Andrew F wrote:
<snip>The only way that one can do this legally now is to bury the Paypal
premium in a 'handling' charge.<snip>
That's exactly what I do. So far I haven't received any complaints because
the clearly stated shipping and handling charge (not two line items, mind
you) in my auctions is not out of line with what other sellers ask for and
get. I nearly always am able to cover my PayPal fees as well as some or
all of the eBay fees depending on closing value. I simply add 29% to the
postage. It's all stated up front so if someone thinks it's too high for
the item in consideration said someone has the option to abstain from
bidding. Seller's reputation, terms of sale, etc., etc. go a long way
towards making shipping charges palatable. We think nothing of paying the
same charges to our favorite catalog retailer even when we know their
actual cost will be less. Hey, they're probably covering their credit card
merchant fees.
Now before y'all start howling about 29%, consider this. For domestic U.S.
Priority Mail shipments of 1 pound or less the cost is $3.85 anywhere in
the U.S. Multiply that by 1.29 and you get a rounded up shipping charge of
$5.00 which is a not unreasonable charge for a body, lens, etc. A 2 pound
package costs $5.75 to the furthest zone from my postal code. Add 29% and
the result, again slightly rounded is $7.50. Still not unreasonable for
the kind of stuff I'm selling. Every now and then I sell something that
has a poor weight to value ratio such as the 8 pound short wave radio that
I knew would only fetch between $15 and $25. Using my method would have
meant posting a $20.50 shipping and handling charge. In auctions like this
I use the eBay option that lets me add a fixed dollar amount to the actual
postage. So, regardless of which zone the buyer lives in, he/she will pay
the actual postage plus whatever amount, usually $2 or $3, I've added.
Truth be known, I've had only 1 complaint about shipping charges. It was
from a lady who griped that I charged her $10 for the 3 Christmas ornaments
she purchased under separate auctions. She felt she should only have had
to pay the actual charge of $6 and change that she saw on the postage
label. My polite reply was that each ornament had a clearly stated
shipping charge of $5 and that my terms and conditions indicate that I will
combine shipping whenever possible. Since combining is my option I
suggested that it was conceivable that she still owed me $5. End of
discussion.
Just my 2 cents (or is it 2.6 cents) worth.
Gary
==============================================
List usage info: http://www.zuikoholic.com
List nannies: olympusadmin@xxxxxxxxxx
==============================================
|