Under another id, I used to sell for a long time on eBay and was once a power seller with glowing 100% feedback and thousands of transactions. I left to sell on a different venue that is more seller friendly as eBay made a lot of draconian rules and unpleasant changes that I didn't like. Now I am strictly a buyer here. Most of the things I buy here are antiques and old collectibles.
The USPS high shipping rates on anything going in a box 12"x12"x12" is really getting ridiculous! When I buy something for $10 it turns into $20-$23 as my lousy state (NY) also charges taxes on the item plus the shipping costs too. So now a $10 item that once shipped for $4-$5 is now costing me $10-$12 in shipping costs, plus I am paying double the taxes.
Because of this and since I am on a budget, I am not buying half as many things as I once did. For example, tonight I wanted to buy something that was $100 and shipping was $13. It would go in a 12X12X12" box. I have $120 to spend, but with close to $11.30 in taxes and shipping that cost almost twice as much as normal, I had to take it out of my cart. I am not blaming sellers in any way as this is not their fault. It is happening to me as a seller on the other site I list on.
I sell items that are considered high end, $100+ items that go in boxes larger than 12x12x12". I've been getting loads of messages from potential buyers asking me to remove the tax and to offer them free shipping and I will get a sale. I also notice shipping costs are becoming astronomical. It is now costing some of my buyers $30-$60 to have my items that really aren't that big and heavy shipped to them (even Parcel Select), when it used to cost them no more than $10.95-$15 for shipping. On top of that, being charges taxes is the death knoll to my business.
I tried opening accounts with FedEx and UPS and the prices are not much lower and some of their shipping services are very slow and undependable as I have had issues with getting my own items shipped to me in a timely manner myself. In the past Fedex has lost 3 of my packages, damaged some of them and UPS damaged items that were fragile also so I don't really want to use them as my shipping company.
I cannot afford to offer my customers free shipping and remove the taxes so my business has taken a nosedive. I can't pad my selling price and add free shipping into that either because a buyer in Connecticut's package would cost me $12 to ship but would cost me $48 to ship to California. If I do that, if I get a buyer from California it can really cut into my profit margin. I used to sell about $1200-$2,000 worth of antiques a month. Now I am lucky to get $100-$200 in sales per month now. I am no longer buying items for resale that go in 12x12x12" boxes and am only looking for smalls to resell now.
I have been selling on the internet since 1998 and have never seen it so bad. Most buyers are very fickle now because sites like Amazon offer free shipping and nobody wants to pay $40 to have an vintage/antique $30 lamp shade shipped to them when they can get a new one one Amazon with free shipping for $19.99.
Has any other sellers noticed this problem is hurting their business too? I know a lot of you are going to tell me adapt or die, but sometimes it feels good to vent and let off some steam.
