Noone wrote:I am thinking about selling some things on eBay and was wondering about shipping & handling charges.You have the actual cost of shipping and the cost of the packing materials. Is it legit to charge a nominal fee for your time/transportation costs to the post office or should it just be the actual cost of shipping(postage) and packing materials. I am wondering since if I do very much I have got the multiple trips to the post office (10 miles each way) and the current cost of gasoline. I was wondering if it is legit to recover at least a little of that cost spread over half a dozen sales at a time.I look forward to your input. Since I want to be one of the good guys.Thanks
Xaxaxe wrote:Noone, my only comment on the handling charges is that you don't have to spell out what they are for. I wouldn't mention, for instance, that you're trying to cover your gas, as that's sort of A) the cost of doing business, and B) kind of an insult to the buyer, frankly. However, it's perfectly okay to say something completely generic such as "buyer to add $1 for handling" or whatever; the specifics aren't needed.(In fact, the last time I used the eBay Sell Your Item page, it was possible to add a handling charge to any listing. I don't use eBay's pages any more, but the third-party software I use allows me to do the same thing. Again, no specifics are mentioned).And, speaking of your long post office trips, you sound like a good candiate for the USPS' carrier-pickup program. It's free, it works, it makes everyone happy. Personally, I haven't been inside a post office since ... sort of guessing here ... late 2004 or early 2005, I think.Here's some linkage:Carrier pickup
Deadlord39 wrote:If you intend to ship Priority, the Post Office will pick up the package for you. All you need to do is call them. You can print out eBay shipping labels online now.
I always found handling fees to be a way of charging the buyer more. If it costs you money in, say, packaging or whatever, build it into the shipping price, and maybe mention that in the description. I personally try to charge only what it actually costs me. It burns my butt to have someone charge $10 for shipping, then you get the package and it has $3 postage on it.
Sea-to-sky-games wrote:I think the guidelines on eBay are pretty broad. So if you're a lawyer, who's time is incredibly precious, you could probably charge a ridiculous amount for screwing around at the post office all day. Keep in mind, though, that high fees are sometimes frowned upon. Just be reasonable.If you state that handling will be more than a couple bucks, just make sure that this is boldly outlined in your listing so even the most unconscientious buyer will know they are responsible for added cost and factor it into the price.Of course, at the end of the day, this is YOUR stuff and YOUR time and YOUR money at stake. So it's wholly up to you.
lucyjoyce wrote: So I contacted the buyer to give him a $5 credit toward his next buy. Just be fair and honest.
Deadlord39 wrote:Unless you're intending to sue your package, it doesn't matter if you're a lawyer, cop, hot dog vendor or George Fucking Bush. You're not performing your profession when you ship, and if you want to argue that you're taking time out of your profession when you do, try pushing that one in any legal forum.
I have had a lot of luck basically charging $2 over actual shipping charges. I do ship in new cardboard boxes (.66 ea), and card and polybag everything (.20 or so). I offer to combine shipping on multiple buys, so if a bidder wins more than one auction, fees go down correspondingly.
Sea-to-sky-games wrote:I could be wrong, but aren't those flat rate boxes "free"?
One eager postal clerk opened up my Media Mail package because it looked as if I were using bits of a Priority Mail box. Fortunately I was not, but then I couldn't remember if what the item was ---a game or a magazine or what, so I got ripped-off on postage.
Sea-to-sky-games wrote:Maybe this will help: If you had to drive 5 hours to your nearest post office to mail something, surely handling charges would reflect this major time cost. I surely would do so, and eBay's policies do not prohibit this.Lawyers and the like pay an expensive price for their leisure time in the form of forgone wages (just as when you go to university, for example, you forgo the opportunity to work full-time). To them going to the post office is like us taking a 5-hour drive.