Question:
You know, not EVERY subject in here has to be debated. Somtimes things are in-your-face obvious. Only a true scumbag or retard would charge shipping for a local pickup. In fact, there’s no way I’d meet with that whackjob now. I don’t know how fast you need the item. But I would tell him you could have paid and picked it up today but to go ahead and ship it. Then WAIT before paying. Let the eBay warning letter come. It’s no mark against you. They will give you a deadline to pay. Make the payment a day before the deadline. Were talking about 2.5 weeks. THEN, if you don’t get the package within 3 days, file a credit card dispute. Sellers like this make me sick.
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – muttered something like: I had one fly in to a local airport. I’ve also had an item won by a next-door neighbor (would have saved a lot of trouble had I suspected he was interested). Yah, I had a local lady win an auction and asked if she could pick it up. I don’t remember s&h being mentioned at all; I think we both assumed that if she were picking it up there would be none (and there wasn’t). What logical reason can there be to charge S&H on local pickups other than the desire to piss your customers off? Rita
If the seller isn’t already an open store, they may be inconvenienced by the pickup. Granted, in that case, I would have just refused to allow the pickup. Also, some people include as part of their handling fees, some of the overhead fees by eBay such as the listing fee. Buck — But that’s just my opinion.
Response:
If a seller wants to recoup listing and PayPal fees, they should factor that into the starting price of their product, not little add-on fees after the fact. You don’t go into BestBuy and have them say "Oh, you’re paying with a credit card? There will be an additional fee for that." It’s built in to the price.
eBay isn’t Best Buy and the seller doesn’t have a captive audience when they are in the store. BestBuy, grocery stores and most other retail outlets have some items on sale which attract customers to whom they sell other items for higher prices than their competition. However, eBay searches bring all eBay sellers into the same customer’s home at the same time. Raising the price isn’t a viable option on eBay for many items. I believe that most buyers on eBay want bargains and most sellers want maximum profit. As for eBay fees, I can’t agree that a seller "can’t" afford to pay the fees on eBay fees, but I can sympathize with those who choose to offset some of the fees on fees by their handling fees. It is better for the customer to pay a higher handling fee than to pay a higher overall price for the product. It is better for the seller to charge a higher handling fee so they can sell an item at a lower overall cost to the customer than to try to sell for a higher overall price in such a highly competitive market. This is more true for those who don’t sell unique merchandise picked up at distress sales such as Rita and Don sell. If the item is unique and highly in demand on eBay, then the fees will be overcome by higher prices drawn from the auction. Buck — But that’s just my opinion.
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I haven’t seen a gas station that gives discounts for cash in years. I thought they fazed them out about the same time the Ford Pinto died. Still common here (KS). From the interstate, if you look carefully, the signs on the marquees of the lowest price stations will have a tiny "CASH PRICE" displayed.
Do these places have extremely long lines? We have "Nickel off Tuesday" and the station is so packed that a 15-25 minute wait is the norm. I never figured out why all these people would subject themselves to all the torture of wasting the time and gas to save a "possible" $1.00 assuming they have a 20-gallon tank. For me it’s easier to drive up the road two blocks and get the same price without the lines and wasted time. Discounts for cash are generally worth asking for on any major purchase from a CC-accepting merchant.
This is a great idea if you are in rural areas where it works out great for everyone. The larger metropolitan areas don’t give us this luxury. Plus, most people, me included, have gotten lazy and don’t want to walk back and forth twice to see the cashier, especially when you have to pay first. I like my "SpeedPass" for the convenience. Rita
Response:
What logical reason can there be to charge S&H on local pickups other than the desire to piss your customers off? If the seller isn’t already an open store, they may be inconvenienced by the pickup. Granted, in that case, I would have just refused to allow the pickup. Also, some people include as part of their handling fees, some of the overhead fees by eBay such as the listing fee.
Good points, but my feeling on this is whether it’s a private sale or a commercial sale the seller should fully disclose their intentions and all S&H costs in the auction. If the seller advertised they would be charging $x.xx handling for local pickups then that would be acceptable so the bidder can decide if they want to pickup or have it shipped. An, of course, they should also state that they will be charging the appropriate sales tax for local pickups if they are running a business. Which might even further discourage pickups, provided that’s the seller’s intention. Rita
Response:
Good points, but my feeling on this is whether it’s a private sale or a commercial sale the seller should fully disclose their intentions and all S&H costs in the auction.
I agree here, but since it is a rare thing for eBay sales to go to locals, I don’t think it is necessary to list details of local pickup terms in every auction. I made it a practice in the past to package up items and have them ready to deliver to Fedex as soon as I received money. Therefore, the only saving would be the actual ‘postage’. however, in my case, if the person wanted to pick up the package, I would have to consider what was more trouble… deliver the package to Fedex when I am delivering others or rearranging my schedule to allow someone to save three dollars for shipping. Personally, it would depend on my mood. Buck — But that’s just my opinion.
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Hopefully, they are truly "around the block". I’ve had people drive 10, 20 and even 50 miles to "save" $3-4 on s/h. While s/h is obviously more than postage, I’ve not charged them for s/h. If they weren’t smart enough to see it was costing them more to pick it up, they needed the $3-4 more than I. I think it’s a combination of things: 1. The perception that you can have it quicker if you pick it up.
Or the customer needs it NOW instead of a day or two later. Local pickups are great since I save on material and labor to pack the item, plus I get a nice opportunity to sell the customer items he might not have thought about. Rita
Response:
muttered something like: I had one fly in to a local airport. I’ve also had an item won by a next-door neighbor (would have saved a lot of trouble had I suspected he was interested). Yah, I had a local lady win an auction and asked if she could pick it up. I don’t remember s&h being mentioned at all; I think we both assumed that if she were picking it up there would be none (and there wasn’t).
What logical reason can there be to charge S&H on local pickups other than the desire to piss your customers off? Rita
Response:
The shipping and handling includes the costs to conduct the auction, for competitive reasons we can’t successfully add those fees to the starting price, and we can’t pay ebay fees on the fees. It’s just impossible. I know some disagree, and the solution to that is to not bid.
Only possible way this strategy works is if you’re marketing to the mathematically challenged. You don’t go into BestBuy and have them say "Oh, you’re paying with a credit card? There will be an additional fee for that." It’s built in to the price. Of course it is. Everyone pays an allowance for credit card payment at Best Buy.
And everywhere else. And when you use a credit card for gas you don’t get the cash price, do you? It’s posted right there on the sign. Cash or credit. It costs more.
I haven’t seen a gas station that gives discounts for cash in years. I thought they fazed them out about the same time the Ford Pinto died. Rita
Response:
I haven’t seen a gas station that gives discounts for cash in years. I thought they fazed them out about the same time the Ford Pinto died.
Still common here (KS). From the interstate, if you look carefully, the signs on the marquees of the lowest price stations will have a tiny "CASH PRICE" displayed. Discounts for cash are generally worth asking for on any major purchase from a CC-accepting merchant. Despite amounting to the same thing, surcharges for CC are prohibited by agreements and/or laws (unless the merchant is a government, which exempts itself). Pay your taxes with Discover, and you will pay a surcharge. — http://www.access-one.com/rjn email4rjn AT yahoo DOT com NOT speaking for any employer, client or Internet Service Provider.
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I wonder if I can cancel now.
No.
Response:
"Kill Bill" wrote – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Boy, that didn’t last long.. Sellers are now inventing charges to cover higher fees. Went to buy an item today, but before I did, I decided to email the seller and ask if I could pick up the item, since he’s right around the block from me. He emails me back, and says, "Yeah, no problem". I bid for the item, and win the item. Then he sends me an invoice with S&H included. I said, I’m going to pick it up.. and he responded, "doesn’t matter.. there’s still S&H cost". huh?? He writes me back and says, "I never said there wouldn’t be shipping cost".. Isn’t it safe to bet that if your walking over to pick up an item, that one wouldn’t assume NO Shipping? My guess is that this is a safe assumption on my part, and he should NOT expect that people just "know" there are a shipping cost wither or not you pick it up or not.. Sounds like his profit margins are built into the shipping scheme and not into the product. What a scam.. I wonder if I can cancel now. -Bill
Have the scum ship it to you, since you’re paying for it. Learn from experience, which sellers are scum, then avoid.
Response:
Sounds like his profit margins are built into the shipping scheme and not into the product. What a scam.. I wonder if I can cancel now. Have the scum ship it to you, since you’re paying for it. Learn from experience, which sellers are scum, then avoid.
Yep. That’s exactly what you should do. Let him ship it to you. You should realize that shipping and handling encompasses all the costs to conduct the auction. The ebay fees and paypal fees included. It doesn’t say postage, and that’s why.
Response:
Boy, that didn’t last long.. Sellers are now inventing charges to cover higher fees.
That’s nothing new unfortunately. Went to buy an item today, but before I did, I decided to email the seller and ask if I could pick up the item, since he’s right around the block from me. He emails me back, and says, "Yeah, no problem". I bid for the item, and win the item. Then he sends me an invoice with S&H included. I said, I’m going to pick it up.. and he responded, "doesn’t matter.. there’s still S&H cost". huh??
Handling. Stores that charge handling fees will charge you the handling fees even if you pick it up. He writes me back and says, "I never said there wouldn’t be shipping cost"..
Which is true, no? Isn’t it safe to bet that if your walking over to pick up an item, that one wouldn’t assume NO Shipping?
Yes, but don’t assume no handling. My guess is that this is a safe assumption on my part, and he should NOT expect that people just "know" there are a shipping cost wither or not you pick it up or not..
Well, again, it’s shipping AND handling. And on eBay, never assume anything, unfortunately. Sounds like his profit margins are built into the shipping scheme and not into the product. What a scam.. I wonder if I can cancel now.
Nope. As long as it was clearly stated, there’s not much you can do. — To reply, remove TheObvious from my e-mail address.
Response:
Have we ruled out that this seller is a dropshipper? When you buy from a non-stocking ds seller, they have to pay shipping even if you pick-up at their location. But it’s more likely that this seller is padding, and merely needs to be in your blocked sellers list. Hold the FB until they post, of course. — http://www.access-one.com/rjn email4rjn AT yahoo DOT com NOT speaking for any employer, client or Internet Service Provider.
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Boy, that didn’t last long.. Sellers are now inventing charges to cover higher fees. Went to buy an item today, but before I did, I decided to email the seller and ask if I could pick up the item, since he’s right around the block from me. He emails me back, and says, "Yeah, no problem". I bid for the item, and win the item. Then he sends me an invoice with S&H included. I said, I’m going to pick it up.. and he responded, "doesn’t matter.. there’s still S&H cost". huh?? He writes me back and says, "I never said there wouldn’t be shipping cost".. Isn’t it safe to bet that if your walking over to pick up an item, that one wouldn’t assume NO Shipping? My guess is that this is a safe assumption on my part, and he should NOT expect that people just "know" there are a shipping cost wither or not you pick it up or not.. Sounds like his profit margins are built into the shipping scheme and not into the product. What a scam.. I wonder if I can cancel now. -Bill
You’re better off having him ship it to you if he wants to charge you for S & H. I sell lots of stuff on eBay and one time I had someone local bid and won an item from me. He said he would stop by the next day to pick it up. I therefore dropped all shipping charges and sold him just for the winning bid price. I must be a nice guy or something. Perhaps its no wonder why I have 100% FB rating.
Response:
On one occasion the seller said they were still going to charge me a fee if I picked it up (not the entire s&h, but the ‘h’ part). I told them to ship it if that was the case. If a seller wants to recoup listing and PayPal fees, they should factor that into the starting price of their product, not little add-on fees after the fact.
This has been discussed here for years and years. It’s just not gonna be resolved. The shipping and handling includes the costs to conduct the auction, for competitive reasons we can’t successfully add those fees to the starting price, and we can’t pay ebay fees on the fees. It’s just impossible. I know some disagree, and the solution to that is to not bid. You don’t go into BestBuy and have them say "Oh, you’re paying with a credit card? There will be an additional fee for that." It’s built in to the price.
Of course it is. Everyone pays an allowance for credit card payment at Best Buy. And when you use a credit card for gas you don’t get the cash price, do you? It’s posted right there on the sign. Cash or credit. It costs more.
Response:
Hopefully, they are truly "around the block". I’ve had people drive 10, 20 and even 50 miles to "save" $3-4 on s/h. While s/h is obviously more than postage, I’ve not charged them for s/h. If they weren’t smart enough to see it was costing them more to pick it up, they needed the $3-4 more than I.
I think it’s a combination of things: 1. The perception that you can have it quicker if you pick it up. 2. Knowing that it won’t get ‘lost in the mail.’ 3. The principle of it. People are tired of what they perceive as being screwed by overpricing and add-on charges. If I can buy a new router from buy.com for $50 and get free shipping, I’d be pissed to learn that I paid $60 on eBay and got dinged another $15 to ship it. You can argue (successfully) that the person should have shopped around, but they don’t see it that way. They feel they’ve been screwed by an unscrupulous seller. — Craig Wagner, craig.wagner(at)comcast.net Portland, OR "Don’t ban high-performance vehicles, ban low-performance drivers!"
Response:
Went to buy an item today, but before I did, I decided to email the seller and ask if I could pick up the item, since he’s right around the block from me.
Hopefully, they are truly "around the block". I’ve had people drive 10, 20 and even 50 miles to "save" $3-4 on s/h. While s/h is obviously more than postage, I’ve not charged them for s/h. If they weren’t smart enough to see it was costing them more to pick it up, they needed the $3-4 more than I.
Response:
muttered something like: I had one fly in to a local airport. I’ve also had an item won by a next-door neighbor (would have saved a lot of trouble had I suspected he was interested).
Yah, I had a local lady win an auction and asked if she could pick it up. I don’t remember s&h being mentioned at all; I think we both assumed that if she were picking it up there would be none (and there wasn’t). -Bertha — Carter: Normally neutrinos pass right through ordinary matter, no matter how dense. I mean, something like five hundred million just passed through you. O’Neill: "No matter how dense."
Response:
You should realize that shipping and handling encompasses all the costs to conduct the auction. The ebay fees and paypal fees included.
As a buyer, I would never assume that. I assume shipping and handling is the equivalent of what they call in the UK P&P, postage and packing, ie postal costs and a box. Why would someone thing tat their eBay listing fees belongs in s/h?
Response:
I must be a nice guy or something. Perhaps its no wonder why I have 100% FB rating.
I’ve done the same thing. And I’ve been able to pick up on a couple of occasions as well and saved myself the shipping fee. On one occasion the seller said they were still going to charge me a fee if I picked it up (not the entire s&h, but the ‘h’ part). I told them to ship it if that was the case. If a seller wants to recoup listing and PayPal fees, they should factor that into the starting price of their product, not little add-on fees after the fact. You don’t go into BestBuy and have them say "Oh, you’re paying with a credit card? There will be an additional fee for that." It’s built in to the price. — Craig Wagner, craig.wagner(at)comcast.net Portland, OR "Don’t ban high-performance vehicles, ban low-performance drivers!"
Response:
… one time I had someone local bid … He said he would stop by the next day to pick it up.
I had one fly in to a local airport. I’ve also had an item won by a next-door neighbor (would have saved a lot of trouble had I suspected he was interested). If seller is going to allow pick-up, it’s worthwhile to mention that in the auction terms, or at least linked from there on their About-Me page. Otherwise, they’re counting on a local/traveling bidder thinking to ask BEFORE bidding, which not all will think to do. Without stated permissive terms, and the bidders asks after bidding, you’re now dealing with a post-negotiator, which raises a red flag on what in many cases is just an innocent bumbler. — http://www.access-one.com/rjn email4rjn AT yahoo DOT com NOT speaking for any employer, client or Internet Service Provider.
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Boy, that didn’t last long.. Sellers are now inventing charges to cover higher fees. Went to buy an item today, but before I did, I decided to email the seller and ask if I could pick up the item, since he’s right around the block from me. He emails me back, and says, "Yeah, no problem". I bid for the item, and win the item. Then he sends me an invoice with S&H included. I said, I’m going to pick it up.. and he responded, "doesn’t matter.. there’s still S&H cost". huh?? He writes me back and says, "I never said there wouldn’t be shipping cost".. Isn’t it safe to bet that if your walking over to pick up an item, that one wouldn’t assume NO Shipping? My guess is that this is a safe assumption on my part, and he should NOT expect that people just "know" there are a shipping cost wither or not you pick it up or not.. Sounds like his profit margins are built into the shipping scheme and not into the product. What a scam.. I wonder if I can cancel now. -Bill
If you bought it, you bought it! You live and learn. How much was the shipping? Buck — But that’s just my opinion.
Response:
Boy, that didn’t last long.. Sellers are now inventing charges to cover higher fees. Went to buy an item today, but before I did, I decided to email the seller and ask if I could pick up the item, since he’s right around the block from me. He emails me back, and says, "Yeah, no problem". I bid for the item, and win the item. Then he sends me an invoice with S&H included. I said, I’m going to pick it up.. and he responded, "doesn’t matter.. there’s still S&H cost". huh?? He writes me back and says, "I never said there wouldn’t be shipping cost".. Isn’t it safe to bet that if your walking over to pick up an item, that one wouldn’t assume NO Shipping? My guess is that this is a safe assumption on my part, and he should NOT expect that people just "know" there are a shipping cost wither or not you pick it up or not.. Sounds like his profit margins are built into the shipping scheme and not into the product. What a scam.. I wonder if I can cancel now. -Bill
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