Handling fees

[annabelles-attic]

What is an acceptable handling fee? Is $1 acceptable? I figure for a box and bubble wrap that would ok. Thoughts. 

[vintage-camerastuff]

My boxes are free (usps) for most and ebay box and padded mailers for the rest.    However my time to pack  and drive daily to P.O. is worth more than a $1 per package.    My handling fee runs anywhere between $2 to $5 per order.   Sometimes a little higher and sometimes a little lower.

[inhawaii]

Yes, one dollar sounds perfect.

[orangehound]

I once did a calculation and found that shipping supplies were costing about 60 cents per order.  So, if that is what you are trying to cover with handling fees, then $1 is probably about right.

We all have other costs associated with shipping, however, including (a) transportation costs to get packages to the shipper and (b) the 10-15% processing fee eBay charges to collect shipping and handling fees from the buyer.

[onefootflippers]

If you use calculated shipping and don't share the ebay discount then you won't need to charge a handling charge.

[luckythewinner]

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@annabelles-attic wrote:

What is an acceptable handling fee? Is $1 acceptable? I figure for a box and bubble wrap that would ok. Thoughts. 

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How much does a box and bubble wrap cost? 

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

Ok, what the heck is the point of a handling fee? No, I'm not suggesting I don't understand the point of "collecting more money", I mean what the heck is the point of assigning it as a handling fee?

My thoughts:

- If you charge flat fee shipping, tack it on there directly (bake it in)

-If you charge calculated shipping or free shipping, then bake it into your item price.

Reasoning: Handling fee only increases S/H cost. Buyers hate S/H costs (psychology). Buyer much rather pay $50 + free S/H than pay $30 + $20 S/H ... I'm not arguing to offer free S/H but doing anything to reduce S/H is better for buyer psychology.

So, why assess handling fees? Why not tack it onto price? Is it psychological for a seller the same way a buyer doesn't want to pay S/H, a seller wants "proper compensation" earmarked as S/H?

[mam98031]

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@onefootflippers wrote:

If you use calculated shipping and don't share the ebay discount then you won't need to charge a handling charge.

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Well that isn't necessarily true.  I do see your point, but it simply isn't always enough to cover the handling [shipping supplies and fees].  It is likely to depend on the carrier you use and what method of shipment.

[mam98031]

Those times are changing.  Over the years more and more buyers like stated shipping.  But free shipping works very well in many categories and stated shipping works better for categories where a buyer might buy multiple items.  

Handling fees don't increase S&H COSTS, the help cover those costs.  Buyer do not need to see or have any access to how much a seller is charging for handling.  That is the seller's business, not the buyers.

Some things tolerate having handling costs rolled into the price of the product and others don't.  There is not a one size fits all explanation for this subject.  Each seller needs to do what appears to the be the best for them.  It can be different for different sellers.

[brightlightbookseller]

We charge a $2 handling fee on all orders, which we figure just about covers our employees that do the shipping, the materials, and the rare cases where we add insurance to the shipment (usually we just eat the cost of any missing or damage products due to shipping, since insurance isn't a good value for anything under a certain value, I think we're not insuring anything under $100 or maybe $150 right now, I don't control that particular policy here).  Hardly anyone complains about our shipping costs, and those that do aren't usually serious buyers in the first place from what I can tell.  They're usually the ones making offers of less than half of what we have an item priced at, sometimes far less.

[dhbookds]

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@onefootflippers wrote:

If you use calculated shipping and don't share the ebay discount then you won't need to charge a handling charge.

A group of glasses can cost alot more to ship because of packing requirements than books at the same weight.......