05-12-2008, 08:45 PM
I just sold my first item on ebay in a long time. I shipped it using the shipping wizard, suggested by eBay, which under estimated the actual shipping (does not always use Postal standards girth and oversize package guide) After the box and bubblewrap, delivery confirmation, I still ate $5 in shipping costs. No place on the wizard to show delvery confirm fees. So you show a small handling fee and get slammed with neg feedback on high shipping.
With paypal holding fees, but requiring seller to ship anyway, so they can get postive feedback, so PP will release the fees...is just not going to work for me, on any valuable item or item expensive to ship.
eBay is leaning hard on sellers to eat shipping and packing costs by allowing buyers to give detailed DSR ratings on shipping. If you use Priority Mail as your shipping option you show up way down the search (cheapest shipping is on top) . If you offer Parcel Post, you get slammed for slow shipping. Buyers are holding sellers responsible for USPS shipping times and slamming sellers. All of this matters because fee discounts and search results are dependent on these factor. Any kind of weak feedback hurts. I just got an email suggesting I offer "free" shipping. I sell antiques, not cd's. I am not going to eat $15 plus shipping.
eBay is also going away with buyer feedback from seller. My sale, payment, and shipping is OK so far. But I have not had one bit of communication from the buyer. I ask for an email with correct address at the end of the auction. I emailed him that he won. I then emailed him that I was shipping and tracking #. This kind of buyer will be the first one to go nuts if something does go wrong.
Problems come in when there is NO communication.
eBay is also using some un-named criteria for pulling auctions, monetary limits and "risky goods" and other reasons known only by them...to prevent fraud. Yet they are doing nothing to slow down fraudulent buyers, except to tell you to call the police.
eBay/PP need to be held to some type of banking practices..they are tying up more and more sellers money and making a fortune off the interest. I was required to use it because I have not sold in some time.
With paypal holding fees, but requiring seller to ship anyway, so they can get postive feedback, so PP will release the fees...is just not going to work for me, on any valuable item or item expensive to ship.
eBay is leaning hard on sellers to eat shipping and packing costs by allowing buyers to give detailed DSR ratings on shipping. If you use Priority Mail as your shipping option you show up way down the search (cheapest shipping is on top) . If you offer Parcel Post, you get slammed for slow shipping. Buyers are holding sellers responsible for USPS shipping times and slamming sellers. All of this matters because fee discounts and search results are dependent on these factor. Any kind of weak feedback hurts. I just got an email suggesting I offer "free" shipping. I sell antiques, not cd's. I am not going to eat $15 plus shipping.
eBay is also going away with buyer feedback from seller. My sale, payment, and shipping is OK so far. But I have not had one bit of communication from the buyer. I ask for an email with correct address at the end of the auction. I emailed him that he won. I then emailed him that I was shipping and tracking #. This kind of buyer will be the first one to go nuts if something does go wrong.
Problems come in when there is NO communication.
eBay is also using some un-named criteria for pulling auctions, monetary limits and "risky goods" and other reasons known only by them...to prevent fraud. Yet they are doing nothing to slow down fraudulent buyers, except to tell you to call the police.
eBay/PP need to be held to some type of banking practices..they are tying up more and more sellers money and making a fortune off the interest. I was required to use it because I have not sold in some time.