OK, so as a buyer on Ebay, what do you do?  Shipping and Handling is so hard to understand.  I myself did not get it, until I became a seller.  It's multi-layered. 

Years ago, shipping items was about 40 cent a pound.  UPS did not measure box sizes, it was all by weight.  Now that much of the shopping is done on the Internet, and Ebay, the entire shipping market has changed. Shipping is big business.  

Shipping involves hidden costs - boxes, tapes, filler, bubble wrap, paper, stuffing, things that need 2 boxes, buying of boxes, driving to post office.  there is the weight of the item, the box, the filler, the bubble wrap, etc, costs do have to be covered by the shipping fees.  Big businesses have payroll costs to hire shippers.  

The new problem is gas prices.  It is now part of the higher shipping costs.  The saddest part of this increase is that the huge boxes now, even if they are light in weight are effected.  Years ago, I was shipping rocking horses that were just fabulous, and they were about $30 to ship, which was feasible.  Now, the last rocking horse is more than $60 to ship across the country, that's a huge difference, and it has not sold because of that.  And there's nothing I can do.  The prices are according to size, and that's a huge box over 3 feet long and 2 feet high, etc, and that's where it really hurts.  For now, it's important to just consider that before purchasing those huge items to sell.  As I buy more items to carry, I consider the size and shipping costs because cost is a new deterent on those big items, unless you can get them very cheaply when buying.

Buyers also may not understand this, if you have a lightweight item, you may think that it's easy to ship and arrive safely, and why so much for shipping.  But it leaves our hands, goes into large shipping dolly's, and containers, then squished into piles of other boxes, thrown, moved from one person to another, until it reaches you.

If we ship things in envelopes, the same thing.  A pile of items go on top of that envelope by the time it reaches you.  When it leaves us, it's in perfect, unwrinkled, mint condition, but after it's been part of a pile of 10 - 50 pounds of other mail, it's going to arrive in a different condition, and the buyer needs to take it out, let it hang or unwrinkle, and just realize that it was the only way to get it there.

And buyers don't even know this most of the time.  If an item weighs more than 13 ounces, it can't be shipped first class, it has to go to either parcel post, priority mail or UPS.  And if it weighs 1pound and 1 ounce, SELLERS ARE BILLLED FOR 2 POUNDS TO SHIP IT, NOT ONE AND ONE OUNCE.  There are not half pound rates, or even 1/4 pound.  It'a all by pound, so again, if something weighs 5 pounds and 1 ounce, we are charged for 6 pounds, every single time.

We sellers have to weigh the item inside the box, with the tape, and the label, in order to get an accurate shipping charge.

And for items that are first class mail, the lowest shipping price is $1.35, that's what the Ebay rates start at, and that's when you print your labels on line.  If you go to the post office and use regular envelopes, it can be cheaper, but after you buy delivery confirmation, it's about the same.

Buyers need to understand the shipping terms, and they should be spelled out for you.  You have to know the shipping costs before you can bid.  Now Ebay makes you list the shipping total, which includes some of these costs.  It's listed on the auction under one total price, but it does include the costs that I just listed above.  That's why sometimes the shipping cost can't be exactly the price for weight only.  If something needs alot of bubble pack, or shipping peanuts, etc, it usually is included in that total.

Some auctions list an item for $1.00 with high shipping.  I am assuming that they are figuring if they only get that one bid, they are covered on the item cost and the shipping cost.  But as long as the terms are spelled out, the buyer can make a decision.  You add both costs together.  I don't agree with doing that for myself because I think the intent is to pay low Ebay fees.  And for me it's misleading.  If I listed a $20.00 shirt for .99 and then $19.00 for shipping, I feel that the buyer sees that as gettting overcharged for shipping.  And the seller does pay Ebay less of a fee, but the buyer pays the same amount.  I prefer to list my $20.00 for $20.00 and $5.00 for shipping, and they know they are getting a brand new shirt with tags, and paying a normal amount to pack and ship it, and I prefer to pay the accurate fees, not try to save that way.  It's different for every seller, again, the bottom line is you add it all up, and know the total for the item in the end.

Insurance or delivery confirmation is so essential today.  Sellers should depend on it, and it's their only protection.  If something does get lost, and occassionally, it can happen, the only way to track it is either by delivery confirmation, or insurance.  Once it leaves our hands, if you ship it regular mail, there isn't even a record of it.  If you insure it there is, and there is accountability on someone.   Insurance guarantees me that you will get it, or else we have recourse.  With UPS, it's included in shipping prices.  This year, I printed my labels online through paypal, and it's easy and saves money.  And with a click click, I can track all of the packages that I send out.  Very professional, fast, and effecient.

Buyers have a hard time understanding how it works. As sellers, we have fees to list our items by price range, we have fees for Ebay, store fees,  fees to accept Paypal, fees to print labels, etc, and certainly fees and costs involved in sending out the packages.  And now shipping is by zip code, by box size, and by weight. 

If you have the information to explain the the reasons behind shipping and handling fees, one can become more accepting of it, and be prepared when they buy.  And know the shipping terms BEFORE you place a bid. 

Mistakes are made when you bid and don't know the shipping terms.   I am willing to pay more for some things because they are so fabulous and not always available in my area, but I always know the shipping first.  I remember once when I wanted to buy 20 items from the same seller.  She said she combined shipping, but would not say by how much, and her shipping totals were high for Barbie clothes.  I could not get her to tell me the shipping total before I bid, she encouraged me to bid first, and then she would tell me.  I would not.  I needed to know would it be half of her total?, more?, less?   It would have been a nightmare.  So, I did not bid at all.  There were plenty more auctions, where I knew the total.  Not knowing the shipping is a setup for failure, I do not deal with anyone like that.  I think that is a bad way to do business.   I will tell anyone the shipping total before they bid if they want multiple items.  Everyone should feel free to ask, and get an answer.

I have been so lucky, but I am careful and love who I deal with.  Anything that does not feel right, is your best clue.  The majority are honest on here, but we need to be real, if something does not sound right, or feel right, we need to go with that.  This is a great system that is open 24 hours a day, is convenient, fast, and hugely accomodating.  And it arrives at your door!!!!!!!  

There is no way to do Ebay, without shipping, so we have to make it work.  Despite having insurance, claims are horrible to handle, and you may have bought some irreplaceable item.  So shipping and handling may be what saves all of these items from damage.  It's hard to put a price on that.  I just know it's part of the deal.