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Post Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2013 8:39 am 
 

Gnat the Beggar wrote in Annual Shipping Increase:Some people really do not get it...


Just don't complain to eBay, give him positive feedback, and hit his DSR's.  Negative feedback can be removed by eBay along with the DSR's which you don't want. eBay gets a cut on the shipping so there is no incentive for them to be reasonable about this.  Finally, block him and feel free to pass along his eBay name so we can do the same.   8)


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Post Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2013 10:56 am 
 

Gnat the Beggar wrote in Annual Shipping Increase:First off I had won Four listings from one seller.
The total shipping was invoiced at $46 at first, so after confirming that he had posted in each listing that combined shipping was available, I sent seller a message asking if he would combine all the listings into one shipping cost and send a new invoice.
So he sent me a new invoice... I still had to pay $26 for a medium size Flat Rate Box.
The total for all four listings was well over $500 so I thought what the heck can I do?
When I asked why it was still so high, his reply was...

If you look at the listing you WILL see that I stated $20.00 shipping costs for the box set.
If you look at the listings you will ALSO see that for each of the OTHER 3 items that you purchased I had shipping down as $6.95, $6.95, $6.95 for EACH one. I also stated I would combine shipping when possible.
So if you want to complain you certainly may, but instead of charging you a total of $41.85 for shipping WHICH I COULD HAVE DONE under eBay rules I did not.
Also, just to let you know, I actually ended up paying by WEIGHT to ship since I made up the shipping label without thinking about using a flat rate box. I did not think all the items would actually fit into it so I had it priced using a different box by weight. So you may see a flat rate box that is NOT what I actually paid to ship it to you at. It was just a box of convenience after printing and paying by weight for priority mail then finding out that they would fit into that box.so I ended up using it.


Some people really do not get it...


The best part is when he blamed you for his shipping mistake. And, guys, TBH, they are taking away DSR hits too. It's happened to me on a few occasions...though I suppose you need to have good DSRs first, and mine are all 5.0. I just don't think anyone cares anymore about feedback or DSRs, honestly, the requirements to receive any sort of bonus are so outrageous that nobody bothers but the largest volume sellers.

The only thing left to do is factor in shipping costs and bid accordingly. And share these idiots with us so their business takes a hit. :) Otherwise, believe me, I feel your pain.

Zen

  

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Post Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2013 11:56 pm 
 

Zenfinite wrote in Annual Shipping Increase:
Gnat the Beggar wrote in Annual Shipping Increase:First off I had won Four listings from one seller.
The total shipping was invoiced at $46 at first, so after confirming that he had posted in each listing that combined shipping was available, I sent seller a message asking if he would combine all the listings into one shipping cost and send a new invoice.
So he sent me a new invoice... I still had to pay $26 for a medium size Flat Rate Box.
The total for all four listings was well over $500 so I thought what the heck can I do?
When I asked why it was still so high, his reply was...



Some people really do not get it...


The best part is when he blamed you for his shipping mistake. And, guys, TBH, they are taking away DSR hits too. It's happened to me on a few occasions...though I suppose you need to have good DSRs first, and mine are all 5.0. I just don't think anyone cares anymore about feedback or DSRs, honestly, the requirements to receive any sort of bonus are so outrageous that nobody bothers but the largest volume sellers.

The only thing left to do is factor in shipping costs and bid accordingly. And share these idiots with us so their business takes a hit. :) Otherwise, believe me, I feel your pain.

Zen


Don't hammer the DSRs with a "1"....it looks punative.  A "2" or a "3" is just as bad, and Ebay probably won't remove it, as they see it as "reasonable".  And it will mess up their DSRs nearly as much.

But Zen is correct.  The hoops to get a bonus are really unreachable by most sellers, so the result is that no one cares about feedback....a dangerous thing to have happen, and all Ebay's fault for making the bonuses impossible to aquire.

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Post Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 11:29 am 
 

benjoshua wrote in Annual Shipping Increase:
JasonZavoda wrote in Annual Shipping Increase:Mike, do you know if you can still get tracking on media mail packages? (domestic USA).


I know you asked Badmike, but I am fairly sure the answer is yes.  If you buy it on-line when you ship your eBay packages, I think it's 19 cents.  At the Post Office it is considerably more, about 59 cents.

Revisiting this bit for a moment. There is also the PID# (parcel ID #) associated with a media mail package which can be used as tracking. However, you cannot track this # online, you must go directly to the PO and have someone there punch the number in. As such, I doubt EBay considers this as an acceptable tracking # for their purposes. But, I would welcome info that says otherwise.


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Post Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 12:22 pm 
 

SimperingToad wrote in Annual Shipping Increase:Revisiting this bit for a moment. There is also the PID# (parcel ID #) associated with a media mail package which can be used as tracking. However, you cannot track this # online, you must go directly to the PO and have someone there punch the number in. As such, I doubt EBay considers this as an acceptable tracking # for their purposes. But, I would welcome info that says otherwise.
 
If you can't put the tracking number into their verification on-line system, then it is unacceptable as tracking information.  This is because they don't hire enough people to do the job right.  Sheesh.   :roll:


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Post Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 8:16 pm 
 

Badmike wrote in Annual Shipping Increase:
Don't hammer the DSRs with a "1"....it looks punative.  A "2" or a "3" is just as bad, and Ebay probably won't remove it, as they see it as "reasonable".  And it will mess up their DSRs nearly as much.

But Zen is correct.  The hoops to get a bonus are really unreachable by most sellers, so the result is that no one cares about feedback....a dangerous thing to have happen, and all Ebay's fault for making the bonuses impossible to aquire.

Mike B.


To follow up, just to let you know how ridiculous it is now, you must offer FREE shipping and 1-day handling (meaning the package must leave your house within 24 hours of being purchased) to even be in consideration of getting a discount.  People have just given up rather than take it in the shorts on shipping and hoping to get something shipped out in a day, which is why there is a general attitude of "who cares?" about feedback and DSRs right now.

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Post Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 8:42 pm 
 

You really don't need it out of the house within 24 hours of payment.  As I understand it you need to print the shipping label with tracking within 24 hours.   I think you need 90% compliance.     The big problem I have is that if someone tells you they are bidding on multiple items over the span of a few days and accidentally pays for the first thing they win then the clock rolls and you can't print a label until they are done bidding.  Unless you want to screw them over by not combining shipping.  

You can add tracking to media mail for 20 cents.  It comes up automatically and, to not pay for the tracking, you have to designate no tracking by clicking something.

  

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Post Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2013 10:31 am 
 

I am having my 1st experience trying out shipping via boat from the U.K. to the USA. I wanted a copy of Gibson Games version of Diplomacy, it is heavy and I wasn't in a big hurry to receive so I thought I'd save a few bucks in shipping.

It shipped on 8/8 and today is 8/28 and still no sign of it.

I wonder if others have used this shipping method much as opposed to airmail and what the avg transit time seems to be?
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Post Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2013 11:01 am 
 

This was about 6 years ago, but I ordered something from the UK that had to be shipped by boat.  It took a year to get to me and I was certain it was lost as did the shipper.  I have a feeling that was just a really bad case of something getting lost in a warehouse but regardless the shipper said he would not be surprised if it took at least 3-4 months to get to me.  I don't know how much things have changed since then.

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Post Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2013 2:08 pm 
 

Scalydemon wrote in Annual Shipping Increase:I am having my 1st experience trying out shipping via boat from the U.K. to the USA. I wanted a copy of Gibson Games version of Diplomacy, it is heavy and I wasn't in a big hurry to receive so I thought I'd save a few bucks in shipping.

It shipped on 8/8 and today is 8/28 and still no sign of it.

I wonder if others have used this shipping method much as opposed to airmail and what the avg transit time seems to be?
Thanks


I would never use this method.  Seriously, not worth the money you saved via your investment in time and anxiety.  I've had items take up to six months to arrive.

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Post Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2013 3:13 am 
 

There won't be a "normal" or "average" answer, but surface mail is slow.  Figure months, not weeks.


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Post Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2013 3:50 pm 
 

Thanks for the feedback - I guess I am learning my lesson on this now

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Post Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2014 2:37 pm 
 

Just a note, the now annual USPS shipping increase starts today. It is nowhere near as bad as last year (with the huge jumps in priority and international mail), but most priority international mail did increase by an average of 50 cents a package for flat rate.  1st class seems to have jumped a bit also.

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Post Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 10:00 pm 
 

I have to start protecting myself vis a vis shipping costs.

I make all my auctions Buy-It-Now with the Make an offer button. That way I can work with buyers. And free shipping to completely take the shipping DSRs out of the equation. Great. I just sold one of those small Grenadier figure boxes, the Dwarf one, for $30, worked out a deal with the buyer. If I had looked, the buyer lives in California. It costs $9 to ship that thing from NJ to CA. NINE BUCKS. The whole package weighed 1lb 2oz. Seriously? Now I have to make sure when I work out a deal with the buyer, I don't screw myself with insane shipping costs. Just a word to the rest of us eBayers. Yikes.

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Post Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 10:04 pm 
 

Zenfinite wrote in Annual Shipping Increase:I have to start protecting myself vis a vis shipping costs.

I make all my auctions Buy-It-Now with the Make an offer button. That way I can work with buyers. And free shipping to completely take the shipping DSRs out of the equation. Great. I just sold one of those small Grenadier figure boxes, the Dwarf one, for $30, worked out a deal with the buyer. If I had looked, the buyer lives in California. It costs $9 to ship that thing from NJ to CA. NINE BUCKS. The whole package weighed 1lb 2oz. Seriously? Now I have to make sure when I work out a deal with the buyer, I don't screw myself with insane shipping costs. Just a word to the rest of us eBayers. Yikes.

Zen


Great point, Zen. These increases are just making things more and more difficult. The price for international shipping is just getting insane. Shipping from Michigan to Canada doubled last year. Doubled. From around $6 to $12+ just to send a few books. And watch out if your package exceeds five pounds.


And I could've bought these damn modules off the 1$ rack!!!

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Post Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 11:34 pm 
 

Zenfinite wrote in Annual Shipping Increase:I have to start protecting myself vis a vis shipping costs.

I make all my auctions Buy-It-Now with the Make an offer button. That way I can work with buyers. And free shipping to completely take the shipping DSRs out of the equation. Great. I just sold one of those small Grenadier figure boxes, the Dwarf one, for $30, worked out a deal with the buyer. If I had looked, the buyer lives in California. It costs $9 to ship that thing from NJ to CA. NINE BUCKS. The whole package weighed 1lb 2oz. Seriously? Now I have to make sure when I work out a deal with the buyer, I don't screw myself with insane shipping costs. Just a word to the rest of us eBayers. Yikes.

Zen


Free shipping is a mug's game.  It helps Ebay because it promotes sales, but it does nothing for the seller except raise costs. Unless you raise the price of the item to match what is lost with the free shipping, you come out behind.  I don't offer free shipping myself.

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Post Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 9:33 am 
 

Badmike wrote in Annual Shipping Increase:
Free shipping is a mug's game.  It helps Ebay because it promotes sales, but it does nothing for the seller except raise costs. Unless you raise the price of the item to match what is lost with the free shipping, you come out behind.  I don't offer free shipping myself.

Mike B.


Of course I do. Here's how it works. Let's say I'm selling a B2. I look at what's available right now, and what has sold. Let's say $15 is the right price for my module. I can either list it at $11 with $4 for shipping or $15 free shipping.

A) People like free shipping.
B) I lose the exact same amount in fees either way.
C) If I use free shipping, they CANNOT leave DSRs for shipping, which is the most common DSR to get dinged on.

For me it's a no-brainer, with the exception I outlined above. Damn cross country costs!! *shakes the fist*

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Post Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 10:13 am 
 

Zenfinite wrote in Annual Shipping Increase:
Badmike wrote in Annual Shipping Increase:
Free shipping is a mug's game.  It helps Ebay because it promotes sales, but it does nothing for the seller except raise costs. Unless you raise the price of the item to match what is lost with the free shipping, you come out behind.  I don't offer free shipping myself.

Mike B.


Of course I do. Here's how it works. Let's say I'm selling a B2. I look at what's available right now, and what has sold. Let's say $15 is the right price for my module. I can either list it at $11 with $4 for shipping or $15 free shipping.

A) People like free shipping.
B) I lose the exact same amount in fees either way.
C) If I use free shipping, they CANNOT leave DSRs for shipping, which is the most common DSR to get dinged on.

For me it's a no-brainer, with the exception I outlined above. Damn cross country costs!! *shakes the fist*

Zen


Here's why I don't  :wink:

A) People like Free Shipping, but they also like the lowest price compared to other prices, sometimes regardless of condition or other considerations.  When you arrange the prices from least to most, if I price $8.99 + $6 shipping vs $15 with free shipping, my listing comes up first.
B) I get to use flat rate priority envelopes and boxes (free) for the majority of my sales, which has saved me thousands of dollars over the last decade, and probably 100s of hours of work in weighing/packaging items in other types of envelopes and boxes...
C) While I might have had one or two dings on my DSR over the last decade, most people who buy an item accept the shipping is what it is as long as the amount is stated up front, the package arrives on time and undamaged.  I just checked my DSR today and it's 4.9/5 without free shipping ever!

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