Camera shops must be hurting

**false_Aesthetic** · 1-Feb-2012, 08:46

Hey,
This wasn't from ebay. It's from the camera store's website. I sent them an email to confirm. Part of the justification was the 75 cent USPS tracking number.

If anyone happens to live in Seattle I'd love to obtain this lens. Send me a PM.

**CP Goerz** · 1-Feb-2012, 09:03

Ebay charges listing fees/sales fees and they now charge a % on the shipping quoted in the description, once the shipping and item have been tallied Paypal takes a cut out of BOTH.

The cost of doing business? Free boxes/packing? Where? The post office does offer 'free' boxes but they are flat rate which already has a built in premium...try ordering 'regular' priority boxes, I've been waiting for 6 months plus at this point for them.

And just where do you 'make' up this cost when a seller has no reserve and a low starting bid? Well what has happened is that sellers will offer a lower shipping charge but will jack up the price of the item. Remember when most stuff in the photo section was on 'auction' ? not anymore. Now its mostly $85 lens caps that hang around for years waiting for a sucke...oops, that special buyer ;-)

**BrianShaw** · 1-Feb-2012, 09:14

Originally Posted by CP Goerz

...try ordering 'regular' priority boxes, I've been waiting for 6 months plus at this point for them.

The USPS Store really needs to improve their service. I have had "issues" with them more often than not. Long delays fulfilling orders is the most annoying.

**Moopheus** · 1-Feb-2012, 11:26

Originally Posted by srbphoto

ebay had to start hitting people for shipping because people would sell a $20 item for 99 cents and charge $20 S&H to avoid listing fees.

Yes, it becomes sort of an arms race for each side to figure out how to game the system against the other side. The net result in any case seems to be higher prices one way or the other for the customer.

**atlcruiser** · 1-Feb-2012, 15:11

I buy a lot of stuff on e bay for my business. I always pick free shipping IF the item price is good enough. I also offer flat rate shipping on all items I sell.

If a company wishes to sell online or mail order they need to streamline their process to keep costs down. Itis not hard nor expensive to do so. I would never buy from that company again.

From a business perspective some of the costs listed would fall under overhead not under the item being shipped. Time to write the invoice is normal "office" time that would not be billed to the item, neither would packing time unless the item was very large or difficult to pack.

**BrianShaw** · 2-Feb-2012, 07:28

Originally Posted by atlcruiser

From a business perspective ...

Agreed, but only from the "normal" office perspective. There seems to be a whole new breed of both professional and amateur business people who don't operate in the normal way, but more in a "garage/yard/boot sale" manner.

**Peter Latner** · 2-Feb-2012, 09:05

My impression is that a lot of eBay sellers have an inflated sense of what their stuff is worth. Case in point: Someone on eBay is currently listing a used 4x5 Ebony camera for a buy-it-now price (no auction) of $2700. You can buy the camera new from Robert White in England for about $1900 at the current exchange rate. Even more unbelievable is what the seller is charging for shipping: $70. From New Jersey!

Here's the listing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ebony-Ti-RSW...item4cfe1116b1

**Brian Ellis** · 2-Feb-2012, 10:28

Originally Posted by Peter Latner

My impression is that a lot of eBay sellers have an inflated sense of what their stuff is worth. Case in point: Someone on eBay is currently listing a used 4x5 Ebony camera for a buy-it-now price (no auction) of $2700. You can buy the camera new from Robert White in England for about $1900 at the current exchange rate. Even more unbelievable is what the seller is charging for shipping: $70. From New Jersey!

Here's the listing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ebony-Ti-RSW...item4cfe1116b1

It isn't a "buy it now," it's in effect an auction. See the "make offer" and "best offer" part? The seller has set a high price, anticipating (correctly) that on a "make offer" sale the offers will always be lower than the initial price.

**atlcruiser** · 3-Feb-2012, 05:31

I sell lots of used auto parts on e bay. The vast majority are less than $100. I use Buy it Now and set the price at just over what i would like to get factoring in fees. Almost NEVER do I get the Buy it Now price. People enjoy making offers and I get to decide how badly I need money right then. My sales went up considerably when I started this.

I do agree that starting at an unreasonable price in the hope of getting a higher than normal price is a bit shady

**rdenney** · 3-Feb-2012, 07:42

There is a plus side to caveat emptor. The possibility that there are deceptive sellers brings with it the possibility of lazy or clueless sellers who underprice stuff. Eliminating the risk of the former removes the opportunity for the latter. One might as well just buy from KEH--doing so minimizes both risk and reward available to buyers willing to equip themselves with the knowledge needed in an open market. Both options are available, so one can choose according to their comfort level.

Rick "too old for a babysitter" Denney