Brian Hill wrote:

"exray" wrote in message Thanks...

The cost of doing business comes directly out of profits.
I'm going with it. I can see it isn't popular. I was just looking at it like
this.

Lets say a $50 radio okay and the total cost. This is just a quick guess.

So the buyer gives me $50
-Pay Pal 2.9 %+.30c=$48.25
- packing materiels $8=$40.25
- Ebay list fees $2.50=$37.75
then final value fee( say -$2)= $35.75
Then time packing and driving to the PO+Gas-$5=$30.75
and the radio is still worth $50

I guess you could charge shipping and handling? Thats withing Ebay guide
lines. I never charge for packing materiel and they are expensive or at the
least take time and money to find. And Bill you know what it takes to
properly pack a radio. So how would you go about handling cost?


Brian, rarely does it take me any less than half an hour to scarf thru
my available boxes and figure out the combinations that would permit me
to properly pick the ones, or cut down the other ones with a razor
knife, to make a nice double boxed scenario. I'm in a town of about
7000 and if it rains here there ain't a decent box to be found for a few
days and box-finding could easily become a fulltime job.
If I'm lame in the effort is this the buyer's fault? I earn 1000/wk on
my real job so is my time searching dumpsters for boxes relevant as an
add on charge? Am I on the clock for wages once I sell something on
ebay? I could easily trump up 50 dollars of expense like you did on any
item I send out even if it were a single tube. Oh, did I mention my old
86 Isuzu doesn't get the best gas mileage to the Post Office? You get
the point, I hope.

Buyer buys=buyer knows about what shipping will cost. End of story. My
ebay costs, bad gas mileage, packing materials or the fact that I'm
crippled and have to pay alimony aren't the buyer's problem. Thats
"doing business" If I can't make the numbers work then I bail out. Not
a problem. Tagging on buyer surcharges ain't gonna float this raft.

You say $30.75 to pack and deliver to the PO. Are you hiring? I'll move
to Bum****, MN and pack all your stuff and go to the PO for $20/whack
giving you a 66% cost saving.....or is that not what you meant?

-BM