Bartertown.com

I'm attempting to work out a purchase with a (new) member of BT. Their price for shipping seemed a bit much and mentioned that I'd have no problem paying so long as the postage on the package jived with the amount qouted.

They replied that "handling" includes such things packaging, trips to PO, time and energy, etc. As an Ebay seller, I can understand the price of using handling on that site (not to mention a seller must pay Ebay fees, Paypal fees, etc.). However, I feel that the whole "handling fee" thing on Bartertown just doesn't jive with the "feel" of BT (I dunno a better word - let's call it fairness maybe). I've sold a bunch of stuff here and have always charged exact postage costs.

What are others feelings on this?

I dont charge handling fees, but if someone else did, and I still thought the ammount was reasonable, i would buy. If it was too much, i would cancel.

sort of like the $.99 figs on ebay with the $12.00 shipping cost....

ancientsociety wrote:I'm attempting to work out a purchase with a (new) member of BT. Their price for shipping seemed a bit much and mentioned that I'd have no problem paying so long as the postage on the package jived with the amount qouted.

They replied that "handling" includes such things packaging, trips to PO, time and energy, etc. As an Ebay seller, I can understand the price of using handling on that site (not to mention a seller must pay Ebay fees, Paypal fees, etc.). However, I feel that the whole "handling fee" thing on Bartertown just doesn't jive with the "feel" of BT (I dunno a better word - let's call it fairness maybe). I've sold a bunch of stuff here and have always charged exact postage costs.

What are others feelings on this?

I agree with you, there is no reason for someone to have to pay more just because the other party considers that going to the P.O. or packaging something in a reasonable manner a "bother" for him/her.

Anglacon wrote: sort of like the $.99 figs on ebay with the $12.00 shipping cost....

.....and then you receive it in a envelope and postage is $1.14, that really urks me. I buy/sell on eBay as well so I know about the listing fees and such, but that's outrageous.

Handling costs are bogus no matter the form. You'll never convince me otherwise. Part of completing a deal is putting the stuff in a box and driving to the post office and you shouldn't charge for that. If they want extra bells and whistles that's a different story but basic "handling" is just something you have to do to get a deal done and it should not be an extra charge. On Ebay it's rampant because it's a way around their percentage based fee system, here it's just rude and greedy. It's one thing to guess shipping amounts and err on the side of caution and quite another to expect 3 dollars to tape a box together and get in your car. I've heard the other side (boxes cost money, bubblewrap costs money, gas is expensive) and I'm just not buying it. For starters you can get boxes for free just about anywhere just ask for them or reuse the ones that get sent to you. Bubblewrap is also reusable but wadded up paper is very effective for 90% of packing needs and can be had for free by using unsolicited junk mail and grocery ads. As for the gas money, well I don't know what to say other than if it's that much of a hardship you probably have bigger concerns that peddling toy soldiers on the internet. Most people can reasonably expect to leave their house a couple times a week. Just combine the trip and swing by the post office then, why should I subsidize your trip to grandma's house by paying for your gas via a "handling" charge???

Long time ebayer here.. when I am selling stuff there, I add at most a buck to cover any costs associated with mailing their stuff.. that is it. I had a buy long ago there that had "shipping and handling costs will be determined at the end of the auction" on it.. and the shipper tacked on a 20.00 fee above and beyond shipping for the "care" he took shipping my purchase.. which was not justified on delivery. I ended up talking to an Ebay helpdesk person, and their intervention got me a partial refund.

Here.. since generally it is a trade, both sides are responsible for their own shipping costs.. but in a sale deal, I am willing to do actuall shipping + a buck or 2. I have never run into ancientsociety's situation here...

-Porkuslime

Officially, 'handling' fees fall into the realm of things that are to be negotiated as part of the trade. If the user in question springs this on you *after* the trade has been finalized, that's grounds for possible Bad Trader Reporting and negative feedback.

The important thing to remember is that you have to be ready to say "no thank you" and WALK AWAY if the other party doesn't budge. A disagreement on shipping/handling fees is perfectly legitimate provided it takes place at the appropriate stage of the trading process.

Unofficially, I can't stand the handling fee concept on eBay and it drives me just as batty here.

1st.. priority mail boxes, labels and tape are FREE at usps. bubble wrap and styrofoam peanuts aren't. it costs less to get the free boxes, and ship priority mail, than it is to buy a box and send it parcel post or ups, fed ex, dhl et c.
BUT...stryofoam coolers are cheap. if some how you don't have foam.. buy a cheap cooler and cut or break it up. i have 2 cubic feet of peanuts from buying and selling.

kmart sells usps bubble padded envelopes cheaper than usps does. they cost about $1 each, less for smaller, more for larger.

i always 'request' priority mail, with insurance. if you insure a package for over $50.. you can use the number the same as delivery confirmation. dc just gives it a number to be traced.. insuring it does the same thing.

AND, CRUMBLED PAPER, NEWSPAPER IS WORTHLESS. why? becuase it continues to crumple. it doesn't "spring" back. it mats down and flattens.

try a ziplock bag full of air. it'll keep the item from sliding better than paper, is lighter than newspaper and won't flatten out.

anyone who is 'experienced' at shipping and overcharges me for shipping, to recover costs, receives neutral feedback and a state in my post, overcharges for shipping or adds a shipping fee to postage.

i charge exactly what it costs me to send it to you. if i have to pay a fee to get your $$, i charge it back to you. if i have to pay a fee to sell, then that's just part of 'doing business', that's my cost.


IF you set up an account using usps.com and pay for postage there, using paypal or credit cards, you get FREE PACKAGE PICKUP. there is no need to head to the post office. who picks it up? the same person who delivers your mail. when do they pick it up? when they deliever your mail.
now, if you want a special pick up, then there's a charge. usps even had an ad on tv showing this. a guy in an office had something to mail out and no one wanted to see, talk to or even acknowledge him. he finally says 'is anyone going to the post office?' someone answers 'i am'. guess who. their regular letter carrier who is dropping off their mail for the day.

I've never had that problem before,

All I find is that often people round it out like if postage is 5.95 they would just charge 6.00 to keep things exact. Often I've bought stuff for 22.10 for example and they would just round up the price to 22.00 and then round up the postage so it would be an evn 30.00 etc. I think this is fair.

Thanks all for your advice. I agree with most of what's been said and have told the seller that I'm willing to buy if he wants to charge actual shipping but I won't pay handling fees on BT.

Just an FYI if anyone's interested - I buy most of my padded envelopes at Family Dollar. You can get a pack of 2 small for $1 and 2 large for $1.50.

Wow, well the seller wanted to add more money to the price of the item, past his previous "handling" fee. Not very ethical if you ask me.

Looks like I get to add another trader to my DNT list (4 in 1 week! That's gotta be a record.).

Here's what I do... based on past experience, I estimate what it will cost to ship an item / items.

Once I have THAT amount, I decide if i want to (a) include shipping with my stuff for "free" (I charge a small bit more for sale prices, but LESS than my assumed shipping in this case) or (b) Charge a SPECIFIED amount for shipping.

If I get to the USPS & my shipping charges were WAY off and I undercharged, I send an email and ask for more money before sending the package...
Just kidding... I eat the difference...

If I overcharged, I will upgrade shipping (normally, I use parcel post / 1st class) or buy insurance with the difference, if there is enough there (I ALWAYS use D.C., regardless).

If my estimate is over buy a buck or so, I don't stress it. More than that & I get extra shipping stuff for them because I feel bad.

Over all, I end up about even.

Eric

I generally go with a pretty standard shipping rate. If it is way under, I try to upgrade to give people the biggest bang for their buck. I also generally try to use envelopes (padded), which I buy at Wal-Mart or wherever like 5 at a time. The envelopes I do figure into my shipping cost when it comes to upgrading. If it is under a pound, I also use 1st Class, and if it is nothing but printed material, I use Media. Not that I am trying to recover "costs" trhru shipping, but it usually drives with my shipping quote. Gas is just a cost of doing business. I don't charge for Paypal fees, but if I am off by a buck or something, then to me it applies to the fees and stuff. I am not a Nazi about it or anything, I just try to make things fair. Have I ever did it before on mistake? Probably, but not intentionally.

Rich

I strongly disagree with the earlier statement about crumpled newspaper being useless.

I just completed a move and newspaper grade paper, bunched or crumpled is an EXCELLENT packing material. It doesn't scratch anything and it pads quite well, even with very heavy items like dishes and china.

Also, I found that for shipping, taking junk mail and strip shredding it really bulks it up for great lightweight shipping filler.

well i strongly disagree with your disagreement.

working for usps, i've seen probably more boxes, padded with newspaper, with broken merchandise, than you just moved.

what is paper? compressed wood. it's a good insulator bad poor protection. the reason it crumbles, is the reason it is a bad padding. it keeps crumpling, and you end up with a wad of paper, in 1 end of the box.

boxes that get shipped by all of the major carriers, ups, fed ex, usps, dhl, all get sorted and 'worked' on machines and/or rollers. the bigger boxes not only move on a moterized conveyor, but slide down a large metal hill. there was one in a movie with tim conway. he worked for usps. it showed the 'teepee' as it's called. think about you box sliding down that. then having another box, weighing 70 pounds, full of books, or engine parts, metal stamping dies, or exercise machines/equipment slide down it next. how well will paper protect against that? wad up paper, then drop an ordinary hardbound textbook or encyclopedia on it. take you computer monitor, wrap it in paper, put it in a box and then slide it down a childrens playground slide. then slide aa full box of comic books on it.

and, just for fun, leave the box out in the rain, in the middle of your driveway, or out in the snow. thats how airplane luggage loaders handle you mail. that's who handle you mail when it gets to the airport. unless it's one of the pieces that gets handed off to ups or dhl or fed ex, since all three have contracts with usps to transport mail. they handle their company 1st, and usps last. if there's no room.. tough.. it will wait till the next flight..on the laoding area.. under the weather.

As far as you story about dropping things on the box full of paper....the crushing of the box has a lot more to do with the durability of the box than what fills it.

If you always use the smallest box you can, and it's made of decent cardboard, then the box will be as strong as possible, preventing larger boxes from crushing it.

Foam peanuts or any other filler won't prevent that. If you surround the contents with paper on all sides, correctly, then what you're talking about doesn't happen. In the same vein, i've seen plenty of boxes where heavy contents sink to the bottom in a box full of peanuts, making them useless for protection once that happens.