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Ebay Hats: Victories, Defeats, Gripes & Items of Interest

Timeras1

Timeras1

New in Town
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43
Location
Fayetteville, AR
drmaxtejeda

drmaxtejeda

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,363
Location
Mexico City
I wonder if this seller is just ignorant or lying on purpose.
Screenshot_20230804-220457_eBay.jpg
 

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The Lost Cowboy

The Lost Cowboy

One Too Many
Messages
1,699
Location
Southeast Asia
Is there a reason why so many hats are being listed on eBay with outrageous shipping costs? I contacted one seller yesterday who has two hats listed both at $50 with $99 shipping costs. I asked if he knew it was that high and he said the following:

“I don't know why it is listing that way I have tried changing it a few times and it keeps coming out at that price :(“

He finally got it down to $28 which is about 13 dollars more than I would expect.

I’ve seen a lot of this lately and thought sellers were doing it on purpose but this guy’s reaction makes me wonder. Can anyone speak to this?
 
BobHufford

BobHufford

Messages
14,846
Location
Ragged Edge of the Grid / Missouri Ozarks
The Lost Cowboy said:
Is there a reason why so many hats are being listed on eBay with outrageous shipping costs? I contacted one seller yesterday who has two hats listed both at $50 with $99 shipping costs. I asked if he knew it was that high and he said the following:

“I don't know why it is listing that way I have tried changing it a few times and it keeps coming out at that price :(“

He finally got it down to $28 which is about 13 dollars more than I would expect.

I’ve seen a lot of this lately and thought sellers were doing it on purpose but this guy’s reaction makes me wonder. Can anyone speak to this?
Click to expand...

It is based on the dimensions of the box used, the weight (but not so much in the case of hats) and the distance. There are probably some other factors based on the cost to the carriers -- regional gas prices for instance. Perhaps the seller keyed something wrong. Rates have gone up and if you have any dimension over 12" it will jump even more.

I had a potential buyer of a cowboy hat argue with me about shipping costs, but the hat dimensions required a box with that dreaded 12"+ dimension. I said there was no way it would fit in a 12" x 12" x 12" box and gave him the weight, dimensions and my zip code and invited him to shop the major carriers websites and I would be happy to charge the true cost. He suggested that I could ship it in a big plastic bag. I declined that suggestion ... that would just be inviting a return. :rolleyes:

eBay will charge fees to the seller based on the total. It used to be that they would not charge fees (or much lower rates) for shipping so sellers would list a $100 hat starting at $30 and charge $100 for shipping.

Usually I would just suggest taking the shipping costs as they are and bidding accordingly based on the total. But if the shipping is $99 for a $35 hat, then you are out before you can even put in a bid.
 
deadlyhandsome

deadlyhandsome

Messages
19,001
Location
Central California
The Lost Cowboy said:
Is there a reason why so many hats are being listed on eBay with outrageous shipping costs? I contacted one seller yesterday who has two hats listed both at $50 with $99 shipping costs. I asked if he knew it was that high and he said the following:

“I don't know why it is listing that way I have tried changing it a few times and it keeps coming out at that price :(“

He finally got it down to $28 which is about 13 dollars more than I would expect.

I’ve seen a lot of this lately and thought sellers were doing it on purpose but this guy’s reaction makes me wonder. Can anyone speak to this?
Click to expand...


Just to add to what Bob said, the dimensions of the box make the most difference. I sell a lot of hats so I order cardboard boxes from Amazon just for this purpose. I order boxes in three sizes: 14X14X6, 16X16X6, and 18X16X6. All three sizes cost the same to ship. I can ship any hat (up to 2 pounds which is plenty) anywhere to the US for $17.10 or less using USPS Priority Mail with 2-3 day delivery and $100 insurance is included. This allows me to ship most any hat, including full sized westerns. If I go up, say to 18X16X7 (one inch taller), the same hat might cost $65 to ship cross country. Add a bit more size and it can take it over $100 to the East Coast from California. I rarely ship hats, particularly westerns, with their original boxes because of the crazy shipping costs. I’ll also offer a more economical and slower shipping option when the box has to be big and I’ll let my customer decide which option to use.

I’ll occasionally ask eBay sellers to keep the factory box or otherwise fit their hats into a box in the sizes I gave above. Sometimes I can get them to do it and drastically lower the shipping costs. Not everyone is interested in doing this. Several say that eBay sets the shipping costs and there isn’t anything they can do (there is: they can change the dimensions they enter that are used to generate the shipping calculations).

The real risks are the traditional auction houses where you don’t know what the shipping costs will be until you have already paid for the hat(s). These auctions often use a third parry shipper and everyone makes money and you’re the guy paying for it.
 
The Lost Cowboy

The Lost Cowboy

One Too Many
Messages
1,699
Location
Southeast Asia
BobHufford said:
It is based on the dimensions of the box used, the weight (but not so much in the case of hats) and the distance. There are probably some other factors based on the cost to the carriers -- regional gas prices for instance. Perhaps the seller keyed something wrong. Rates have gone up and if you have any dimension over 12" it will jump even more.
Click to expand...

deadlyhandsome said:
Just to add to what Bob said, the dimensions of the box make the most difference. I sell a lot of hats so I order cardboard boxes from Amazon just for this purpose. I order boxes in three sizes: 14X14X6, 16X16X6, and 18X16X6. All three sizes cost the same to ship. I can ship any hat (up to 2 pounds which is plenty) anywhere to the US for $17.10 or less using USPS Priority Mail with 2-3 day delivery and $100 insurance is included. This allows me to ship most any hat, including full sized westerns. If I go up, say to 18X16X7 (one inch taller), the same hat might cost $65 to ship cross country. Add a bit more size and it can take it over $100 to the East Coast from California. I rarely ship hats, particularly westerns, with their original boxes because of the crazy shipping costs. I’ll also offer a more economical and slower shipping option when the box has to be big and I’ll let my customer decide which option to use.
Click to expand...
Thank you gentlemen, these are exactly the explanations I needed. I didn’t realize box size played such a big role. That is useful information and also takes the anger out of my mouth!
 
drmaxtejeda

drmaxtejeda

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,363
Location
Mexico City
Frunobulax said:
I guess eBay is best avoided when so many make deals behind the scenes. There are a couple of reasons I don't buy as many hats as I used to, and that's one of them. THis hobby is a helluva lot less fun than it used to be.
Click to expand...
Sorry, Jim. The seller is a FB friend and I contacted him by Messenger. He had already posted the hat in a FB page. If you want, I will sell it to you for what I paid. I will send you a PM.
 
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