Came across this listing. . . Would be great for a stash builder. . . About $25 too high on shipping, checked USPS.com rate.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LARGE-MIXED-...741356594#shId

I have contacted sellers before I place a bid and asked to have the shipping changed to my satisfaction. Prefer Priority Mail, and a "LOT" can fit in those boxes. The ones that do not adjust the shipping, I don't deal with.

dang!

ohhhhhhh I live with in driving distance.... even with the price of gas, I would be ahead to pick up if the seller would allow it... hmmmmmmm

Did you realize that at 65 lbs at 3 yds per pound you are getting 195 yds of fabric. So at $54.95 is not a bad price for the shipping.

If you read the description, you'll see they ship via FedEx for domestic shipments.
And that's a pretty close estimate to the actual cost.

The seller is one of those eBay drop off stores.

Sometimes I wonder why they chose the highest price shipping.

I have seen those stores add a significant handling fee to their "shipping charges" to recoup costs and help make a profit.

You just have to ensure the "total price" bid includes all shipping costs. It really only hurts the seller.

Which makes no sense, as the Seller's FinalValueFee is now based on the total invoice, including shipping.
That was a change eBay made because items were listed for $.99 with shipping of $40, and they were losing out on FVF's.

But if it is a drop off store, don't they get 100% of excess shipping compared to a percentage of the selling price?

31 bids & it sold for $336.12 plus the $54.96 for shipping.

They have two more listings now at 70 pounds each with five days remaining and one is already over a hundred dollars and the second one passed $200. It'll be interesting to see what they go for.

I was tempted but it doesn't all look like cotton.

I was tempted but it doesn't all look like cotton.

But it's not excess shipping if they're just paying it to FedEx (and that price is pretty close to the 65lb shipping fee).
.
Could they jack it up?
Sure.
But that's not their general business model. ;-)

The way those shops (franchises) make their money is by charging a percentage of the final selling price.
I think it's around a 35% fee, plus the buyer also pays all eBay fees (probably PayPal, too).

For that, they do all the copywriting, take photos, do the listing, deal with emails, and take care of the packaging and shipping (including boxes, peanuts, tape, etc).

You might say that's a lot - over 50% in fees.
But maybe this was part of an estate sale, with no idea of how to deal with all that ...stuff.
Sure, we look at it and see something valuable.
But someone's relative, cleaning out a house, would see piles of schmattes. ;-)

However, yeah, since he's in the business, he should have been savvy enough to know USPS is cheaper,
and that a lower shipping cost might have encouraged more bidding.
If I had been interested, I would have emailed him to see if shipping by USPS was possible.

A friend had a set of American patchwork dishes and sold them through a similar local franchise store - different chain.
Yeah, a huge chunk of the selling price went to the store.
But she also didn't have to worry about carefully wrapping up a dish set for 8 (over 50 pcs) so they wouldn't break in transit.
I had offered to the listing for her, but in reality, the packing alone was worth the fees she paid just to not have to deal with it.

Way different from selling, say, a few FQ's or a couple of yards of fabric that can easily be stuffed in a flat rate envelope.
Especially if it's a one time thing for someone with no eBay or online experience.

While many of those shops closed (way too many opened too fast at the same time), I do think they serve a niche in the market.


eta: I was still writing while someone posted above that there were two additional listings up for huge batches of fabric.
My money is definitely on it being an estate sale. ;-)

Thanks. Enjoyed your answer.