Excessive postage charges.

[deltadelta48]

"If you were looking at listings from U.S. sellers, be assured that international postage costs can be VERY high."

I'll second that and add that as most jewelry items are fragile, they must, IMHO, go in a box, not an envelope, padded or not, no two ways about it, especially if they're traveling long distances. I've shipped in padded envelopes before and had problems (had to refund two buyers) and made one complaint myself about a broken brooch, which taught me a very important lesson about shipping fragile items.

As for USPS, I can't believe they're raising rates AGAIN! Arrrrrggggghhhhhhh!!!

Best wishes and many sales to all,

Yes, padded envelopes are almost useless for protecting items. If I have a smaller fragile item I usually box it too. Not worth the risk. Now that the PO is watching the thickness of the envelopes too, if it is a hair too thick, you get charged the package price anyway. Might as well use a box w/ bubble wrap.

[KW379]

My Items are weighed before listing and I use royal mail postage finder and also a separate program called Post Mate from Paul Lees software, I don’t believe in ripping my customers off.

[JimmyCee]

I spent quite a lot of time trying to be fair to my customers, and to myself. After searching shipping sections in many catalogs I found the best solution for my needs.
On my web site I have a page set aside specifically for shipping cost's.
It's all up front and in my opinion fairly accurate, I am charging by the amount of the sale..$0-40.00 is $6.00. etc etc
I lose on some items and make up on others.
Items that are light and I feel shipping could have been lower, I add a few items n/c and that's working very nicely for me and my customers.
Since I ship only in the U.S here on ebid, I am using a low all around figure. Priority mail works great for me in small light packages

[baconsdozen]

A lot of the tools I sell end up being shipped to the other side of the world and due to theri weight that becomes expensive.What I try and do is charge pretty much what it costs me.
On ebay due to their very high fees and commissions sellers often use high post charges to reduce the selling commission,its wrong but you can almost understand why they do so.On ebid where the fees are much more sensible there is less incentive to massage the post costs.I can't believe any seller can get away without publishing his carriage charges and surely no body is daft enough to bid or agree to buy when they have no idea of what the final cost will be.
There is thankfully much less of the low price-high post nonsense on ebid than on rip off ebay and logically it's another reason for buyers to come here instead.

[mystuff2u]

Like others, I attempt to charge only actual shipping costs and FWIW, a USPS Flat Rate Envelope can be a relatively inexpensive method of shipping internationally from the U.S. Basically, if you can stuff it in the "flat rate" envelope and fold the flap down, it ships... I believe it's limited to 4 lbs. actual weight, but my experience has been that even if the package is bulky beyond belief and you have to get creative with the tape, they will accept it. Cost varies by country, but the average has been (again, via my experience only) roughly $13. I have also had some experience with International First Class Mail and found that not only is it somewhat economical, it has been comparable to USPS Parcel Post (my local Post Office likened it to the "ship by boat rates" of the past). IMVHO, postage costs worldwide are ridiculous and if a couple minutes of research time can save us all some $ then it's time well spent!

[caramia64]

I now weigh goods when I list , then use the following fantastic site to calculate costs.
http://seajays.org.uk/postage/index.cfm?
Quick & easy!! I only ever add on about 20p - 50p to cover costs of packaging. So I believe my p/p charges are very competetive. Check out the above link , well worth using . I find it quicker & easier than royal mail site.

[JaBek1]

Frankly, I find a lot of the carrying on over at the bay's boards about this subject annoying. We're all adults and know that when it comes to buying & selling, it is the customer that ends up paying for everything. After all, they're the ones with the money. So it stands to reason that they are the ones who will be paying for the packaging, insurance, postage and everything else involved in getting the item safely to them. Whether it is billed separately or lumped into the price.

Personally, I prefer to list S&H separately as it usually costs my customers a bit less depending on where they live. Most items I add a handling charge of $1.50 for domestic (USA) or $3.00 for international shipments. I select the shipping method I feel will get the item to the buyer safely and in a timely fashion. And of course, for an economically feasible cost. Naturally, I urge potential bidders & buyer to consider the S&H cost and factor it in in the decision making process.

What I find most annoying, is the complaining about having to pay high S&H charges that were fully disclosed in the listing. The time to question something about a transaction is before committing to buy. Ask questions and if you don't like the answer, don't buy. Don't complain after the fact.

Yes, I know that many people look at the amount of postage affixed to a parcel and say it is less than I paid. I urge those folks to consider that there is more cost involved than just the price of the stamp. And frankly, I don't relish the thought of a seller sending my purchase wrapped in bubble wrap and stuffed in a box that they pulled from the dumpster in the alley behind some store just to try to keep their handling charges down.

[papagran40]

[QUOTE=JaBek1;1259756], I prefer to list S&H separately as it usually costs my customers a bit less depending on where they live. Most items I add a handling charge of $1.50 for domestic (USA) or $3.00 for international shipments.

What I find most annoying, is the complaining about having to pay high S&H charges that were fully disclosed in the listing. The time to question something about a transaction is before committing to buy. Ask questions and if you don't like the answer, don't buy. Don't complain after the fact.

Yes, I know that many people look at the amount of postage affixed to a parcel and say it is less than I paid. I urge those folks to consider that there is more cost involved than just the price of the stamp.

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well said jabek1...there are many who would agree with this , but as always some will not....this will be an ongoing difference of opinion....which I do not think will be resolved....damned if you do , and damned if you dont ,,,,,,,,,,, I have been ok so far , but I know it will happen......papa.

[Nelson35]

If an item price is inclusive of p/p (example - Price 99p with free p/p), then the site operator (eBid, eBay, etc.,) is going to take their fee from the total which includes p/p (3% eBid and 10% eBay). And if the buyer uses PayPal etc., they do not incur a fee but the seller has to pay a hefty fee (sometimes over 20% on £1 items), and this fee INCLUDES p/p sums, so for small priced items there is nothing left for the seller after paying fees, buying stamps, envelopes, boxes, wrapping paper, bubble wrap, plastic bags, sellotape, labels, etc.,etc.,etc.

[JaBek1]

If an item price is inclusive of p/p (example - Price 99p with free p/p), then the site operator (eBid, eBay, etc.,) is going to take their fee from the total which includes p/p (3% eBid and 10% eBay). And if the buyer uses PayPal etc., they do not incur a fee but the seller has to pay a hefty fee (sometimes over 20% on £1 items), and this fee INCLUDES p/p sums, so for small priced items there is nothing left for the seller after paying fees, buying stamps, envelopes, boxes, wrapping paper, bubble wrap, plastic bags, sellotape, labels, etc.,etc.,etc.

If you include the S&H (P/P) then you have to adjust you price to include all the costs into the price of the item. This can be a problem with items listed in the auction format as it tends to increase the opening bid requirement too much to attract bidders. This is especially true of items competing with sellers listing the same item but without shipping included (free shipping). Unless the bidder is astute enough to compare the listings.

Another problem that occurs is that of international shipping having to be calculated while domestic has it included in the price. By incorporating the domestic S&H into the price, the international bidder then ends up paying both domestic, which has become part of the price, and international shipping, which is calculated for the buyers destination.