Should Second-Hand Buyers pay back YOUR shipping?

I'm not going to lie, I haven't read what anyone else has posted I'm just commenting based on the title, so apologies if I repeat anything that's been said 20 times.

The ONLY way it is forgivable to add the shipping you paid into your selling price is if you include enough extra to more than cover that money amount. Shoes, eyes, wigs, clothes if they are included in the selling package then it is fine to up the price enough to that you never lost any money from your original doll purchase. But just the naked doll as-is should probably even go for just a smidge less than the website price since it is a little used after all.

My two cents.

 

Sellers have a right to set their own prices for their items, and people can always make a choice not to buy from them... or find it from another source.

Personally I don't add in the s/h that I was charged when I buy items.. then for some reason I no longer want or can't use.

Now the tax is another ball of yarn alltogether.

 

If the doll is no longer sold or has a long wait, and is in mint condition, I don't see a problem with that. It's quick satisfaction for the buyer.

If the doll is used and is still available new, I think the seller should eat their own original shipping and probably more.

But that's my opinion, and sellers can do whatever they want. And I don't have to buy it if I don't like their price.

Carolyn

 

It is a sellers choice to offer an item for what they want just as it is the buyers choice to choose to purchase or not.
Personally if a doll or fashion is charge exactly what the company wants including shipping, I prefer to buy it brand new from the company. This way there shouldnt be any cracks, discoloring, loose buttons, loose zippers and threads etc. If the item is limited and no longer available then you have to choose wisely and base it on that factor.
I like a bargain as I dont have a large doll budget so buying used is always my first choice if the price is right. I wouldnt have some of the cutest doll clothes and a selection for my doll if it wasnt for den of angel sellers.

 

I don't think so but really they are allowed to call whatever price they think they can sell it for. So if someone will buy it then I guess yea.

 

It wasn't a "blanket statement" at all. I said that some users appear to think that way. Why does it appear that way to me? Because that is how I interpreted some of the actual, specific posts in this thread when I read them. Goodness knows I'm not a mind-reader, though -- which is precisely why I was asking the questions I was in the post to which you were responding. At the same time I'm having fun playing Devil's Advocate, I'm trying to grok the issue from all sides.

That aside, I agree that itemizing is pointless, and seems to be the cause of much of the ire seen here. It seems that we just have very different experiences in the Marketplace -- the items I'm looking for almost never have itemized prices, so to me, the complaints about it here are addressing a minority of sales, not a large trend. Of course, I'm certainly not looking at every thread in the Marketplace every day. I guess I'm just looking in the wrong places for the source of all this.

 

Isn't that the cost of buying something, always paying for your own shipping..
as a seller and a buyer of all things dolls I don't think another seller should try to recoup the shipping, just makes the item an even higher price and doesn't sell as quickly...If you want to recoup on the other hand, just include the cost into the price without mention and then you don't get any emails from buyers.

 

No no, I didn't mean that the hobby itself was a waste! If that was the case, yes, I wouldn't be in the hobby at all. I meant that I've made some incredibly stupid purchasing decisions (such as waaay over-bidding on eBay and having to suffer the consequences).

For example, I accidentally overbid (max: $200, meant max: $100) on an unpainted unoa Lusis faceplate; paid $160 + shipping. I overdrew from my bank account, was slammed with $72 fees, and I couldn't re-sell it at that price (at that time) because the market for them at that time was, at most, $80. I'd say that's wasted money, personally.

To be honest, I've never actually listed a doll including the shipping I paid from a company. Generally, I list it lower than the original price simply to get a sale. But I don't think including the shipping is an egregious crime. It's completely understandable. And really, price is simply based on what people will pay. I've seen Dollshe dolls sell for $700 + shipping. I believe you can get one from Luts for $650 including shipping. But people still buy them, and that's why they still get sold at that price.

I've gone through about 4 dolls for one character. It's frustrating and a waste of time and money. That's how shipping losses can build up. The post office is making that profit, but you're still losing that money. Each time you lose around $20-$30 on shipping. And that makes it that much harder to find the one doll that's perfect.

Maybe, if you think about it purely ethically, it's not quite acceptable. But I certainly don't hold it against anyone who chooses to do that.

 

I don't. That is just the cost of doing business.

Mary-Lee

 

I could agree with adding on Half the shipping the seller paid..

But it's still your choice to buy from them or not...

I can't imagine buying something secondhand at a cost higher or close to the 'new' price for the same item though...

 

Despite the fact that I play with my dolls, I keep them in mint condition, so if I were to sell one, then technically, I should get back the whole amount I paid, plus shipping, etc.
In reality, unless the doll is a rare doll, there is no way that I am going to get back everything I paid for them.
Normally when I sell one, I figure the shipping cost in and mark it down some, then I add extras. I never sell a blind, bald, naked (if I have clothes for them) doll and I think it makes it more appealing for the buyer and sells my doll faster that way.

 

A lot of heated arguments back and forth and the only thing I'm sure of is the case against prospective sellers itemizing their expenses. Personally, I like to see all the "reasons" for a price so I can make my own not-really-relevant judgments. Because hidden or not, there is a total price of some sort in the end either way, and that is the only price that matters.

Rarity and time generally trump shipping concerns anyway.

Apparently I am the minority and everyone else prefers "blind" pricing. Good to know if I ever need to sell something.

 

I don't think second-hand buyers should pay back my shipping, no. Basically, I consider the shipping cost of buying directly from a company the premium I paid to be guaranteed an item, rather than gambling to see if it turns up on the marketplace later.

 

Sellers have the right to charge whatever they want to, IMO, but they also have the right to sit there with a doll they don't want while someone willing to NOT charge shipping gets bought from.

And vice versa. If someone's willing to pay shipping for them, good for them; other people can buy from cheaper secondhands or...go to the company. If you're buying a limited and the seller's charging shipping, you really can't complain no matter how much they're charging. The alternative is that no one's selling it.

That may sound harsh, but it's supply and demand. If there's a high demand, you up the price. If there's someone offering it for cheaper, they'll have more buyers. If there's NO one offering it, you can set the price at whatever you want.

 

I think that when it comes to an item that you've bought over seas... let's say a Luts doll that is always in stock, then there is no foul in adding your shipping charges onto the price, because I see it as a choice made by the buyer... they're CHOOSING not to wait for Luts shipping, they want it faster, they want it now, and they're paying that extra shipping amount for the convenience of having to wait only 1 week vs. 3-6.

But, honestly, I think it's the sellers choice to charge whatever they want. It doesn't mean you HAVE to buy it... yeah, sometimes it burns if it's something you really want... but thems the breaks... and most likely, if you *really* want it and can't get it elsewhere, you're going to pay the price they're asking, however begrudgingly, anyways.

 

Personally, I think the idea of itemizing the price of your items is a little like making excuses for how you've priced your item. As a buyer, I'm paying X amount for an item, whether it's just the set price, whether part of it is allegedly shipping cost or paypal fees or paying for the box for shipping the item (yes, I got charged separately for this once--if I hadn't wanted the item as badly as I did, the transaction would have ended there). It doesn't matter what my money is supposed to be compensating, that amount is leaving my bank account and the only question is whether or not I'm comfortable with the amount...not the breakdown.

For me, it's much more straightforward if the item has a price--shipping, fees inclusive--and that's it. No surprises, no nickling and diming. I understand sometimes shipping costs can vary across the country, and international shipping can be much different and need to be quoted separately; but if you're selling a doll for $800-1000 bucks, you can figure shipping into it, and if shipping ends up $5 more than you'd thought it would be, it will not cut so far into what you were paid as to break you.

...as a seller, I just find it less of a hassle not to calculate shipping estimates for every corner of the nation. It's the cost of convenience, to me.

 

Sellers can charge whatever they want. But they need to remember that there's a fine line between appropriate and charging far too much for something that isn't that rare.

If a seller ends up buying their doll, and then they get hit with custom fees as well, they can even figure those into the price. Whether they should or not doesn't matter as long as they can find a buyer.

Personally, I find it rather unrealistic to expect to get back every penny you spent plus new shipping fees (especially on a doll that is easy to get from the company), but in the end, if someone will pay it, it doesn't really matter what most of us think.

 

I don't really see it as an issue. I don't care if someone itemizes their pricing or not or if they want to get back their shipping or not. If the price they charge for the doll is in the range of what I'm willing to pay, then I'll buy the doll. If they are asking more than want I want to pay for a doll, then I don't buy the doll. If the doll does not sell, the seller can always choose to drop the price or add some extras to entice buyers. No one is ever forced to buy a doll for more than they feel its worth.

It's an expensive hobby. I think sellers should be prepared for the fact that they may not make all their money back, but they're within their rights to try.

 

I'm not sure I've ever seen an auction where someone itemized out the prices of shipping... such as "Base price + Shipping I paid + shipping to you"... I'm sure someone's done it... but yeah, that *DOES* seem like making excuses, and more than that, asking for trouble. If you want to include the shipping you paid in the price, just include it and don't break it down... you don't need to give reasons as to why you're charging a certain price for your doll.

... it's kind of like how some shippers charge for packing materials, the price of gas to the post office and their time, they don't mention that those things are included in the shipping price, but often times (especially in ebay auctions) they are. (and I'm not saying this is wrong... I'm just saying it's not itemized out).

 

I feel as much as the others feel.

Should they do this? No, but who am I to say this if that is what they want to do. It is their property still and can sell it at a price they see is fit...

BUT...

To me if they bought something they didn't really want now, eat the shipping costs. A rash choice the second owner should not have to pay for. Now limited dolls, the price is already raised cause it was limited and I can't go buy the doll so I expect to pay more. If it is 3 or more times the original amount, I'm sorry that's not right in my books. That's just ripping another person off. I could see as much as double the price on limiteds, but regular dolls that anyone could still buy off of the company's website is wrong.