I just picked up Casino and Four Brothers on Amazon, one new the other used. I paid $3.69 for the Shipping on the used one adn $2.89 for the new one. I got them today. The one I paid $3.69 for shippping has a postal rate of $1.31 the other a rate of $1.51. Just a warning that buyin' from sellers and not from Amazon itself may be costing you. It's not that the extra coupla' dollars will break me, it just feels like I was cheated.

Did you take into account the packing materials used to ship your HD DVD?
How about the gas/time the person spent going to the post office to mail your package?

You paid $3.69 for shipping AND Handling, don't forget he drove to the post office and packaging isn't free either.

Yeah, you are right. $2.25 for a pack of bubble envelopes at Wal-Mart and
.75 worth of gas to go to the post office. I'm sure the seller meant to say shipping and handling, however, they didn't.

i guess the moral is...buy new from amazon.com! they've got about the most consumer friendly price scheme for hdm that i've come across. not to mention the sweetastic 3 for 2 sale that just ended.

Have you ever seen S&H on most ebay items? You paid a very fair S&H price, if you ask me.

Mitch

Have you ever seen S&H on most ebay items? You paid a very fair S&H price, if you ask me.

Mitch

I also agree. There is much more to shipping than the amount paid to the post office.

Have you ever seen S&H on most ebay items? You paid a very fair S&H price, if you ask me.

Mitch

You... aren't... kidding!! I've seen bozo's selling DVD's with a S&H charge of $5.99+

OP, S&H costs are more than just the price of the stamp.

You got a good deal and IMO there's no reason to complain.

Apparently you've never bought or sold things via Ebay or other used outlets.

Why do people always complain about shipping charges like this when they see a postal sticker that is less than what they paid? Like some others have said there is a cost for packing materials, time and gas spent to get the item to the shipper, and lets not forget that the seller foots all the charges for posting and , in the issue of a Paypal situation, all the charges they take off the top from that. You're lucky if you see $10 for an item you sell for $15.

This honestly needs a thread?

Well it's almost the same as Ebay with out the bidding. Everyone tries to make a little money on the shipping.

Normal people don't have the connections with UPS and Fedex to make shipping cheap.

Why do people always complain about shipping charges like this when they see a postal sticker that is less than what they paid? Like some others have said there is a cost for packing materials, time and gas spent to get the item to the shipper, and lets not forget that the seller foots all the charges for posting and , in the issue of a Paypal situation, all the charges they take off the top from that. You're lucky if you see $10 for an item you sell for $15.

Tell me about it, I've found different avenues than Ebay to sell stuff lately I don't want, as it seems like the fees have gotten out of control as of late.

This honestly needs a thread?

How about if I add, the following: :)

Hey, OP, it was probably a Blu-Ray fanboi who sold you the DVDs. Those bastiges are always trying to fleece HD-DVD folks.

There, now it's more on topic. :)


Mitch

All the stuff I've bought from Amazon told me what the shipping charges were up front so if it was more than I wanted to pay I could back out.

Have you ever seen S&H on most ebay items? You paid a very fair S&H price, if you ask me.

Mitch

Yeah, add to that Ebay and Paypal fees as well! Ouch!:eek:

Yeah, you are right. $2.25 for a pack of bubble envelopes at Wal-Mart and
.75 worth of gas to go to the post office. I'm sure the seller meant to say shipping and handling, however, they didn't.

I can't even start my truck for $.75 in gas. Nearest post office = 8.5 miles. So roundtrip, 17 miles. Truck = 15 mi/gallon. So 1.13 gallons of gas @2.799 per gallon. So $2.80 for gas + $1.31 postage = $4.11.

Sounds like you got a deal!

My favorite is when someone complains about paying $10 S&H for an item they can't get in this area. I've heard people complain about the $10 and I ask:

"How far would you have to drive to buy that?"
90 miles each way

"How long does that take round trip?"
3 hours

"What gas mileage does your car get?"
25 mpg

"So are you seriously complaining to me that you had to pay $10 to not waste 3 hours of your life behind the wheel and $20 in gas?"
Uhh...when you put it that way.

When I buy things, I always compare the all-inclusive prices. To me, shipping + tax + handling fees + price = real cost to buy. I really don't care what the individual components are, as long as the total cost to purchase is a good one. I buy a lot of books, and have often paid $5+ shipping on a book that cost 99 cents. But I still got a real good deal on the book.

Amazon sets the used shipping prices for dvds along with most other categories. For dvds it's 2.98. How did you get charged something different? Did you go through a z shop or something else? Amazon knows it only costs 1.50 or less postage but the rest is for handling.
Ebay is where you really get reamed on "handling" charges above actual shipping costs.

I just picked up Casino and Four Brothers on Amazon, one new the other used. I paid $3.69 for the Shipping on the used one adn $2.89 for the new one. I got them today. The one I paid $3.69 for shippping has a postal rate of $1.31 the other a rate of $1.51. Just a warning that buyin' from sellers and not from Amazon itself may be costing you. It's not that the extra coupla' dollars will break me, it just feels like I was cheated.

cheated? have you tried shipping anything? Next time think about the stamp, time to go to the post office and back, cost to go to the post office and back, packaging material. Even the guy doesn't say "shipping and handling" it is understood that SHIPPING does NOT equal to stamp price.

:mad:

A small charge is fine but some eBayers gouge. You see a DVD for $14.99 buy it now, but then shipping is $6.95 for a 1 disc, $9.95 for a two disc, etc. Some sellers charge based on discs, which is absurd for 2-disc sets and at those rates. I once didn't read, and ended up paying $12 to have a 3 disc set sent to me. The postage was $3.19 via Media Mail.

A small charge is fine but some eBayers gouge. You see a DVD for $14.99 buy it now, but then shipping is $6.95 for a 1 disc, $9.95 for a two disc, etc. Some sellers charge based on discs, which is absurd for 2-disc sets and at those rates. I once didn't read, and ended up paying $12 to have a 3 disc set sent to me. The postage was $3.19 via Media Mail.

depends where it's being shipped from. $6.95 does NOT cover the stamp and bubble envelope cost (let alone the taxes on both items, and this doesn't even taking cost of transportation into consideration). A double-disc falls JUST outside the threshold so yes shipping a 2-disc set cost a lot more if the item is shipped from Canada. To not lose money and use proper way of shipping (as opposed of sending DVD and sending it lettermail) requires $8 to break even and 2-disc edition requires $12.

But yes, often times I see ridiculous things such as companies (not individuals) seeling 105" 16:9 screen for $1.49 with $1,000 for shipping. I'm not joking. That's ONE THOUSAND US DOLLARS for shipping ! :eek::eek:

You guys gotta remember ebayers have high S&H prices to make up for ebay fees which is very high IMO.

yeah some retailers have done this in the past and i have seen it with my own eyes... I found my xbox 360 on circuitcity.com 2 weeks after it was first released when you could never find them. anyhow when i ordered mine i paid $24.00 for 1 day shipping. I go back to order my uncle one with in 5 minutes they were already charging $40.00 for 1 day shipping even the regular "cheap" shipping was $20.00. so i am pretty sure sometimes that charge is for the handling of the product as well

eBay does not allow the practice of high S&H charges, it's called "fee circumvention" since the fees are only assessed on the final cost and not S&H charges. So some sellers have a DVD for $5.95 BuyItNow, but then the shipping is $9.95, but the postmark shows $2 or so. I find this practice unacceptable and it's also disallowed on eBay.

And David, you're going way off here. Tax? a stamp? Canada? I am referring to domestic shipping, and most of these gougers use Priority Mail and are therefore using free tape, labels and boxes supplied by the USPS. Sometimes they simply charge too much in handling, and when the steelbook or box set arrives, it's in a cheap mailer and crushed or cracked. And of course these sellers, want you to send it back on your dime for a replacement.

Some sellers are great, and others are awful.

That's why I always offer free 1st class shipping.

It generates alot of good will from buyers which can increase bids.

I don't always make a profit and sometimes don't even break even.

I view any losses as a rental fee for the movie.

eBay does not allow the practice of high S&H charges, it's called "fee circumvention" since the fees are only assessed on the final cost and not S&H charges. So some sellers have a DVD for $5.95 BuyItNow, but then the shipping is $9.95, but the postmark shows $2 or so. I find this practice unacceptable and it's also disallowed on eBay.

And David, you're going way off here. Tax? a stamp? Canada? I am referring to domestic shipping, and most of these gougers use Priority Mail and are therefore using free tape, labels and boxes supplied by the USPS. Sometimes they simply charge too much in handling, and when the steelbook or box set arrives, it's in a cheap mailer and crushed or cracked. And of course these sellers, want you to send it back on your dime for a replacement.

Some sellers are great, and others are awful.

Wow, I stand corrected here. Canada Post and Australia Post do not have free tape, labels, let alone boxes. Every single thing needs to be paid and there are taxes on top of those. That's why I assume that all of those supplies need to be paid from the shipper's expense.

As far as fee circumvention, unfortunately eBay only enforce this regulation to smaller sellers, the major sellers are free to do whatever they want. That's why you can see MP3 players being sold for $20 with $60 shipping from HK to Canada (actual shipping is US$10) or $12 HD DVD with $12 shipping using media mail to Canada (actual shipping is $2).

Thanks for your info!

I just picked up Casino and Four Brothers on Amazon, one new the other used. I paid $3.69 for the Shipping on the used one adn $2.89 for the new one. I got them today. The one I paid $3.69 for shippping has a postal rate of $1.31 the other a rate of $1.51. Just a warning that buyin' from sellers and not from Amazon itself may be costing you. It's not that the extra coupla' dollars will break me, it just feels like I was cheated.
As an experiment, I tried selling a disc I didn't want on Amazon. While it worked, I'm not sure it is a great deal for anyone but Amazon. It sold for $15 + 2.98 S/H. Amazon charged a $4.04 commission and paid me $13.94 and I had to pay to ship it as well.

Their commission structure is a fixed component plus a percentage. The fixed part comes out of the S/H and leaves you just enough to send a disc by media mail. That said, they don't charge a fee until the item sells and do collect the payment for you.

Have you ever bought something from ebay?

If not, trust me, you paid a fair price on those DVDs.
When I sell my game disc on ebay, I did not make lots of profit on shipping because I need to pay packing stuffs and I need to pay shipping. The shipping fee are usually vary depends on locations and that's why people charger higher shipping fee. If the buyers is far away from seller, seller has to pay higher shipping fees.

If the buyers is far away from seller, seller has to pay higher shipping fees.


Not necessarily. Take for example one double-disc DVD title.

HK to Toronto: about $5
Toronto to HK: about $12
Toronto to Vancouver: about $10
LA to Vancouver: about $3
Toronto to LA: about $10
LA to Toronto: about $3

How about if I add, the following: :)

Hey, OP, it was probably a Blu-Ray fanboi who sold you the DVDs. Those bastiges are always trying to fleece HD-DVD folks.

There, now it's more on topic. :)


Mitch

Lol..

Amazon sets the used shipping prices for dvds along with most other categories. For dvds it's 2.98. How did you get charged something different? Did you go through a z shop or something else? Amazon knows it only costs 1.50 or less postage but the rest is for handling.
Ebay is where you really get reamed on "handling" charges above actual shipping costs.

Yes it is Amazon.com who set the shipping prices for dvd media for Amazon.com MarketPlace sellers. Before the postal rates went up a few months ago it was something like $2.56. Now it's $2.98 as posted above. Still much better than what sellers on Ebay charge. Of course I am not happy that the $2.98 charge is for media mail delivery. But from the 30 or so hd-dvd purchases I have made from Amazon.com MarketPlace sellers about 90% ship the hd-dvds First Class Mail. I've gotten many great deals on used and new hd-dvds from the sellers there. Many of them under $9-$13 before the shipping charge and that also inlcudes the expensive ones like the combos.:)