When I sell an item, dependent upon receipt of payment for that item, I ship the item and ask the purchaser to reimburse me for shipping charges (which are not known until the item is actually shipped). Am I missing something? Most often I get repaid. Sometimes I don't. What are my alternatives to keep from being burned?
Shipping $ - a matter of Trust?
- Thread starter abbydad
- Start date
H
Hombre0321
Guest
Couple of ways to address this problem. One is to find out what the shipping charges are going to be before hand. May mean you have to do a little leg work but it is after all your money. The second way is to charge a set shipping fee, that will cover the actual shipping fee plus your time and effort to get it shipped. The market and the buyers will decide if they are willing to pay that but it is an option.
Roland
Roland
pikespeakgoat
NRA4Life
I just sell at a cost shipped. I know up front what it's going to cost me to ship as I always use USPS flat rate boxes when the item(s) fit.
If it's for something larger than the flat rate boxes can handle, I usually have a good idea on costs based on past shipping experiences.
If it's for something larger than the flat rate boxes can handle, I usually have a good idea on costs based on past shipping experiences.
M
MarkR
Guest
Do exactly like the Government is making everyone do now....Just raise your prices.... double what your losses were divide by annual sales and add the appropriate amount to each item.....then charge shipping too.
Well, maybe...
But to be fair, almost everyone would prefer knowing up front what is expected. There is a certain amount of misunderstanding when a buyer sends $$, receives the item and is then expected to send $$ again. It's really a lot simpler for everyone involved to just tell the buyer what the total is and let them send the $$ one time. It's really no big deal to find out what the postage/shipping will be up front. Flat Rate boxes are the same cost to ship most anywhere in the CONUS and if you have the buyer's address in hand, it's pretty straight forward to get a cost from FedEx and/or UPS. I've done well northward of 100 deals and only lost $$ once. Even then it was partly my fault. I had the wrong zip code on the return address, even though the money order had the right one. The seller lost the tracking # (or said he did) and the item has been lost for well over a year. I suspect he sent it parcel post and then didn't want to admit it.
Rick
I have always specified that shipping costs will be billed when determined at the time of shipping (when shipping costs are dependant upon weight and/or destination). It's diffucult to determine, in advance, the cost to ship a heavy, front rest with bags which doesn't exactly fit into the "flat rate" catagory when the destination is unknown. Most often, I've found fellow shooters to be totally reliable, honest & trustworthy. It's only the rare exception that has caused me to inquire. Thanks.