Let's suppose you have been looking a long time for a hard to find part - like a 49-51 Merc accessory steering wheel or a super rare 1940 Ford electric clock. You finally find the part FOR SALE on the internet. You contact the seller asking what the shipping cost will be and the seller replies with an honest quote. The buyer responds saying the shipping is too high and doesn't want the part because of the shipping cost. As a seller, this always surprises me, as I have no control over the Post Office. My gut feeling is that the seller is willing to spend "big bucks" for a rare part, but expects "cheap" shipping. Boxing and shipping parts is no longer "cheap". Why would a buyer not buy the part, just because of shipping, especially since many rare parts are made of "unobtanium"? Just wondering.
You're right, shipping has gotten expensive. I guess people think you're willing to eat the cost of packing and shipping just to sell an item.....wrong.
I think folks have also gotten spoiled by outfits that offer "free" shipping on stuff when actually they've just incorporated it into the cost of the item.
Maybe for future sales, pad the price a little to cover shipping to most parts of the US? I do not understand someone not wanting to pay an "honest" shipping price, it is not free for the seller.
USPS rates have really risen in the past 5 yrs. They must want to get back in the black. Lately, I've been offering FREE shipping for my eBay ads. Hopefully, bidders will be more inclined to start bidding. And, yes, I add a little to my start price to make sure the shipping is somewhat covered. For some things, just boxing them up with bubble wrap all around is sufficient; but I also look at using USPS Flat-Rate (Tyvek) envelopes for some things. As long as the item is well-protected, those envelopes are tough. You get your money's worth for heavy stuff.
I think some people believe that they are being taken advantage of by shipping prices that have gotten so out of control. They are just too stubborn to stop and think that the shipping part is separate and not part of your sale, hence, out of your control. As my mom used to say, they are cutting off their nose to spite their face. It will hit them later on when they find what they want and the shipping is still high.
Shipping options have changed...... Yes, the basic costs have gone up, but what hasn't? Parcel post isn't as widely available anymore, that was a big increase. Auction site 'postage calculators' that are wildly off in some cases. Shipping across international borders has gone waaay up. Anything 'oversized' (ie, doesn't fit in a flat-rate box) has gone up sharply. When I was still selling online, I always gave the originating zip code and the size/weight of the package if it wasn't a flat-rate box size, the available local shipping services (if the buyer wanted me to drive 40 miles one way to the nearest FedEx store so he could save two bucks, I expect to be paid for my time/fuel costs) so the buyer could calculate shipping for themselves. As to 'free shipping', yep that just means the initial price is probably higher. Or the seller does enough volume that they get a discount rate that isn't available to the occasional seller.
People are weird. I had a fellow contact me about some parts. He wanted them cheaper. I said I'd meet his price but only if he picked them up. He Didn't quite understand why I wouldn't ship them. I said well, no packing, crating, hauling, gas, time - I save there and you get the parts at your price. He didn't get it and thought I should just eat all of that. Here's another one : - message i got from a craigslist buyer. What's the lowest price u will do on the motor by itself. I could pick it up this weekend. I know you said 1100 before but I cannot come up with that with u being 4 hours from me I have to factor in the gas and drive time. Hope to hear from you soon I'm in dire need of an engine. Thank you. Here's my response : I hear your concerns and reasoning. But you being 4 hrs away isn't something I'm willing to pay for nor any of my business or concern. No one has ever cut me a break on shipping or traveling to get parts i need, not ever, not once. Ill tell you what, I'm headed to Detroit for the autorama, are you in that direction? If so I can load it and take it that way. When I get to the gate in Detroit, ill tell them how far I traveled and how much I spent in gas to get there. IF they give me a discount on my gate entry ill pass that on to you instead of me keeping it, how's that sound.
On this forum I find it rare for some reason that the buyer wants to shoulder the shipping. Many of the parts I sell are hard to find and expensive. Most guys expect you to spend your time, money and materials shipping the part although there some guys that get the picture. Many need to get a grasp on reality. Then when all looks the darkest you get a guy willing to drive 500 miles to pick up something that can't be shipped and he also doesn't beat you up on the selling price. There are still some nice people out there.
I always seek the most economical shipping with insurance and tracking due to distance and associated costs as I'm usually in no hurry. 'International shipping' is expensive! To minimise costs I now use a US based shipper who consolidates multiple purchases into a single package before sending here. I'm not a tight arse but practical and prudent. I always ask seller if they can offer a better rate and then decide whether to ship here direct or ship to my US address and consolidate purchase with others. It makes sense to me. I know some people can be real anal and that makes if really difficult for the rest of legitimate buyers. Because of that some sellers won't ship international because they have been burned before.
I always offer the buyer to choose their method of shipping=balls's in their court now.... Also ask- would you like insurance? Also do-able, which I've done,but,if they want to skimp on being cheap,and saving a buck or two= that's their call..... I provide a tracking #,and if it leave's my hand with no alternatives,it's their deal. I've done what was requested=sent. It's like the tail light warranty after that........
I sold a pair of shocks last week on ebay. They quoted the shipping as fedex for 39 dollars. Turned out real shipping charge was over 80. Who's to blame? and who's gonna pay-- I did, but not excited about it
$80 to ship a pair of shocks? Were they shipped FedEx overnight? I always assume that I'll pay the shipping for anything I buy, and keep that in mind when I'm looking at the same item from different sources/locations. I consider it part of the purchase price
You would think huh? That was Ground, from WA to TX, weighed in at 39 lbs (OT air shocks). UPS was a couple dollars higher and these were my supposed "goodguy" pricing because I have a business account. ---Shop Local if possible---
I think you have to buy the shipping through eBay to get that price, and I know I had some real problems with both FedEx and UPS with big differences in the 'website calculated' price (on both eBay and their 'home' sites) and what the local 'franchisee' insisted it cost... I pretty much quit using either of them for that reason. My son-in-law works for FedEx, and he uses the USPS....
I have a small "stay-at-home" business since 2009. At the start FedEx was much lower than UPS. Today FedEx costs have risen up there next to UPS. Up until a year ago I charged $15 TO $20 to ship one of their medium box. Today it's between $25 to $30. I past the rise in shipping to the customer, considering there is a small profit margin.
some people just dont realize what it takes to ship some items, especially larger , heavier items. I sold a set of MC engine cases. When I told the guy shipping was 85 bucks he questioned me about it. I explained to him that I was charging him nothing to crate the cases and nothing for the crate. All the costs were strictly actual shipping costs. He still balked at the price. I gave him 2 options at that point. 1) He could open his own UPS shipping account, send me an empty crate, I would place the engine cases inside and ship it back using HIS account and I would not charge him ANY SHIPPING COSTS AT ALL ! OR, just not buy the cases from me, and try to find someone else to ship him stuff for free. Then I had another person that bought an item from me that was not available for purchase in his country. I thought for sure that when he found out that shipping costs were more than what he paid for the item, he would cancel the transaction. To my surprise, he gladly paid the shipping.
Use Fastenal for the lowest shipping cost. Fastenal ONLY ships from one of their stores to another one of their stores but its the least expensive way to do shipping
I have used Greyhound on bulky items in the past but I think they have gotten a little crazy lately. I always remind those that balk at the shipping cost that there is no charge if they pick it up!! Then there's the buyer that wants to meet U half way of 100 miles on a $50.00 purchase!! Go figure!!!
I try to factor in shipping costs as part of the entire purchase, whether I'm selling or buying. People think they are getting a deal with free shipping, so I put my stuff on auction sites with a starting bid high enough to cover shipping and then it's free shipping. On the other hand, I often see things for sale that the person obviously pads the shipping to make money. This burns me up. If it's rare and I need it, shipping gets paid.
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