Emails that make my hobby so not worth while...

[Pixilated]

Personally, I expect the cost of the item to include all the costs of materials, running the business, etc. and the cost of the postage to include the cost of shipping the item, but I also don't think I've ever looked at the shipping fees of something I've bought online. If I didn't think the price + shipping was worth the item, I wouldn't have bought it.

Exactly. I once saw something on eBay that I just had to have (twin of something Grandma once had, which disappeared rather mysteriously -- and no, it wasn't valuable; it was a very cheap gimcrack ornament, which makes its disappearance even more puzzling). The seller warned me that the cost of shipping would exceed the actual cost of the item itself. I bought it anyway.
People who gripe about this sort of thing also don't stop to think about the time and effort that went into making the object, never mind the actual costs of packaging and mailing. They want it for the same price as they would pay for some cheap trinket made in a factory run on labour that makes a dollar a day.

[Sapphire Silk]

[background] Postal Charges

Dear Beki710,
I think your postal charges are ridiculously high. You are obviously making more money off the cost of posting. You charged me £5 for postage and the package I received only had £3 worth paid for! I demand you repay me that £2!!!!1!1!

I used to do a lot of selling on eBay, but seldom had those complaints. It might be because a lot of my customers were in Europe, and a lot of American sellers don't want to mess with the customs forms (which really aren't that big a deal) so they didn't want to piss me off over postage. Or it might be that gamers are just more rational than other types of customers.

But even if I recycle a box (often), and even if I use Priority Mail (also often) I'm still going to add a small charge for HANDLING: bubble wrap, other materials to protect the item if fragile, and of course my gas to get to the post office to mail it. The few times I had to explain this to a customer, they usually accepted it. One customer did file a complaint on me with eBay, but eBay ruled in my favor.

You stole my design!

[I]I was looking in your shop and I noticed that you are also selling [insert accessory item here] I want you to know that you have stolen the design from my shop and that it is my intellectual property. I have copyright on that item and I demand that you take that item down immediately

I think the real purpose was to scare you into taking the item down, and reducing her competition.

I've been thinking about it too, to sell some crafty stuff, and odd/repurposed things I find at garage sales (I love garage sales). Same problem. That's why I've been downsizing/decluttering on Craigs List rather than ebay, less of a customer base, but most come look at what I have, and either take it or leave it.

Listing items on eBay has gotten to be such a pain in the ass that I don't do it much anymore. And it's hard to make any money with the fees and the buyers who expected everything to be listed Buy it Now for an ultra cheap price or for 1 cent on a dutch auction (the latter of which is a money loser if you sell an item that's low traffic)

Craigslist is much better for me.

I do occasionally mail stuff, though, and even though it's rare to mail, I still get those emails - got one yesterday. I tell everyone who asks me to mail something I have on Craigs List that I'm not a business, so I can't afford to take any risks - I don't do paypal, so the ONLY way I will do mail is to have them send me a Postal Money Order,

What you should have done was contact the buyer, tell her you were returning her money order because it was not what was agreed upon when she bought the item, and that now she would need to send a NEW money order that was a Postal Order or the sale would be canceled and the item relisted. If you really wanted to be a hardass you could insist she reimburse you for the postage to send her money order back.

Or, you could cash the money order, wait for it to clear, then demand she send you a regular POSTAL money order to reimburse you for any fees you were charged to cash the incorrect money order, plus mileage at 0.55 cents per mile before her item would be shipped.

as a buyer on auction sites and ebay for about 13/14 years and a seller on ebay for over 10 years there is a way to get people to stop commenting on postage costs.

charge the buyer for postage and package only. anything extra you feel you need to charge add it onto the item price.

That doesn't work if you do a dutch auction because you can't build those costs into the auction price, because you have no control over what the final sales price will be.

People who gripe about this sort of thing also don't stop to think about the time and effort that went into making the object, never mind the actual costs of packaging and mailing. They want it for the same price as they would pay for some cheap trinket made in a factory run on labour that makes a dollar a day.

This. So this. We are so spoiled in this country and have no idea how much things really cost to make. We've gotten so we expect everything to be priced like it was from Wal Mart, and that just a'int happenin'!

[bainsidhe]

I've never had a problem with paying a higher shipping & handling cost so long as it was reasonable. If it's pretty obvious you've set up your shipping so you're making a tidy profit, then I'll be annoyed. But shipping is expensive. I sell occasionally on half.com and they give you a specific allotment for shipping expenses, which doesn't always cover true cost. Adding insult to injury, they take commission out of the shipping costs. If I sell a DVD, reuse bubble wrap (so I don't pay for it) and ship using a cheap envelope instead of the padded variety, I may come out 35 cents ahead on shipping. This doesn't include my time or gas to the post office. On the flip side, my company charges a set amount of shipping & handling per online order. Same amount if you buy 1pc or 20 and same amount if it ships local versus across the country. All told, shipping averages out. We make a couple bucks on one customer and lose a few dollars on another. But we charge a flat rate because it saves a huge headache quoting and figuring out individual freight quotes.

[protege]

I just bought a rather nice MGB GT model on Ebay. Shipping came to about $12. I couldn't really complain, since 1/18 scale diecast models are a bit on the heavy side, so that price was about right. Imagine my surprise, when the car arrived a day early. The guy I bought it from (in California) did a good job in packing it--the car's box was covered in bubble wrap, and the slightly-bigger shipping box was filled with packing peanuts. No damage at all to the car, other than the front license plate coming off. Can't really blame him or UPS for that, since it was only tacked on with glue at the factory.

Anyhoo, I didn't complain about the shipping at all. Why, you ask? Considering that even though a half-million MGBs were made, models of them are somewhat rare. GTs even more so. So when I found a police car version on Ebay...even though it's the wrong (UK) spec (right hand drive, rear lights have the amber/red sections reversed) I pounced on it. And yes, I plan on redoing it to represent the one in my garage

[CloserToSane]

I buy from etsy a few times a year and I've never thought to check the postage on the envelope, I check it before and if seems over the top, I don't bother. Maybe I'm just weird .

I really like the pegsus and snowflake earrings. I've got a new shop to check the next time I need presents.

[wolfie]

The only time I've had something to say about actual postage cost was when I ordered a (free) truck route map of New York City. No, I didn't complain about it (after all, NYCDOT sent it out completely free) - my comments were to co-workers because it was (possibly unintentional) humour. After all, the (meter stamp) postage was $2.12 (before the proliferation of cellphones and fax machines required adding more area codes, 212 was the area code for Manhattan).

[BeenThereDoneThat]

I am so sick of people whining about shipping costs. We are NOT profiting by charging what we do for shipping. We have to pay Big Brown and/or a freight company to get your stuff to you, not to mention the work we do in the warehouse first, and yes, we pass those costs along to you. Deal with it, crybabies.

[Andara Bledin]

its completely odd but i've had buyers email me saying that tho my price was a bit more than others they were happy to pay it because i was so honest with my postage

They get even happier when you charge more for the overall sale, but ship for "free." People are silly like that. Plus, on eBay, you get an auto 4-star for having free shipping.

A 7-11 money order! Nearest 7-11 is across town, I've no idea if I'll have to pay a fee to cash it, and I'm pissed off that she never said a word.

Most places that will cash money orders, will cash them from anywhere when they don't look fake. Your bank is the easiest place, if you just deposit it like a low-grade cashiers check. At least, that's how it worked last time I was the recipient of one. Fees vary - the little store at the gated community I used to live in charged 1% to cash them (10 years ago).

^-.-^

[Kanalah]

Yeah I know I have some people complain about shipping to me, but I do pay $16-$18 for each quilt I ship. I only charge $15, and $20 on the larger ones. But I ship Fedex, and notify customers of the tracking # and they bring the package to thier door.

I never understood bitching about shipping/postage/handling fees.

Because honestly, after materials, shipping costs, packing materials, gas, etsy fees, paypal fees, and taxes....I don't make any money.

[alphabeats]

Postage. AND. PACKAGING.

[Beki710]

Thanks for the comments about my items, the shops a bit bare at the moment as i have a show tomorrow and need the items for that!
I think I've just gotta learn to deal with the P&P idiots, at least it's only a few out of all the all the sales I've ever done.
Keeping my fingers crossed for an SC free Stall tomorrow!