quote:
Originally posted by Puppy Raiser:
Also I toss in free shipping (or very low) for the big bucks. You might be amazed how people will bid $20 extra to save $10 in shipping. That's especially true if there are several auctions from different sellers. Most of my items are small and the cost is insurance.
Very true. Most buyers on eBay allow themselves to be sucked in by that. Its like the store that advertises a buy one get one free sale in Sunday paper but has employees stay all night Saturday marking everything up by exactly 100%.
Most of my items are small as well. Thats why I like to ship with Airborne Ground - they are cheaper than both UPS and FedEx (much less of a pain in the ass than UPS too, I might add) and they include $100 of insurance for free on every package. So I turn around and tell all of my customers that packages are insured at my expense. That makes them think they are getting a freebie.
On larger items, I either self insure or buy the extra coverage out of my own pocket (come on, its only $0.60 per $100 or something like that).
A friend of mine owns a MBE-type store. It was an MBE but when UPS took over he severed his francise and went out on his own. Anyway, a customer once shipped some ancient vase worth several thousand dollars to an eBay buyer.
Well, being the cheap ass that he was, he only put five hundred bucks of insurance on it instead of insuring it for the replacement value (which was like 10 grand or something - I dont know exactly). But anyway, the carrier lost the vase and this guy was really mad about it.
So the lesson is don't be a cheapskate because sooner or later it will backfire on you.