Don't place a small order - shipping rip off

[mickeymoosemego]

Also left out here is that ebay takes a portion of every shipping fee on every Auction of sellers.

[thunderbolt]

Also left out here is that ebay takes a portion of every shipping fee on every Auction of sellers.

So does Paypal, FTC doesn't even get that whole 8 or 10 bucks Paypal or the CC company skims off the top of that.

[fallensaviour]

You know what that fee is before you place the order, there are no surprises.

Not necessarily a true and accurate statement,as I'm sure many other Canadians can attest to.
I know personally when I order I know my total order price with no shipping rate.
My shipping total by ftc/ctvt is calculated by them and then requested a day later "surprise!!!"
You can try to judge a rough shipping fee but you never know for sure until a day or so later.

Now that being said I've never paid more than $50 or less than $30.

[jayraytee]

No, I never said that. You and kev said that overhead has to be incorporated into the product's price. It does not. It can be, but it can also be factored into the shipping and handling fee. Or both.

Again, FTC and CTVT don't charge you for Priority and then send it First Class. They charge you a Flat Shipping Fee. You know what that fee is before you place the order, there are no surprises. No idea why you mentioned the UPS ship rates otherwise, as it has no relevance that I can see, since FTC/CTVT isn't asking you to pay for a higher -priced UPS shipping service, then shipping it via a cheaper rate.

Do they charge more for shipping than some competitors do? As my Doc Mego vs CTVT example proved, they do indeed. What they also do is tend to charge LESS for their products versus competitors.

I get why some people are irked at the high shipping charge that FTC and CTVT sometimes charge, but when you factor in the cost of the products, I think it more than evens out in many cases.

I know I said that overhead is supposed to be factored into product price, I said you said someone was complaining about that. I know that overhead doesn't have to be factored into product price, what I actually said is it SHOULD be, it is SUPPOSED to be. For anyone that knows how to actually run a business and do it right, it is. That doesn't mean that everyone does that, some people just don't get how things are supposed to be done or don't care. This is what I was saying was dishonest, if you say you are charging $20 to ship an item, you should use the $20 to ship the item... not spend half of it on bubblewrap and boxes and then ship the item for $10. Because then a person isn't getting the shipping service they expect when they pay $20 for it. Some unscrupulous and sneaky sellers do this on purpose, they want more money out of people but they know if they bump their product price up they won't compete with other sellers, so they raise the shipping price and then ship the item real cheap.) The more honest thing to do if you want to do this would be bump your price up $10 and then offer a $10 shipping charge so people know exactly what service they are getting. This is all about your reputation as a seller.

My point about how ebay calculates the shipping was just to give an example of how the consumer expects what they pay for shipping to actually go to shipping, since it is assumed by the system that all your other expenses are covered in the product price. That the shipping price is a claculated amount that is determined by what the shipping service will actually charge to deliver the item. (Then a few went down rabbit trails talking about paypal and ebays charges they take out of shipping prices, which isn't the point anyway.)

I made this above point because you argued with the original poster about how all these other overhead expenses are supposed to come out of shipping charges, which is just patently false.

And you did say that people were complaining about the high shipping price and you are doing it again here. I don't think anyone is arguing that FTC's shipping price is higher than DocMegos, or that anyone is claiming FTCs shipping price is too high. But here you are saying you don't get why people think these things, so you are arguing straw man arguments.

What FTC does do is use the same shipping price no matter what you buy which I said was a sloppy way to do it. It screws some people who may just order a Batphone and then they have to pay $10 in shipping, especially if FTC doesn't use the full $10 the person paid for the shipping service. In that case it's just inflating the price on smaller items, you can argue then that it lowers the price on larger items, but it doesn't balance out for the customer who only ordered the smaller items. Website shopping cart systems are easy to set up and you definately can set them up with individual shipping prices for each item and have it calculate the full price so you are not gouging half the people and giving the other half a deal. It's easy to do and would make people think you are more honest about your shipping prices.

[thunderbolt]

you can't order just a Batphone, minimum order is 10 bucks and the shipping there would only be 8

SHIPPING WITHIN THE UNITED STATES
Minimum Order is $10.00 plus Shipping
If you live in the United States and your total order adds up to:
$1.00 to $24.99 shipping and handling is only $8.00 for your total order

$25.00 to $49.99 shipping and handling is only $10.00 for your total order
$50.00 to $99.99 shipping and handling is only $12.00 for your total order
$100.00 to $199.99 shipping and handling is only $15.00 for your total order
$199.00 to $399.99 shipping and handling is only $19.00 for your total order

$400.00 to $699.99 shipping and handling is only $29.00 for your total order

$700.00 and over shipping and handling is only $39.00 for your total order

[ThePlayerOnTheOtherSide]

What FTC does do is use the same shipping price no matter what you buy which I said was a sloppy way to do it. It screws some people who may just order a Batphone and then they have to pay $10 in shipping, especially if FTC doesn't use the full $10 the person paid for the shipping service. In that case it's just inflating the price on smaller items, you can argue then that it lowers the price on larger items, but it doesn't balance out for the customer who only ordered the smaller items. Website shopping cart systems are easy to set up and you definately can set them up with individual shipping prices for each item and have it calculate the full price so you are not gouging half the people and giving the other half a deal. It's easy to do and would make people think you are more honest about your shipping prices.

As Thunderbolt said, you can't order just a Batphone, you need a minimum order total, another good business practice.

I've said all along that people have every right to complain about the prices FTC charges for shipping if they want to, and I never said that I don't understand why people would think the shipping is too high, despite your repeated claims to the contrary. That dog won't hunt.

Personally, I look at the total cost of my order. I can see FTC is charging a couple of bucks more on shipping, and charging me $5 less on product, and realize that I saved $3 total.

You look at the same order and think FTC is being dishonest. Go figure.

[ThePlayerOnTheOtherSide]

Not necessarily a true and accurate statement,as I'm sure many other Canadians can attest to.
I know personally when I order I know my total order price with no shipping rate.
My shipping total by ftc/ctvt is calculated by them and then requested a day later "surprise!!!"
You can try to judge a rough shipping fee but you never know for sure until a day or so later.

Now that being said I've never paid more than $50 or less than $30.

Just so I understand you correctly, you're saying that you place your order with FTC, without a shipping total known or added, then FTC later tells you what your shipping will when it adds it? IOW, you authorize FTC to charge you without knowing that your rate will be?

Or does FTC tell you the rate first, then you decide whether or not to place the order?

[TRDouble]

My point about how ebay calculates the shipping was just to give an example of how the consumer expects what they pay for shipping to actually go to shipping, since it is assumed by the system that all your other expenses are covered in the product price. That the shipping price is a claculated amount that is determined by what the shipping service will actually charge to deliver the item. (Then a few went down rabbit trails talking about paypal and ebays charges they take out of shipping prices, which isn't the point anyway.)

I made this above point because you argued with the original poster about how all these other overhead expenses are supposed to come out of shipping charges, which is just patently false.

Again, addressing, "how the consumer expects what they pay for shipping to actually go to shipping." That may be true for the person who makes random eBay purchases, but anyone who sells or has purchased from eBay for a long time knows better.

The, "shipping price is a calculated amount that is determined by what the shipping service will actually charge to deliver the item," is true only for the seller. Then the seller can add handling charges, which the buyer sees rolled into the shipping charges:

eBay Handling Cost.jpg

The consumer has no idea the seller is charging them more than actual shipping cost:

And since eBay has an option to hide shipping cost on the label, the buyer only knows what they paid to the seller for shipping and has to assume that is what it actually cost the seller to send the item. I know for a fact that I have overpaid on the shipping of some items I won off eBay. Whether it was to cover their fees, their shipping supplies (both overhead charges adding into shipping), or to unscrupulously make a few extra bucks, who knows. Well, sometimes you know, after you receive a re-used box with tattered packing materials.

I am not arguing your opinion of what shipping charges should include. For me, as long as I am getting the shipping I am paying for, then I have to decide whether I want to pay what the seller/company/etc. is charging. If I accept the charges, knowing I am paying more than the actual cost of shipping, that's on me. But don't charge me for Priority and then send it First Class. I have accidentally done that a couple of times on eBay and quickly contacted the customer and refunded some of their money to them. I try to get as close as I can to actual shipping cost.

But I am arguing that the shipping charges calculated by eBay to the consumer is the actually shipping charges. I think in most cases, it is not. But only the seller and eBay knows for sure.

[MIB41]

I do wish FTC had cheaper shipping tiers for smaller orders, but that might be the internal wisdom from their history of doing business. Because the bulk of their product is bigger and pricier, it probably doesn't service them to place too much focus on smaller items that don't bring as much profit. I can understand it from a business side, but I definitely share some of that frustration on the consumer perspective.

Now as an auction seller I factor everything I need into price and offer free shipping so that perception is off the table. Once again, it's always about one's point of view of value. Once I have reached that area of profit I want, taking the shipping off is not going to change things on my end. But then again, I'm not selling new things so that's an easier way to do business. I like to offer a price that says, " This gets it to you." It's my experience that when you make it two tier in cost (price then shipping), you risk creating a bad rub that isn't necessary. Figure out your expenses to ship and decide on a price that makes it worth while. The less you fiddle on price, the less you have to debate.

[Bronxboykev]

you can't order just a Batphone, minimum order is 10 bucks and the shipping there would only be 8

SHIPPING WITHIN THE UNITED STATES
Minimum Order is $10.00 plus Shipping
If you live in the United States and your total order adds up to:
$1.00 to $24.99 shipping and handling is only $8.00 for your total order

$25.00 to $49.99 shipping and handling is only $10.00 for your total order
$50.00 to $99.99 shipping and handling is only $12.00 for your total order
$100.00 to $199.99 shipping and handling is only $15.00 for your total order
$199.00 to $399.99 shipping and handling is only $19.00 for your total order

$400.00 to $699.99 shipping and handling is only $29.00 for your total order

$700.00 and over shipping and handling is only $39.00 for your total order

Thank you for that Breakdown Thunderbolt!

Which brings us back to Mygars1964 original point... It doesn't pay to place a small order with FTC... Action Figures aside... If you are ordering accessories you need to wait to pile up a big enough order to make it worth while

[megomania]

Thank you for that Breakdown Thunderbolt! Which brings us back to Mygars1964 original point... It doesn't pay to place a small order with FTC... Action Figures aside... If you are ordering accessories you need to wait to pile up a big enough order to make it worth while

So why complain that it's a ripoff to place a small order? The OP knows what they charge for shipping and even stated "I placed two small orders".....maybe should have placed one large order?

[dr_cyclops]

you can't order just a Batphone, minimum order is 10 bucks and the shipping there would only be 8

SHIPPING WITHIN THE UNITED STATES
Minimum Order is $10.00 plus Shipping
If you live in the United States and your total order adds up to:
$1.00 to $24.99 shipping and handling is only $8.00 for your total order

$25.00 to $49.99 shipping and handling is only $10.00 for your total order
$50.00 to $99.99 shipping and handling is only $12.00 for your total order
$100.00 to $199.99 shipping and handling is only $15.00 for your total order
$199.00 to $399.99 shipping and handling is only $19.00 for your total order

$400.00 to $699.99 shipping and handling is only $29.00 for your total order

$700.00 and over shipping and handling is only $39.00 for your total order

Thanks for the shipping price breakdowns. I see now why my shipping cost varies from $10-$12.

[nobody]

I believe the reason this was even posted wasn't the price of shipping, Gene knew what it would cost, but rather it was shipped for more than stated. And yes, there are handling type costs, but If you paid 10.00 for shipping on ebay and the item showed up with a 3.08 sticker on the envelope, you might go I paid 6.92 to much. I have always returned the difference on ebay or MM shipping because I have to guesstimate shipping costs and always go over.

[Vinny0026]

A few weeks ago I placed a small order with CTVT, the order total was $19 and they charged me $8 to ship it. I could have probably shipped the same stuff for $5 at the post office. Some here have claimed this makes FTC 'dishonest' and 'lazy'.

Here's what I ordered:

Batman cape - $3
Molded blue boots - $4
Molded red boots - $4
Molded blue winged gloves - $4
Molded green gloves - $4

Total - $19
Shipping - $8

Order total - $27

Now just for fun, here's the same order placed via Doctor Mego's site:

Batman cape - $5
Blue boots (not molded) - $5
Red boots (not molded) - $5
Green ovenmitts (not molded) - $3
Blue ovenmitts (not molded) - $3

Total - $21
Shipping - $7

Order total - $28

So I got better products from CTVT toys, for less, and the order total was a dollar less, but Doc Mego's site saved me a dollar on shipping. Guess it depends on what you want to focus on.

I'm always late to the party.
truth be told - If I was selling the same parts on e bay. The shipping would be 1.93 anywhere in the usa

Its under 3 ounces for that stuff. The tracking comes with that price (not additional)
Both doc and ctv in this case are over charging.

now not to defend either one of them - the thing everyone might be overlooking is these prices come from price point - not weight.
So if you spend say 10.00 worth of parts from Doc - his site will just give you a shipping price. It would not matter if that item was 10 ounces or ten pounds

I'm sure the same is done for ctv
it is going by your total cost of your order. Not the weight of your order.

as for some of the e bay questions:
What I found to be easier to do is:
figure out what it costs to ship an item.
I than add that price to my item.
I than ship it free. So people can't cry about the shipping prices as they are getting free shipping.

So if i sell a pair of mego boots and i want 5 bucks for them
I sell them for 7.00 as I know the shipping on them is 1.93 (for 3 ounces and under in the usa) and i get free tracking with that

[pmwasson]

Where did you get the 1.93 with free tracking? I only get free tracking with priority mail and when I use your example (2 oz) on the USPS postage calculator I get $2.32 for postage and $1.05 for tracking for a total of $3.37.