12-28-2003, 03:59 AM
This has been one of my chief complaints lately on eBay, where I do most of my buying of non-Soviet militaria. Today, I received a WW2-vintage jacket. When the auction finished, the seller e-mailed me and told me that shipping (for less than 300 miles!) would be $20 (with no insurance, as the jacket only cost $30). I e-mailed him and asked him if that price figure was correct. He replied that he would only charge me $15 for shipping. I paid it (what else can you do?) and got the uniform today. On the box (which was a free USPS Priority Mail box, with a free label) was the actual shipping cost... $7.50! So, this guy just pocketed $7.50 for sticking the jacket in a box and taking it to the post office! Now that's a handsome profit! Just think if I had paid $20 for shipping... He would have walked away with $12.50... Almost HALF the value of the uniform!
From another seller, I bought 3 uniforms. He requested $15.00 EACH for shipping the uniforms, with NO DISCOUNT on buying multiple items! And yes, this box was being shipped from just over 100 miles away! He was going to charge me $45 shipping on a box that weighed less than 10 pounds! I finally did talk his shipping price down to $20 for all three uniforms, which was STILL more than what he paid, but I was happy to walk away relatively unscathed... Unfortunately, he sent the box via a non-USPS shipping source, and it didn't have the price on the label.
Nuts! :rant:
--Dave
From another seller, I bought 3 uniforms. He requested $15.00 EACH for shipping the uniforms, with NO DISCOUNT on buying multiple items! And yes, this box was being shipped from just over 100 miles away! He was going to charge me $45 shipping on a box that weighed less than 10 pounds! I finally did talk his shipping price down to $20 for all three uniforms, which was STILL more than what he paid, but I was happy to walk away relatively unscathed... Unfortunately, he sent the box via a non-USPS shipping source, and it didn't have the price on the label.
Nuts! :rant:
--Dave
