Final Value Fee includes shipping cost, Why?

[adsc_4322]

This is actually what I was writing e-bay about when I noticed I chose Forum by accident. So, I went ahead and posted it to see if you guys can explain this to me. If you don't mind. 😕

Hi, I recently started selling items on E-bay and I noticed that you are collecting a Final Value Fee that includes the shipping cost. How can you include the shipping cost? What does the shipping have to do with the cost of the item being sold which is usually half that? And not that it matters any but I don't even buy my labels or anything from e-bay. And It never even ends up being the same shipping price once I get down to the Post Office as what they paid. So I always end up giving them a 4-dollar or so shipping refund, sometimes more. This doesn't make sense to me at all. The last thing I sold was a $10 dollar toy that e-bay then took $3.87 of it. But if I up the price I would never be able to sell it because as it is the shipping on things is way too much! Can you explain this, please?

[nobody*s_perfect]

First Class postage is priced by Zones, so if you're in California then a buyer in CA will pay less than one on the east coast.

The weight limit for First Class packages is 13 ounces if you purchase postage at the Post Office (i.e., retail) but the limit is 15.99 ounces if you purchase postage online, such as through eBay.  If you enter a weight more than 13 ounces, your buyer will be charged the postage cost for Priority Mail and that's what they'll sell you at the PO counter.  The maximum retail price for a First Class package is $7.65; if you paid more than that, then you must have had a weight over 13 ounces, and paid for Priority Mail.

Box dimensions do not affect your postage cost unless (1) the length is over 22 inches; or (2) the package volume is over 1 cubic foot, i.e. 1728 cubic inches.  The postage cost for a  10- inch cube is the same as for a 5- inch cube, if their weights are the same.

[adsc_4322]

Oh, I read them, I just didn't understand them. And it's not real until it happens. I remember selling on e-bay around 12 years ago or so and I don't remember it being that high. Of course, I sold mainly books at a really cheap shipping cost that books seem to get. So, maybe then I didn't notice.

[annadryl]

Beanie babies is a whole 'nother can of worms...

[adsc_4322]

I haven't looked at the bears in some time and didn't even notice the shipping was that high on them. I only sold a group one time a while ago and I remember the shipping wasn't that bad. But nothing after that. Maybe that's why. Maybe, I should stick them in a padded envelope and try to mail them out for around 6 or 7 dollars. Not sure what it would be but it has to be cheaper than a box for sure. You can't really sell those with free shipping because no one is going to buy them if they cost anymore. Even if it's just a dollar or two.

[adsc_4322]

Oh, and there has been a sales tax on the toys so far.

[adsc_4322]

But yeah, it's probably a good idea to come back to the forums from time to time and see what everyone is talking about. Thanks for your post by the way.

[adsc_4322]

Hand puppets? There Beanie babies? Hmmm, the shipping is all over and I am not quite sure. I thought I am doing the same thing for the stuffed animals but I will be checking this out to see what's going on. It's not the stuffies that I have been selling recently but the toys. And it's been ridiculous but around the same prices. thx

[adsc_4322]

There is always someone that has to go and ruin it for the rest of us. 😕

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

@adsc_4322 

If you want to continue selling on ebay, buy a $20 postage scale on Amazon and buy your labels on EBay.

You can charge buyers "retail" shipping prices, and pay "commercial" shipping prices yourself.

Most of my items are lightweight first class. I said I charge free shipping. However I factor $5 in for the shipping into my item price (just as I would charge them if I charged shipping).

I pay $3.50 on average for a label because I use commercial rate labels online. That $1.50 helps me with my $0.22 bubble mailer, my $.10 worth of bubble wrap, my FVF fees on shipping. Sometimes I actually "profit" on shipping. Those "profits" help me when I "lose" on shipping when I use more expensive shipping materials or have to ship something 12oz that ships for $4.50 or something 13oz that ships for $6

Either way, YOU. WILL. SAVE. MONEY.

You can pay for a postage scale with the savings you get from your online purchased shipping labels after 10-15 labels at most. It pays off quick if you ship a lot. If this is a one off, then don't bother.

[monroe67]

"It's a toy. My son only wanted 10 dollars for it. I had to use a box (a small box) and it says to put the measurements down and it will come up with the cost. I actually went under what the actual measurements were trying to save them some money. Because it would say it needs $9 dollar shipping on one 10-dollar item I sold and 14 on another. It's absolutely ridiculous! Believe it or not though when I take it down to the Post Office and ship it, it was actually that much! On one occasion it was a bit cheaper and I refunded her. But she still had to pay $11 dollars in shipping! And again, the toy I was selling for my son was only $10.00. That's why I am upset. No one is winning here. Not the customer, not me. Oh, that's right, E-Bay is winning! But I don't understand why shipping is this much. Oh, and I am only using First Class which is the cheapest shipping. Maybe it's because I live in California? Or is how they caculate shipping the same everywhere?"

How old is your son?  Is he old enough to grasp concepts of buying and selling?  In my day, boys from 11 or 12 on would start paper routes and learn about business that way.  Or mowing lawns or shoveling snow.  Girls would babysit.  The Girl Scouts' Cookie drives are a great way that many young women learned about buying and selling.  

Now I (also) live in California.  I have accepted that if I send a package to a buyer in Florida it is going to cost more than the same thing of the same size and same weight that is going to a buyer in Nevada.  

eBay even allows for that difference in distance by offering Calculated Postage, based on the sizes and weights of the item -- entered by the seller -- and the zip codes of both you, the seller, and any potential buyer who views your listing.  

"But I don't understand why shipping is this much."

You do realize, I assume, that the costs for shipping through the United States Postal Service (USPS) are set by the USPS.  eBay has nothing to do with them.  

And, as another poster mentioned, you will pay lower postage rates by buying your postage through eBay than if you continue to take your items into your local post office.   Sure, there may be times when you need or want to go through the Post Office directly, but it is not necessary.  

You might have been better off just giving your son $10.00 and giving the toy to Goodwill.  

[adsc_4322]

I just went back to look at the stuffed animals and I dont see any of them that is over $9 and some change. There all the same. Which one are you looking at?

[monica-sells]

One of the things I have seen posted for these small 'price' items is putting a bunch together in one box and selling as a lot.....I might consider getting the largest dimension box I can (without the "surcharge" and see what I can fit in it that is similar...something that might appeal to a kid that is the same as the other one

The shipping (once you pay the initial charge) does not go up sequentially...in other words a 10X12X10 box that weighs 3 lbs might be 12.00...but if you add 1 pound (another item) you are only adding 4 more bucks to the shipping for a total of 16.00 (the price of shipping (per item) is almost cut in half

this is just random numbers that I am throwing out here,,,,,,,,,

dunno, just thinking out loud.....

[adsc_4322]

I'm not sure where you guys are seeing these prices? You're the second person to see something I am not seeing. All the Bears are $9 and some change in shipping? Can you tell me what you are looking at? I am also hearing that the prices are all over the place but all the bears have pretty much the same shipping cost? Same with the others?

[soh.maryl]

Your question has been answered more than adequately by multiple eBayers.

I just want to point out that your remark ". . .you are collecting the final value fee . . ." is in error here.  When you post here, you're addressing a very large group of fellow eBayers, both buyers and sellers, who volunteer their time to help others and answer questions when they can.

We are NOT collecting anything from anyone.  

[nobody*s_perfect]

When you look at your own listings, you see the calculated postage cost to ship to your own ZIP Code.