eBay

skeletonstore · ‎12-28-2020

Major retail websites have been brainwashing consumers for years with fake news by suggesting shipping is free. I get the question all the time, would you do free shipping. I give them the number for the USPS and tell them to ask the USPS if they will work for free and still finance all the union benefits they reward their employees. I had a customer last night ask me to reduce the shipping on a heavy product because he thought $15 was too much for Medium Flat Rate Priority. $7 was more to his liking. So I'm suppose to eat $7 just so he can have 50% free shipping? It's a total lie by offering free shipping. It's even worse that Chinese sellers can ship for free because of how their crooked government works. I also think any listing from China should have a RED disclaimer pop up and indicate to the customer that the listing is co-sponsored by the communist party. amazon is certainly to blame too. They play crooked games like selling below cost and don't have to pay taxes so they can brainwash even more people into thinking shipping is free. Even they should have to add a disclaimer about how this free shipping came about, you know like it was the result of off shore accounts and crooked backroom deals and manipulation of the marketplace and probably some good old fashion bribery if not blackmail. A dumb consumer is a trouble maker. Shipping is not cheap and will be going up again very soon. Maybe they should also have a pop up that shows USPS operating expenses too. Show their employee benefit package and compare that to the benefits Ebay sellers get. Maybe after all that buyers would stop acting so arrogant and demanding of free things. Nothing is free in this world, save for the truth. Start telling it.

calntom · ‎12-28-2020

Free Shipping is the way eCommerce has been heading for many, many years. The majority of buyers know Free Shipping is included in the price. Many buyers do not like to have to do math to figure out the best deal so they only buy from sellers with Free Shipping.

I don't like the extra work of weighing and measuring items and entering that information into listings so I just guestimate shipping and include it in the price.

The only listings I have calculated shipping for are some of the biggins and I explain in the listing, much of the time, "Buyer pays for UPS Ground shipping at 43 lbs and 28" x 12" x 14".

1tuna · ‎12-28-2020

I have sold 40,000 items and never used the calculated thingy..............what is is for

luckily for me 6 ounces is a heavy package,most are 5 and thats what I charge........ $5 shipping

free shipping is offered on 3/4 of ebays listing s or so they say.. I have lost my shirt when playing around with new buisness policies and free shipping slipped in

If I charge 5 for each package and ship 2000 packages thats like givig away 10,000 in free shipping

I can support that yet so it stays at 5 bucks

Germantown proud Germantown strong
up the whiskey hickon
moving right along
19144

luckythewinner · ‎12-28-2020

So I'm suppose to eat $7 just so he can have 50% free shipping?

No one said you are "supposed" to. You simply say no, and move on.

Shipping should always be calculated, a site rule

I disagree. I should be able to charge whatever I want.

Nothing is free in this world, save for the truth

Not true. It doesn't cost anything for you to tell us how to run our business.

I give them the number for the USPS and tell them to ask the USPS if they will work for free

And it also doesn't cost anything to antagonize your buyers.

southern*sweet*tea · ‎12-28-2020

I charge flat rate shipping of $3.50 to $4.25 for most of my stuff. Paper is lightweight, calculated shipping doesn't make sense. If they ask for lower shipping, I simply say no. No explanation is necessary. If they don't like it, they can move on to another seller. I'll negotiate the item price as I take offers, but shipping is non-negotiable. Period.

Simply tell your buyer no. If that's not acceptable to them, tell them you'll be happy to cancel. The average buyer has absolutely no idea how much it costs to ship a package.

The easier you are to offend the easier you are to control.

We seem to be getting closer and closer to a situation where nobody is responsible for what they did but we are all responsible for what somebody else did. - Thomas Sowell

pburn · ‎12-28-2020

As a buyer, I prefer listings that include shipping in the cost of the item (aka "free" shipping) under most circumstances.

eBay bucks are applied to shipping if it's included, but not if it's calculated separately.
Promos involving a percentage discount are computed on shipping if it's included, but not if it's calculated.
Shipping is counted for promos requiring a minimum purchase if it's included, but not if it's calculated.

There are also disadvantages:

Generally speaking, there's no shipping discount if ordering more than one item from a seller who offers free shipping.
If I buy from a seller who's one city away, I pay the same shipping as I would for a seller shipping from one coast to the other. I understand the reasoning, but it's a bit irksome at times.

Reading your initial comment, as well as the other threads you have posted on these discussion boards, it seems like you struggle with both eBay and with customers. Online retail selling isn't for everyone. It takes a certain temperament and mindset. Perhaps you'd want to take a good hard look at whether it's really a good fit for you.

elferg_1997 · ‎12-28-2020

Paragraphs!

1grandmashope_1 · ‎12-28-2020

Shipping costs should only be what a seller chooses to ship at, and therefore what a buyer then decides to pay.

Simply put...

Happy New Years,

Grandma

buyselljack2016 · ‎12-28-2020

For 1# and up I use "calculated" when the cost to get the item varies by buyer location. If "flat rate" to all is the same, it is included. (free)

For 15.99 oz. or less the shipping is included. (free) For those items the postage is rolled in at about the Zone 6 cost, and tends to average out.

buyselljack2016 · ‎12-28-2020

@buyselljack2016 wrote:
For 1# and up I use "calculated" when the cost to get the item varies by buyer location. If "flat rate" to all is the same, it is included. (free)

For 15.99 oz. or less the shipping is included. (free) For those items the postage is rolled in at about the Zone 6 cost, and tends to average out.

EDIT: I now find that I have posted a lie. To deter the "fast 'n free" from appearing I have actually gone to using $0.01 shipping on many non -calculated items. On "time away", so sort of forgot that.

So much for catering to the "free shipping" crowd😊

crabapplekid · ‎01-26-2021

Who is FAST N' FREE?

crabapplekid · ‎01-26-2021

You make the same amount of money whether your FAST N' FREE or not, I would think. Customers will always notice how much shipping costs or if it doesn't cost anything.

lightlily_arts · ‎01-27-2021

They want free shipping? Sure gimme a minute so I can revise the listing and add it the the item price. Voila! Since it's not free to me it won't be free to you, and eBay charges me fees on the shipping too.

bimm_corp · ‎01-27-2021

eBay likes Free Shipping. That way they get a fee on the shipping cost the seller builds into the item price, not to mention the perks they receive from the shipping vendor when a seller uses eBay labels.

I use free shipping because I'm lazy and don't want to be bothered with all the variables and maths, which I was never good at in the first place. In addition, with the problems USPS is having with deliveries, it's more likely an item will have a timely arrival when it goes via Priority Mail which I use a lot. Works for me.

lightlily_arts · ‎01-27-2021

How to respond to buyers when they ask for free shipping?

No response.

No can do.

Sure gimme a minute so I can revise the listing and add it to the item price. Voila! Now it's free!

Since it's not free to me, it won't be free to you, and eBay charges me fees on the shipping too.

Have you checked with USPS to see what X ounces/pounds costs to ship?

Do you know a carrier that offers free shipping?

Why don't you message USPS and see if they can deliver it to you for free.

I get the ones who think you can use media mail even when it doesn't qualify.

For the cheapskates it won't matter if you offer free shipping or not. They will try to grind you down no matter the price. Even if you demonstrate what USPS or Fedex charges to ship they still think it costs too much.

This one really made me laugh. I had one buyer last year who wanted three of my items. She offered 60% off my price, and wanted free shipping as well. She was located in a Zone 8 state. She mentioned I should give it to her because the shipping was too high and she was a senior on a fixed income. These were designer shoes. I checked the feedback left for her sellers. 60% were negatives mostly about the cost of shipping. I blocked her from buying, and then responded with These are fixed price listings with no offers being accepted.