Shipping Question??

I recently asked about buying some pins off of someone 24 pins total I was quoted the price per pin then I was given a shipping price of $20.25 saying they charge a fee for the first pin and $.75 per additional pin. Is this standard practice? I can understand if I was buying 2 or 3 pins but what's wrong with using one of the if it fits it ships boxes that have a flat rate? I know you can fit in 24 pins in one of the medium boxes and they are only like 9 bucks and the box is free. I got 5 framed pin sets shipped for $35.00 would I be nuts to pay $20 in shipping for 24 pins?

Yeah, their adding on and will say its for shipping material, time, etc.

I don't do this. If I sell something it's at actual shipping cost!

Others? Well, some do put these little charges to make more money! :-(


Vicki

I think it also depends on location. I thought flat rate price also depends on location (are you on the east coast and the seller is in the west coast)? How much do the pins weigh? I thought medium cost $11.35?

It also depends on what the pins are? Jumbo, etc.? Is the money going towards insurance (I know mine does) and packing materials?

Bottom line, price of the 24 pins + shipping/handling - are the 24 pins worth that total price to you?

They are common small traders pins. The flat rate ship anywhere in the US for the same price. The pins were gonna cost me $24.00 the shipping was $20.25 I just thought that was crazy...

I charge $2 and .25 for each additional pin for shipping AND HANDLING and the reasons are these. First... We put EVERY pin in a baggie then wrap them in bubble wrap. We purchase envelopes and self adhesive paper for the addresses and use the ink from the printers to print them. To me that is part of AND HANDLING! Secondly, I tried to charge actual shipping and most never remembered to send even their zip code so I could calculate the shipping charge to give them a total. That meant I had to send the buyer back an additional Email/PM to get it. If you are not dealing with a lot of people it is OK but when you have a bunch you are dealing with at one time it becomes very time consuming and confusing. On DPF, it also takes up more precious space in your inbox. I feel that when someone is getting authentic pins at such a low cost it should be OK to do that for the convenience factor alone. With that said .75 is a bit steep in my opinion. On EBay, the final value fee is based on the final price including shipping so I charge an additional .50 per pin for US shipping AND HANDLING and more for across the pond. International Shipping has really gone up as of late. To ship a single regular sized pin just to Canada can cost $3 let alone across the pond. The seller could just increase their starting price to include shipping and handling but then you wouldn't get the pins for $1 as you did and you would not get a discount in shipping at all as every pin would be marked up. I feel it is better to charge shipping and not mark up every pin as it saves money for the buyer in the long run. Of course everyone feels differently, but since I sell pins individually on here and on EBay I thought I would weigh in on this one.

Okay, so you are getting a trader pin for $1.85 ppd ($40.25/24 = $1.84375). Are these pins going into your collection?

While the shipping might be on the high side, $1.85 for a pin - even a common/trader is pretty good for an authentic pin.

I think you need to look at the big picture on the total. The seller could have sold the pins for $1.85 ppd, minimum 24 pins too.

I hear a lot of what you guys are saying, the pins were going to be used for my daughter on our up comming trip she went from standing in line to get autographs to trading pins, I let her pick the ones she wants so that means scrppers are probably picked but its fun for her thats what counts for me. The price per pin is either here nor there whatever the price per pin was if I wanted it I would buy it at that price. I did include my full address before shipping was quoted. I understand on ebay you charge a little more for shipping because between the ebay fees and the paypal fees you take a hit. If you are mailing 24 pins to the same person you only need one envelope or box and you only need one mailing label and you only make one trip to the post office. I'm sure if the seller would have posted all these fees in their sales thread I would have thought twice. If it was an addition $.25 per pin its only an extra $5.75 I can live with that but $17.25 extra is hard to swallow.

If you bought from a person outside of Ebay I would ask would you have paid $2 a pin for free shipping. If the answer is yes then celebrate because you got them at a better price than that. If the answer is no then I would not have bought them or at least asked about a lower shipping rate because you bought so many. I understand your thoughts on all the pins being shipped in one envelope or box and one label but when you price something you do not think in terms of someone buying so many pins. It never hurts to ask if they will give you a better rate because you bought so many. Some will, some won't. If some choose to say no then it is up to you whether you buy or not.

The way I tend to look at it is if I buy one pin at full shipping then I will get as many as I want from the same seller at the discount rate in my mind saving money. I do not look at the total for shipping but the total I spent on how many pins and the total I saved by buying more than one. If you would have spent the $2.25 per pin your shipping alone would have been $54 and $24 more for the pins if there would have been no discount. You spent only $20.25 for a savings of $33.75 total in shipping alone. What is even better than that is that you got the 24 pins for UNDER $2 each including shipping. In my opinion being able to hand select pins for under $2 each is a STEAL of a deal.

I'm with you fatdaddy. I think it is ridiculous and they are just trying to make some more money. I would just refuse to pay the shipping a buy elsewhere.

If it is someone on here, then they are welcome to set their shipping charges and if you think they are too high then you can decline to buy them. On the other hand, if this is the auction site, then they do have a policy against excessive shipping. They've cancelled a few auctions for me before because the seller was demanding too much for shipping.

I do have that same post on mine (the extra .25 per pin) But,I do combine if it is after a certain amount. I try to keep it all as close to actual shipping cost as possible <3

Telling me I can either pay it or not buy them is something I already knew.....I ask the seller if they would be willing to use a flat rate box but got no resonse. When I replied to their sale they were selling all their pins because they were giving up pins, today they bumped their trade post, and then they started an auction post, so that pretty much made my mind up on buying them. I understand people change their mind and thats their right just not something I want to deal with right now. Thanks for outside views.

fatdaddy68 said:

I hear a lot of what you guys are saying, the pins were going to be used for my daughter on our up comming trip she went from standing in line to get autographs to trading pins, I let her pick the ones she wants so that means scrppers are probably picked but its fun for her thats what counts for me. The price per pin is either here nor there whatever the price per pin was if I wanted it I would buy it at that price. I did include my full address before shipping was quoted. I understand on ebay you charge a little more for shipping because between the ebay fees and the paypal fees you take a hit. If you are mailing 24 pins to the same person you only need one envelope or box and you only need one mailing label and you only make one trip to the post office. I'm sure if the seller would have posted all these fees in their sales thread I would have thought twice. If it was an addition $.25 per pin its only an extra $5.75 I can live with that but $17.25 extra is hard to swallow.

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If you are going to WDW on vacation, then may I suggest you find a store in that area which sells pins for $2 or cheaper? there is such a place, and they have a $2 wall, $3 wall, etc. Plus, you may find some deals on pins you were hoping to find which are usually hard to find for a better price you will ever see on Ebay.

But that is just a suggestion.

If I knew what that place was I would go there

fatdaddy68 said:

Telling me I can either pay it or not buy them is something I already knew.....I ask the seller if they would be willing to use a flat rate box but got no resonse. When I replied to their sale they were selling all their pins because they were giving up pins, today they bumped their trade post, and then they started an auction post, so that pretty much made my mind up on buying them. I understand people change their mind and thats their right just not something I want to deal with right now. Thanks for outside views.

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I was just pointing out that there are no shipping rules here unlike on auction sites where sellers are explicitly forbidden to charge excessive shipping rates. No offense was intended.

I loved the Disney Store next to WDW... here is the store.
Disney Character Warehouse 4951 International Drive, Orlando, FL


I actually went there ever night to get new traders the first time I started trading.

fatdaddy68 said:

If I knew what that place was I would go there

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I think it is called Theme Park Connection. Check Facebook and give 'em a Google.

No offense taken! Was just trying to avoid getting 25 posts saying don't buy them thats all.

Thanks MrHappy for the tip.

bombardon3 said:

I was just pointing out that there are no shipping rules here unlike on auction sites where sellers are explicitly forbidden to charge excessive shipping rates. No offense was intended.

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