Biggest bitch. high shipping or manadatory insurance? [Archive]

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Buyatari

10-23-2005, 09:59 PM

Ok a new menace has reared his ugly head on eBay.

Shipping is something I've been keen on for some time. I keep an eye on this before bidding but now there is a new way sneaky sellers can boost their bottom lines. Mandatory Insurance !

I've done this 2x times now. So its shame on me but believe me it won't happen again. $2.50 on a $10 game for mandatory insurance when the seller doesn't even purchase insurance is BS

weirdguy

10-23-2005, 10:04 PM

I would have to say high shipping cost.

Last week I won the FF7 and FF8 guide from ebay. 11$ for both. The guy was asking 15$ for shipping because he said it was a package and he had to send it express post (and wouldn't change his mind).

I finally paid him because I didn't want any negative on my feedback.

I wouldn't complain if the guy was from the other side of the country, but he lives 20min from me !

ewrann

10-24-2005, 07:07 AM

Buyers will always bitch about shipping costs.
Sellers will always bitch about buyers bitching about shipping costs.

syd

10-24-2005, 07:36 AM

I guess one good thing about living in Canada is they can't charge me insurance fees, because insurance can't be purchased for international sales. :)

On the other hand, a lot of bastard ebay sellers charge WAY too much for shipping to Canada, when shipping here in a lot of cases only costs a buck or two extra for something small. So i'll have to vote for the shipping costs on this one! :/

Vectorman0

10-24-2005, 07:59 AM

Slightly inflated shipping costs are understandable to make up for ebay fees, supplies, gas , and double ebay fees if paypal is used. But it has gone out of control. I usually don't mind as long as what I paid for shipping and handling is within $2-$3 of the postage. I haven't come across the mandatory insurance thing yet, but I would be pretty pissed. It's one thing to watch your back and require insurance, but I can't imagine how mad I would be if something happened to the package and the seller never insured it.

Sylentwulf

10-24-2005, 08:01 AM

Neither. If the shipping costs are clearly stated in the auction, then noone has a right to complain about them. It should be included in the total amount you're willing to spend on an item. Why would someone pay more (total) for an item because it costs less to ship it?

Some people have other ways of insuring packages. Granted, if I paid for insurance and there wa clearly nothing marked on the package, I'd be a bit let down, but if it came in broken, and they asked for pics for their own packing insurance methods, I wouldn't care how it gets done as long as I get my payment back.

What annoys me is REQUIRED insurance. I never think to look for it, and then suddenly I'm paying $3.00 required insurance on a $10 item that I would have definitely declined insuring if given the chance.

segagamer4life

10-24-2005, 08:01 AM

High shipping costs blow, if I get one more package that costs 5 bucks or more, and when it arrives the postage says 1.80... or so, F---- that.. what a scam.. BASTARDS

Jumpman Jr.

10-24-2005, 08:03 AM

If high shipping is stated in the auction, than it's no big deal for me because I won't bid on it. However, if the guy says "Shipping price will be of actaul cost" and it turns out to be $10+, then that's ratty.

ewrann

10-24-2005, 08:08 AM

ewrann

10-24-2005, 08:14 AM

Handling can = Paypal fees, Ebay listing fees, gas money, packaging expenses and most importanly TIME. Yep TIME.

If I make $50 and hour at my day job you better believe my time outside of work is worth something.

If people want to recoup their handling fees then that's fine with me. The price is stated in the auction. I could care less what the shipping sticker says was the postal services charges to the shipper.

This thing with charging for mandatory insurance and then NOT insuring the item is total BS though.

I've been buying and selling on Ebay for at least 4 years. It's pointless to complain about shipping & handling fees. If someone is charging an amount I don't want to pay I just don't bid.

Hmmm...psychologically I wonder if it's better for a seller to offer "FREE SHIPPING!" and jack the starting bid price up to cover the costs up front....

This should be moved to the Ebay Insanity forum....

E

chrisbid

10-24-2005, 09:11 AM

neither

eBay is a freakin ripoff for all concerned parties

ewrann

10-24-2005, 09:15 AM

neither

eBay is a freakin ripoff for all concerned parties

Please explain....

googlefest1

10-24-2005, 09:33 AM

ive come across both - but mostly bulshit shipping costs

i vote for bs shipping becasue i come across that more often - but it does piss me off when they try to hide mandatory insurance in thier 20 pages of text describing thier policies -- if they actualy pay for postal insurance then fine but almost every time ive come across this they say insurance is or was provided by "other 3rd party means" which i will always view as bulshit theiving - show me the proof

personaly i realy hate BS shipping charges - and i dont give a damn if the seller values his/her/it's time thats BS shipping and thievery -- if you want buyers to pay for your time then spell out your fees - shipping (1.50)+ packageing (1.50) + my time m@sturbating with your box (10.99)

when I sell stuff, I spell out everything for the buyer and include an invoice which also spells out the shipping / handeling charges -- why do i do this - becasue i think its fair and I realy, realy like it when a seller does it for me. I don't charge for time. It never has taken me more than 5 min to pack and mail something. I don't charge for gas. mabey if there was no close post office i would but there is always one along some path im taking to get somewhere. I don't over charge for packing either. If packing cost me nothing, it costs the buyer nothing. If it did cost me something then i charge the exact price i paid for it. I do this in hopes that others will do it for me.

i gues what bothers me most is multiple items - this is where the shipping crimes happen the most. One time i paid 57$ for 6.50 shipping for a bunch of Neogeo pocket games. I did know in advance it would cost me this much and breaking it all down it was with in the price i was willing to pay for each game, but i still viewed it as the seller ripping me off. I think it has come to the sellers makeing money off the shipping instead of the item it self.

If the seller paid more for an item and sold it for less and charged more for shipping to make up for the selling loss then thats understandable to me. I dont think thats the usual case.

unfortunalty there will always be someone selling something you want with outrageous shipping and you will be forced to buy it if you want the item at that time

i want to point out another shipping crime i have come across many times. the seller will specify how much for shipping and how much for the box (showing a price of a box from some mail supply place) and the box is not new. for example ill get charged for the box and what ill get is a crushed ice-cream box with 2-3 previously used labels on it. Also, ive come across getting charged for a service and just getting plain mail. Id get charged for priority and get media mail or first class . Get charrged for ups and get reg mail. oh and i love this one, paying for overnight shipping and getting reg or media mail.

i think ive been harsh enough. I'm sure many of you have had the same experiences.

njiska

10-24-2005, 09:40 AM

For me the biggest bitch is neither Shipping, Insurance, the biggest bitch is duty and brokerage fees.

I live in canada and since most of my eBay purchases come from other parts of the world i get nailed with a brokerage fee. Most of the time it's something reasonable like $7-8 and that's fine, but when a package comes UPS i'm looking at paying upwards of $20.

Here's one of the most annoying auction experiences i've had because the seller would only ship UPS.

Cost of auction $20 USD
Cost of Shipping $20 USD
Cost of Brokerage $20 USD

For christs sake thats $60 for a $20 auction.

UPS is evil and it's the scourge of eBay.

Hep038

10-24-2005, 10:37 AM

/ adds Googlefest1 to my good ebayer list.

LOL

kevin_psx

10-24-2005, 10:43 AM

$2.50 on a $10 game for mandatory insurance when the seller doesn't even purchase insurance is BS

I'd be pissed too. Charges insurance but doesn't buy it. What if it got lost??? Leave a neg. Charge it back.

Remember Ebay calls it "shipping and handling" and gasoline costs = shipping cost / $1.00 envelope = handling cost. I charge:
$4.00 media
$5.00 priority

.

chrisbid

10-24-2005, 10:45 AM

neither

eBay is a freakin ripoff for all concerned parties

Please explain....

- eBay ripoffs sellers by double dipping auction pricing, then they double dip you again for using paypal

- sellers ripoff bidders with inflated shipping and handling costs per the topic of this thread

- bidders rip themselves off by over inflating the real value of things.

- brick-and-mortar stores see these inflated prices and begin to base their own pricing from eBay auctions rather than local supply and demand, thus ripping off their customers. When thrift stores are charging 50 dollars for a Sega Genesis with a loose copy of Madden '94 because "we can get more on ebay", then things have gotten out of hand.

chimp69

10-24-2005, 10:48 AM

In Canada, you often get a higher than the actual shipping cost. best is some people say "only charge actual shipping cost" complain that "oh, its 7.50$ shipping, but it came out to 10.50 cause I had to buy 1.34$ envelope." Package arrives, and you realize they really only paid 2.05 for shipping. 1.34$ for envelope. total to ship 3.39$. total charged, 10.50$. whatsup.

wheres the moderators on this one. This topic has been done to death. When I put the same sorta thing, they locked the topic right away.

kevin_psx

10-24-2005, 11:01 AM

- eBay ripoffs sellers by double dipping auction pricing, then they double dip you again for using paypal

Ebay - You paythe listing - like a newspaper ad.

Ebay - they charge you commission - just like a real auction - if it don't sell you pay $0.00.

Paypal - Use cash/check/money order - there's no charge - only credit cards cost money. If you don't want paypal fees don't accept credit cards.

How would you change Ebay's fees?

- bidders rip themselves off by over inflating the real value of things.
Not a ripoff if you do it to yourself. Might as well complain, "It's your fault I hit myself."

briskbc

10-24-2005, 11:16 AM

I went with overpriced shipping. Living in Canada I see this a lot. On about 75% of what I buy. In most cases I have to ask what shipping to Canada will be before I bid as it is rarely listed in the auction. I try to explain that the Dreamcast game they are auctioning will only cost $1.80 to send by letter post air mail and that I don't mind paying $4 or $5 including a shipping fee but I usually get a response saying it will cost $8 to $10. The few times I have gone for it the postage always comes back at $1.80 or so.

Sylentwulf

10-24-2005, 11:23 AM

It also depends on the seller. I, for example, charge an extra handling fee for anything international, and for packages over 1 pound. Why? Because I have to go into the post office for that, and fill out additional forms.

I ship out around 300 packages per week on average. About 15-20 of those I have to bring inside for tracking/over a pound. That's not really a big deal because it's usually the more expensive items anyways. I HATE filling out international forms, and getting glared at by everyone at the post office, and having to tell my kids to stop running up the walls, and printing double labels on evrything for international. So they get charged more.

BUT. Back when I used to just sell the occasional item on ebay, I never charged anything extra for anything. When you only mail 2 packages per week, it's an inconvenience that you're prepared for, and it doesn't really matter where or how it's being sent since you'll be going to the retail counter anyways. There's no getting around that.

Basically, all this rambling = IMO, if you want me to work extra for your package, go above and beyond the normal, you're going to pay for it. If you can find me anywhere on the planet that does NOT charge for this, please let me know.
Hell, look at newegg's stupid $3 rush handling fee. Now THAT is bullshit.

Buyatari

10-24-2005, 11:24 AM

Neither.

What annoys me is REQUIRED insurance. I never think to look for it, and then suddenly I'm paying $3.00 required insurance on a $10 item that I would have definitely declined insuring if given the chance.

That is exactly what I was trying to say about my insurance bitch.

Sailorneorune

10-24-2005, 11:28 AM

In re to Paypal: I leave the money order option open for this reason. I don't take personal checks, having had to deal with so many bad check writers when working retail, the bastards.

I am at an advantage over some ebayers... I live within a very short distance of the local post office. If I am unsure on the shipping cost of a particular item, I can take it down the road a few blocks and get a shipping quote.

I ask $3 for first class (Parcel Post to Canada), $5 for Priority shipping, and actual cost of Global Priority to Canada. I use Priority for boxed games and 2 or more cased games to protect the packaging. (Boxed games include ones like Digital Devil Saga with the bonus box or Star Ocean 3 with the slipcover, as well.) I leave insurance completely up to the bidder, unless the item is worth a large amount of money (see my infamous Valkyrie Profile auction). I INSURED that sucker, but I don't remember if I was asked or not...

If my Ikaruga auction goes too much higher, I'll be insuring it too, heh. [/plug]

-Sailorneorune

Sylentwulf

10-24-2005, 11:43 AM

What annoys me is REQUIRED insurance. I never think to look for it, and then suddenly I'm paying $3.00 required insurance on a $10 item that I would have definitely declined insuring if given the chance.

That is exactly what I was trying to say about my insurance bitch.[/quote]

Yeah I read it a bit wrong, I thought you were complaining more about him not buying the insurance rather than the fact that it was mandatory. If they don't buy the insurance after I've paid for it and nothing is broken, I let it go. But mandatory insurance pisses me off whether they pay for it or not.

ewrann

10-24-2005, 12:19 PM

I ask $3 for first class (Parcel Post to Canada[/plug]

So if you were to take a Sealed Nes game - wrap it once in bubble wrap - put it in a small priority mail box (wrap the box in plain paper of course) and ship it parcel to Canada it will only cost you $3?

Just curious b/c I can't get that option to come up on the usps pricing site (which is what I base my shipping prices on).

E

fishsandwich

10-24-2005, 12:36 PM

Truffle

10-24-2005, 12:36 PM

Insurance is cool, I would get it anyway. But $8 to ship a loose GB game...WTF O_O

davepesc

10-24-2005, 12:38 PM

I don't mind a small shipping markup, $2-$3 on larger packages, but never more than double the actual shipping, so you don't get to charge $4 for an $0.85 bubble mailer.

As for the manditory insurance, charging for ins without buying the insurance is akin to theft, as far as I'm concerned.

googlefest1

10-24-2005, 01:28 PM

b
NO KIDDING!!!!

This E-bay jackass charges $5 plus $1.50 to ship CD's and loose carts...

LINK...
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZmastergame7

He sends them MEDIA MAIL for $1.50 with no insurance. He pockets $5 per sale. Jerkoff.

So, he gets you BOTH ways... shipping AND insurance.

:angry: :angry: :angry:

HA HA HA yea thats one of 'em - i purchased stuff from him before -- case of -"damn, he has what im looking for and no one else does" -- just funny seeing someone list a seller i've delt with before

Griking

10-24-2005, 08:55 PM

$2.50 on a $10 game for mandatory insurance when the seller doesn't even purchase insurance is BS

I'd be pissed too. Charges insurance but doesn't buy it. What if it got lost??? Leave a neg. Charge it back.

Here's another way of looking at the insurance issue.

Most of the time that I offer insurance on a game I cover it myself.

Look at it this way;

1) If the game was lost or damaged in shipping the only thing the post office would do (if you're lucky) is refund you the value of the game and getting them to actually do this can be painful. The seller is going to have to make an extra trip to the post office and fill out a lot of paper work. If everything goes well the buyer will eventually get his money back in about a few weeks (hopefully he's patient) and the seller would have wasted more time than the item was probably worth in the first place.

2) If I sell a game on eBay and it's lost in transit and never makes it to the buyer the buyer will most likely just file a chargeback with PayPal and get his money back anyways. Basically every seller who accepts PayPal payments is offering insurance whether they know it or not.

Well basically what I do is offer my own reasonably charged ptional insurance when I sell an item. If the item is lost (I'll know, I ship with delivery confirmation) I'll just refund the buyer's money myself. Again, with PayPal I'd have to do that anyways. At least this way I'm making $1.50 here and there to recoup the expenses of any that do get lost.

The seller is getting exactly the same protection in the long run as they would have it the insurance was purchased directly from the post office so what's the difference?

What, only the post office is allowed to offer this service?

coreycorey2000

10-24-2005, 09:23 PM

Customs and brokerage fees are the worst. Especially when something is sent UPS. I don't know why anyone would use UPS. I've had $60 worth of gameboy games show up at my door with a Cash on Delivery of $128!!!! How is that possible? Because it was sent UPS.

I don't like when sellers overcharge for shipping. I as a seller charge a flat fee. If the shipping costs me a few dollars more then I cover it out of my pocket! I lose money more often then I overcharge.

I haven't come across the mandatory insurance yet. I insure my packages out of my pocket normally. I've had a $300 item go missing and since the buyer didn't pay for insurance I had to cover it. Oh well it's a cost of using ebay.

Buyatari

10-24-2005, 09:24 PM

Most of the time that I offer insurance on a game I cover it myself.

Do you offer it or is it mandatory? Do you charge $3.00 insurance for a $10.00 game?

Thats the difference.

Griking

10-24-2005, 09:35 PM

Most of the time that I offer insurance on a game I cover it myself.

Do you offer it or is it mandatory? Do you charge $3.00 insurance for a $10.00 game?

Thats the difference.

Nah, the insurance is recommended but still as of now optional. Currently I charge $1.25 for insurance for up to a $100 item just like the post office. Anything with more than $100 value I purcahse the actual insurance from the post office just to be safe.

Diatribal Deity

10-25-2005, 04:46 AM

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the .01 BIN auctions with 9.99 s/h and others. People are trying to circumvent ways of paying fees. All I can say is BUYER BEWARE and like everything in life read ALL the fine print.

Of the purchased insurance at the post office, game stores etc, probably less than 1% of it ever receives a claim and this is why they offer it. It's pretty much pure profit. Same goes for Ebay sellers - they know your willing to pay for it everywhere else so why not add it or hide it within their listing?

Like was mentioned I think the trend will be sellers claiming they have insured the items through a third party (themselves), adding the fee, and if a claim comes along they can either refund the money and take the hit or put the seller through a bunch of convoluted red tape until he gives up.

Me personally...I've charged a dollar or too over here and there and lost a dollar or too there by miscalculating and it all comes out in the wash.

segagamer4life

10-25-2005, 05:39 AM

I want to see stuff like : http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8227168442&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1 this, stop, 11.00 shipping on a 32x game? come on, thats a bit much... and why because they can get this much. I guess its up to the consumer to boycott these sellers, but as long as there are collectors to willing to pay, like in this situation, then we will continue to be bent over like cheap whore on prom night. Oh well, I can't speak for everyone but I don't feel the need for overcharging when I sell an item, I like to charge the actual shipping cost, make money off the item's value, not inflated shipping costs. but thats just me, and this is my rant. Enjoy :D

kevin_psx

10-25-2005, 08:15 AM

fishsandwich

10-25-2005, 09:09 AM

LINK...http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZmastergame7
He sends them MEDIA MAIL for $1.50 with no insurance. He pockets $5 per sale. Jerkoff.

He pockets money but it ain't no $5.00
$6.50 -2.50 post -1.00 envelope -2.00 gas (20 mile roundtrip)
======
$1.00 maybe $1.50 in his pocket - not $5

WRONG. Try again, and don't make so many silly assumptions this time around.

His shipping costs him $1.43 for Media Mail. I know because I've ordered 2 games from this ass (I didn't realize the 2nd game was his auction until it was finished... my mistake for not looking close enough. Won't happen again. I paid because I won, fair and square.)

His envelopes aren't $1.00 each. This guy sells a lot and buys envelopes in bulk. Why do you assume he buys ONE envelope at inflated prices from the PO? Incidentally, one game arrived crushed do to the packaging. A Sega CD game is a manilla envelope WITH NO PADDING is going to get broken.

Do you know where this dude lives? Have you made a 20 mile trip with him in his car?

Like I said... he sells a lot of stuff. Do you think he made a special trip to the PO with ONE BOX just for me? Mine was one of dozens. The gas shouldn't count. Even if it did, my share sure as hell isn't $2.

Fact is, he DOES NOT insure his packages even though he charges for it, and his crap comes via MEDIA MAIL. His auction clearly states that "All video games are shipped via USPS first class mail." That would be a bold-faced lie.

Where is my insurance that I paid $1.50 for? Where is my first class shipping? If he is going to advertise 1st class shipping and insurance, then I want it. If he's just charging $6.50 to ship then that's totally different.

The guy is a cheat and a liar. I have no idea why you're defending him, but go check your math.

:hmm:

googlefest1

10-25-2005, 09:10 AM

LINK...http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZmastergame7
He sends them MEDIA MAIL for $1.50 with no insurance. He pockets $5 per sale. Jerkoff.

He pockets money but it ain't no $5.00
$6.50 -2.50 post -1.00 envelope -2.00 gas (20 mile roundtrip)
======
$1.00 maybe $1.50 in his pocket - not $5

ANYBODY complain to ebay about high ship? I do if it's over 7.50.

when you complain do you get any response?
ive heared these $1 envelope stories for a long time -- Where the F are these envelopes purchased? what are they made of . Buy a box of bubble padded envelopes at stapels and pay around 30cents per envelope - boxes never cost me more than a $1

oh and that Gas money farse - if its along the way to where ever you are going then your using up the gas doing your other activity- also if your mailing out 5 packages at a time the gas is still $2 not $10 so you can't consider a seller is spending that much on gas when he/she 's selling a ton of stuff

i don't want to hear sellers have to mail packages out as soon as they are paid for so thats why the gas charge is justified. I very rarely have ever had an item mailled to me as soon as i paid for it - most often the sellers take thier sweet @ss time bringing it to the post office, which would lead me to belive they wait untill they have many orders before even moving.

kevin_psx

10-25-2005, 09:22 AM

vintagegamecrazy

10-25-2005, 09:25 AM

I go shipping, I can understand some extra fees for supplies, but I remember one auction specifically back a few years ago, Atari 2600 Condor Attack US version, there was no option for insurance and shipping was via standard rates no overnight or airmail and he was charging $15.00 for shipping because he knew he'd get it. That is a lowlife seller there and I have seen other auctions that have that same crap shipping excuses from the seller.

Kejoriv

10-25-2005, 09:38 AM

It doesnt matter to me, either way it sucks when people charge so much for either one. What I cant stand is when you buy an item and it gets shipped out 2 weeks after you paid.

fishsandwich

10-25-2005, 10:02 AM

WRONG. Try again, and don't make so many silly assumptions this time around.The guy is a cheat and a liar. I have no idea why you're defending him, but go check your math. :hmm:

I'm sorry.

I used worst case scenario (post office not near his job) (he only sold 1 item) to give the Seller the "benfit of the doubt" that he has to spend $1.50-2.00 gasoline. i like to see the good in people, not just assume they are ripping me off. :)

Shipping cartridges as media? Ain't that illegal?

k

S'ok, dude. It's great that you try to see the good in people. The seller might be a fine human being in his interactions with people. He may just be a thief and a liar on Ebay.

Using media mail for carts and game CD's is a fuzzy area... consoles aren't "computers" per say. I still use media mail to ship loose carts, though... and I charge my buyers $2.00. Yes, I pocket the extra 53 cents! :embarrassed:

EDIT... Down to 45 cents. The cart I sent out today was $1.55 via media mail with confirmation. :embarrassed:

AMG

10-25-2005, 10:48 AM

High shipping gets my vote.

ewrann

10-25-2005, 11:17 AM

OTHER:

I love it when buyers wait 6 days to pay. Especially when they ask a question about the item 20 minutes before the auction ends.

Sucks on both sides of the fence.

E

kevin_psx

10-31-2005, 10:24 AM

I love it when buyers wait 6 days to pay. Especially when they ask a question about the item 20 minutes before the auction ends. Or pretend to be ignorant - "But my wife mailed a check to you last month." Nice try buddy but lying to me is just making me angrier. You just earned a bad feedback.

re: Charging for gasoline+envelope - I think buyers should pay these expenses. They want the convenience of sitting on their butts & waiting for the Game/Movie/whatever to arrive at their door. Okay. I too like the convenience of "click mouse-wait for item" online shopping.

Let them pay for that convenience - the $1 envelope + one-half a gallon of gasoline.

-in my humble opinion-

loporjai2003

11-01-2005, 01:24 AM

1) Brokerage costs for courier items
- read on another forum you can broker it yourself if you are near the port of entry for the item, you call the company and get the brokerage forms, bring them to customs, pay duties and bring back receipt and stamped forms to company and pick up item.

2) High cost of shipping .. I am talking about the costs from Canada Post for shipping here in Canada.
- costs more to send in Canada than it is to the US and we don't have media mail equivalent. Letter post is now paper items and CD and DVD but it has to fit in a certain size slot, else Small Packet/Parcel
- at least insurance is now standard for all Small Packets even International, used to have to send it registered Air Small Packet to even get insurance.