Where do ebay sellers get off charging $6 for shipping

[Grimey742]

I am talking about sellers putting an up-front price for shipping at 6 bucks for shipping CD software.
I saw one for a loose CD shipping regular USPS priority shipping with no insurance or anything else for $6.
I have shipped some seoftware in my day with insurance, across the country, & confirmation & it has never been over 4 1/2 bucks.

[wireant]

Most people just set a price that will cover the shipping and the packaging. It makes it easier when calculating the final bill. Otherwise you would have to give the seller your address so they can determine the shipping charges to your part of the world, then you would have to pay the bill and the they could ship it. Just setting a price that will cover shipping makes things easier. On-line retailers do the same thing. Take a look at newegg.com ig you order a patch cable or a smart media card it will cost $6 to ship.

[Kubie]

Grimey742,
The part that irks me are the sellers that sell something for $20.00, charge $12.00 frt and FORCE you to buy $2.00 insurance. They they tell you your item will be shipped UPS Ground. UPS covers insurance up to $100.00 and then .35 cents per hundred after. Now that is a rip off.
BTW, I've even had them want to charge $2.00 for a UPS tracking Number, which is free.
Carl

[Mr N8]

I sell a lot on ebay, and have found that high shipping leaves a bitter taste in people's mouths. I have only ever charged for what it costs to send via priority mail. Packing peanuts are cheap, so I never charge a "handling" fee. Insurance is always an option, but I inform the buyer that I am not responsible for items broken by the mail service, if insurance is turned down. Now for some things, it makes no sense to insure it. Like the cast iron door knocker I sold. Not even a mail truck running the box over would have messed that up!

[audiyoda]

And then there are the sellers that will low-ball the selling price on higher-end gear and post the shipping cost at $100+.

I saw a GeForce4 ti4200 sell on e-bay that way -- guy bought it for $80 and thought he got a deal until he realized he needed to read the fine print -- shipping was $180. What killed me was that it was a card from Pine :(

-Craig

[LawyerRon]

I know a guy who sells thousands of parts a year on ebay and on some items he makes more on the shipping than he does the part. He even charges 2.00 for optional insurance (most people buy it) which he also sticks in his pocket. He self insures; he replaces 2 or 3 items per year while making a few grand on insurance. So I guess you could say he sells shipping and he sells insurance; very profitable.