Everyone seems to be so reactionary these days... is it just the hot
summer weather, the recession or what? Sure, every once in a while you
run across someone who is making an unacceptable profit on the
"handling" side of the "shipping and handling" charge, or packaging
really badly, but it is hardly all that prevalent. In fact, one of the
few things Ebay does that is a good policy is allow you to report any
auction where the shipping charge is way too high -- you don't even have
to have placed a bid on the item.
Besides, who buys something without nailing down the shipping charge
first? I don't. If the auction/retail offer doesn't specifically state
the shipping cost, then I *ask* the seller *before* I buy. If the
shipping cost is what I consider way too high I simply won't buy from
that seller because I figure any seller trying to rip me on shipping
costs is likely to rip me on the product itself, usually by describing
it as far better than it is.
But people who don't sell a lot of stuff online often don't realize that
a reasonable "handling" charge is a very valid part of the total
shipping cost. It takes time to package something -- and some money
unless you're going all-recycled all the way, which isn't always
practical -- and then more time to create the labels and get it to the
Post Office/freight terminal. Time is money. Since minimum wage is $7.00
an hour in my state, if I only "make" $2.00 on a handling charge and it
takes me 20 minutes per package from start to finish (including getting
it to the Post Office), then I'm not even making minimum wage for my
time. Now, if I were getting a premium price for the item, then I might
be willing to absorb the $2 bucks as "the cost of doing business" but
with today's scavenger hunt mentality among most buyers, I figure I
should be paid at least minimum wage for my time.
-- JR
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