Question About Ebay Shipping???

I just look at the price, plus shipping, and decide if I want to pay that much. I don't buy much worth less than $2, because postage makes it not worth the trouble of listing it. But if you want to list a stamp I want for fifty cents plus fifty cents postage, I'll pay the dollar for it. If you need $2.60 in postage, I'll pass.

If you ship without a tracking number, and the buyer says he didn't receive it, e-bay automatically awards the case to the buyer. I've had it happen to me twice, it is not worth the risk. Also, e-bay gives you a discount (I think 20%) on the final value fees if you are top rated seller, and the only way to be top rated seller is to have tracking on every sale.

If you use tracking numbers, I expect to pay more for postage. My gripe is with sellers who charge many times the actual shipping costs. I'm angry when I have to $3.95 for a *%^#* 49 cent stamp!

Don,



I believe the decision to be a Top-Rated Seller or not is complex. Although it is possible to "buy" an existing account, maintaining Top-Rated status requires meeting ebay shipping requirements in addition to having a small transaction defect rate and few unresolved cases. It seems unlikely that someone buying an account could maintain Top-Rated status for more than a month or to without maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction. While it is possible for a "smash and grab" operator to bilk a few buyers before losing Top-Rated status, it is doubtful if many potential victims bother to notice. As was pointed out earlier many established ebay stamp sellers do not bother to maintain Top-Rated status.

The primary motivation would be economic. Sellers of higher priced stamps and covers may find that the extra cost of tracked shipping can be recovered by receiving the 20 percent Final Value Fee discount. Since most expensive stamps would be shipped with tracking anyway, the extra shipping cost is not a problem. Many dealers still fail to qualify because of the de facto next day shipping requirement. When ebay reduced Final Value fees for stamps, some of the incentive was removed, but it remains for sellers in multiple categories if stamp sales are only a small part of the business. Finally, do not forget that most stamp dealers have access to huge quantities of discount postage, now available wholesale at 50 to 60 percent of face.

The effect on the ebay stamp marketplace is that there are two classes of sellers. Most inexpensive stamps are sold by sellers who cannot the additional cost of paying for tracking. Also, some established stamp dealers who started their businesses in the late 20th Century when slower turnaround times for shipping were the norm have not adapted to ebay's perceived marketplace demand for prompt shipping.

What should a buyer check when looking at stamps for a ebay seller they don't know. In addition to feedback and Top-Rated seller designation, buyers should look for sellers who are APS Dealer Members, American Stamp Dealer Association or National Stamp Dealers Association members. A group calling itself the Internet Philatelic Dealers Association also exists, but it is still small. Aside from collectors selling duplicates, it appears that many full or part time ebay stamp dealers wish to remain disorganized and not subject to the ethics requirements imposed by the APS, ASDA, NSDA and IPDA or other professional or collector groups.

Clark

Clark,
Understood, but I do not completely agree with your statement above. There are many buyers who have been bilked by sellers like the 'top rated' British cartel. This seller has been able to maintain a 'top rated' status, across as many as 40-50 accounts, for years. (Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he has been able to rotate 'top seller' accounts for years.)

I respect your opinion and experience. You, like Bill did, have the additional experience of seeing a large volume of stamps that have been sold and come back in for expertization. Surely there are few people who have this kind of understanding. Given this experience, what percentage of online purchased stamps that have come across your desk would you say where sold properly described?

You are certainly correct in that having the additional criteria (membership in APS, ASDA, NSDA) are all very good indications of a quality seller. There are good online sellers. Buyers need to be well educated in not just the material they are buying but also who they are buying from. My first post should have made this clearer.
Don