I have been buying and selling items on ebay for ten years now under user id VendorsEquipmentInc. As our volume has increased, so has the amount of customers who seem to complain about the cost of shipping on my items. Some of our biggest sellers are coin mechs and bill acceptors for vending machines, both of which are offered with flat rate shipping of $12.95 Continental United States. I am sure to clearly state this in the auction details, yet buyers continually feel they are being overcharged.

I've had enough with people complaining about things out of my control. Here are some of the most common questions/concerns voiced to me during sales along with my rebuttal.

-"Can you ship out these items USPS instead of UPS": no, i most certainly cannot ship them out USPS. I run a small business and it is not unheard of for me to work 60-70 hours a week including weekends and through lunch. I simply do not have the time to box up items then drive them down to the local post office.

-"Do you ship with anyone else besides UPS": No, we do not. Why don't we? Well the answer is simple. UPS has been our preferred carrier since 1986. I have the UPS Worldship program setup making it easy for customers to track they're goods when they ship. Most importantly, UPS works on a discount structure based upon tiers. Why would we split up and use other carriers which detracts from our discount?

These are the two most common questions I am asked as a seller, and it frustrates me because people seem to get annoyed if my answers arent what they are looking to hear. Running a small business these days is EXTREMELY difficult and competitive, and I wish more people understood this.

Hopefully this information will shed some light on a subject that seems to be unclear to many. Keep in mind also that it is the buyers responsibility to read all auction details before they decide to purchase.

The life of an ebay seller

vendorsequipmentinc