Shipping charges

[todd3130]

I usually sell on an item or two at a time. So I'm not a big eBay seller. How do I contend with the high prices of shipping. Sometimes it cost more to ship the item than the item is worth. Any profit I make is eating up by the shipping costs. Am I missing something?

[inhawaii]

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@todd3130 wrote:

I usually sell on an item or two at a time. So I'm not a big eBay seller. How do I contend with the high prices of shipping. Sometimes it cost more to ship the item than the item is worth. Any profit I make is eating up by the shipping costs. Am I missing something?

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Nothing you can do about high shipping costs.  We all have to deal with it.

Just make sure you charge enough (or added it to the price of the item) to cover the shipping cost.

Most of us add a little "extra" to cover other expenses.

Good luck!

[fern*wood]

Other the being sure to print your labels online to receive the discount, I would say some things just aren't worth selling online.   I've dropped most items that are low cost and large/heavy. 

[ittybitnot]

Am I missing something?

@todd3130 

Since eBay charges fees on the shipping/taxes and item price, I think you are catching on pretty well. It is not practical to sell heavy low cost items here anymore. In addition, because the eBay seller is responsible for paying for return shipping should a "not as described" be filed, it makes the situation even more untenable. 

Not all venues charge on the shipping amount, nor require the seller to fund a return.  Some diversification might be useful for you to investigate. 

[lamber9347]

It is no longer feasible to sell heavy items online due to the constant increases from the USPS. Anything heavy now must be sold in person....

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@todd3130 wrote: .... Am I missing something?

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Nope.  As shipping costs rise, there are more and more things that are just not cost-effective to sell on eBay.

To decide whether an item is worthwhile, you need to anticipate the shipping cost and the associated final value fees. Many sellers leave the shipping calculator set up to charge the retail price, so that the amount that the buyer pays has a built-in handling fee to cover the final value fee.

[bauble-babes]

Are you currently selling large or small items? I looked at your selling feedback (no current listings) which is over a year old and saw coins sold. If still selling those, how are you shipping, via Priority, Parcel, or First Class?

Coins and many other smalls may be shipped First Class in lightweight bubble envelopes fairly cheaply. Items can be boxed and placed in those envelopes as well. Important to get accurate weight because !st Class cost goes up every 4 ounces or so. Also, can't ship anything over a pound. Check USPS site for First Class pricing tiers. If memory serves, 1-4 oz is same cost whether it weighs 1 oz or 4, 5-8 oz is next price tier and anything in that range is same cost, etc.

I sell mostly jewelry, always box it, and most can ship @ 4 oz weight. I always use Priority for expensive pieces, though.

[bashort]

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@todd3130 wrote:

I usually sell on an item or two at a time. So I'm not a big eBay seller. How do I contend with the high prices of shipping. Sometimes it cost more to ship the item than the item is worth. Any profit I make is eating up by the shipping costs. Am I missing something?

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Use calculated shipping and remember that if the shipping is as much as the item that means 2X fees. 

I use a excel spreadsheet where you enter estimated shipping, sales tax and, item cost to see what the potential profit is, as mentioned some things are just not worth selling.

[stainlessenginecovers]

There are Millions of items for sale, both here and 'any website' that 'many times' the price to ship it is more than the item itself. 

Some can't get out to get it

Many can't 'find' the item close

I bought a bunch of Las Vegas Slot Machine Coins that sold for $1 or $2, but 1st Class Shipping is $4. I paid it. Why? How else was I going to get them (needed over 20 different ones from out of business casinos for a table I built to go with the 60 or so coins I already had)

Old/Used stuff is almost impossible to 'find locally' 

So if a buyer wants the item, they will buy it. Don't worry about what it cost to ship, it cost what it cose. The listing is 'free' (first 250) so you have nothing to lose. 

[my_boston_baked_beans]

You can try and figure in your cost by using shipping to do so, but in doing that be sure to make sure you remain competitive with other similar or like items. Buyers will go for the overall least expensive total. If you are selling rare and sought after items you will have less to worry about as buyers will buy no matter competition. Selling very inexpensive items does not work well on eBay unless you are going for volume sales, which you are not.

[steve_stuff]

'remember that if the shipping is as much as the item that means 2X fees.'

That is a great way to think about it, and you made me realize that some sellers are getting ... overcharged? unfairly charged? the higher FVF on book shipping and tax paid, when the higher fee isn't suppose to be a 'penalty' - like you get for too many cancellations or whatever, just a higher fee for those categories - Shipping is shipping, why should the fee on it go up too? Same with the tax.

[reallynicestamps]

Sometimes it cost more to ship the item than the item is worth.

Don't do that.

Some things were not meant for mail order.

Or put part of the cost of shipping into your asking price. This can even be all of the shipping cost in which case your listing can claim "free shipping". Buyers looooooove free shipping.

Which is most expensive: a $5 item with $10 shipping? A $10 item with $5 shipping? A $15 item with Free Shipping?

If it won't sell at $10 with $5 shipping or at $15 with Free Shipping, it goes in the Donation box.

[iart]

Well, don't ever sell something for less than what it will ship for. We offer free shipping and work out basically what it will cost to ship 2,000 miles or so away. We make a bit more if closer, a bit less if farther away. You could always have buyer pay shipping according to their zip code, but you need to enter accurate weight and dimensions. You need to invest in a scale!

Books, records and similar can go US Post Office Media mail, which is fairly cheap.

Items under 1 pound can ship US Post Office 1st Class (DO NOT automatically use eBay's default Priority Mail option - it is often more expensive).

US Post Office has FLAT RATE boxes which will fit many items. Same cost, anywhere in the country. They are free at your local post office.

Go to the USPS website and check postage costs before listing (until you have it generally memorized). Simple to do, enter weight and size.

We like using the US Post Office whenever we can, unfortunately, Fed Ex is usually more affordable for heavy or large items. Search for a local store near you BUT USE THE EBAY SHIPPING LABELS. Drop the items off there WITH the labels already on. If you  don't, you won't get the eBay shipping discount.

I wish someone had told us all this 10 years ago.

[reallynicestamps]

@steve_stuff 

History.

At one point eBay did not charge fees on shipping, only on purchases.

But some sellers then would sell for 99c and charge $99 for shipping.

Not only did this cheat eBay of its fees (since the item was actually worth $99.99 including shipping), but customers felt ripped off, even if the bottom line was correct.

So two losses for eBay, fees and customer confidence.

So now sellers pay the same fee on both the purchase and the shipping.

The taxes are paid by the buyer, not the seller, and this is a result of a US Supreme Court decision. However you will notice that it is also the practice of the UK, EU, Australia, and Canada. We are charged fees as part of the buyer's entire payment.

When eBay owned Paypal, the fees were split, with 10% (on average) going to eBay and 2.9% going to PP, which was also eBay. Now all 12.9% goes directly to eBay. (BTW PP has recently raised its former 2.9% fee. Since I don't sell anywhere that takes PP, I don't know what that is.) PP also charges its fees on sales taxes as part of the buyer's entire payment.

This has been the practice of payment processors since at least the1980s when we got our first merchant credit card account.

[steve_stuff]

Main ID been here since 1999, know about the 99/99 bit -

I'm talking about having the shipping fee increasing along with the sale price fee - We 'don't mind' the higher fee based on categories, but carrying it over to the shipping - why should the shipping FVF increase just because you're charging more for the item being shipped?