Ebays high shipping charges

[palmbeachclosets]

Hi all.  Can anyone explain to me why its so expensive for shipping items on ebay.  I know sellers get a very small discount compared to the post office but for a company the size of ebay, i would think we could get a better deal on shipping.  On Poshmark its only $6.49 for priority shipping and you can add things from the same seller and its still only one charge of $6.49.  Is ebay getting a discount and not passing it on to the consumer? Shipping is ridiculous.   

[dougsue123b]

Poshmark?

Never heard of them

[packratville]

Besides it operating on a completely different concept, Poshmark is just for clothing and accessories apparently, so I doubt the shipping would vary so much as it does for the wide variety of items found here. Shipping is high and the costs are passed on to the buyer. Ebay doesn't pay for shipping, individual sellers do.

I'm not really familiar with Poshmark, but I suspect the shipping costs might even out. If they charge $6.49 and it's one or two items with an actual ship cost of $3.25, for example, then the overage probably offsets a higher shipping cost for a heavier package. So maybe that's why it works for them?

[mam98031]

Are you talking about what individual sellers charge you on Ebay?

Or are  you talking about as a seller when you ship something using Ebay's label system?

[nc-daydreamer]

I am not sure where you are getting your information.  First, eBay does not charge shipping, the Post Office does.  If shipping is too high, write a complaint to the Post Master General and to your Congress representative - they are the only ones who can change the cost.  Secondly, you purchase from a vendor who rents selling space on eBay, and pays fees to sell on top of those charges.  AND - PayPal also charges fees to the seller.  Most sellers also charge a handling fee to cover the cost of supplies - ever hear on TV "Just pay POSTAGE AND HANDLING"...  The only way you will understand is to place something up for sale yourself.  Good luck.

[palmbeachclosets]

I guess what i mean is why cant ebay get a better deal from the post office for sellers.  I don't mind paying shipping but i wonder does ebay keep some of the shipping charges?  When you compare other shipping prices from other venues, it seems high.  And im not a cheap person but if i sell something or buy something over 2lbs it starts to get costly.  

[mam98031]

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@palmbeachclosets wrote:

I guess what i mean is why cant ebay get a better deal from the post office for sellers.  I don't mind paying shipping but i wonder does ebay keep some of the shipping charges?  When you compare other shipping prices from other venues, it seems high.  And im not a cheap person but if i sell something or buy something over 2lbs it starts to get costly.  

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This is a mistake that many make.  For some reason they think these companies are here to offer a service to us, but they should not get paid anything for that service.  With respect, I just don't understand that position.  I don't know why anyone expect Ebay or any other for profit company to offer you a service for free.

With that said, Ebay nor ANY other web based site gets a bigger discount than Ebay does on FCP [first class parcel] domestic.  Not even Amazon.  And that is because USPS does NOT allow ANY negotiations on FCP domestic.  If you compare these rates with any other site, like Amazon, stamps.com, Etsy, or any other site, you will find the rates charged to sellers are exactly the same.

Now FCP International USPS does allow some negotiations on and Ebay did a good job with this.  The discount rate that Ebay negotiated is far better than what Amazon and other sites I've seen were able to get.

You need to first understand what is negotiable and what isn't.  There are lots of things we can blame Ebay for, but this just isn't one of them for these particular rates.

[johnrj1226]

Try using  priority regional rate boxes - regional rate boxes ship at a two pound rate for teh A box adn 5 lb. for the B box.  Just shipped a package  regional rate A box to S. Padre Island, TX from GA my cost for the lable $9.15 and that was after a 22% discount off the USPS retail (counter) price better known a USPS commercial rate. 

The Regional rate boxes are only available by ordering via USPS.com and they are free.

[duchess-at-speakeasy]

Does Poshmark sell stuff? Regardless, eBay charges according to http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm There is no eBay discount. ~~C~~

[missjen831]

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@packratville wrote:

Besides it operating on a completely different concept, Poshmark is just for clothing and accessories apparently, so I doubt the shipping would vary so much as it does for the wide variety of items found here. Shipping is high and the costs are passed on to the buyer. Ebay doesn't pay for shipping, individual sellers do.

I'm not really familiar with Poshmark, but I suspect the shipping costs might even out. If they charge $6.49 and it's one or two items with an actual ship cost of $3.25, for example, then the overage probably offsets a higher shipping cost for a heavier package. So maybe that's why it works for them?

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Poshmarks shipping charge fools buyers just like free shipping does. Since its a clothing & accessories site, many items listed can ship first class but the buyer still pays $6.49. So often times shipping is very high there. The $6.49 is only a good deal on heavier items over 1lb because any priority envelope/box can be used BUT it has a 5lb cap. For me, most clothing in my size can ship first class so $6.49 is steep to me even for priority mail. Shoes and purses on the other hand, $6.49 is reasonable. So there are pros and cons to Poshmark's $6.49

[cc6363]

Wow, someone asked a question and your attitude it to try to "teach them a lesson" for asking it? That's cold

[alcoforever]

There is lots of stuff on ebay with free shipping.  Perhaps you should stick with those items.

Barring that, shipping cost doesn't matter.   What matters is total cost, item + shipping.   If its a good deal, buy it, otherwise take a pass.

[pingpong517]

you know that a flat rate box or envelope ...is priorty....and it is a flat rate...so yes you could add a few ...depending into a flate rate priority box or envelope and still be the same....

otherwise they are charging a flat rate tp shipp...and a buyer thinks they are saving by add more items....

so not exactly sure if you are comparing apples to apples here.....

as far as the "discount" ebay and usps decide that...and other companies / usps decide what they receive.....so there might be a little difference....

you question leads me to think you are mixing a few things up.....and comparing

[mam98031]

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@cc6363 wrote:

Wow, someone asked a question and your attitude it to try to "teach them a lesson" for asking it? That's cold

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You felt compelled to wake up a sleeping thread for this?  This thread died a natural death about 3 months ago.