Maybe I'm just naive, but this seems to be a relatively new phenomenon, as I don't really recall sellers padding their seemingly low item prices with ludicrous shipping costs a year ago.  I've been shopping around trying to patch up a few holes in my game library, and there's just no way of winning.  One seller in particular seemed attractive, with a wide selection of games and decent prices, until I saw he wants $7.99 for the first item and $6.99 for each additional within the US (to arrive in 3-7 days!). Unless this jerk lives on the international space station and needs to build a reentry capsule for each game so it'll survive planetfall, there's no excuse for this bullshit. It's just so greedy and transparent and infuriating.

So what are your thoughts on... paying too much for... ah, forget it. I just posted this so I could vent. :\

I think it sucks. I paid $5 shipping for a PS1 game and $3 for an additional game for a total of $8 shipping for something that cost the dude less than $2 to ship. He sent the package via media mail, and it took 10 days to get to me. So, right off the bat, if someone is charging a lot of money for shipping they're just trying to get a few extra bucks out of you, which is not right.

It's been happening for years.

And then there's general idiocy, like sellers charging $30 to ship a single disc to Canada via First Class. I mean, like, why even bother listing other countries as available destinations if you're going to charge three times the item's cost for a $2 service?

Just found another really fun one, for Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck on DS:

Starting bid: $0.99
Buy It Now: $9.99
Shipping: $27.73

SOUNDS REASONABLE TO ME. :D

Last I recall, this is against eBay's policies because it robs eBay of profits---they charge more for shipping because eBay doesn't get a cut of shipping.

I say report them.

Looks like eBay has been aware of the problem for a while too:  http://pages.ebay.com/sellercentral/exc … pping.html

I bought a GB tetris cart for $2 and paid $6 in shipping - $6 freaking bucks for something that freakin small... I can get a CD to just about anywhere in the states for a measly $2~3.

Of course this is better than buying Tetris off that person that had one with a $27 dollar buy it now on it... yeah, I'm going to buy the most mass produced GB cart ever for $27 minus shipping.

Still, when selling on eBay I usually end up ripping myself off more than anything.

^ Was the Tetris with box and instructions?  The ol' GB Tetris is the definitive Tetris, imo.

No, just that tiny ass cart.

Yeah.  Usually it's nebulous enough (five, six, seven bucks) that their victims don't notice.  Sometimes however it makes it impossible to get a good deal.  It's like the sellers who might sell a game for 99 cents or even a penny.  Seems like a amazing deal until you realize that they charge 8.99 or 9.99 for shipping.  Their motives in that case are entirely too transparent.  The games probably cost them around as much as they charge for shipping and so they attempt to make a profit off of you or at least break even in dishonest fashion.  Better to win a copy of the same game from someone else for three bucks and pay only two for shipping.

That happens to me sometimes too.  I want to make sure not to overcharge on shipping and sometimes I underestimate the cost.  In those cases I just remind myself that I probably made that money back and then some anyways since more people will bid on an item with low shipping versus one with high shipping.

It was something that always annoyed me.  Stupid scammers.  I learned a long time ago that the price includes all shipping and handling charges.

Hm, here's how it works over here, where I work.

We ship everything within the continental US either FedEx or UPS.  The customer can choose to pay for expedited shpping if they wish.

Our cost of labor and materials plus the actual cost of to the parcel carrier pegs the smallest package at about $6 minimum to ship.  Mind you, this is via a trackable carrier, so our asses are covered if it somehow gets lost.  That's in line with PayPal's seller protection policy.  Occasionally, if we're selling tons of really cheap, tiny stuff, we'll do a flat rate shipping charge for FedEx Ground.

If we're selling items in multiple quantity, the shipping cost scales by weight, not by some nebulous "per item" charge.  I personally think that's ridiculous.  Sticks of RAM should not cost 7.95 for the first stick and 6.95 for each additional stick to ship.  That's highway robbery.

Also, my company happily accepts local pickup.  We make very little on shipping.

I realize blowing my company's horn is a bit futile, but just want to let you know that not everyone on eBay is out to screw you over. :)

Same here. One time I actually lost money on an auction because I underestimated shipping for a large book (RE Chronicles). I quoted $10 for international shipping, and someone in the UK won it at my opening price of $9.99. So I get payment of $19.99 via Paypal, and when I go to the post it costs $19 to ship! Factor in the Paypal and eBay fees, and, well, I got porked. The way I look at it is that a) I made the mistake of quoting improperly, so I had to suck it up, and 2) someone who really wanted the book got it for a fair price.

Luckily, I've gotten to a point where I'm familiar with most postal rates, so I don't rip myself off too much anymore.

That seems very fair. What really gets me is the $8 for shipping when people put something in a cheap bubblewrapped envelope and send it via media mail or first class with no tracking or insurance. At least your workplace offers tracking and materials included in the price of shipping.

I have naively paid a lot for shipping in the past, unfortunately. I do tend to ask for insurance though, so that bumps things up a little. However, I bought a number of albums off Tim over the past couple of years, and that was a revelation to me. Shipping charge was almost non-existent and everything turned up within a week or so (internationally). That really makes me question the shipping quotes I see on ebay especially.

Every now and then I get destroyed by customs and post office handling fees though! I recently paid £25 in charges for a few albums that only cost me £57 in total, delivered.

I used to work for UPS and you do not want to know how much stuff gets stolen everyday.

I paid as much on shipping for my pachinko machine as I did for the machine itself. But then, it was a heavy bugger and going from Japan to Ireland is an expensive journey.

Intentionally stolen because they can make an educated guess about what the contents would be, and if those contents would be valuable?? 

...Or just randomly stolen cause they're jackasses in general?

Intentionally.  I was working the night-shift one evening when a small package came down the belt into the trailer.  My co-worker checked the contents by feeling the outside of the package, proceeded to rip it open and take out a a ring that was inside.  He pocketed it and I don't know what happened after that. 

The thing is, you see this stuff, but are you going to tell?  No.  You'll label yourself a snitch and no one likes a snitch. 

Shipping through UPS or FedEx means you should always insure your packages.

...I thought they were insured automatically up to $100, at least for UPS.

-Joshua

No one likes being victim to a crime either.  There are some things that are morally unacceptable.

Nobody likes a snitch if you're in the hood or in prison. I think outside of those places, you'd probably be okay.

I got a good "getting screwed on shipping story" to tell that just happened to me.

I was trying to order something from a site and I wanted two of them. Unfortunately, the site's shipping calculator refused to work even after putting in my zip code thus I couldn't continue placing my order. I spent two days trying to figure out why I couldn't continue; a few hours ago I found out it would allow me to continue if I was ordering one - not two of the item. So basically they were milking the shipping for all it's worth per item - see below.

Shipping to all US shipping locations comes out to $7 for the item I wanted. To add insult to injury this is for first class shipping and said it would arrive in 2-3 weeks. Considering the size and the weight of the item I wanted to ship something like that myself I could get it most anywhere in the states for around $5 and have it be there in 2-3 days with priority. Considering some of the reasonable shipping options/rates/costs from VGM retailers in Japan (like play-asia) and the distance that travels in comparision this is just sad.

So now I'll have to put another order in for the same item again and spend another $7 on S&H. &^%*ing bull^%&* What a terribly constructed site and/or store but you can't buy it anywere else.

Selling things on the cheap, and then compensating by charging shipping costs is the only way to actually make any money on eBay.

People just don't want to pay the price that things are worth.

It also becomes difficult for us other merchants to compete with those practices, so...what's the phrase...those who conform survive?

Of course, I never sell anything on eBay. I'm just not that much of a shark.