Auction House Shipping Price, what is reasonable?

[Leon]

Shipping is a substantial part of the game. I don't mind reasonable shipping charges but companies should be mindful and not overcharge by too much. Actual shipping cost plus a few bucks is fine by me.

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

It depends. Many factors. If I bought a card for $15,000 and someone threw it in a $7.99 priority mailbox I’d be a little pissed.

If someone charged me $7.99 shipping for a $2 card I’d be a little pissed.

No simple answer.

Some of you guys act AHs don't do anything and whatever they make is highway robbery. Yeah, other than soliciting items, dealing with consignors, getting auction organized, photographed, promoted, dealing with printers, dealing with bidders, irate phone calls, problems with post office, packing supplies, time and effort to get
Many many packages to shipper, dealing with no payers, dealing with pissed off consignors ..... yeah. Piece of cake. Can’t imagine any aggravation at all.

[cammb]

Why the big deal about auction houses? Did anyone check the shipping prices that sellers on eBay are charging for the last year?

[ibuysportsephemera]

Originally Posted by cammb

Why the big deal about auction houses? Did anyone check the shipping prices that sellers on eBay are charging for the last year?

The big difference is that on eBay you know what you are paying for in advance for shipping. With most AH's you hold your breath waiting for the invoice after the auction is over.

Jeff

[ibuysportsephemera]

Big shout out to Jillian at Lelands. I received my invoice from a few nights ago. I thought that the shipping was somewhat high and contacted her. She sent a detailed response (with pictures) describing the cost and how the item would be packed. I think she will be able to save me a few bucks which I really appreciate it.

Jeff

[Leon]

Shout outs for good service are always appreciated.
I suspect if folks have a shipping issue and call about it, they get rectified most times.

Originally Posted by ibuysportsephemera

Big shout out to Jillian at Lelands. I received my invoice from a few nights ago. I thought that the shipping was somewhat high and contacted her. She sent a detailed response (with pictures) describing the cost and how the item would be packed. I think she will be able to save me a few bucks which I really appreciate it.

Jeff

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Here's some perspective from the other side of the fence.

In our auction that just closed we had a lot of 5 vintage baseball themed LIFE magazines including a Jackie Robinson cover.

They were won for a bid of $7.

These 5 magazines are obviously over-sized and weigh a total of 8 pounds. There is no way to get them into a flat rate envelope or even a medium flat rate box. I put them in a mylar envelope and shipping (with our $5 charge) was $31.20

I get an angry email stating he refuse to pay $31 shipping on a $7 win (what if he won a car for $7 would he expect it to ship for the price of a stamp? what does the cost of the win have to do with how much it is going to cost to ship?) I found a regional rate box that actually does work and got the rate down to $24.21. He still doesn't want it and gave me "permission" to ban him. Very generous of him.