Should Second-Hand Buyers pay back YOUR shipping?

Well, people can charge what they like, personally I won't be paying anyone's shipping costs. Decreased wait time isn't worth paying that much more when I could get a new one for less, just with a longer wait, from the company. And to be fair, I don't charge others for my shipping cost as a seller.

 

I wouldn't count selling dolls on the Marketplace as a business, therefore, a price mark-up based on more than the item's original cost is a little shady.

I think if you sell your own manufactured BJDs there or your own handmade wigs, clothes or whatever, then that is a mini-business and all the costs involved weigh in on how much the final item will cost the buyer, but selling second, third, fourth-hand dolls isn't a business...or if it is, it's a bit of an underhand way of conducting a business because you're skipping the taxes businesses have to pay to trade, while at the same time passing all your extra costs on to your customers.

 

I don't think that's fair at all...

If you're selling a doll, for instance, I could understand "compensating" for the shipping money you spent by not lowering the sales price of the doll, because the person would already be saving by not paying for shipping from asia, anyways...

But highering the price doesn't seem right to me... if you're trying to sell a doll in the marketplace, its suspicious to raise the original price.

And who would buy it?

 

Sometimes I do, but sometimes I don't. It really depends. For example, say a pair of pants on Dollmore are $15. But shipping from Dollmore to the US is like $20 minimum, so obviously they cost way more than $15. I would probably charge something like $25 including shipping. It's more than the orignal price, but less than the total price with shipping. That way it's the middle. If shipping for something was only a few bucks, I wouldn't include it in the new price.

 

Sellers can set their own prices, and buyers choose whether or not they want to pay those prices... where is the problem? If a seller is charging $100 for a head, whats the difference if they originally paid $90 or $120? $100 is now the price they are offering it for and the buyers can decide if they want to pay that. It'd be a scary place if people started dictating what prices are "allowed."

 

I think it depends on the item, but if it's an item I could buy in a shop, I expect to pay less, because I can get it new. Of course, if the item is sold out, it's something else. But paying MORE to get an older doll instead of a new one? Does not make much sense to me.

Of course, sellers can set their own price, but personally, I think it's a bit cheap to not pay at all for having enjoyed a doll or item for a while.

 

Whenever I've sold a doll on the marketplace, I usually set the price a little lower than what I've paid for the doll. If it is an SD, I'll usually ask the buyer pay for the shipping of the doll, but for MSD's I tend to include shipping in the sale price. But it is still much cheaper than buying the doll new. There are only certain circumstances would I make the price higher, whether the doll was professionally modded, making the doll one of its kind or the doll was limited and cannot be found anywhere else.

 

Contrary to what MysticNightShadow777 said,I would ask a little more than what I've paid... because people often bargain!
And, yes, I would include the shipping price I've paid in the price it "really" cost. So what? I wont force the buyer's hand anyway

 

I wouldn't know much about the market for used regular-stock dolls, & how much markup people will tolerate on something they can easily get somewhere else. It sounds like some people will pay, for the convenience of it, and some people would rather just go buy a new one themselves.

I don't even sell my dolls... But if I did, they're almost all LEs, so I would definitely have to charge those fees. What I paid to bring home some of those guys is just hair-raising. If I went through the research, effort, hassle & expense to bring home that doll which can't be had elsewhere-- then yes, I'm going to recoup some of those costs. I wouldn't RAISE the amount of the original fees, but I'd still charge them. Those are costs that're regularly associated with acquiring a limited or hard-to-find doll, so a half-savvy buyer will be willing to pay it. Buyers who complain about the shipping on a long-sold-out LE doll will find themselves without many long-sold-out LE dolls... because somebody else will happily pay the shipping fees for that doll & whisk him away while you're still busy complaining.

Basic rule, though: If you start your price high, and nobody's biting, just drop the price & see if that works. If you keep the price high, refuse to budge, & still hear nothing but crickets-- take the hint! It's hardly rocket science.

 

Should sellers be allowed to do that? Even if they're just trying to get back what they paid?

They are allowed to charge whatever they want but it just means that someone may just choose to not buy their doll because of that fact. Personally, I think it's unecessary to make someone pay for the original shipping costs plus the cost of shipping the doll to the new owner who is willing to purchase the seller's second hand doll in the first place.

 

Sellers have the right to name their own price, then a buyer can choose to either pay it or not.
I PERSONALLY wouldn't charge a buyer for my shipping fees, but if I had been quite badly raepd by customs to get the doll here, I may add a surcharge for that.

 

no, not at all. Shipping is what you pay to get the doll TO you, and the new buyer will have to pay the same. In my opinion it has nothing to do with what the doll is worth.

 

I guess sellers just want to get all their money back and then some. We live in a greedy world, this shouldnt suprise you.

I would be over the moon with hapiness if Isold something and got the original price back minus the shipping...the secondary market is a touchy thing as it is...

Sometimes I will see something really cute that I want to buy second hand but if the seller seems greedy I wont... then I will make an excuse for them and ask my husband and he will say" No, you dont want to buy from a greedy person.." So he just reinforces the moral and ethical issue involved..

 

I could not agree more.

 

I can understand why people would do it, especially with having to pay £60 tax and shipping on some dolls. But they may make that back on what the new buyer has to pay, so the only profit will come from their doll. I understand it, but personally wouldn't do it to others. I may pay a bit of their shipping if they won't send it out otherwise and its a rare item, but not for something like shoes.

 

Like others in the debate I think people have the right to price their dolls however they wish. There aren't any hard and fast rules. I also think if you've bought a doll and paid horrendous customs charges by importing it from Asia it's okay to pass some of that customs cost over to the buyer.

 

I couldn't agree with you more -- very well said! I do get annoyed when a seller tries to justify their price by what they paid. Really, what they paid is of no relevance to the buyer. What is relevant is what one could buy the doll for elsewhere and what the buyer is willing to pay to get it.

 

Not entirely true.... I purchase and re-sell porcelain and cellulose dolls and a few re-vamped and restored BJD's and I always mark-up the price only because of the time gone into the resotoration and in the end its a better product, but even though its a hobby I am still required by the Australian Tax Office to pay tax on everysale because I sell more than $5000 worth in a YEAR...


But as a general rule, you wanted a doll in country A sent you you in country B when a buyer wants to buy that doll from you she only wants it from country B to her and the leg from A to B is irrelevant to the second transaction... so NOPE!! shipping costs added to the price of a doll so you're not out of pocket is IMO fairly silly... as we say in "The Castle" - "tell em their dreamin" But again its your doll to sell and you set the price, though most people here are savy enough to say no-way not paying for it....

 

I personally won't pay it but I suppose sellers can set their prices however they like. It just doesn't make sense to me to buy a second hand doll (however new) for the same price for which I could buy it directly from the company. In my opinion, the price of a second hand doll has to be lower than the original price if the doll is still readily available from the company and doesn't have any special after market mods or face up. If the doll is discontinued or rare - well I suppose the seller will be able to set whatever price they want and eventually find a buyer.

 

In my opinion shipping costs and custom charges are the personal problem of the original buyer. When I sell clothes or a doll I don´t add them to my price. And I don´t buy from people who do so.

But of course that is everyone´s personal decision how to handle this.