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Alot of sellers are overcharging on shipping. But if you as the buyer, bids on that item, you honestly agreed to the shipping terms without knowing it. Therefore, they are your responsibility, no matter how fair they are. Avoid being scammed by these sellers, by first of all READING THE WHOLE AUCTION! If it says shipping is free at the top, make sure it doesn't say with buy it now only in the description or some other terms. If shipping is 19.99 on a 0.01 item, then you are agreeing that the item is worth 20 bucks. Second of all, AVOID sellers that overcharge on their shipping. They will be forced to either stop selling or pay fees like the rest of us. One reason sellers overcharge on shipping is to get a "kickback" persay that is not included in eBay's final value fees. Legal? No! Do they get away with it? Yes! But you can report them here:
Report Listing Violations!
Now, is it illegal to charge a handling fee? NO! And a lot of sellers do charge a very reasonable handling fee. I personally only charge 0.25 cents on my First Class items to cover the cost of my polymailers and delivery confirmation. I don't charge for my time, paper, printing labels, or gas to drive back and forth to the post office. Some sellers feel that they have to charge a little more while others feel they need to charge a little less. It is perfectly okay to charge a reasonable amount, but its when that reasonable amount goes crazy that it becomes a problem.
As a Seller and a Buyer, I have discovered a few ways to save on shipping.
- Buy a cheap scale. Make sure you are getting one appropriate for your needs. Don't buy a scale that only weighs up to 5 pounds if you normally sell items that are heavier then that. And in the same sense, don't buy a scale that weighs up to 30 pounds if you normally sell items that are under a pound.
- Use the FREE shipping supplies available through USPS and eBay. Here is a link to eBay's Shipping Center. Ebay Shipping Center
- Buy your other shipping supplies on eBay. There are a lot of sellers that sell very reasonably priced polymailers, tape, and other shipping supplies. Take the time to look, it will be worth it in the end.
- Use eBay's shipping calculator! Shipping is never wrong. You weigh it, put it in the listing, and the calculator does the work for you. Easy! You can even add a handling fee that will be added to the buyer's total so that they don't have to add it in themselves.
- Think about your handling fees. Figure out how much you are paying for those polymailers and other shipping supplies. Don't just look at it from a seller's standpoint, look at it from the buyer's standpoint as well. Remember, most buyer's figure in shipping in their final bid price, therefore if your item is ten cents cheaper then the competititor, you may have the sale!
Guide created: 09/11/06 (updated 09/25/08)
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