question for ebay buyers
 

for those of you that buy on ebay, do you look at the shipping price
and deduct that from the maximum you are willing to pay or do you just
ignore shipping and bid whatever you want.

this is something I have wondered for a few years now

"the captain" wrote...
for those of you that buy on ebay, do you look at the shipping price
and deduct that from the maximum you are willing to pay or do you just
ignore shipping and bid whatever you want.

this is something I have wondered for a few years now

The first thing I do is click the link for "shipping and payment details".
I've *not* bought some items because of the shipping price, if they were
shipped from inside the USA. I'm willing to pay higher shipping for a bargain
from Liypn, since the item cost offsets the higher shipping charge from
China.

I've wondered the same thing Captain. And also if people generally
check the seller's feedback. If I see something I'm interested in, shipping
cost and feedback are what determines if I will bid.

"the captain" wrote in message
om...
for those of you that buy on ebay, do you look at the shipping price
and deduct that from the maximum you are willing to pay or do you just
ignore shipping and bid whatever you want.

this is something I have wondered for a few years now

Always take shipping into consideration. There's lots of shipping gougers
out there.

the captain wrote:

for those of you that buy on ebay, do you look at the shipping price
and deduct that from the maximum you are willing to pay or do you just
ignore shipping and bid whatever you want.

this is something I have wondered for a few years now

I consider the shipping cost when deciding if or how much I'll bid.

A year or two ago someone listed a full set of OEM ink for my printer for $14.95 buy it now - an insanely good price - but he wanted $325 for shipping. So what looked like an incredible deal up front was actually a pretty average total. I presume he was
looking to lower his final value fees.

Always a good idea to look at the shipping expenses. You can always
cross-check shipping costs with FedEx or UPS or USPS (or whomever) to make
sure that the shipper isn't trying to gouge you. I've had nothing but good
experiences with regards so far with my Ebay purchases.

Regards

John Barnard

the captain wrote:

for those of you that buy on ebay, do you look at the shipping price
and deduct that from the maximum you are willing to pay or do you just
ignore shipping and bid whatever you want.

this is something I have wondered for a few years now

"the captain" wrote in message
om...
for those of you that buy on ebay, do you look at the shipping price
and deduct that from the maximum you are willing to pay or do you just
ignore shipping and bid whatever you want.

this is something I have wondered for a few years now

NEVER EVER BID on anything until you
get a shipping fee quoted IN WRITING via
reply e-mail, with the full understanding by the
seller that he will agree to this pre-quoted shipping
fee if you win the auction. You can usually then tell
if he's making extra cream-on-the-side via an inflated
shipping fee and decide to bid afterwards. Bottom line
is if the seller has inflated shipping fees, it's a good
bet he's another former "hamfest gypsy" salesman
who's closed up shop at the flea markets and is
now scamming via e-Screw. Easy eh?

Back when I was acquiring ANC-4's for my phased array, I had a more
or less fixed amount that I'd bid, regardless of shipping cost; it
was just whatever price acquired ANC-4's at the rate I thought was
advisable, not too fast, not too slow. It averages out.

I'd notice an out-of-line shipping cost but otherwise didn't pay
much attention. Out-of-line means avoid the seller. Otherwise
it's just sort of in the noise.

I doubt many are making money on shipping, in the remaining class. Some
people go to Mailbox R Us or whatever and some people do it
themselves, at widely various costs to themselves. I never ran into
anybody getting rich selling ANC-4's. The idea I operate on is that
both sides should wind up happy with the exchange or it shouldn't happen.
So if it's a good deal for me and for him I'm happy.

Shipping would be more of an item in cheap purchases though.
--
Ron Hardin


On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

I basically do look at the shipping and bid accordingly. For instance, I
won't even bid on $10.00 items where the shipping is $12.95 (for an 8 ounce
package)
"the captain" wrote in message
om...
for those of you that buy on ebay, do you look at the shipping price
and deduct that from the maximum you are willing to pay or do you just
ignore shipping and bid whatever you want.

this is something I have wondered for a few years now

schuetzen - RKBA! wrote:

Mark S. Holden wrote:


the captain wrote:

for those of you that buy on ebay, do you look at the shipping price
and deduct that from the maximum you are willing to pay or do you just
ignore shipping and bid whatever you want.

this is something I have wondered for a few years now

I consider the shipping cost when deciding if or how much I'll bid.

A year or two ago someone listed a full set of OEM ink for my printer for $14.95 buy it now - an insanely good price - but he wanted $325 for shipping. So what looked like an incredible deal up front was actually a pretty average total. I presume he was
looking to lower his final value fees.



exactly!! I just filed a complaint to ebay on someone selling a one yr
subscription to Cosmopolitan for $3.99 but the shipping was $11.95 !!

Ebay wrote back and thanked me for reporting a fee evader.

then there is the guy who sold me a 4gb Hitachi microdrive from a Muvo1 last
night and charged me $29.95 for shipping in spite of the fact that his shipping
instructions said $15 (UPS) which is extremely excessive as it could have been
shipped by priority mail to me for $4.00 .. I called him on it and he refunded
$15... still and all, I reported him at the same time as the subscription
complaint. I fully agree with you

I HATE a shipping gouger!!

cheers
chas

--
chas

Shipping and handling can include a handling fee - If they clearly state
it in the auction, I just treat it as part of the bottom line cost.

One guy I've bought several things from does "foam in place" packing,
with new materials for everything he sells.

So his shipping costs can look high - but he's not ripping people off,
he's packing it to arrive intact even if it gets used for the box
tossing contest or a Samsonite commercial.

I do find people who clearly treat handling as a major profit center are
generally more trouble than they're worth.

One Ebay seller advertised a "fixed" S&H charge of $9.00, but then after
getting my money said it was actually $22 and change.

I should have asked for my money back, but instead paid an extra $14, only to
find the total shipping was $18. Would have been worth the extra $4, but so
poorly packed that item sustained scuffing damage.

I went to file a negative feedback, only to find he'd given me a negative for
REFUSING to pay for shipping. My feedback to him looked like "revenge"
negative.

You just can't win if someone is out to gouge you.

But to answer your question, I bid price+shipping cost, and if the combo price
is high, I pull back.