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Your opinion… What would you guys consider a reasonable shipping surcharge? Meaning how much would you charge above actual shipping charge to compensate for your time and effort and the possible cost of shipping materials?
littleironhorse wrote:Your opinion… What would you guys consider a reasonable shipping surcharge? Meaning how much would you charge above actual shipping charge to compensate for your time and effort and the possible cost of shipping materials?
If you would have to charge someone, then I would say the cost of the actual box/packaging plus $5.00.
I however, don’t think that charging someone extra is correct/fair even if it takes time to do it.
But that is my 2 cents. 8)
I’ve never charged a packing surcharge, but If I did I’d probably only add on the cost of the materials used. Which for me would just be a box because I save my plastic grocery bags and use them to stuff around things. That way I save money and the item stays dry if the box gets wet. Mind you I’ve never shipped a windstone. This has mostly been for beanies and the like.
I have never charged anyone anything extra for handling. Unfortunatly, for UPS I’m going to have to charge at least $10 more for shipping than the estimate since I always end up spending at least that much more when I ship by them. Plus an extra $4.00 for insurance. Which unless it’s packed by them is actually useless. At least thats what I was told by the UPS lady last time I shipped something.
But if the item is packed by them then I would have to charge handling. So it’s very complicated to figure out exactly what is fair for a handling charge.
😳 A little bit of confusion here, but I know I wasn’t very clear…
I actually only ever charge exact shipping price when I sell. But I just received an item today and I was charged $8.65 more than actual price and I’m trying not to get mad over it. I’m trying to figure out what sort of expenses could justify it…
The thing is, when something like this happens to me it makes me really mad because I feel like I was ripped off. I wouldn’t mind if the person said in their auction that there will be a handling fee of whatever amount, I could then choose to bid or not to bid on the item. But to receive a box and see that the actual shipping was really much lower than what I paid really pushed my buttons!
Again… Trying not to get mad… I sent the seller an email asking why the discrepancy, I’ll see what she says.
LIH, you have every right to question the seller. All shipping and handling fees should be presented up front.
I have had people tell me they charge for the packing material and their time to go to the post office or where ever they ship from. I’ve been told anywhere from 5-10 dollars.
Ahh. I had something similar happen to me recently. I paid $20 dollars for shipping and when the package arrived the postage used was actually $10. The seller never did answere why the shipping was so much extra.
I myself have had once or twice where the shipping I charged was way too much due to online estimates, but as soon as I got home from the post office I got on paypal and refunded the difference with an explanation/apology.
I only charge the cost of packing supplies. Often I recycle my packing materials so there is no additional charge. However, for example, when I ship my jewelry I put them in padded mailers. Those mailers cost me over $1/each which after selling dozens of pieces does add up… so for those I sometimes add an additional $0.50 or $1.00.
For my higher end prints I ship them in very heavy mailing tubes. Those cost me $4/each so I sometimes add a few dollars onto my shipping costs. Etc.Volunteer mod- I'm here to help! Email me for the best response: nambroth at gmail.com
My art: featherdust.comI usually ship small things Priority Mail and get the packaging from USPS for free, so that doesn’t cost me anything. I also use recycled boxes, packing peanuts, and usually bubble wrap. Sometimes I have to buy boxes and bubble wrap, so I add on $1.50 for international Ebay purchases, and $1.00 on domestic Ebay purchases. This also helps pay for PayPal fees and gas to the post office.
My website only lets me enter one shipping charge in no matter where people are located. I put in the highest amount for the weight. If it’s way over the actual price, I will refund a portion of the overpayment, allowing for the PayPal fee.
When I give quotes to people on the Forum, I do not add a handling fee.
I got a Wizard’s Retreat Candlelamp on Ebay and asked the seller to double box with packing peanuts in between. S/he said s/he would do it for an extra $5. When I got the box, the candlelamp was wrapped in paper towels and set in a box with air pillows around it. This box was NOT CLOSED OR SEALED, but just set in another box with air pillows around it and on top. I was just furious!!! Fortunately, the CL was not broken or I would have raised holy h*** to the seller. I mentioned it in my feedback, although I gave them a positive because it didn’t break. Not happy with paying the extra for crappy packing though.
My seller responded and she says that she will happily refund $7.00 of the extra $8.65, the amount she originally charged me was an estimate. I am happy with that and left her a positive.
But I can’t help but think that if I hadn’t contacted her about it, she wouldn’t have done anything… After all, she could have refunded me at any time since she shipped it and found out the exact charge…
littleironhorse wrote:My seller responded and she says that she will happily refund $7.00 of the extra $8.65, the amount she originally charged me was an estimate. I am happy with that and left her a positive.
But I can’t help but think that if I hadn’t contacted her about it, she wouldn’t have done anything… After all, she could have refunded me at any time since she shipped it and found out the exact charge…
I have done the same thing. I will state my shipping charges up front. If shipping is signifigantly lower, I will refund, but if not, I dont worry about it. The reason is the calculator does not recognize my zip code so I cant use the actual cost. I have to guess. I also am not going to run to the post office every time a potential buyer wants to know how much it will cost to ship, so I just put an amout up there that I hope will cover it. Sometimes it does, and sometimes it does not. If a buyer has a problem with a shipping cost that I clearly stated in the auction I may refund if its a larger amount… maybe $7 or more, I dont know… but if they get rude, I will just tell them that shipping was clearly stated in the auction and it covers my time and gas, etc… Just my ten cents. Could just be because the buyer does not have a scale and is guessing at shipping costs.
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