EBAY Sellers and USPS Parcel Post

[Magik]

I have about 15 statues I've been waiting over a month to arrive from ebay sellers. I hate when their auction says USPS priority mail and they end up shipping it parcel post. Priority mail (even if it's from NYC to Hawaii) will usually take 4 days... sometimes only 3 days. Parcel post to Hawaii can take anywhere from 3 to 5 weeks. Bummer. I know I will never send anything parcel post.

[oddball]

Originally Posted by DeKind

For the life of me i cant understand the love for this failure of a mailing option. A dozen times i've won auctions [i dont buy stuff often] and the seller COMPLETELY ignores my requests for a Priority mail shipping quote. Often times its no more than a few dollars more expensive, which i'd gladly pay to get my items 4-5 days faster, or in extreme cases a full week faster, compared to Parcel post or Media mail. The only exception to this is oversized packages where the savings can actually be substantial.

Every time i send something, it goes Priority, its gets delivery confirmation, it gets insured. It arrives in 2 days, and i dont have to worry about things getting lost or broken and it makes the buyer happy to have their items that much faster.

Parcel post, things take 7-10 days, passes through a hundred and one postal facilities where they seemingly take a boot to the side, or get a complementary drop test, at each stop, then maybe arrives intact if you're lucky. All in the name of saving a couple dollars or in a few of my cases, in the name of being too goddamn lazy to look up a shipping quote. As if the shipping calculator incorporated into ebay is too difficult to use.

Also what do you think about sellers overcharging on shipping? Lets say $10 to ship a 12 inch figure and it arrives clearly labeled that it cost them $3.50 to mail in a flat rate envelope/box. Would you give them a strike in the review system? That pisses me off too, people who make profit off the shipping fees, especially in conjuction with my other gripe where i've clearly paid enough for it to be sent faster.

Sorry i just had to rant about this. Its becoming really tiresome.

simple solution. after you win the auction, request total from seller BEFORE you pay, and include in the message asking to ship usps priority. make sure you state that you are willing to pay a little extra to get the package quicker. most should accommodate you.
as far as the overcharging...you can report the seller if you like, but you always have the option not to buy his item. most sellers will also combine shipping but i would suggest getting a quote before purchase.

[DeKind]

Originally Posted by iceprince_x

Currently, I am having three Ebay shipping problems one of which already elevated to a paypal claim.

But I want to open it to you guys to at least comment on these last two:
a) The first shipping given to me cost around 46 dollars with a 3 dollar insurance for two items. But just a few days after when I followed up if the item has been sent the seller said that shipment cost is around 90 dollars! Is right to cancel the transaction since I feel that it is too much to pay for the shipment already? I bid on the items because the seller gave me the shipment fee ahead of time and my budget can afford it.

If the both of you had agreed to a predetermined cost on the shipping then you do have the right to turn down the transaction.

b) the second problem is that the item was said to be new but then after paying for the fee and everything the seller told me of a two inch hole on the box of the item. I display my boxes together with my collection and I also paid for insurance on this item. I asked the seller for at least a partial refund since the item is still a good buy (even though I already know the box has a bad side). Or should I have just taken a full refund and return the item?

This would be entirely up to you.

[DeKind]

Originally Posted by h-7

I have been selling on ebay to help finance statue purchases. I have over shot the shipping cost a couple a few times. Each of those times I have refunded the extra shipping. Even when the auction did not sell for very much. It just seems like the right thing to do.

Unfortunetly there are not enough people who do this though.

Originally Posted by jsnchrry

Priority mail for a statue can be outrageous and its a helluva lot more than a "few" dollars.

Hence why i stated if the box was oversized then the savings can actually be substantial.

Its impossible to take every package ahead of time to the post office..especially if you sell a lot of items on ebay as I do. To get exact postage amounts you would have to have them measured /wieghed to get an exact price. To solve that many sellers...myself included guestimate the postage according to what other sellers on ebay are offering there items. Now many times I offer free shipping so it isnt an issue but other times I find myself guesstimating postage. I dont think sellers are trying to con anyone for the most part, selling on ebay is a learning process.

I think i can help you here. If you dont already have one go buy a tape measurer and a reasonably accurate scale. Plug the dimensions and weight into ebay for its shipping calculator and let the buyer choose what they want to use. It really is that simple.

[Sniper]

Originally Posted by DeKind

Im sure im not the only one who does this but anytime i get something thats in decent shape i keep the box and its packing for specifically this reason so i always have packing peanuts, some bubble wrap, or a couple boxes. Who doesnt buy on the web these days? That means 0 cost. And if you've made a little business out of it you can actually buy loads of packing material for very cheap so much so that the cost should be negligible. Plus the Priority boxes are free to boot.



Unless you live in the boondocks i find this to be a cop-out as well. Most people have a post office within 5-10minutes drive. Certainly one they must pass close by during their weekly travels. Also with the ability to purchase labels online now you dont have to wait in line, simply walk up to the counter and leave it there. If the post office really is out of the way, lets say you live in the middle of the woods, you can still print out the label, afix it to the package, and simply give it to/leave it for your post man.

Sometimes people have more than one job and post office hours are not the easiest to work around.
You fail to understand that most people on ebay are not sellers that do this for a living, they are every day peopl with everyday problems. Throw children and late hours or overtime in the mix it takes people sometime to get to the post office.
Here what you do since you want things in 3 days. Ask the seller how long will it take him to get it to you, or check the handling time on his auction, if he says more than a week, don't bid, simple as that.

[DeKind]

Originally Posted by dfchang

As such I don't have the time to package up everything and go to the post office for a shipping quote or to measure out each and every package I put together to get an exact quote.

I'd give you the same advice i gave to jsnchrry. Im sure you have a decent salary, being a doctor, so you should be able to afford a tape measurer and a scale.

Also, it is unfair to hold others to your weird standards. Maybe YOU are single or have a girlfriend and/or wife who loves you so much she doesn't mind 2,890 boxes with peanuts, bubble wrap, etc lying around the garage and/or house. I'm sure a 6,000 square feet mansion with plenty of storage space helps.

I have 3 medium sized boxes with the packing material inside, thats all. When i use one i save the box from something else i've purchased. Often times i simply use the packing material in them and the Priority mail boxes. Contrary to your belief, this does not take up lots of space nor does it make a mess.

So . . . cost of materials like bubblewrap, peanuts, and boxes DO come into play.

I never said people dont need to account for these costs, i merely stated what i do. If you send out 10 items a month and if you do really purchase packing material at a specialty store then you also must know that the actual additional costs almost amounts to a dollar or two, at most, for small packages.

Also, I pack all the items and boxes myself in my garage with 95 degree heat and sweat dripping from my hair and face. Why? Ummmm, not to save money. Because I want to make sure that EACH AND EVERY THING I SELL is packaged with the care and attention it deserves and ONLY I can guarantee that as a collector myself.

Buy an air conditioner or do it inside. You arent unique because you package your items yourself.

So . . . when I take an hour to package 6 boxes super tight and make sure it gets there in one piece, that hour is worth easily 200 or 300 dollars when you think about what I do for a living.

Wow. You think your time to package items is more valuable then anyone elses because of your career? How full of yourself can you be. That is a stunningly obtuse view of the world and an overblown view of self worth if i ever heard one. If i win an item off you i dont give a damn what you do for a job be it pumping gas or saving lives. Im not paying you to do whatever it is you do as a career, im paying you to wrap an item up and put it in a box. If you're incapable of doing that for a reasonable amount, and need to charge 200-$300 an hour for this "service" maybe you should add this disclaimer into your listings.

If you're the sort of chap to moan and groan and pinch every dollar that you perceive is being ripped off from you, then just don't bid on the auction.

If i pay someone $20 for shipping and it arrives and i see that they paid $7.50 and they dont bother to offer an explanation for the other $12.50, that bothers me. Im not talking about a dollar or two. I could care less about that.

[DeKind]

Originally Posted by Sniper

You fail to understand that most people on ebay are not sellers that do this for a living, they are every day peopl with everyday problems. Throw children and late hours or overtime in the mix it takes people sometime to get to the post office.
Here what you do since you want things in 3 days. Ask the seller how long will it take him to get it to you, or check the handling time on his auction, if he says more than a week, don't bid, simple as that.

I dont want things in 3 days, i just want my money to actually go to what im paying it for. I really dont think thats too much to ask. As far as when i'd like my items i dont even inquire as to the status until, literally, 2 full weeks have passed without an status update. Most people are a lot less patient than me. What bugs me is not the waiting, its when i see that someone overcharged me $10.00 for postage and ontop of that ignore my inquiries as to what shipping method they would be using.

[iceprince_x]

@DeKind

Thanks for the advice and suggestion. :-)

[J Storm]

Originally Posted by Black Cat

I don't print out my labels online. I go to the post office and get the slips and use them that way. It does not take 5-10 minutes at the post office either. There are really long lines to stand in sometimes.

If you pay for the labels online, the price is cheaper than it is if you go to the post office plus delivery confirmation is free.

[tedmic]

Originally Posted by Magik

I have about 15 statues I've been waiting over a month to arrive from ebay sellers. I hate when their auction says USPS priority mail and they end up shipping it parcel post. Priority mail (even if it's from NYC to Hawaii) will usually take 4 days... sometimes only 3 days. Parcel post to Hawaii can take anywhere from 3 to 5 weeks. Bummer. I know I will never send anything parcel post.

Stating Priority shipping on an auction and then shipping out by another method is false advertising/misleading. I leave negative feedback in these cases if I don't receive my item in 5 days!