I found a seller and their shipping is outrageously being price gauged. Is this not right?

[carouselkidsshoes1]

I found a seller and their shipping is outrageously being price gauged. Is this not right?  Like one item they are selling $70.00 then their shipping is over $150.00.   Which I know that the shipping is more likely only $25.00 to $30.00 for the size of the item.  Another item I purchased the same item from another seller and their shipping was $12.55 and same item this person has shipping for $35.00.  The item I bought was in New York and the one with extremely high shipping is in Pennsylvania and to me really not far from other item.  So all her or his items shipping is ridiculously high.  Is this illegal doing this?  

[robbie31415]

No it's not illegal.

This is the type of seller you should avoid. They will shift some of the cost they want from the item to the shipping.

I always avoid these sellers and buy from ones who list items properly.

[heckofagame]

It's likely that seller has not read the fee policies since the 90's

[frankenhobbit]

Skip that kind of seller,  I always do as I believe it to be an indicator of their moral compass. I think eBay has plenty of other sellers!

I also have a theory that crazy shipping is sometimes used on auctions (and no idea if your example is an auction, but just wanted to share my theory) to set a de facto reserve price without paying for one.  Or just a higher starting price but still get the listing visibility bump that a 0.99 opening price would give.

[soh.maryl]

On eBay, and other venues as well, sellers are allowed to charge as much as they wish for shipping.

One thing that buyers need to realize is that paper, other wrappings etc also cost money.

The other thing that I am sure buyers know is that they see the shipping price to their address BEFORE they commit to buy; therefore, it's fairly easy to hit that back arrow and find another item/seller.

Also, if it were true that buyers are being overcharged justly, it would be "gouging", not "gauging".

A final thought:  The shipping cost in reality bears no relation whatsoever to the item price.

When posters mention this, I often bring up an example from my experience.

A friend listed a quite valuable diamond bracelet some years back.  It sold for close to 1K as I recollect.  The shipping, even with insurance, was less than $90.

I, on the other hand, at the same time, sold a vintage Singer sewing machine for somewhere between $35-40 and the shipping was somewhat north of that, I think about 65 bucks or so.  Just an example from my experience and to illustrate the fact that the item price does not, and is not required to, bear any relation to the shipping charge.  

[stainlessenginecovers]

or...the seller is just using that listing as a 'placeholder', showing absurd shipping costs knowing nobody will buy while they 

a.) return from vacation

b.) get more stock in

[soh.maryl]

So my example of the vintage sewing machine whose shipping was more costly than the item price is indicative of something dark and illegal about my moral compass?

(Could not resist.) 

[toomuchstuffagain35]

How do you know your previous sellers weren't transferring some of the shipping price to the item price?

[simba6]

That is why you have to look at the total purchase price item and it's shipping before choosing on a purchase.  Some items depending on size and or weight can cost a lot more to ship that most people think.   But, there are not rules to what a seller can charge here.  Only that it may never sell.

[frankenhobbit]

Nope, not at all because that is not unreasonable shipping for that item. Not talking about the ratio of shipping to item cost. Heavy bulky things cost money to ship. I'm talking about charging 70-100 bucks for something that weighs 2 pounds and easily fits with bubble-wrap in a package the size of a shoebox. 

[soh.maryl]

And, again, if any buyer feels that any seller's listed shipping fee on any item, he is free just to not purchase it and move on.  

Feel free to research all you want, but you will not discover that it's illegal to charge what appears to you to be a higher shipping cost than is reasonable.  

[albertabrightalberta]

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@frankenhobbit wrote:

Nope, not at all because that is not unreasonable shipping for that item. Not talking about the ratio of shipping to item cost. Heavy bulky things cost money to ship. I'm talking about charging 70-100 bucks for something that weighs 2 pounds and easily fits with bubble-wrap in a package the size of a shoebox. 

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Which is the cheapest? 

item 1: $90 plus $10 for shipping

item 2: $100 with free shipping

Item 3: $4 plus $96 for shipping

[albertabrightalberta]

I won't presume to tell you how to price your shipping charges but IMO, shipping that Canfield book (that probably weighs <1 lb.) by GA and charging $17.03 (to my zip) seems excessive. 

[monster-deals]

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@carouselkidsshoes1 wrote:

Is this not right?  

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It is 100% right for a seller to charge whatever they like for their item and shipping.

If you don't find value with that seller you choose another and that is also 100% right.

[albertabrightalberta]

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@carouselkidsshoes1 wrote:

  So all her or his items shipping is ridiculously high.  Is this illegal doing this?  

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 @carouselkidsshoes1 

To clarify, there was a time when it was circumvention of fees to overcharge (excessively) for shipping. In the early days of ebay, FVF was charged only on the selling price of items, so dishonest sellers would cheat ebay by listing items at minimal prices and make up the value of the item by charging excessive shipping. 

I remember seeing Louis Vuitton bags being sold at $50 with $900 shipping. Seller would pay FVF on $50 and profit from the shipping money they collected.

Fortunately for the honest sellers who didn't cheat, ebay made a change in 2011. From that time on, FVF has been charged on the full payment made by the buyer, including sales tax and shipping.