I hate ebay and I am quitting

[warren689]

No sales in 4 months. Lowering prices does nothing. Sending offers does nothing. No one responds or counters or even asks questions.  I listed a $110 handbag new with tags for $19 and still no one will buy.  Either my listings are invisible or there are simply no buyers anymore. I have decided to quit and throw everything in the trash. Anything that doesn't sell by the end of April is being thrown out.  Good lucks guys.

[chapeau-noir]

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@go-bad-chicken wrote:

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@warren689 wrote:

No sales in 4 months. Lowering prices does nothing. Sending offers does nothing. No one responds or counters or even asks questions.  I listed a $110 handbag new with tags for $19 and still no one will buy.  Either my listings are invisible or there are simply no buyers anymore. I have decided to quit and throw everything in the trash. Anything that doesn't sell by the end of April is being thrown out.  Good lucks guys.

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Don't quit just adapt. I have a home in Idaho. We have absolutely no issues whatsoever with wearing dead animal clothing. What buyers in my area or any area for that matter will take issue with, is being taken for a ride.

You made a gross miscalculation when you setup your calculated shipping for this one particular listing "Full length silver fox fur alpaca coat"; because no one is going to pay you $61.50 to ship that coat.Fold that coat up nice and neatly and ship it in a USPS Priority Mail LARGE Flat Rate box and change that listing to a flat rate price and charge $24.30. Its small things like this that can make a seller look disingenuous and untrustworthy to buyers. But the good news is you can change it.

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You're right about the whack shipping, but that coat won't fit in a large flat rate box - not the top loader, not even the puzzle box side loader.  It's a structured tailored coat and you would crush the shoulder line, fur and the heavy wool.  Trust me, I've sold hundreds and hundreds of coats and shipped them all over the world, and that fits in the largest box available (for eBay it's 18 x 12 x 6 size") with careful packing for it to arrive to its buyer properly, and even then it will be as tightly packed as that lofty collar will allow.  It probably will go at the 5 lb rate, possibly 6 lb depending on the weight of the wool, for $30 - 32 or so cross country.  The $18.50 some change flat rate is attractive, and I can get a men's trench into one of those, unbelievably, if it has no lining but that's about it.

I have a feeling something is off on the shipping calculator?

[chapeau-noir]

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@warren689 wrote:

Shipping is calculate by ebay. The item cannot fit in a large flat rate box and due to this there is a dimensional shipping issue. Furthermore, the coat is over 5lbs so there is a surcharge for that too. I cannot control what the USPS charges for something to ship halfway across the country. If someone on the west coast buys it they get socked.

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We cross posted - I see what happened.  There wouldn't be a surcharge for it being over 5 lb, that just goes in 1 lb increments - there would be one for over 36" aggregate shipped priority OR parcel post select, so that's where the big shipping comes in.  To use your  current box you'd have to take it into the post office and ship parcel post counter rate which has the old dimensional shipping charge.  I've gotten those safely packed into the right shaped box (the one I mentioned) but you have to find it like at Staples or something.  Easier to ship parcel post counter rate.

@warren689 

[warren689]

Thanks. The coat itself is thick and takes up so much room then that there is no way for that huge collar to fit in there without getting damaged and creating a huge bulging box the post office will reject. and then if someone files a SNAD because it got crushed it will turn into a massive financial headache. I pulled the listing until I can figure out what to do.

[chapeau-noir]

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@warren689 wrote:
Thanks. The coat itself is thick and takes up so much room then that there is no way for that huge collar to fit in there without getting damaged and creating a huge bulging box the post office will reject. and then if someone files a SNAD because it got crushed it will turn into a massive financial headache. I pulled the listing until I can figure out what to do.

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If/when this comes up again, get into stock a couple of boxes as close to the 12 x 18 x 6" eBay size (flatter and wider, basically, so you can 'spread' the material) just from Staples or something and use those.  They will pack into those, even with the lofty collar, you just have to be creative.  I've shipped a bunch of vintage coats with floofy or big fur collars - fur will pack down some if it's smoothed down in its natural direction first, with a piece of tissue over it, then pressed gently to close. I use dry cleaner bags which actually helps pack the coats down a bit more without wrinkling or crushing.

[chapeau-noir]

I say all this only because selling coats was my speciality for years - everything from 19th century coats and cloaks to new coats and cloaks, even when I wasn't selling clothing, but mostly parts and tools, etc., I always had coats and vintage hats in (my various stores/shops had a strange selection lol).  It's really a stranger, tougher thing to pack and ship than one would think.  I had a 12 lb leather horseman's duster to ship once that was like a rubic's cube to try to fit into a box that wouldn't cost a week's salary to ship.

[clu3]

That coat looks too bulky to fit into the 12" cube USPS now uses to calculate shipping.  I find that when you get over that size, it's easier to just use FedEx.   I'd get a price and split it, tack 1/2 on the price of the coat and put the rest as a flat rate shipping charge.

[reallynicestamps]

How creative does USPS allow the seller to be?

For example,  if the coat is priced at $300 and shipping is $60 for a total of $360 to Idaho, *  could the seller charge $350 for the coat and fudge the Calculated Shipping to be only $10?

Basically I'm asking if the shipping label can be adjusted (by weight and dimensions ) after the purchase but before printing.

This is a hypothetical question for me, because when I have to ship from here in Canada, I use mostly (discount priced) postage stamps then pop into the local PO to buy a tracked label and pay the rest of the cost in cash. 

I just like the mental exercise.

That collar is a lot of floof.

*You can check the cost to various destinations by changing your own zipcode when playing about on the USPS site. I use 90210 and 32801 .

[warren689]

It is so tough to ship certain items. Furs, large structured handbags or home items that can't fit into a priority box really become a problem. I guess professional sellers know what to do but for rubes who aren't doing this for a job or business or whatever have no idea what they are doing with shipping so they let ebay calculate it. The coat showed up as $16.95 shipping on my end. I had no idea people on the other end of the country were seeing a $65 shipping charge. This is explains why my only sales were from my own area and why sales have stopped. People probably thought I was ripping them off. I had no idea. Ebay shows me a different fee on my listings. I really wish ebay would do a flat rate shipping like other selling sites. It's so confusing!

[warren689]

I get what you are saying but keep in mind you are doing this as a business so you understand all this stuff. There are a lot of people who are only trying to downsize their home or closet, it's not a business for them and the shipping thing is totally confusing. You type in the measurements of your box and let ebay calculate and on your end it looks fine, like $10.95 or something, but for someone on the other coast it could show us as $50 and you don't know because ebay doesn't show you that. Your sales just stop. Ebay's shipping page is not user friendly for newbies.

[warren689]

The collar is beautiful but, yes, it is a lot of floof and it can't be crushed into a tiny box without ruining it. It's a gorgeous coat which is why I was so mystified as to why it wasn't selling. Thank you to the person who posted the screen shot or I would have never known what the problem was. I pulled it for now until I can find time to deal with this shipping business. Most people are home now because of corona but I still have to go to work as I am considered "essential". Very stressed right now but thank you to all for the tips. I may come back to ask questions if you guys don't mind.

[nc-daydreamer]

Based  on this thread, I went to look at your items and there were none. Sorry, I can't even window shop if the items are not there - you must have removed them already.

[picknparley]

As a newer seller you may find it helpful to click on 'edit listing' and look your listings over section by section. Make sure it's what you want it to be.  This helps you get more comfortable with what you can change. 

At the shipping section you can pick flat rate shipping and enter a dollar amount. Be sure to click 'submit changes' at the bottom of the listing.

It takes a while to know what size item should ship for $x.xx   It's all on a learning curve, just like any other new job.

I've always used one shipping price for all and once in a while I get stung, but overall I'm breaking even on my shipping. That's the goal.

[chapeau-noir]

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@warren689 wrote:
The collar is beautiful but, yes, it is a lot of floof and it can't be crushed into a tiny box without ruining it. It's a gorgeous coat which is why I was so mystified as to why it wasn't selling. Thank you to the person who posted the screen shot or I would have never known what the problem was. I pulled it for now until I can find time to deal with this shipping business. Most people are home now because of corona but I still have to go to work as I am considered "essential". Very stressed right now but thank you to all for the tips. I may come back to ask questions if you guys don't mind.

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Definitely come on back for any help you need - it can be a real labyrinth on eBay if you're new to it or an occasional user.  We'll help you out.  One way to check how much shipping is to other zones (if you use calculated shipping) is to go to the shipping tab on your listing and just plug in another zip code and find shipping cost - it'll pop up.

And the box I use is actually 16 x 12 x 8" - I actually double checked.  It fits almost anything, even if a little tightly, even though it still fits into the 12 x 12 x 12 guidelines - it's the shape of the box.

[moondogblues]

The coat is beautiful...I wish I needed a new coat. It reminds me of one I had years and years ago, fox collar and black velvet body. I wish I still had it but I gave it away. Wouldn't fit now anyway....

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

It’s showing up with low shipping at your end because EBay is using your zip to calculate shipping, like you are shipping to your neighbor. The differences in shipping costs near and far can be huge.