First off let me just say that when I started peddlin plastic I didn't know what to charge for shipping. I mean how much could it be to ship a disc, right?

Let me also preface my post by saying that due to the state of South Florida's real estate market it is hard to aquire a "brick and mortar shop" for anything less than 2 arms and 2 legs!

That leaves eBay - the last bastion for the puny business such as mine. Today I received an email stating that a new enforcement procedure will commence to combat excessive shipping charges. I looked on eBay and saw that most folks charge between 3 to 5 bucks a disc to ship. I charge 4.20 to find a middle ground. I think 4 dollars and 20 cents is very fair and here is why:

eBay exacts a "Final Value" toll, in addition to a listing fee just to sell. PayPal does the same. You can just about lob $3.50 off the top of any disc sale in just shipping and handling and this DOES NOT include the price of Plastic bags (which I wrap every disc in now) and the cost of a bubble mailer or other acceptable envelope. I also give away things like pencils and scorecards with every purchase.

Add to that the cost of an eBay Storefront and you are looking at some serious charges. As far as I am concerned, eBay is just looking for another avenue to stick it to the little guy.

I give my customers some serious service because I am an enthusiast and also trying to promote the sport in the Disc Golf Desert that is South Florida.The cost of my disc + shipping - about 10 to 17 bucks depending on the plastic. If eBay #$*&$! at me for charging 4.20 for shipping I may have to just say "eFF it!" and declare defeat and close up shop.

Hell, at least I tried. In the meantime ya'al have my word that will continue to put a positive face on the dismal situation that is South Florida Disc Golf.

Thank you for your time,
Charles
Disc Golf Addiction

You should not worry as your stated shipping charge will not be considered excessive. The cost to ship a 1-pound package via USPS Priority Mail is only $4.05.

It's the sellers charging $15 to $20 for that same 1-pound package who will need to rethink their shipping strategy.

I tire of paying half of what I pay for a disc in freight. You don't charge too much, but believe me pal, there are plenty that do. And I do mean plenty.

I use DHL overnight shipping. If the timing is right, you'll sometimes recieve your disc in less than 24 hours from when i recieved your PAYPAL funds!!!! Not bad for an extra buck.

Some sellers are bypassing Ebay charges by selling stuff for a penny and charging $10 to ship a 50 cent shipable item. Is that excesive shipping, or is that a handling fee in order to cover the seller's ACE and to not give EBay a chance at their 5.5%?

Try searching for a new cellphone on Ebay. They are all something ridiculous like $50 with $90 for shipping. I'm assuming this is targeting activity like that, moreso than 1-pound items that cost 4 dollars to ship.

The cost of postage for 1 disc first class mail is approx 2.25. On the surface it looks like I am getting 100% profit from just shipping.

eBay also does not stipulate what is excessive. This is what worries me. If some chump says that an envelope that is 8 ounces costs 2.21 to ship then someone might say that I am charging too much to my shipping and handling charge. Then I would have to charge more for my disc and then eBay gets a higher Final Value charge.

I tell ya folks I think I smell a rat. Even an incremental fee raise nets millions for eBay. This looks to me like a way to stall a higher Final Value fee up the road. eBay gets a higher fee now, and higher fee up the road.

Right now I am very concerned. I would love to open a shop, but this town is very small business unfriendly. If it weren't for the efforts of some dedicated Disc Golfers there wouldnt be any Disc Golf in Sputh Florida. This same thing could be said for any large metropolitan area.

I don' t think its too much of a stretch to say that asking eBay Disc Golf Sellers to charge less for shipping could infringe on Disc GOlf liberties thru out the States.

Some guys do charge alot, but then they probably don't sell much either. My guess is that they won't be in business for long. Since I consider eBay to be the single biggest outlet for Disc Golf equipment I think this issue affects us all.

Well we charge $4.50 for Priority shipping with confirmation and we go out of our way to get the item shipped out within 24 hours of payment. Our customers can back us up how fast we get there item to them ASAP!!

That extra .45 cents we charge barely pays for materials.

So we try to be very fair.

I know people that sell discs for 1 dollar buy now and have a 20 dollar shipping charge. That way, they get thier money and ebay charges that person less. I think that is the kind of stuff they are cracking down on.

The cost of postage for 1 disc first class mail is approx 2.25. On the surface it looks like I am getting 100% profit from just shipping.




Believe me, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Your shipping cost(s) vs. your S/H fees are quite fair. In fact, most disc golfers are going to pay more for shipping thru other disc sellers. As My_Hero posted above, the problem lies with people baking profit into their S/H fees to avoid paying eBay commissions. Those are the practices that eBay would like to put an end to.

That looks to me like an obvious crackdown. What rubs my plastic the wrong way is that it looks like eBay will decide what is excessive.

Who is to say what is too much? Are they gonna ask me? I doubt it.

There is a fine line for the cost of doing business on eBay. If I charge even 1 more buck I think everyone will just assume buy from Disc Nation. I hope eBay plays fair here and lets the consumer decide.

I have a friend who used to work for ebay and he said the crackdown is mainly for shoes and tv's. He said seller's were charging on the order of $35 to ship shoes "internationally" fraudulently. Meaning they were local seller that claimed their location was in the Phillipines or China. Also, people selling big screen televisions were charging nearly $500 to ship. $4 for a disc is not excessive, even $6 is not excessive, however, $10-$15 is excessive, which i have seen.

Frisbee Rancher is charging 1.50. Dynamic disc charges 3.00 just as a couple of examples.

Do you think that makes my 4.20 look like too much?

4.20 is a cool #, and I dont think its excessive, however if two people have the same disc at the same price (which is fairly common on most discs) most people are going to go with the cheapest shipping rate, myself included. One of the first things I look at when buying anything (especially if the price seems oddly low) is the shipping. I saw a disc that I wanted to bid on once and the guy selling it wanted around 7 or 8 dollars for shipping for shipping on one disc. I emailed him to ask why the shipping was so high and he got irrate that i would even ask. He basically told me to go F myself. Needless to say I didnt buy the disc.

USPS usually charges me $5.00 to ship one disc.
With Insurance , close to $ 7.00

you must be getting ripped - Priority Mail (free packaging) w/insurance is $5.40... assuming the disc is valued at less than $50...

I think they want to stop the selling of items for like $1 and then charge $99 for shipping if it was a $100 item. this way they get around the Final Value Fee

it would only be on the $1 and not on the total with shipping

We claim shipping and handling charges for our ebay shpping price, not just shipping.
When coming up with a shipping charge you should incorporate the box, tape and the time it takes to pull the order and get it in the box(handling).
$5 for shipping one disc by ups is losing money for us.

you must be getting ripped - Priority Mail (free packaging) w/insurance is $5.40... assuming the disc is valued at less than $50...



Exactly. Lately , I have been shipping plastic with values over $100.00

Sounds like alot of folks are missing out on the post office's free shipping items. You can log onto usps.com, get an account, and order your shipping materials. And the best part, they will deliver the materials to your door.
Priority boxes, express boxes, global priority boxes, tape and shipping labels. All for free.
And please use boxes. Bubble mailers & envelopes just don't cut it. Don't care how cheap it is to ship. Discs get ruined more often than not.

15 disc golf bags wont fit into those boxes. I ship so fast any way so I don't need them.
However I have received many from the post office for free.

Frisbee Rancher is charging 1.50. Dynamic disc charges 3.00 just as a couple of examples.



This destroys 90% of shippers complaints about 'having' to charge a bunch. If you're paying for overnight, priority, etc., that changes it, but not that farkin' much. Five bucks or more for a single disc is retarded and crooked.

They also charge more than me, though. Overall I think I have the better deal, at least for now.
I had to choose over more per disc and less for shipping , or less for disc and more for shipping. I chose the latter.
Charles
Team Disc Golf Addiciton

I do know that if confirmation is not purchased and the buyer claims he did not receive there item a refund will be given to the buyer if used through paypal. **

We will only offer Priority Mail with confirmation or UPS Ground shipping. Your package gets there SUPER FAST and we can track together for safe delivery.


Way I see it if you're going to pay an average $15 to $30 for a disc then $4.50 isn't that much more for safe, excellent and fast service.


Josh my 2 cents.

1.50 or 3.00 may be fine for people who sell discs for a living or a substantial side gig, but for people like me who only sell a couple of discs a month 5.00 barley gets me even. I pay around 3.00 for shipping, at least .80 to ebay and then I have to pay for bubble mailers and you never get what a disc is worth for regular stock plastic. 5.00 is the norm and there is a reason for that. I pay it all the time when I buy off of ebay, its part of buying things there. 6.00 or more is excessive but I'm not cheating anyone, if you don't want to pay it, don�t buy it!

If an item is being sent via ups and shipping and handling is more than twice what it would cost to send the disc, then I'd define that as excessive. So while one may not like paying 6.00 for shipping, I don't think this is what ebay would define as "excessive." They're more interested in clamping down on things like cell phones that sell for 2.00 and ship for 100.00. That's a 5000% ratio for shipping to selling, and I think that's what ebay is going to crack down on. A 200% difference is not really that big a deal, especially on items under 5.00.