious when the card is in hand, the grade is nowhere close, etc, I decide to either return or eat the card. If I eat the card, and the transaction is blatently misleading, the seller gets a neg. If I eat the card, but the card is marginal, ie, VG vs Ex, the decision is described in comments with a neutral. Having never returned a card, I keep all this in mind during my buying decision.

If shipping is described to justify a price, and the seller does not do as described, the seller gets a neg. No hesitation. I've done that twice in twelve years.

Cheat me, you get a neg. Mislead, you get a ding. The seller or eBay does not make that decision, I do.

[tschock]

Originally Posted by vtgmsc

"against their "rules" to have "unreasonable" shipping costs"

My experience on over 4500 Ebay deals both buying and selling is that this statement from Ebay means nothing. Literally.

The only place that they have ever limited me for postage is on books or videos (DVDs) and the max is usually $5. I have never seen it on any other category.

"The reason I had asked this? Because at one time ebay would not even ALLOW you to list something if it violated the maximum shipping price, and I just wondered if that was still in effect."

No it is not except in a very small amount of categories (books and movies).

"But I still believe they do take their cut out of shipping as well. This was a recent (last 2 years or so?) change to collect from sellers who would list cheap BINs with outrageous shipping. Unless that has now changed as well."

Yes, they still take their cut on P&H on EVERY transaction EXCEPT when you offer free shipping. Ebay always wins!

Sorry if it appears jumbled above but I cut and pasted some of your questions and put asterisks on them and put my answers in BOLD.

I think the biggest question however was "Does Ebay care?"

The simple answer as a few have pointed out is NO they do not.

#1 Ebay cares about Ebay. Nothing else.
#2 Paypal cares about Paypal. Nothing else.
#3 When in doubt and if you get angry at either please see note #1 and #2.



Peace, Mike

PS If you have ever had a dispute with Ebay or Paypal and tried calling their "customer service" phone number just refer back to Rule #1 and #2 also!

Mike,

Was not jumbled at all, addressed my questions, and confirmed my suspicions. Thanks!!!