Comments on: eBay bidders are dumb, film at 11!

By: make money on ebay

make money on ebay — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 10:09:38 +0000

It erks me no end that some sellers (it’s becoming more and more frequent now) think they can charge the earth on shipping costs. Sure there is security in doing so but I off course the main objective is screwing more cash out of buyer. I’d much rather pay slightly more for something than feel like I’ve wasted my money on the shipping costs .. and what say I need to send it back? I don’t get my money back coz most of it was the shipping costs!

By: TJIC

TJIC — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 13:51:02 +0000

When I set up Technical Video Rental I decided to offer free shipping on all orders.

…the main reason being that that’s how I like to shop, and the second reason being that it simplified the “how much is this really costing me?” computation for customers.

By: Phil

Phil — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 12:50:09 +0000

Nonsense. Everyone who buys stuff hates having the shipping separate. (Everyone who sells stuff likes it, which is why that is how things are sold). Everything seems like a good value when you don’t consider it’s going to cost twice the sales price to get the thing to your door.

Personally, I once “won” an auction for a box of 100 disposable lighters for a few dollars, but then the guy wanted $5 shipping… PER LIGHTER.

By: Dan Rocha

Dan Rocha — Mon, 27 Feb 2006 22:02:00 +0000

Another interpretation is that people prefer the status quo, which in this case is the price of the item separate from the price of the shipping and handling. When they are combined, it’s harder to tell if you’re getting a good value. Even if it’s not the most efficient, we all have a world of knowledge about how much things should cost, and how much shipping and handling should cost.

By: Lydia

Lydia — Mon, 27 Feb 2006 21:18:36 +0000

As an eBay seller of china - I’m here to state, avow and assert that the impact of this study is ONLY for the media sold. My area is china - when I don’t list a shipping price - the email is voluminous! When a reasonable shipping price is listed - bids INCREASE no matter the opening bid! If I attempt to raise shipping fees to cover potential pricing shortfall (great term…) email buries me asking why the fees are so high! Reserves can skew all statements made above!

By: Dawn

Dawn — Mon, 27 Feb 2006 20:13:38 +0000

It is an ethical thing for me. I won’t pay someone money who lies about shipping costs. I expect people to charge a reasonable amount for shipping and put the cost up front. I am not dumb - I am very particular about honesty.

By: Jared

Jared — Mon, 27 Feb 2006 19:05:03 +0000

Yet I won’t buy from someone who sells a CD for $.01 and charges $10 shipping. I’m fairly good at estimating what something should cost to ship, and avoid sellers who work their profits into the shipping charges. If you want $5 from your goods, then sell them for $5.