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[Kronz]

Well I would never ask someone to pay above and beyond their invoice price after the fact, that's silly. What I was saying really doesn't apply to regular eBay purchases where the product value outweighs the shipping cost. I don't think it's unreasonable to have a dollar or so of handling fees beyond the actual postal cost. Having used eBay for nearly a decade I have only very rarely received packages that didn't have a huge difference in price I paid to ship and the actual postage rate on the package. For years that's just how eBay was and it never seemed out of place to me to pay some handling costs  because that's how big business work too.

edit: I would also like to point out that I never DID charge anyone the Ebay and Paypal fees, I have invariably made none or a negative amount of profit when selling on their site.

[canprime]

A couple of things in regards to shipping/Ebay.

1) The USPS recently changed it's shipping prices and went with a similar system as Canada.  Meaning they now charge based on weight/dimensions and don't have the same flat rate as they used to.  The smaller packages do still come in at set rates, but regular packages don't.  So in time the US residents will be seeing similar rates to us for shipping.  Which is actually worse for us.

2) If you are using Ebay, try and get the exact dimensions/weight of the package.  You can put those into their calculator.  That way anyone interested can check the cost of shipping and it automatically gets put into the invoice.  It is calculated using Canadpost rates and you don't have to get quotes or explain pricing to anyone anymore.  I started doing this a few months ago and can't begin to say how much better it makes selling on Ebay.

3) Paypal fees/handling fees.  I personally don't like them, but they are a fact of doing business on Ebay now.  I don't charge extra for them unless it has to be done.  That usually only happens when special packaging is needed (post tubes, specialty envelopes/boxes).  However, if the person is upfront about the extra charge, then I don't see a problem.  You have the choice then to buy or not, but if they try to add it after the fact, then that is just scamming.

[Kronz]

Yeah good idea about using the calculator I think I will do that in the future if I sell.

Oh and today I shipped a bubble mailer with two Joes in it to Ohio and it was less than a dollar more than it had been to send a much smaller package with one in it. Sigh.

[Kronz]

I just found a digital scale at Wal-mart on clearance for $15 and have used it to calculate automatic shipping on my latest auction. Thanks again for the idea.

[nighthawk]

Basically, I will ship figures in bubble envelopes.  I will remove any vests so that the figure will squeeze through the 2 cm slot.  It costs $2.22CDN after taxes.  What really annoyed me was that I traded a Swamp Skier (the 25th one) for a Viper.  Becasue of the bulkiness, I think I paid $8 to ship that thing.  I was so pissed.