Question for Ebay Sellers

[pandorarose3]

Is Ebay charging a percentage for shipping?  I have a seller, for something non-pony related, saying Ebay charged them a percentage for shipping to justify charging $8.00 for something that actually only was about $5.00 to ship.

[banditpony]

I think it's a 10% fee on shipping. I charged $3.00 for shipping... ebay took 30 cents. 9__9; It's so stupid.. I don't make money on shipping-- but I have to charge a little bit more, otherwise I'll lose money on shipping.

[pandorarose3]

So its only 10%, so then technically they should have only charged .50, which means they are probably attempting me to pay for their sellers fee's on the item.  They were claiming that if they would have shipped in a box it would have been $16, which um yea in no way shape or form would it have come out to that.

[banditpony]

So its only 10%, so then technically they should have only charged .50 above and beyond ok thanks.

Also, consider the packing material cost (Although some people recycle)... and cost of ink/paper/etc.

[ponycake]

I paid $22 recently for shipping from "Greece" which got here in two days from NJ, so shipping probably should have been $8. Still checking that out before I get angry and go to the seller.

I don't remember them taking money out of that when I sold some things, but I don't know enough.

[banditpony]

I don't remember them taking money out of that when I sold some things, but I don't know enough.

Check Account, and view fees. It'll state what it takes out. Theres been fees on shipping for a few years now. :/ I really never knew what the percentage was, I just rounded up my shipping costs.

[pandorarose3]

Yea but even with packing materials.  The shipping itself was only about $3.75, materials $1.75.  So maybe $6.00 for shipping rounding again up. 

[Sunset]

In addition to eBay fees and packaging, there is also PayPal fees.  PayPal charges a fee for the total amount of money transferred including the shipping.

Was the shipping listed as $8 on the item listing?  If not, then that's one thing.  But if so, they were upfront about it and you didn't have to purchase from that seller.

[pandorarose3]

Yea BUT there is one thing about being up front and truthful, and upfront and trying to get your buyers to pay your fee's.  I was also expecting the package to come in a box, it came in a bubble envelope and the part that should have been wrapped up to make sure it didn't break wasn't wrapped up.  I was just curious cause its a big difference between what the shipping was and what they charged.

[cloud_weaver]

Unfortunately the situation you're dealing with is exactly why eBay started charging a commission on shipping fees.  A lot of people who mark their items "BIN" for $.99 and charge $30 for shipping to get away from having to pay the $3 in commission fees to eBay.  So instead, eBay started charging 10% commission on ending sale price AND shipping prices (not to mention the listing fees). 

I do tend to charge more on eBay for shipping prices because of the commission charges.  I used to charge the exact rate, but once I realized that I was actually losing money by doing that, I had to up my shipping prices by about 10-15%.  I really try to keep shipping reasonable for my buyers, but I kinda lost that fight to eBay stupid rules.  >.<

[pandorarose3]

Well I could understand if it was a couple of dollars more.  But for them to have told me it would have been $16 to ship in a box, heck flat rate boxes were made for a reason.  I just wanted to make sure their line of 'ebay's charging me for shipping' was true.  I just now know never to buy from this seller again, cause the biggest most breakable item wasn't packaged properly.

[cloud_weaver]

How much over did they charge you for shipping, and was the shipping rate labeled on the box? 

I personally may ask for a partial shipping refund if the price was exuberant.  Otherwise, just leave neutral feedback.  (*Don't* mention feedback in an eBay message though, it's considered extortion.)

[Princess Lala]

They charge me about 7% I wanna say for my sales, not sure if that includes shipping fees! My listing fees are always free though! :3

[daffodil101]

Unfortunately the situation you're dealing with is exactly why eBay started charging a commission on shipping fees.  A lot of people who mark their items "BIN" for $.99 and charge $30 for shipping to get away from having to pay the $3 in commission fees to eBay.  So instead, eBay started charging 10% commission on ending sale price AND shipping prices (not to mention the listing fees). 

I do tend to charge more on eBay for shipping prices because of the commission charges.  I used to charge the exact rate, but once I realized that I was actually losing money by doing that, I had to up my shipping prices by about 10-15%.  I really try to keep shipping reasonable for my buyers, but I kinda lost that fight to eBay stupid rules.  >.<

I'd say it depends on how much the item value was.  I think ebay charge 10% on the item plus %10 of the shipping.  If it was like say over $20, then adding a couple of extra dollars would just be covering their own fees with the packaging materials.  I think it's reasonable for the seller's costs to be partially added to the price.  (Personally I like to split the cost of fees rather than dump them entirely on the buyer.)  If it was an item under $10, then they should have only added say $1.

This is one of the reasons I'm so over ebay... the whole fees issue creates a bunch of problems.  You're actually losing money in many cases if you're selling, but with shipping it's very expensive as a buyer....  stupid ebay   

[ClosetAvalanche]

If the shipping price was clearly stated on the auction page, you really don't have a reason to complain. Sure, you can ask for a partial, but the seller isn't obligated to give you one and they don't deserve bad feedback. Did the item arrive in as described condition?