Does Ridiculous Shipping Make You Click Elsewhere?

[Omega-TI]

<< HERE >> is an example:

1) The postage expense is more than the 'Buy It Now' asking price.

2) The combined expense exceeds the value of the item.

 

Whats the point?

 

[BDW]

The only time I ever bid on stuff like that is if the price of the item is wayyyy under value, even with the inflated shipping.

 

Any other time I dont put up with that shit.

[Osgeld]

depends on where its shipping from and to, its 23$ for me, which is still silly but not more than the price

 

course shopgoodwill is 10x as bad, just a c64, no cables power supply or anything else was estimated at 29lbs shipping weight at 2x inflated price (nutshell it came up to almost 80 bucks in shipping + 10 for the computer, course untested) ... never been back to that site

Edited September 4, 2014 by Osgeld

[boxpressed]

The postage to me in WI is only $23. Seems pretty reasonable for a bulky item via Priority Mail.

[Omega-TI]

The postage to me in WI is only $23. Seems pretty reasonable for a bulky item via Priority Mail.

 

At my location the shipping came to: $ 55.65

Now the selling price is: $ 45.00

Which brings it to: $ 100.65

[Necron99]

usually, I know how much I want to spend on a particular item. and I'll only bid on high shipping listings if it's something I REALLY want.

 

If an item has an estimated value of $40-$50 and then shipping is already at $40, then my max bid will be around $10 for the item. I'd still add it to my watched list and MAYBE bid a few bucks more last minute, but listed items with crazy shipping are generally items I don't win because I refuse to get suckered from the shipping costs.

[Iwantgames:)]

Here ya go, http://m.ebay.com/itm/321506845715?nav=SEARCH

 

3 carts, a box and some cables $10 w/ $100 shipping

[Rex Dart]

Shows $44.90 shipping for me. Why not just ask the seller for an estimate?

[Gredler]

Just makes me sad

[krslam]

<< HERE >> is an example:

1) The postage expense is more than the 'Buy It Now' asking price.

2) The combined expense exceeds the value of the item.

 

Whats the point?

Since true shipping cost is a function of size, weight and distance, and is completely unaffected by the price of the item being shipped (except possibly for insurance), your first point is meaningless. Back in my selling days, I was frequently surprised by buyers who thought shipping cost should be capped at some percentage of the purchase price.

 

Your second point is the important one. The only smart way to buy is to consider the total delivered cost of the item. I don't know whether this seller is padding the shipping cost or not, but I'd rather see him list it this way than to make it $100 BIN with FREE SHIPPING (another trap many buyers fall into).

[bojay1997]

Since true shipping cost is a function of size, weight and distance, and is completely unaffected by the price of the item being shipped (except possibly for insurance), your first point is meaningless. Back in my selling days, I was frequently surprised by buyers who thought shipping cost should be capped at some percentage of the purchase price.

 

Your second point is the important one. The only smart way to buy is to consider the total delivered cost of the item. I don't know whether this seller is padding the shipping cost or not, but I'd rather see him list it this way than to make it $100 BIN with FREE SHIPPING (another trap many buyers fall into).

Agree strongly. If buyers have a question about actual shipping costs, it's very simple to just send a message to the seller before bidding to clarify what service is being used and the weight of the item. If the buyer doesn't like the answer, they just shouldn't bid.

 

In the TI-99 example being used, it's a fairly heavy computer and like many vintage items, the shipping costs may exceed the actual value. The seller is not responsible for subsidizing shipping simply because something is not worth the combined item cost and shipping to any particular buyer. Frankly, I rarely see inflated shipping now that Ebay is really cracking down and actually takes a percentage of shipping costs as part of the final calculations.

[TPA5]

Living in Canada, I find the shipping is wildly over-inflated 8 times out of 10. I don't even bother looking at the item, I just keep on scrolling.

[+wood_jl]

Something crazy has happned with US-Canada shipping, in the last year and a half. It has always been inflated (as if we're not sharing a huge land border), but it has gone completely wacko now. One of the 2 post offices is looking to make up for other losses by penalizing US-Canada shipments.

 

I have bought Atari (and videogame) items FROM ENGLAND for less shipping than from Toronto. That makes sense, eh?

 

So to original poster --- Ω ---, you must be in Canada or somewhere?

[Nebulon]

One thing I've noticed is that there's something funny (and by funny I mean unpleasant) about how eBay calculates and displays their Global Shipping Service rates to both the seller and the prospective buyer. Much of it has to do with the pumped-up fees charged by Pitney Bowes and the fact that the seller doesn't actually see just how much the buyer is really paying for shipping in situations like these.

[ccc---]

I click away.

 

And I click away from ANY auction that goes under the Global Shipping Service. I bought two items that went under the Global Shipping Service and Pitney Bowes ripped me off with both. That's enough.

[AtariTexas]

Outrageous shipping is why I dont even bother to visit shopgoodwill.com anymore

[Tempest]

Something crazy has happned with US-Canada shipping, in the last year and a half. It has always been inflated (as if we're not sharing a huge land border), but it has gone completely wacko now. One of the 2 post offices is looking to make up for other losses by penalizing US-Canada shipments.

 

I have bought Atari (and videogame) items FROM ENGLAND for less shipping than from Toronto. That makes sense, eh?

 

So to original poster --- Ω ---, you must be in Canada or somewhere?

Yeah I've noticed this. I'm about 30 min from the Canadian boarder (SE Michigan) and the shipping costs are still insane. Toronto is about a 4 hour drive from me as is Chicago, but the cost difference between shipping to the two is enormous.

[Nebulon]

Something crazy has happned with US-Canada shipping, in the last year and a half. It has always been inflated (as if we're not sharing a huge land border), but it has gone completely wacko now. One of the 2 post offices is looking to make up for other losses by penalizing US-Canada shipments.

 

I have bought Atari (and videogame) items FROM ENGLAND for less shipping than from Toronto. That makes sense, eh?

 

So to original poster --- Ω ---, you must be in Canada or somewhere?

 

It's pretty out of control. Canada Post has really increased their shipping rates in the last three years. I send CDs to a distributor's warehouse in Portland and it costs almost twice as much to send them out now, as compared to about three or four years ago. It sucks, because it's pushing up the price per unit in order to maintain a slim margin.

[shadow460]

To answer the OP question: Not at all. I add that to the asking price to determine what the item will cost me. If that's an acceptable number, then I hit "buy".
See, if I want to have that additional advertisement of "FREE shipping!" or I want to get around ebay's shipping limits, all I have to do is add whatever amount I want to charge for shipping to whatever amount I want to sell the item for. If I want to sell you a 2600 for $100 but I think I should get $50 extra for packing and shipping the thing, I'm going to list it for $150 with "free" shipping.

Free shipping is seldom cheap.

[Tickled_Pink]

I have noticed that shipping in the US is expensive anyway. I've sent some large items throughout Europe. I think it cost me no more than £15 (approx $22) to send an 800 to Germany a while back.

 

I guess we're lucky here. Shipping to most of Europe is a flat rate, depending on size and weight, wherever you send it from the UK. So an item weighing 1Kg is going to be the same price whether you ship it to Ireland or Italy.

 

If you're not sure how much an item is going to cost to send to different parts of North America then it makes sense to apply a shipping charge on eBay. But I think sometimes people apply a shipping charge because they're unaware that eBay treat it as part of the selling price and charge a final valuation fee on it.

[Keatah]

<< HERE >> is an example:

1) The postage expense is more than the 'Buy It Now' asking price.

2) The combined expense exceeds the value of the item.

 

Whats the point?

 

 

The 14.50 cost of shipping is pretty reasonable in today's economy. It's not any worse than the $6.50 Big Mac meal.

The shipping price can often exceed the perceived value of an item.

[Almost Rice]

 

The 14.50 cost of shipping is pretty reasonable in today's economy. It's not any worse than the $6.50 Big Mac meal.

The shipping price can often exceed the perceived value of an item.

 

 

<< HERE >> is an example:

1) The postage expense is more than the 'Buy It Now' asking price.

2) The combined expense exceeds the value of the item.

 

Whats the point?

 

 

 

The 14.50 cost of shipping is pretty reasonable in today's economy. It's not any worse than the $6.50 Big Mac meal.

The shipping price can often exceed the perceived value of an item.

 

Perceived is right. I got a boxed 99/4a free. Maybe I should look inside it finally. I would never pay $90 total to get one tho.

$45 shipping. I hope that the seller is charging so much because he will be boxing the box and paying the addition costs needed to protect the box. If he just slaps a shipping label on the box, then shipping price is way to high.

 

On topic. if total is cheaper than its value. I may watch,but usually I dont waste my time.

Edited September 30, 2014 by Almost Rice

[+save2600]

Oh yeah, I'll click away from those outrageous shipping listings about as fast as I do the time wasting MMAO "sale" threads anymore.