Price was $250 below everyone else and it was in Garland TX ( I live in Dallas)    I called andd was told i would have to have it shipped to a freight dock near my house and it would be $355 for the insured shipping.

 

Then I was told i COULD NOT PICK IT UP !!!!!!!

 

So much for the deals on ebay...

 

Much of what I sell have been collectible CDs or dolls that my mother owned.  I generally will charge more than I know shipping will cost to cover my time and packaging.  I pack my items well.  My time to pack and wrap the items is valuable, as is the gas I use to drive to the post office.  There have been a few times when I've under-estimated what I've charged someone for shipping, and when that I happens, I take the loss.  On the flip side, if I've over-estimated too large of a charge, I have given unsolicited refunds (I bought a scale last year to try to get better estimates before I list things lately).

 

Don't get me wrong - I'm not defending people who charge rediculous shipping charges, just saying that there is justification for "handling charges."  Also, I've never turned anyone down for pick up, and I don't charge anything for that.

While I've never done it, I can also imagine I understand why people might charge so little for the item and overcharge for shipping.  e-bay charges you listing charges and final value fees, but shipping charges aren't in there, so if you charge $.99 for an item, but get $200 for shipping, you would save quite a bit on e-bay fees.

 

Lastly, when I'm buying, I try to be very careful to look at shipping charges and feedback before I bid.  If I do bid on something and win and realize later that there are heavy shipping charges, I take it as a lesson learned for not checking/asking earlier.  I've had this happen a few times and I think I'm much better at it now.

 

e-bay is my "Corvette Improvement Fund."  I typically sell things around Christmas, then use the proceeds to buy parts, pay for repairs and show entry fees, etc through the year.  This year, I'm finding myself needing to sell things through the year to cover some additional things I need/want.  The fund is already dropping fairly low for this early in the year!

 

Bottom line, while there are some people out there trying to rip you off, I think there are many more who are offering hard to find items and provide good customer service.  For the most part, feedback can help sort the former from the latter.  My score is 212, 100% positive.

 

eBay's fees are outrageous.  There's also the tax thing depending on which state the buyer is from (for those who report it).

 

I don't remember exactly where, but when reviewing listings, you can set the view to have the price, the shipping and the total.  So it's a quick/fair comparison screen.

 

For most, I don't think they try to "get you" with shipping, but then again, there are some who will...

 

I haven't sold much on eBay (yet), but there are a few things piling up that I need to get organized and listed.  I may try that technique on a couple of them rather than plugging in a reserve or starting bid.