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Why Do EBay Buyers Think High Shipping ALWAYS = Rip-Off?

• As an EBay seller, myself, for over 5 years, I've grown more and more frustrated with EBay's VERY high auction fees structures. They almost literally charge "an arm and a leg" for auctions to be posted and sold. You see, they charge sellers a percentage of their POSTED values, when they first post, and so make money whether the seller sells that item or not. Then, if the seller is successful, EBay charges another percentage of THAT value. What they still DON'T charge a percentage fee on are the amounts sellers ask in their "Shipping and Handling" sections. As a result, more and more sellers are resorting to showing higher shipping and handling areas, and lower "post" and thus "sell" amounts. By keeping EBay's combined auction fees down, sellers like myself can keep the overall TOTAL charges for things we sell, DOWN for the customers. EBay just LOVES it when most people who shop on EBay don't recognize those savings, and sometimes even turn sellers into EBay for posting things in this manner. When EBay then forces sellers to raise their post, and thus their sell values, they charge more for both, which the seller then passes on to the shoppers through higher TOTAL charges asked for their goods. As confusing as it sounds, it's quite simple, really. As shoppers, people simply need to shop and compare TOTAL values sellers are asking, and not pay so much attention to one specific area of the charges, like the shipping and handling charges. Does anyone else have an opinion on this? If so, what is it and why? Some might say that sellers who do this should simply explain what they're doing in the written description. Well, EBay has THAT covered, too, as they won't allow it, and shut such auctions down immediately when they're spotted.

• Answer:

  I have both bought and sold on E-bay for a number of years. Personally, I think the people who raise their shipping and handling costs to counteract E-bay fees are ripping off the consumer. If you want to counteract your E-bay fees, then you raise the price of your item, not the cost of your shipping and handling. When you raise the cost of the shipping and handling, all you do is turn off the potential buyer who thinks that you are ripping them off. When I shop on E-bay, I search by price, including shipping, starting with the lowest price. Sometimes I will choose someone with a higher cost who offers cheap, free, or combined shipping rather than someone who charges $6 shipping on a $5 item. When selling on E-bay, my shipping and handling costs include the price of the box (as I always buy boxes at Walmart or an office supply store) and the actual shipping cost including insurance. I do not charge a cent over the actual cost for shipping and I think anyone on E-bay who does is a crook.