Should Second-Hand Buyers pay back YOUR shipping?

I think scalping people for the shipping they paid is extremely tacky. Especially if they've had the doll for a number of years. To me it isn't so much 'rare & exclusive', as much as 'olde doll' and not worth someone else charging me an outrageous price. Pass.

 

It would put me off if the shipping costs to me for the doll were going to be high as I would feel like I was paying twice to get the doll shipped once. I think it is best, as many others have mentioned to simply factor it into the price if you want to but not make an issue by listing it as a seperate cost.

 

It's not fair that sellers want buyers to pay back their shipping as well but it can't be helped. If you don't like the price then don't buy it.

 

I think the cost of the original shipping belongs to the original buyer. If I'm going to pay that much in shipping, PLUS shipping to me, it'll be cheaper to just buy a brand new doll of my own, assuming it's still available. Even if the doll is brand new and just got to the seller, I think of that original shipping as the cost of trying out the doll. I think it's a bit odd how many times I see something being sold on the marketplace that's a year old and with minor but obvious age issues (sometimes damage, sometimes just slight yellowing) for the same total price they paid for it. You drive a brand-new car off the lot and it immediately decreases in value. You rent a movie for a week, and you pay for that time. Is the time you had enjoying a doll really of no monetary value?

People can ask whatever price they want, of course, but unless the doll is no longer available from the company I'm not going to pay more than it would cost me new (CURRENTLY, even if the price was higher when the original buyer got it) - and if there's damage of any kind I knock some off the price I'm willing to pay to compensate for that. There are rare occasions where I might consider paying full price for a used doll just to avoid working with a company with known problems, but that's really, really rare.

 

Here's my opinion - Yes, they absolutely have the right to factor the total price they paid for the doll, including their own shipping, into the price of resell. Why? Because shipping from Asia is anywhere from $20 to $35 more than the item alone. If I buy a doll brand new from a company for $200 plus $35, and see the same doll for sale in tip-top condition for $215 after shipping, I think that's okay. I don't consider that scalping.

I agree that no seller should expect someone to pay the same amount they did on a readily available doll, even if it is in perfect, new condition, but I can understand a seller wants to make back as much as they can from the original purchase.

I've noticed most sellers throw in things they've bought specifically for the doll they sell too, like a wig or a few articles of clothing, and that can also factor into how much they want to make from resell. It really just depends entirely on the doll being sold.

 

Different from a doll's worth, postage fees are charged on a basis that it satisfy a purpose. Once the Doll is shipped from A to B and arrived safely the postal purpose is deemed satisfied. Therefore, a seller should not include their own postal expenses in the selling price of the doll, unless the price is shipping inclusive.

However there are other ways to work around it, on the seller's part. A lovely inclusion of clothing, wigs, shoes, etc, even a professional face-up could alter the selling price. But it should be a given that the seller states honestly what the mark-ups are for.

 

I believe the cost of shipping belongs to the original buyer. If I buy a doll from China, I would expect to pay a substantial shipping fee. If I bought that same doll from a US dealer or the original buyer, I'd feel I was being ripped off if they asked for an outrageous shipping rate to compensate for their original costs.

 

I wouldn't do it, but that's just me.
I figured if someone doesn't want to pay the price of someone elses' shipping, they just won't buy from that buyer.

 

Absolutely not. The price of a doll is not the price of shipping & I don't feel that when selling a doll the original shipping cost should be included in the price. That's like asking the buyer to pay shipping twice over & I find it a very poor business practice.

 

Well, to specifically ask for the shipping back doesn't seem right. But everyone has the right to ask what they want for the doll and if someone is willing to pay it, the price is right.

 

Well, I think people in resale should be allowed to ask whatever they want for their stuff. You don't have to pay more than you want to pay. You can find other, more reasonably priced items from another seller. If nobody wants to pay that price, they'll have to either mark it down or not sell it. If they don't want to sell it for less than they paid (total) then they shouldn't have to, but again, you don't have to buy it. If it's a one of a kind item, you should expect to pay more. If you think it's just old junk, don't buy it.

Comparison shopping is your friend. That's really the only way you'll save money at anything, is to do your research and find the person who'll give you the best price for what you want.

 

Even if you don't want to the item you chose to get it in the first place so you shouldn't have to have the next person pay for your previous shipping. But then again people can sell and item as high as they want, but that doesn't mean they'll be able to get rid of it easily.

 

No No and No

 

I don't charge people the original cost of shipping to me. I try to get reduced shipping rates (when possible) for buyers and I will sometimes sell something for slightly less than what I originally paid (or it is valued as). In a way, I take it as my own personal loss that the doll didn't work out for me.

 

That depends on where the item came from and what it is worth if the original owner has had it for a long period of time. A real life example is when I sold something a while back to a friend and it went like this: I purchased the item originally for 380 usd (it is worth roughly 2,000 even used). It was on yja so I went through a proxy which ended up charging me about 230 usd, shipping itself for the item was only 15 dollars. So total the item was about 600 dollars and when I sold it to her I charged only 300 even with 10 dollars shipping. This situation only worked out this way because I knew she wanted it and that she would take care of it, and we were both pretty aware of each others financial situation. Had I of listed it on auction I would have gotten a pretty penny for it, as I have personally never even seen this item listed before, so I would have made more on it than I paid whole originally which I would have honestly hoped for anyway.
Or, I could have been like a certain dealer I dealt with at con who was charging 3 times the worth of this book(and it still had the paper with shipping total in it!) so he was trying to get away with recieving waaayyyy to much for it
Anyhoo, If someone is willing to pay the price for the item, and it is worth that anyway then I say the seller has every right to charge with their shipping. Only if the price fits, though. People need to use logic with selling but unfortunately they dont so meh

 

Making a second hand buyer responsible for the shipping costs of a product you bought for your enjoyment is scalping. Pure and simple.

 

I'm surprised to see the comments that this would be scalping - if you're not making a profit, you're not scalping, are you? If you ask your buyer to pay what you paid, you're just recovering your costs, rather than making a loss. I think it's perfectly reasonable to want to get back what you paid - especially considering that the buyer doesn't have to wait the usual one or two months for the doll to arrive, have to worry (at least in Europe) about potential customs fees, or deal directly with a company that may have poor customer service/uneven quality/a language barrier etc etc.

Whether anyone would be willing to pay this price is more of a gamble - I guess it depends on how new your doll is, and how keen they are to get this doll in their hands asap!

 

This isn't really an issue for me. If I'm willing to pay aftermarket prices for a doll, which may quite a bit more than just covering the shipping, I'm willing to pay that shipping.

That said, I'm not very willing to pay aftermarket prices ^o^;.

However, I think this thread's educational for those who might be selling a doll that doesn't have an inflated value - people aren't thrilled by the idea of paying your shipping, so it's going to make it harder to sell if you ask them to.

 

To accuse someone of scalping is really outrageous, ignorant, and obnoxious. If you don't want an "olde doll" as you say, but from a dealer.
Some dolls are rare, and coveted. It's not anyone's business what you charge for your property. It's not a used car. It's a piece of art.

 

How is this even a debate? If you see a doll in the secondary market while the same doll is available from the manufacturer at a lower price - why on earth wouldn't you buy a new doll? If it's customized, you pay for customization, but as far as blanks go, a new blank is better than a used blank.

However, if your dream doll is rare and/or discontinued and ONLY available in the secondary market - it's probably sold above the original price anyway, and for a good reason. It's not scalping, it's supply and demand of the collectors' world, and we've already discussed this at length in other threads.

Now, the original post that started this thread was about small ticket items, where including the shipping price makes the item almost twice as expensive. I tend to agree, it is off-putting. The few things I've sold, I sold for a reduced price which didn't include my cost of shipping. It was at a loss to me, but I'm not a business, so that's ok.