Hellobee Boards

I like to leave it up to each transaction. There are some items I think its good to have a price + actual shipping costs (aka a large or heavy item). For other items, I think its good to just have listed as PPD (Postage Paid Domestic) for items like clothes.

I do think some guidelines about best ways to ship would be helpful. I felt bad someone once sent me something and I saw it was like $5 in a flat rate box but I know it could have been sent much cheaper for like $2-3!

I always list the shipping detail in my sales ad. As a seller, i guesstimate shipping based on what I'm selling and have that number in my head when I figure out the sale price. If it ends up being more, I eat the costs (since I usually have shipping included). I've never had it be less than my guess :P.

I've bought once without knowing the shipping cost and it ended up being higher than what I expected. I paid the seller anyway, but will def ask for the shipping charge (if separate from the list price) before I purchase!

@T.H.O.U.: haha, I didn't even think of that!

I'm horrible at this. I guess and eat part of the cost of shipping too. I like to ship USPS Priority because it's easy. I would love some guidelines on this.

It depends on the item or items I am selling. If I am selling a lot of items, I will ship flat rate, which is expensive but you can get a lot of stuff in those boxes. If I am selling one or two things, I shove it in a bag and ship as cheaply as possible.

I did have a complaint once about shipping costs. Sometimes when selling, you have to buy boxes or bags to ship things in, sometimes you don't. I typically guess what shipping will cost and add in a portion of or full price of a bag or box, if it is needed. I try to ship with stuff I have on hand at home, though - bags I got from buying online.

I do struggle with Paypal and I don't know how to fix this. Sometimes paypal charges fees, othertimes it doesn't. I THINK it depends on if the buyer uses a card or checking account. Fees hurts when you don't charge someone for shipping, don't cover the fees in your item cost or you're selling something for a very low price.

I include shipping in the price. I just try to estimate as best as I can. I usually end up losing a couple of bucks but oh well!

@mrsjyw: does that option come up when you request the money from them? Like, if I got a request from you for $6, do I see the option for sending money to a friend or that is goods/services?

@Mae: you just made my day. Thank you.

@mediagirl: if the seller sends an invoice, then the gift pay isn't an option for the buyer. It's only when the buyer sends funds directly first!

@mrsjyw: @lawbee11: how do you estimate the shipping costs?

Anyone know if an easy was to do this? Other then buying your own home mail scale...

@Seattlemom: I usually sell shoes and it's always been around $3 - $3.50 so I just use that typically. For clothing I usually do a $1 or $2 depending on weight and once I mailed a book, had no idea how much it would cost and just ate the outrageous shipping cost

I've done it both ways, although I haven't sold on the classifieds a lot. Sometimes if I know something will fit in a flat rate box, so where it's going doesn't matter, I will include shipping and say "$X shipped." Other times, I will say "$X plus shipping." I have always mentioned shipping one way or another.

I do think shipping is a point where negotiations usually happen. I recently sold something and we were negotiating a little and I offered her a dollar amount shipped, which meant I got what I wanted for the sale, but had to eat a little bit of the shipping. I guess you could handle it a different way and negotiate the cost of the items separately, and shipping is shipping. I think it's six one, half dozen the other. I don't mind how folks handle it because I think everyone here is generally nice and mature in how they work things out.

I usually add on to the price but I tend to underestimate. Gotta weigh in the future.

@Mae: I think having Paypal goods/services as the only allowed method of selling is a good idea. I am happy to pay a small fee for the peace of mind on both sides.

I prefer a ppd price, its not worth my time to buy things normally if its x+y (shipping). I got burnt on the classifieds once when they said plus shipping and then it was way more expensive and I didn't need it right away.

I found that mailing items First Class is often the cheapest. You can use this option as long as the total package weight is 13 oz or under. I use the shipping calculator on the USPS website, but I often underestimate and have eaten shipping costs in the past. I need to get a postage scale too!

@mrskc: I like the idea of selling items with paypal fees in mind. Then either way, whether fees get administered or not, you get covered. From Paypal:
There's no fee to use PayPal to purchase goods or services. However, if you receive money for goods or services (such as from selling an item on eBay), the fee for each transaction is 2.9% plus $0.30 USD of the amount you receive.

I don't mind either method but if I'm paying for shipping, I would rather a confirmation of the amount than an estimate. It annoys me when I pay someone $4 shipping only to receive the item and see it was $2 or something to ship.