Ebay shipping

I have been buying a lot of coins on eBay recently, and of course one of the determining factors about whether I buy is the shipping charges. When you're buying a low-grade coin to complete a set, it sucks to end up paying $4 when shipping is included when the coin is only worth $1. I understand people need to make money, but when I get these coins, I see so many ways this could have been done cheaper. People send one coin in a big bubble mailer with an envelope inside it. The whole thing is heavily taped, so it takes me five minutes to get inside it. One time I had one come inside a big 8 1/2 by 11 envelope, which had another USPS priority mail envelope inside that, which had the coin in it. This is for one coin! There's no reason a coin needs to be shipped in anything but a regular envelope, taped in a way so it won't move around. People could be charging $1 or less for shipping and they'd sell a lot more and get higher bids. Maybe if you're buying a really valuable coin you want more protection, but for my 1949 Roosevelt dime an envelope would have been more than adequate. Why do people go so overboard on the packaging?

 

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As far as the ending cost to the winner of the auction goes I don't think it makes much difference what the seller charges for shipping. Most buyers factor in the price of shipping into their high bid. In other words, if the coin is worth $5 and the seller wants $3 for shipping then the coin will sell for around $2 and if the same coin is offered with only $1 for shipping it will sell for $4. Either way, the coin is costing the buyer the same amount. The difference is in how much Ebay takes as a cut. The higher the selling price the more Ebay charges the seller in fees. That is why sellers love to charge extra for shipping.

 

Factor in shipping when bidding. Period.

Always ask seller to combine shipping when multiple purchases are made, and to credit your shipping cost.

BTW - for now on, always ask the seller to include a printout of the auction(s) too. This will help in the future, should you wish to start selling. Remember - beginning next year the IRS will start requiring 1099 forms for transactions exceeding $600. They will also start tracking transactions made on PayPal, etc. Having proof of purchase cost (the printout) from when the specimen originally was purchased will definitely aid in calculating (proving) and reporting taxes owed.

 

I had a coin shipped in a box you could have put a softball into.

 

Sometimes newer sellers aren't familiar with the various shipping options. They choose what is safest appearing to them. They don't even realize they are scaring off business by charging triple what shippping costs should be.

 

I agree with gopher29. I figure the bid and the shipping as the total price I will pay for the coin and stay with that.

 

I've had that.

I also had seller send me a 1710-AA Mousquetaire once, tightly folded in one-ply Yellow-Pages paper, and plastic-taped like crazy. The coin was layer taped so repeatedly tight, it was ready for mummification. It took me almost an hour of very tedious and careful removal to get to the coin, using an x-acto and a magnifying glass. If you've ever handled a Mousquetaire before, you know how fragile and thin-plancheted the coin is... one wrong move removing that tape, and the coin would've been trashed.

 

I had an Mpc shipped in a box as well, It doesnt fit very well in to my
Mailbox so i had to go to the post office to pick it up very inconveinant

 

As a Buyer, My primary concern is that the coin reaches me safely! Next I evaluate the situation, If you charged me $5 and Placed it in a box and Paid $4 shipping, you will still get 5 Stars, But If you charged me $5 and Mailed it in a plain envelope with a 44 cent stamp you are getting 2-3 Stars in the shipping cost, sorry, that is how I judge it.

As a Seller, I charge $2 the first coin and all additional free. Here is how I do it. I love Duck 4"X7" Bubble Mailer($0.40), I do First class Parcel (which usually gets anywhere in the country by the 3rd day), which only cost about $1.50 and since I print my own label ($0.10) comes with free Delivery Confirmation. So I charge $2 and I deliver Fast, Safe, Accurate, and Traceable!!!

 

Yes, I'm sure some shipping is overkill.

For some high-volume sellers, it's easier to treat 'em all the same and just crank out the shipping. It's more time consuming (time = money) to customize shipping for each order.

 

Unless you have a handicap of which I am not aware, why are you buying $1 coins on eBay when you live within a short drive to a large city like Chicago? You could probably hit enough coin shops in one day to fill a Dansco album several times.

Chris

 

I do check out coin shops, but some things I need the local shops don't have. Like in the example I quoted, I was trying to fill an album of Roosevelt silver dimes and my local shop told me they don't bother to keep them in stock. I also like foreign coins and the shops I've been to aren't really interested in those. I don't do all my shopping on eBay but it's a good supplemental place to check.

 

One time I bought a coin that was inside what looked like cardboard. I mean literally inside it. I don't know what you'd call this packing method, but basically it looks like someone somehow split open a thick sheet of cardboard, put the coin in the middle, and then resealed it. There were no seams and when I tried to peel it apart it just ripped off in small pieces. And at the time I was also buying some currency so I wasn't sure what was in the package, if it was a coin or currency, so I was really scared of destroying it by tearing it apart. I finally got it out by tearing it into small pieces and finally finding it, but that was probably the worst.

And yes, I agree all buyers should factor in the shipping cost, and I do, but sellers should understand that if there are a lot of people selling the same basic coin and one person charges $5 and the other charges $1, people are going to want to bid on the $1 coin. There's no point in making the shipping supply people rich. Charge me less for shipping and I can buy more coins.

 

With the heavy eBay bias toward the buyer this won't do.
At a minimum the seller has to use Delivery Confirmation for self-defense.
That means that the package has to be a certain thickness (one-quarter inch I believe).
Higher weight for the packaging = more postage
Plus the cost of DC.

WAY too many eBay buyers are reporting that the package didn't arrive.
Without DC (or better) to prove delivery eBay will refund the TOTAL cost to the buyer.
Thus the seller ends up without the money AND without the item.

An acquantance of mine had a buyer come back at him claiming non-delivery.
My acquantance proved delivery using DC.
Suddenly the buyer "found" the item.

 

Those are Safety Mailers. There is an adhesive that bonds to itself when the mailer is folded and the halves are pressed together.

http://www.jpscorner.com/Bubble_Safety_Mailers.htm#Safety

Chris

 

I buy silver dimes and quarters for my bullion collection. I always consider the S&H when I buy. If spot price for a dime is 1.30 and somebody is charging a dollar shipping, I would never bid more than 50 cents for it. I think most people bid like this. Why don't I go to a dealer? Most dealers will charge at least two bucks for a dime, and they usually get aggravated when you ask for just one.

 

When I sell coins I would rather use too much packaging than too little packaging. Similarly, when buying coins I appreciate someone who packs too carefully more than someone who does the minimum that they hope will get the job done. Even for a single bullion Roosevelt dime, which I cannot imagine selling to someone via the mail anyway, I would not tape the coin to an envelope and wave goodbye. It would be in either a Safe-T-Mailer or in a small bubble package. One reason for this is that I believe it shows some respect on the part of the seller toward the buyer when coins are packaged well and another reason is that if the coin should be returned I would require similar packaging in order to keep the coin safe in transit since it would then again be my possession.

 

Just wondering how this will impact the eBay sellers. It seems like prices are going to go up due to this. Who wants to do all that paperwork?
I think some sellers are going to find another way to sell besides eBay.

 

If so, then they will also have to figure out a new way to transact money. In addition to the 1099 requirements cleverly hidden deep inside the glorious HealthCare bill, PayPal et.al. will also have to start reporting their transactions to the IRS.

 

Yes I saw that. And also how about "the powers that be" wanting to make it illegal to import ancients from Italy into the USA.
Nowhere else though, just USA.
Don't know what this all is coming to.
I suspect Wall Street is jealous of the coin community getting investor's money. Investors should be buying stocks, no?
So the fat cats are twisting up a bunch of new laws making it more difficult to buy coins.