OT: Two out of Three eBayers ...

[bobbyw8469]

The other side of the coin is, I combined shipping for a buyer. 7 huge, graded mutoscope cards and some other cards. Combine shipping was $8.50. He screamed and moaned. Said it should be $5. I explained to him that I was probably losing money on shipping the items to him, even at the $8.50 (and I did). His items easily weight over a pound, which is the cutoff for getting items into the cheaper "First Class" category. To be honest with you, I always cringe when people win multiple items from me, as shipping is always going to be a sticking point. They don't seem to understand how combined shipping even works.

[thecatspajamas]

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[ALR-bishop]

I am just a buyer on eBay. If the seller gets me the card in the condition advertised and charges no more for shipping than stated in the listing, I am good

[robertsmithnocure]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

I am just a buyer on eBay. If the seller gets me the card in the condition advertised and charges no more for shipping than stated in the listing, I am good

I feel the same way. As long as I know the amount ahead of time and the card arrives safely then I am fine. If I feel that that shipping charge is too much, then I either take that into consideration when I bid on a card or do not participate in the sale.

[painthistorian]

We ship a lot of items, not just cards to Canada and we NEVER use a white envelope..we use bubble mailers with packing material so it is considered a package.. Most Canadian buyers are exceptionally nice and fair, we love Canada and want them as customers.
...Under $50 items coins,jewelry,cards...I will reduce shipping to $14.95, over $50 $16 to $20 based on value and size-but I will combine shipping at $1 per item unless its heavy...however anyone that doesnt not like that as it is our CLEARLY POSTED rates, with fast reliable shipping and gives us crap about it (which is very RARE)-we dont want. We will gladly block from future bidding and that goes for retractions after 24 hours without notice..no one can ship a card to Canada for $5 unless it is a white envelope with 1 oz or less so damages can occur...the original poster should either factor that into bidding or just dont bid on anyone's goods that charges more....

Like good buyers, good sellers are scarce and should be treated fairly but negotiating after the listing is over, unless there is an error....is not fair or tolerated here.

[perezfan]

What about the reverse?

I have had more than a few sellers say they under-charged me on shipping, and then came back via email, to ask for more money. Happened just last week... the guy claimed postage was $14 higher then he charged, and he said that I had to pay him the difference.

I'm pretty sure he had no leg to stand on, but I paid him $7 (half the difference) as a measure of semi-goodwill. Anyone else have this happen with any frequency?

[perezfan]

And as for the card in the plain white envelope... I would send it back just on principal. Lazy and cheap on the seller's part, and he definitely put the card's condition in jeopardy.

I've had to resort to asking every eBay seller to sandwich the damn card in a toploader between two pieces of rigid cardboard. And about a quarter of them still won't do it.

I really wish that eBay would include "Quality of Packaging" in their Feedback Criteria (1 - 5 Stars). Doing so would force sellers to think harder about protecting peoples' purchases. IMHO, it's much more important than the somewhat meaningless "Communication" criteria they currently have.

[Yastrzemski Sports]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

The other side of the coin is, I combined shipping for a buyer. 7 huge, graded mutoscope cards and some other cards. Combine shipping was $8.50. He screamed and moaned. Said it should be $5. I explained to him that I was probably losing money on shipping the items to him, even at the $8.50 (and I did). His items easily weight over a pound, which is the cutoff for getting items into the cheaper "First Class" category. To be honest with you, I always cringe when people win multiple items from me, as shipping is always going to be a sticking point. They don't seem to understand how combined shipping even works.

Most people haven’t kept up with current shipping rates. Whenever the price of a stamp goes up a penny, shipping rates change across the board by a lot. When I started, a card in a bubble mailer was 49 cents. Now it’s almost $3. All items over a pound are $7 and up. And now eBay is taking a percent of the shipping money. Most of us teeter on the edge of making or losing money on shipping. At $3.50 for a single card - with all costs involved - it’s close. Always better to buy multiple items from the same seller. The most expensive item to shop is the first one.