On Apr 22, 2009, at 9:10 AM, PATRICK MOORE wrote:
> On Wed, Apr 22, 2009 at 7:53 AM, Tim McNamara > <tim...@bitstream.net> wrote: > > When I sell something to someone on the list or- for that matter- on > eBay, I do not feel it is necessary or even appropriate to try to > recoup money for my time spent packaging an item for shipping and > taking it to the Post Office. I feel that the time and effort is > just a given and part of the process, to which I agreed when I > elected to sell my item on eBay or through the list. > > But why not? I see no objection to having a clear shipping plus > handling price stated in the advertisement, be it on the boblist or > ebay or whatever selling avenue it may be. If I think that the > handling fee is too much, I won't bid. > > My brother sells huge amounts on ebay and adds a small cushion into > his shipping charges for packing materials and the labor of packing > and going to the PO. He packs very well -- not like me, who am > messy if secure -- and spends a lot of time on shipping. He told me > once when I said some people complained about this sort of thing, > "I'm not going to [effing] give away my time and labor." He > certainly packs and ships cheaper than Nashbar, say. And he has > nothing but good feedback. That's exactly the sense of entitlement to which I was referring. I simply don't share that attitude about my time and labor for an avocation, I guess. I'm not selling things on eBay trying to make a living or a profit- it's a garage sale as far as I am concerned. And, like you, if I feel a seller's charges are excessive I don't bid. Happens a lot, and more and more these days. I have bought about 1/10 as many items on eBay as it transitions from being an auction service to a retail service. For a retailer to charge a handling fee to pay an employee to pack an item makes sense to me, because they are incurring an expense. Putting something in a box and mailing it in my spare time incurs little to no expense. I just charge the buyer actual shipping cost. When selling on this list, I see the sale as a service to me (I'm clearing stuff out of my house and the people who buy the items are doing me a favor). Why would I charge for that? --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
