Author Topic: Why is some ebay shipping so high?  (Read 6069 times)

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Offline Red Squirrel

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Re: Why is some ebay shipping so high?
« Reply #25 on: February 20, 2020, 12:35:26 pm »
I'm not opposed to doing so, I have just never really explored it. I'm not a high volume seller by any means, I'm just a hobbyist who occasionally decides to part with something to make room for something else.

I suspect it's largely a case of not knowing about it, or concern that the already high paypal fees will be higher. I suppose there's also an element of fear, it's a lot easier for someone in a far off land to claim the item is not as described, damaged, didn't arrive, etc and a lot harder for us to do anything about it. There are some countries I'd be a lot more comfortable shipping to than others. I know several people who got scammed selling high value items to certain parts of the world. There are also a few notorious broker type companies that purchase items for foreign buyers and part of their normal business practice is to select the cheapest postage option submit a not received or damaged claim on anything that is not shipped with airtight signature confirmation and insurance.

Also as someone else said, contact the seller, I know that personally if someone contacts me and sounds genuinely interested and doesn't seem scammy I'm typically willing to work with them. Just because I've listed it as US only doesn't mean I'm completely unwilling to send it abroad, I just don't want added hassle every time and have been burned by a few past incidents that I don't want to repeat.

I didn't mean that specifically towards you, us Aussies get frustrated not being able to share in the bounty that is the US salvaged test gear market. Trying to understand so I can get better gear in the future without giving it to eBay or the government. 😀

Even here in Canada it's hard to get stuff despite being glued to the US.  I can share your frustration as it's probably even worse for you guys.  Not just test gear but just stuff in general.  Like even buying stuff new, computer parts, or whatever, our buying options are very limited compared to the states.  It's annoying that we're basically treated like a 3rd world country.
 

Offline andy2000

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Re: Why is some ebay shipping so high?
« Reply #26 on: February 20, 2020, 03:59:18 pm »
I used to offer international shipping on virtually all of my items, but various reasons caused me to limit international shipping.  First, the price of international shipping is a lot higher than it used to be.  It's a lot higher than people in most other countries pay.  Priority Mail costs me more than $30 to ship a small item!  First class is cheaper, but it only works from small items and no insurance is offered, so that rules out expensive items. 

Add to that some ebay and Paypal rule cahnges (ebay charges seller fees on the shipping cost, and Paypal no longer refunds fees if I give a refund).  This means that if I sell a $20 with $30 shipping cost, I pay ebay and paypal fees on $50, plus I risk losing it all if there's a problem like slow customs, or a dishonest buyer.  Paypal also inflates their fees on international sales (remember that paypal fees don't get refunded if the sale is canceled).  It's simply not worth the extra  fees and the added risk to sell an item that costs more to ship than the item is worth.

After a few bad experiences, I stopped all international sales for a while.  Lately, I've started offering it for small, high value items that are unlikely to be returned. 

There is a new shipping option that I recently noticed.  It's called "ebay international standard delivery" and appears to be much cheaper than Priority mail.  I haven't used it yet, but I do plan to give it a try for certain items.  It would be worth asking about it since most sellers probably haven't noticed the option yet.

People make a big deal about customs forms, but they are easy.  You can print international labels through ebay, and they fill in the customs form automatically.  All you have to do is sign and date it.  You don't have to wait in line at the post office, just drop it in the package box, or leave it in your own mail box. 

The global shipping program is easy since all I do is ship it to a US address, and the buyer pays me my regular US shipping cost, so I don't pay fees on international shipping.  I don't even have to do a customs form.  I get the impression that it's rather expensive from the buyers end though.  It also seems to be slow. 
 

Offline unknownparticle

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Re: Why is some ebay shipping so high?
« Reply #27 on: February 20, 2020, 04:02:39 pm »
With ebay gsp, the seller actually doesn't know the package is an export sale, they just get a shipping address to the ebay gsp centre in Kentucky. Tjis I dsicovered when I bought a book from a US seller with shipping by ebay GSP, described as in new condition. When it arrived it was most definitely not as new, so I contacted the seller to complain.  He replied no problem, just return it for a refund. I explained that as I am in the UK the return shipping would be very high so would he just discount the price and refund that amount.  He replied by calling me a scammer as he'd sent it to a US address!!  I explained about ebay gsp but he resolutely refused to believe me!  So I opened a not as described case and went through the ebay system that way.  Ultimately, ebay refunded me without having to return the book, but the seller still did not believe and sent messages with a tyrade of abuse!
When I first started using ebay back in 2002, shipping from the US was quite reasonable, even quite cheap, even by USPS.  I had some really huge packages sent for never more than $50!!  Then suddenly, maybe about 2005-07 shipping prices went through the roof, even a magazine is now between $15-20 to post, depending on the seller.
UPS and Fedex are far cheaper in the US than the UK, to a rediculous extent.
Even domestic shipping here in the UK can be extortionate. Some sellers use high shipping prices to increase their profit, or are too lazy to use lower price shippers and just use either Royal Mail, or Parcel Force, the two highest price services by far, because of convenience. Then if you suggest they could use a cheaper service some of them become quite beligerant, assholes!
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Offline lone wolf1

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Re: Why is some ebay shipping so high?
« Reply #28 on: February 20, 2020, 05:52:28 pm »
Yep... I've found US sellers to have increased international shipping fees to atrocious levels lately... it's pretty sad for us outside of the US, although I can understand.

Many years ago (early days of the internet) ordering from the US here in the UK was a common thing.  Plenty of movies and products were not available in the UK and the postage was reasonable.  Still got stung with import taxes.

I haven't purchased from the US for a long time because the postage/shipping charges are astronomical compared to what the use to be.

I wondered why it has increased so much for some time.
 

Offline andy2000

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Re: Why is some ebay shipping so high?
« Reply #29 on: February 20, 2020, 11:23:37 pm »
With ebay gsp, the seller actually doesn't know the package is an export sale, they just get a shipping address to the ebay gsp centre in Kentucky. ...

The seller was lying to you.  It's obvious when it's a global shipping program shipment.  First, it's on the order details, second, the address is obviously the global shipping center, and third, ebay emails updates to the seller every time is passes a hurdle.  Oh, and sellers have to opt into the global shipping program.
 

Offline james_s

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Re: Why is some ebay shipping so high?
« Reply #30 on: February 21, 2020, 12:13:56 am »
In the early 2000's up until about 2010-2012 I used to exchange boxes of various stuff with a friend in England. He'd send me interesting bits from that part of the world and I'd do the same. At one point he even sent over a couple of 3' long SL/I lamps and it was not unreasonably expensive. Then shipping prices started going up, then USPS dropped the surface option causing prices of larger items to rise dramatically. The last time I had to send something business related to him it cost something like $75 for what would have been maybe $25-$30 just a few years before. Shipping from the US has gotten incredibly expensive and there isn't a thing we can reasonably do about it.

I kind of dread selling anything at all on ebay anymore. The way fees are calculated makes it risky to sell anything that is expensive to ship but not guaranteed to fetch a price significantly above the shipping cost and the way ebay's buyer protection is heavily stacked against the seller makes it a risky proposition for individuals like myself who are not volume sellers that can write off the occasional loss as a cost of doing business. More often lately I've given something away rather than trying to sell it.
 

Offline jfiresto

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Re: Why is some ebay shipping so high?
« Reply #31 on: February 21, 2020, 04:40:03 am »
... Shipping from the US has gotten incredibly expensive and there isn't a thing we can reasonably do about it....
On the contrary, all the U.S. citizenry need to do is convince their representatives to direct the post office to reverse the decision of 27 January 2013 and return first class international packages to the "market dominant price list" (what a euphemism). Good grief, that authority is written into the U.S. constitution to address situations like this. Why not use it?
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Offline LaserSteve

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Re: Why is some ebay shipping so high?
« Reply #32 on: February 21, 2020, 04:55:32 pm »
You ought to see the tiny, incredibly complex form I need to fill out/sign for an outside the US shipment.  This form arrived about a decade ago and replaced a  very simple form. It must have been designed for pixies, as I cannot write that small with a ballpoint pen.  Its designed so several government agencies can see and search your shipping data, that much is for sure.  Fedex, Postal, UPS, doesn't matter, similar horrible form.  After FEDEX got "burned" by a domestic terrorist type using their services, its a **&^%##&*ing  inquisition by a non techie counter person to ship anything, and international is even worse. 

You might understand that it is now a royal pita to send technology goods outside the country, and the lookup of the data required takes a lot of time, even for a sample packet.
So what your seeing  is the charges of 1. Greed, 2. Avoidance, 3. Profiteering, 4. Legit sellers using customs brokers /shipping services  for shipping ANYTHING . Etc,

Really takes the fun out of anything Ebay as a seller, unless you have some form of "trusted shipper" status, etc... 

I used to be able to go to the local airport, pop something on Delta Air Freight,  and get modest size lab gear across the country or to Canada, at say 35$ + 67 cents a pound, no more. A modest security inspection might occur, but it just would be a delay.     If I want to do that again, I have to arrange a visit by Homeland to my house and undergo several interviews/background checks. Then pay serious fees for a professional security inspection of the package.   Its just NOT worth it.   

Shipping anything over a few ounces  is no longer a service, it is a greedy  virtual TAX.  This is one of the reasons Amazon has their own aircraft and trucks...
 
RANT over...

Steve
« Last Edit: February 21, 2020, 05:12:13 pm by LaserSteve »
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Offline james_s

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Re: Why is some ebay shipping so high?
« Reply #33 on: February 21, 2020, 05:17:07 pm »
... Shipping from the US has gotten incredibly expensive and there isn't a thing we can reasonably do about it....
On the contrary, all the U.S. citizenry need to do is convince their representatives to direct the post office to reverse the decision of 27 January 2013 and return first class international packages to the "market dominant price list" (what a euphemism). Good grief, that authority is written into the U.S. constitution to address situations like this. Why not use it?

Oh is that all?

Maybe you can tell me how to convince my representatives to change something because I haven't figured it out. I can vote for the lesser of several evils but beyond that they're gonna do what they're gonna do.

Between the nightmare that is our healthcare system, various silly wedge issues like guns and abortion and the general polarization of American politics getting someone to fix international shipping prices is one of those "yeah good luck with that" propositions. Unless you are a wealthy corporate entity it's pretty hard to influence such things in a reasonable time frame. I'd be battling against big companies like UPS and FedEx who would rather USPS didn't compete with them on price.
 

Offline jfiresto

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Re: Why is some ebay shipping so high?
« Reply #34 on: February 21, 2020, 06:11:30 pm »
Oh is that all?

Maybe you can tell me how to convince my representatives to change something because I haven't figured it out. I can vote for the lesser of several evils but beyond that they're gonna do what they're gonna do....

Well, the U.S. has done it before. Three generations ago, the moneyed interests had an equally powerful and corrupt stranglehold on American society, and despite that the people prevailed. If you predicted in the 1920s that by 1944 the rich would be paying a 94% marginal tax rate, few if anyone would believe you, or that the rich were glad to only pay that rather than have society confiscate everything, as it was prepared to do and happened elsewhere.

The tricky bit is that will take a revolution to roll things back, but at least people know the requirements, and the solutions that used to satisfy them. Many of the solutions have just been weakened or suspended, meaning the revolution is much less than you might suppose.

EDIT: Changed "within a few years" to "by 1944". By 1932, the U.S. marginal tax for top earners had been raised to only 63%, an enormous rate during peacetime.
« Last Edit: February 21, 2020, 06:35:24 pm by jfiresto »
-John
 

Offline unknownparticle

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Re: Why is some ebay shipping so high?
« Reply #35 on: February 22, 2020, 02:14:39 pm »
Should all be good soon though, for the USA and UK, when we get our new trade deal...............
DC coupling is the devils work!!
 

Offline Ed.Kloonk

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Re: Why is some ebay shipping so high?
« Reply #36 on: February 22, 2020, 02:27:25 pm »
I don't buy too many heavy things on eBay but I mostly get free shipping. Most of the time is surf onto a product and the shipping is 11 dollars so I shop around and find a vendor with the same thing a bit dearer but free shipping.

I bought some double pluggers*. Enough for a long, hot summer. Shipping was supposed to be $20. The lady refunded me the shipping. So I went down to the village and bought myself a banana daiquiri.

* a type of footwear. Cheap ones last five minutes, expensive ones last five hours.
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Offline station240

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Re: Why is some ebay shipping so high?
« Reply #37 on: February 23, 2020, 05:21:06 pm »
It's because international shipping is a big pain in the ass, and it's very expensive so it cuts significantly into any profit, none of that is our fault.

For domestic shipping you can purchase the postage online and schedule a pickup, print a label and set the parcel out on the porch near the scheduled time, it is picked up and you're done.

International postage means take time off work to drive to the post office while they're open, wait in line anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour to get to the one counter out of six that is actually open, find the correct customs forms and take time to fill those out, listing the contents in detail and answering questions from the rude clerk who usually barely speaks English...

Just take a few of the custom forms you usually use home with you.
When you have something to mail, fill them out then take to the post office.

This is what I do with the much simpler green customs declaration form most of the world uses.
Saves time and trying to use the crappy pens the post office have.

Trade with the US is a pain in general though, entire postage/subsidy/tax system conveniently forgets about other countries.
Yet I'm sure they would be pissed if we did the same crap to them.
 

Offline james_s

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Re: Why is some ebay shipping so high?
« Reply #38 on: February 23, 2020, 07:52:35 pm »
Just take a few of the custom forms you usually use home with you.
When you have something to mail, fill them out then take to the post office.

This is what I do with the much simpler green customs declaration form most of the world uses.
Saves time and trying to use the crappy pens the post office have.


That still doesn't solve the bulk of the problem which is that international packages must be handed over in person to a clerk at the post office which means taking time off work, driving to the post office and waiting in line for anywhere up to an hour.

Domestic packages I can either drop in bin of the self service kiosk which is open 24 hours, or I can schedule a pickup from my porch and just set it out there. It's easily an hour or more out of my day to ship international vs domestic and the buyer is still going to grumble about the high cost I have no control over.

If ebay would stop the outlandish practice on charging fees on the cost of shipping purchased through them it would at least mitigate the risk. As it stands right now I could sell a heavy item for $40 that ends up costing $100 to ship and then I'm paying fees on a percentage of $140 despite only $40 of what the seller pays me actually going to me (minus paypal fees of course). If it costs twice as much to ship international vs domestic then I pay twice as much in seller fees on the shipping which comes out of my pocket. The only solution as it stands is to pad the international shipping enough to offset the additional fees although that in itself increases the fees.

Substantially more fees + substantially more time and effort, why would anyone want to do this unless it results in a substantially higher profit? The way everything is set up it makes no economic sense to offer international sales on items that have sufficient domestic demand, absolutely everything is stacked against it.
 

Online CatalinaWOW

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Re: Why is some ebay shipping so high?
« Reply #39 on: February 24, 2020, 02:58:13 am »
I can't explain why, but I can relate my experiences as an Ebay seller.

First, the rules in the US changed about two years ago, making export declarations much more confusing and difficult.  I say this because the required form did change, not because I understand the rules.  I spent several days researching the rules and did not come up with a comprehensive understanding.  There are several branches of government with a finger in the pie, all with their own requirements and nuances.  Organic chemistry is far simpler.  In any case all of the information comes with dire warnings about the consequences of non-compliance so I can understand many deciding the risk and effort isn't worth it.

Second, the Ebay prices for the major shipping services are usually similar to what I get going direct to UPS, DHL, Fedex and USPS.  Sometimes a bit lower.   I don't know why Ebay doesn't get aggregator pricing.  I can go to aggregator vendors like Parcel Monkey and get prices about half of what I get going direct to the major vendors.  And after making these arrangements it is those same major vendors who pick up and deliver the package.  Obviously those big guys costs are low enough that they and the aggregator can make a living off the lower charge, so they are getting rapacious profits from their pricing to small volume shippers. 

Third, the GSP program is significantly lower than the rates going direct to the major vendors.  But the real attraction for a US seller is that Ebay handles all of the customs declarations.  Winner, winner chicken dinner.  No time and energy spent filling out the form, and much reduced or eliminated concerns about violating export laws.  But it isn't a problem free win.  As stated by others the shipping time is very slow, tracking is marginal and I have had buyers complain, even opening an issue with Ebay because of non-delivery.  Everything has shown up eventually but it is stressful on both buying and selling end.

I don't offer free shipping because prices vary so much with destination that it completely contaminates the overall cost.  Someone will get screwed no matter what.  Either the shipping charges will be so high that the seller actually loses money on the transaction or the shipping charges are minor and the buyer gets raped.
 

Offline OwO

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Re: Why is some ebay shipping so high?
« Reply #40 on: February 24, 2020, 05:30:36 am »
In general shipping internationally from anywhere is expensive if you don't ship 10 packages a day and have negotiated a good price with couriers. Here you can good pricing for e.g. DHL by going to an aggregator but again you need at least regular shipments for it to be worth it (you have to get the goods to their location, they won't pick up unless the volumes are huge).
It doesn't generally make sense to do one-off sales even here.

The prices at couriers is the same in China as the rest of the world, ePacket is based on negotiated terminal dues (not set by the UPU) and there's no evidence it's subsidized. It's just that very few people in the US bother to run a real ecommerce business with the hassles and risks it brings, so in response there's little market for shipping services at a good price. It also doesn't help that USPS is basically a monopoly yet doesn't have strict price controls on international shipping. I think EMS ePacket pricing is based on a fixed profit model, because rate hikes always quickly track negotiated terminal dues changes.
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Offline Lord of nothing

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Re: Why is some ebay shipping so high?
« Reply #41 on: February 29, 2020, 04:54:03 pm »
I  realy like when the Shipping from the US get handle by Ebay!
The simple reason is the make a popper Custom Declaration!
The Austria Post charge something between 10€ - 15€ for there Service when the Custom found some Parcel I receive. So when I pay he 10€ - 20€ Custom fee its always cheaper for me.  :-+
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Offline buterin

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Re: Why is some ebay shipping so high?
« Reply #42 on: November 04, 2020, 07:53:16 pm »
It's not much more complicated, but it's obvious that domestic transportation is cheaper than foreign transportation for various reasons. A lot of sellers on eBay offer free shipping, but if you want a premium level and the possibility to track your orders, the price of the shipping will be much higher. When I had my own online business, I used to rent shipping containers from https://www.tigercontainers.com/contact-us/shipping-containers-sydney/ because they were a lot cheaper than everywhere else, so my shipping fees weren't that high. It depends on the shipping method, the time, and a lot of other factors, but especially these days because of Covid, there's a significant increase in the price.
« Last Edit: November 07, 2020, 09:25:04 pm by buterin »
 

Offline jmelson

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Re: Why is some ebay shipping so high?
« Reply #43 on: November 05, 2020, 01:34:25 am »
You ought to see the tiny, incredibly complex form I need to fill out/sign for an outside the US shipment.  This form arrived about a decade ago and replaced a  very simple form. It must have been designed for pixies, as I cannot write that small with a ballpoint pen.  Its designed so several government agencies can see and search your shipping data, that much is for sure.  Fedex, Postal, UPS, doesn't matter, similar horrible form.
I have an account at USPS and FedEx, so I can generate shipping documents online.  It is fairly simple, but you do need to know the harmonized commodity codes for your items.  FedEx, at least, keeps your items so you just select the same items from a menu.  USPS doesn't, so you have to fill out the same info each time.  I manufacture small PC boards for motion control systms, so I ship the same items frequently.

I never fill out the forms at the counter, I print them from online on a laser printer.  Yes, you DO have to fill out more stuff for export.

Jon
 


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