Costly lesson on shipping mags

[barad_dur]

I just sold my entire model magazine collection (159 mags) on ebay.

I had set the buy-it-now price thinking I could ship these via the USPS special lower media shipping cost.

But no, since they are mags with advertisements, and not books, I had to pay regular shipping cost .

3 very heavy boxes, And of course the guy who bought them lives in CA, so I had to ship them across the entire country ( I live in VA).

accounting for ebay charges and shipping, it cost me $150.00 to “sell” my magazine collection . Ouch

Live and learn…

[Tim Casey]

Ouch!

[derekc62]

When I was in my teens and early 20s I worked as a mover and always cursed the clients who had large boxes of books (I think I had an easier time moving an upright piano up a spiral staircase! - true story).

But $150!!!

As Tim said - Ouch!

[Heavy Metal Spike]

I just sold my entire model magazine collection (159 mags) on ebay.

I had set the buy-it-now price thinking I could ship these via the USPS special lower media shipping cost.

But no, since they are mags with advertisements, and not books, I had to pay regular shipping cost .

3 very heavy boxes, And of course the guy who bought them lives in CA, so I had to ship them across the entire country ( I live in VA).

accounting for ebay charges and shipping, it cost me $150.00 to “sell” my magazine collection . Ouch

Live and learn…

That seems like a crazy rule

But, of course, you honoured the auction/sale because of who you are Joe . . . most (I'll admit - including me!) would have been tempted to just back out of the sale & explain.

REALLY sorry this happened my friend.


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[bucketfoot-al]

I just sold my entire model magazine collection (159 mags) on ebay.

I had set the buy-it-now price thinking I could ship these via the USPS special lower media shipping cost.

But no, since they are mags with advertisements, and not books, I had to pay regular shipping cost .

3 very heavy boxes, And of course the guy who bought them lives in CA, so I had to ship them across the entire country ( I live in VA).

accounting for ebay charges and shipping, it cost me $150.00 to “sell” my magazine collection . Ouch

Live and learn…

I second what Spike said Joe ... call me "Been There, Done That" ... more than once on feebay!!! (And a few times when a buyer wasn't quite happy with an item I refunded him the price and told him to keep it).

(Leave folks with a "warm fuzzy" rather than serving them up a "regular life disappointment" is what I would call it!) Well done!

[scuzzfink85]

I would called off the auction error in listing.. No way would I have shipped them..
I thought media mail was media.. They ship magazines via media..
You got wrong person that day.. and you should had boxes already sealed and made label they couldn't say anything..
instruction manuals tell them..
Can't ship because advertisements.. good grief who's going see them if there in a box?
Somebody shipped me couple model kits with media I laughed it got through.
Whoever is in charge of the post office needs to change the rule.. to make money...
As post office is pretty much bankrupt..

[barad_dur]

Thanks for the support guys!

I did ask the post office rep,if I could just say they were books, but she said that sometimes they verify box contents at the other end , and then the guy receiving the packages would owe the difference.

No way would I ever back out of the eBay deal. Not my style. I set the price and it was my fault for not doing my homework first.

Even though I took a hit on this item, I am still ahead on all the kits and statues that I have sold over the years.
I keep track of what I paid for the kits/statues and what I sold them for.
Some I sell at a profit and some I take a loss on.
But So far overall, I have got back 115% on my original investment.

[tay666]

Yep. It's always been like that.
I remember learning that 20 some years ago when I was thinking about sending comic books media mail.
Doesn't work like that.
No comics, no magazines, nothing with advertisements. The thing that really gets me though, is you can send CDs, DVDs, and other computer readable material, but you cannot send video games
I think that might still be a holdover from when games came on cartridges not on discs.

That is why, when I do sell off comic books, I group them in sets that will fit in a flat rate box. That way I know exactly how much the shipping will be.

[bucketfoot-al]

Thanks for the support guys!

I did ask the post office rep,if I could just say they were books, but she said that sometimes they verify box contents at the other end , and then the guy receiving the packages would owe the difference.

No way would I ever back out of the eBay deal. Not my style. I set the price and it was my fault for not doing my homework first.

Even though I took a hit on this item, I am still ahead on all the kits and statues that I have sold over the years.
I keep track of what I paid for the kits/statues and what I sold them for.
Some I sell at a profit and some I take a loss on.
But So far overall, I have got back 115% on my original investment.

Your "ebay sale profit %" is WAYYY higher than mine! I figure, if I'm close to 50-60% of what I paid over the years, I'm OK with it. Might well be a little higher - I'll never know.

[Heavy Metal Spike]

. . . Your "ebay sale profit %" is WAYYY higher than mine! I figure, if I'm close to 50-60% of what I paid over the years, I'm OK with it. Might well be a little higher - I'll never know . . .

You're still doing better than me Vlad . . . mine is set at zero%, mainly because:

• 1) As an "incentive", I offered to sleep with anyone that bought kits I had for sale.
  2) I've never offered any of my kits for sale.

I think it's mostly due to #2, but I'm not 100% positive


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[bucketfoot-al]

. . . Your "ebay sale profit %" is WAYYY higher than mine! I figure, if I'm close to 50-60% of what I paid over the years, I'm OK with it. Might well be a little higher - I'll never know . . .

You're still doing better than me Vlad . . . mine is set at zero%, mainly because:

• 1) As an "incentive", I offered to sleep with anyone that bought kits I had for sale.
  2) I've never offered any of my kits for sale.

I think it's mostly due to #2, but I'm not 100% positive


.

[Squidy53]

No way would I ever back out of the eBay deal. Not my style. I set the price and it was my fault for not doing my homework first.

One of the reasons you're admired here Joe. Your honor's not for sale.

If it's any consolation, living where I do, I can pay that shipping cost for one kit.

[SaturnLtd]

Sorry to hear that happened Joe! Just an FYI: I've been using Pirate Ship for model kits for a while now, savings of anywhere from 20-60% off what you would normally pay (includes both UPS & USPS shipping). Don't let the name fool you, it's absolutely legit & my customers are very happy to save a bunch of money on shipping costs! In fact, because of the savings on shipping via Pirate Ship, some kits that might not have been sold due to the potentially high cost of normal shipping rates were quickly sold! Although, you probably can't utilize Pirate Ship if you're selling thru eBay, likely because eBay also makes $ off the shipping costs as well.

[Heavy Metal Spike]

Sorry to hear that happened Joe! Just an FYI: I've been using Pirate Ship for model kits for a while now, savings of anywhere from 20-60% off what you would normally pay (includes both UPS & USPS shipping). Don't let the name fool you, it's absolutely legit & my customers are very happy to save a bunch of money on shipping costs! In fact, because of the savings on shipping via Pirate Ship, some kits that might not have been sold due to the potentially high cost of normal shipping rates were quickly sold! Although, you probably can't utilize Pirate Ship if you're selling thru eBay, likely because eBay also makes $ off the shipping costs as well.

They are even charging taxes up-front nowadays Vince, including taxes on the SHIPPING portion (which doesn't seem fair/legal to me )


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[bucketfoot-al]

Sorry to hear that happened Joe! Just an FYI: I've been using Pirate Ship for model kits for a while now, savings of anywhere from 20-60% off what you would normally pay (includes both UPS & USPS shipping). Don't let the name fool you, it's absolutely legit & my customers are very happy to save a bunch of money on shipping costs! In fact, because of the savings on shipping via Pirate Ship, some kits that might not have been sold due to the potentially high cost of normal shipping rates were quickly sold! Although, you probably can't utilize Pirate Ship if you're selling thru eBay, likely because eBay also makes $ off the shipping costs as well.

They are even charging taxes up-front nowadays Vince, including taxes on the SHIPPING portion (which doesn't seem fair/legal to me )


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Might that be because sellers overcharge for shipping to save on eBay fees I wonder?

[bucketfoot-al]

Sorry to hear that happened Joe! Just an FYI: I've been using Pirate Ship for model kits for a while now, savings of anywhere from 20-60% off what you would normally pay (includes both UPS & USPS shipping). Don't let the name fool you, it's absolutely legit & my customers are very happy to save a bunch of money on shipping costs! In fact, because of the savings on shipping via Pirate Ship, some kits that might not have been sold due to the potentially high cost of normal shipping rates were quickly sold! Although, you probably can't utilize Pirate Ship if you're selling thru eBay, likely because eBay also makes $ off the shipping costs as well.

Interesting information Vince! I'm going to look it up - it might influence me to try selling stuff over non ebay venues in future. Thanks!

[bucketfoot-al]

Actually, you can certainly use pirate ship if you sell on ebay, and make your own shipping arrangements, instead of buying the shipping label through ebay, which I have never done, because shipping is my business not theirs.

The worst thing that happened was when eBay bought PayPal. I understand why it made sense from their end, but it wound up driving our costs higher as sellers.

[Squidy53]

Might that be because sellers overcharge for shipping to save on eBay fees I wonder?

People here might not notice but shipping has gotten so expensive from the US that sellers (and not just eBay) are increasingly not offering to ship overseas. I'm increasingly exploring UK makers as postage can be considerably cheaper.

[bucketfoot-al]

Might that be because sellers overcharge for shipping to save on eBay fees I wonder?

People here might not notice but shipping has gotten so expensive from the US that sellers (and not just eBay) are increasingly not offering to ship overseas. I'm increasingly exploring UK makers as postage can be considerably cheaper.

I only ship overseas via the ebay Global Shipping program ... which, I believe, adds a LOT of $$$ to the shipping cost (as a seller I don't see that portion of what they collect) ... and you can be sure Feebay takes a cut of that too ...

[derekc62]

People here might not notice but shipping has gotten so expensive from the US that sellers (and not just eBay) are increasingly not offering to ship overseas. I'm increasingly exploring UK makers as postage can be considerably cheaper.

I've never understood the reluctance (by some) to ship outside the USA since the buyer pays the full cost.

Worried about a lost shipment? Insure it and have the buyer pay that cost too. That's how I do it.