Topic: How do you say politely to "&*^$" OFF

[750goes]

Currently looking at ebay for a few small items to fnish off my collection of bits to put the bike back together,
Wow I find someone who is parting out an entire bike - 76 cb750F.

I look through all his items find one I am interested in
A SEAT HINGE (I only have the section attaching to the seat not the frame mount or swivel pin)
item as per link

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=220007687269&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=012

do the right thing and send seller a question - "how much to post to OZ", possibly also buy some more items if his prices are reasonable..

HE QUOTES $19.50 US for postage - and says "THANKS FOR LOOKING"

you betcha thats all I'll be doing - no buying from this wanker..

PS.. I recently bought 6 sets of rear brake pads from ebay, they cost me a total of $10.50 US for postage, so I know it's just a blatant rip off, or maybe the guy could not give a stuff.. I know I'll never recommend him as a seller and I haven't even bought anything yet..

Rant Over... have a nice day

[Raul CB750K1]

I never ask for shipping price beforehand. I know more or less how much does it cost by the apparent weight. Asking beforehand means accepting the price if you win. If the seller tries to rip me off I tell him to double check. In a couple of cases I have backed off. We exchanged negative feedback and each one went our way.


Raul

[750goes]

Raul,

I could not bother discussing it with this person. If they don't want to quote round about the right price when I ask for the first time, then I am wasting my effort in telling them to go check their price...I would always be doubting their honesty in dealing with them, easier to steer clear and hopefully wait for another part to come up.

thanks for the reply....

reviewing a few of the items, he also has questions from others which he gives some terse replies to... maybe he's having a bad day...

[750goes]

Could not help myself, sent him another question and said I think he is overpriced on his shipping... wait now for a polite reply.......you live in hope there is someone in the world who will not screw you....maybe...

[scondon]

   USPS quotes $20.80 to ship a 1lb 1oz package to OZ via Airmail Parcel Post. $27.45 for Global Priority. This is for a "package". Flat rate Envelope(large) is $9.25, small is $5.25. I ship to OZ(Aus.) about once a month and I gotta say it ain't cheap,or easy, for the common man. The Postal Nazis are very strict about what and how we get to package things to OZ  Businesses that do large mailings can get much better deals. Ask the seller HOW he is planning to ship and see if he can't do it cheaper for you.  I'm not convinced he is trying to bugger ya.

  Not saying that you shouldn't try or even expect to find a better shipping price from someone else who has exactly what you need. Just want to open the door to the possibility that he ain't trying to &*^$ ya

[scondon]

 If you really want it then you can buy it and have it shipped to me in the states. I have a package going to Terry in Mill Park(3082) in a week or two and can put it in with his stuff. Provided he's willing to lick a stamp and send it on to you.

[Jeff.Saunders]

I'm not defending the $19.95 for shipping - it seems very high for the hinge - total package weight for the hinge would be well under 1lb.

We do ship very frequently to OZ using the post office - usually several packages a day (post office does not give ANY discounts for businesses).  Shippers like UPS & Fedex are WAY too expensive to consider for anything but the most urgent package.  

Shipping & handling is different from postage costs.  For us, international shipping and handling is higher by 15%-20% than just the postage costs.  Here's why:

Boxes, bubblewrap, plastic peanuts, tape, etc costs money - on average well over a $1.00 per box.
Whether the customer pays using PAYPAL or credit cards, the percentages a business loses before they see the shipping money varies from around 3.5% to over 4% - this means a business would only see $19.20 out of a $20.00 s&h charge.
International shipping is more complicated - not only do you have customs forms to fill it, but you are required to physically go to a post office to get the customs forms stamped by the post office - this is very time consuming.  For all other packages the post office picks up.
Package weight, box size, what is shippable, and box & packaging material composition is strict to some countries like Australia.
Labor costs for packaging have to be considered somewhere in the business model.  If you include it in product costs, then customers picking product up pay unfairly - consequently labor related to packaging should be covered in the shipping and handling category.

[scondon]

   For a "package" to OZ the minimum, regardless of weight, is $16 Parcel Post(economy).    I've never shipped anything small enough to fit a "envelope". Maybe Jeff can tell ya which "envelope" service will accept parts that aren't flat and you can tell the seller how you want shipped.

   Like Jeff, I am not trying to defend the seller as much as I'm just wanting to point out that it's not so black and white. Here's the minimum weight( 1oz ) selections to OZ using USPS. I do not think that the Airmail Letter Post applies to anything other than flat paper.

http://ircalc.usps.gov/intl_speed.asp?CID=10013&MailType=package&Pounds=0&Ounces=1

[Clyde]

I am in Sydney and have a seat hinge for an 76F1 (complete both seat and frame sides)
You pay postage and it is yours
Clyde

On the issue of overcharging, I just bought a speedo of eBay and was charged US30.01 for airmail postage. When it arrived (airmail in a week) the postage stamp said that  it cost him US$4.25 to send.( not sure about the $16 minimum)
I asked the question and he apologised and refunded me US$22.00. In this case the seller did the right thing and I gave him +ve feeedback accordingly.
I agree with Jeff it is appropriate to charge for packaging/bubble wrap etc. I know that it does cost the sender/seller and it is fair to charge especially if you have to go to a lot of trouble for a fragile item
On the another note I bought a radiator for a GT750 Suzuki and he charged me US$40 for airmail(which given the dimensions and weight was OK)
When it arrived he had put in a carton that you could have fitted 10 radiators in and it cost him $59.50 for airmail, so he lost out by not shipping properly.

[Jeff.Saunders]

   For a "package" to OZ the minimum, regardless of weight, is $16 Parcel Post(economy).    I've never shipped anything small enough to fit a "envelope". Maybe Jeff can tell ya which "envelope" service will accept parts that aren't flat and you can tell the seller how you want shipped.

   Like Jeff, I am not trying to defend the seller as much as I'm just wanting to point out that it's not so black and white. Here's the minimum weight( 1oz ) selections to OZ using USPS. I do not think that the Airmail Letter Post applies to anything other than flat paper.

http://ircalc.usps.gov/intl_speed.asp?CID=10013&MailType=package&Pounds=0&Ounces=1

Airmail letter post covers all small packages, boxes and envelopes up to 4lb in weight with combined girth and length not exceeding 36" - that's 2 x height, plus  2 x depth, plus 1 x length.  So a 12" x 10" x 4" box is too large (40" combined girth and length) whereas a 10" x 8" x 4" is only 34" combined girth and length.

[scondon]

   For a "package" to OZ the minimum, regardless of weight, is $16 Parcel Post(economy).    I've never shipped anything small enough to fit a "envelope". Maybe Jeff can tell ya which "envelope" service will accept parts that aren't flat and you can tell the seller how you want shipped.

   Like Jeff, I am not trying to defend the seller as much as I'm just wanting to point out that it's not so black and white. Here's the minimum weight( 1oz ) selections to OZ using USPS. I do not think that the Airmail Letter Post applies to anything other than flat paper.

http://ircalc.usps.gov/intl_speed.asp?CID=10013&MailType=package&Pounds=0&Ounces=1

Airmail letter post covers all small packages, boxes and envelopes up to 4lb in weight with combined girth and length not exceeding 36" - that's 2 x height, plus 2 x depth, plus 1 x length. So a 12" x 10" x 4" box is too large (40" combined girth and length) whereas a 10" x 8" x 4" is only 34" combined girth and length.

Awesome. Thanks for that nugget of info. So 8oz shipped Airmail letter post is only $7.50 according to USPS site.

http://ircalc.usps.gov/intl_speed.asp?CID=10013&MailType=package&Pounds=0&Ounces=8

   Clyde, The "package" that I refer to is Airmail Parcel Post(min. $16) which I guess would be above the dimensions(but no greater than 79 in. total) that Jeff has stated and is all I've ever shipped to OZ 'cause Terry usually gets a crapload of parts. I put the "package" and "envelope" in quotes in hopes that someone might offer up the difference( thanks again Jeff ). Post office swears up and down that they only charge according to weight so a box too large for the item shipped will be more expensive because of extra container/packing material weight.

   Not at all trying to be argumentative with any of this. Just offering up experience that I've had shipping to OZ in hopes that I may learn how to keep costs down. The postal regulations are not easy to navigate and the postal clerks can be less than helpful and are more than happy to send you away if you guess wrong. Not a pleasant experience after standing in line for 1/2 hour and filling out the dated forms.

  Terry, if your reading this, think "small" next time

[750goes]

To all respondees.......thanks very much for the comments and calculations,

Sellers answer received and I quote....

[b]"Your ahipping costs are correct, I NEVER ship for postage alone. Time and materials you know. THANK YOU.....................JOHN"[/b]

Clyde.... yes please... I will PM you with address details etc.....

On the comment of shipping.. it seems extraordinary that I can receive 3 sets of pads in a flat envelope albeit the pads were postcard sized items... and the ebay seller only charged me for cost of $5.25 per envelope, and they arrived in about 4 days...
this turkey wants $19.50 plus packing (I'm bloody sure it will fit in a flat envelope with one layer of bubblewrap around it). so I feel he is ADDING a further margin on top of the profit to his items. Good luck to him.....

 

[Trevor from Warragul]

e-Bay are actually addressing the issue of inflated postage, and WANT you to report any offenders.  They believe (quite rightly) that it is hurting their business.  Tell the fu**er you're going to report him, then do it at the following link:

http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/listing-shipping.html

P.S.  I have just ordered a Pingel petcock from the USA.  Economy airmail delivery to Australia (postode 3168) is $9.00 + $3.00 insurance.  Not all e-Bay businesspeople are crooks (the guy I just ordered from didn't rip me off previously, and guess what?  He gets my business again!) 

[KB02]

I just sold a bunch of stuff on Ebay. One of which was my Custom Mustange Seat. I had someone from Australia as if I would ship it out there. The best shipping quote I could come up with was $254 through the US Postal Service. It was about $100 less than UPS, FedEx and DHL. When I gave him the shipping quote, I included all the prices I could find and even the demesions and weight of the box to see if he could fine something better.

He never did get back to me on that. Funny how a package that's 34 inches long could scare away an overseas bidder...

[Raul CB750K1]

I have a friend who likes astronomy and wanted to buy a good (big) telescope. Found an internet website with the one he wanted much cheaper than buying in Spain, benefiting also from the low exchange rate. The website won't ship outside the US, so my brother who lives in LA bought it and sent him via FedEx in two boxes the size of a washing machine. Even with the approximate 600 bucks of the shipping, my friend has saved about 500 euro on the purchase. It all depends on how bad do you want something.


Raul

[rabidelf]

I have done a lot of business on ebay both buying and selling. People who overinflate the shipping costs will eventually price themselves out of business. In fact I rarely consider mucking with an item if it does not clearly state shipping costs or have a shipping calculator. I hate having to email someone to find out what they will charge for shipping. It is true that only charging the actual shipping does not take into account associated costs such as time and materials. As long as I am not being charged more than 15 or 20% over the actual shipping I am cool with that. If someone thinks I will pay 75 or 100% more for shipping they are crazy. I don't think ebay would need to regulate that because these sellers won't see a dime of my money.

[bryanj]

Best way I have is "Re-arrange the following into a well known phrase or saying---Up Rev Off F*$K And"

I send ot a few manual CD's and the big bugbear is the 45 min wait in the queue at the post office!