Should Second-Hand Buyers pay back YOUR shipping?

I know postal charges to Russia are a nightmare, my friend worked in an orphanage near Yaroslavl and when she posts DVDs to her orphans from the UK, postage can be astronomical. I appreciate that if you sell a doll to another Russian you can charge the fees based on convenience, the doll is already in the country and shipping will be faster than from a company, but I still don't agree with it in principle.

I object so much because the costs of getting a doll home are getting so high now in the UK too. Most packages are targeted by customs, whether they're marked down or not, so you can guarantee you will have to pay something on top of your shipping fees and price of the doll anyway, I don't see why me, as a buyer, should pay for your (general you) shipping. Surely ending up with a doll you don't like is a risk we all take? Why should someone else pay the original transit costs just because you (general you) can't bond with the doll you picked?

If I was selling one of my dolls I wouldn't charge less. My Souldoll Hye is in perfect, default condition, for example. At the least I could command what Souldoll are asking on their website, at the most, buyers in the UK and EU might be grateful for a local sale, so perhaps I could charge a bit more, I'm not sure. Dolls don't often go down in value unless they are especially common, unpopular or damaged in some way.

 

Honestly I think as a seller they have every right to ask whatever they want for there doll and just as a buyer has every right to buy it from them or not or just go buy it themselves from the company Sometimes the seller themselves has paid a high price for a doll due to faceup by artist or for a non wait time from company and they shouldnt have to reduced the price and lose out just because some think they should. it all boils down to this. Dont like their price then dont buy the doll . end of story

 

agree , it all boils down to your own choice, no use crying over spill milk as some say

 

A right?
as long as it doesn't go against marketplace rules... you can do whatever you want.

Me?
I eat the initial shipping cost. I purchased something and it didn't work out. That shipping is mine to eat. So I only charge shipping to the buyer for their own shipping.

I hope to cover the list price of the item. Not always, but I hope. I did lose money after I post as the company lowered their price after I bought. A potential buyer told me, I checked and I lowered my price.

 

Well, people in hell want ice water too. Don't like my price? Tough. If my prices are outrageous (so far they haven't...So far I've been selling below what I paid the dolls/items for), then I'll find that out on my own eventually when nobody's buying. No need to lecture me about it.

That's all I have to say.

Edit: Though, if you kindly ask if we could negotiate the price, THAT--I'll be perfectly fine with.

 

Well, you can't exactly stop people from doing that. I could post a naked Barbie on eBay with a BIN of 200$! The only problem is, of course, I'd never manage to sell such a thing.

I say; if it bothers you, don't buy from the people who do that.

Now that that's out of the way...

I really never understood why some people price secondhand dolls, say, only 5$ less of what they'd cost from the store. Well, I do understand; but I've never been too keen to buy them in those cases. Like someone already mentioned, companies have reputations to keep -- you don't expect DoD to close off the day after they take your money, and never send your your Shall or E-an! But a private sale with a fellow collector has much more chances of going sour. I think that counts a little bit, right? In all, I would expect the risk of a secondhand doll to save me at least 20$. Otherwise, I'll just get it from the store (even if takes half a year longer for them to make it and send it.) I guess that's why my non-BJD doll collections have so few secondhand girls, huh? I'm the type of person who'd shell out 100$ extra, just for the peace of mind of knowing the item WILL arrive safely (and that someone would be responsible for fixing any errors, should it not.)

I know people want to get back as much of their money as possible, but... hey, aren't you already taking a huge risk by buying a doll you've probably only seen in online pictures? This hobby isn't for the faint of heart! If you resell a doll right after you get it because it turns out that you didn't like it, you can expect to lose a chunk of that money. You can either go ahead and sell it anyway, or customize it and keep it around until it becomes rare, so it's price will increase.

 

I have more experience with this not in the DoA marketplace but on eBay. :B I think it's just bad merchant ethics to expect to have your previous shipping reimbursed by a new purchaser.

Anytime a decision by a merchant results in loss of revenue for other merchants as well being disadvantaging to purchasers is bad merchant ethics. It's the same with "price wars" where merchants compete with each other by lowering their price a few dollars or cents based on their competitors. It's best to have a consistent price across the board for an item. That's what value is for. It's hard to establish a value for a specific item if there are price wars in the works. Dollar menus anyone? A cheese burger should cost relatively $0.99~$1.39. With dolls it's a little more complicated but I think it's principally the same.

It also irks me if I have to pay shipping to have an item shipped back to a merchant if it's their fault. [sent me the wrong thing, sent it broke or forgot something] Ugh~ I pay shipping if it's coming back to me and if it's a fault of my own. But that's just how I do things.

 

Shipping can be a very heavy cost in the BJD world.

For example (not including the other small items purchased), the Luts Bory I bought the other day was $220. However, shipping was $60 and therefor the real cost of the doll is $280. That is pretty significant.

Now, if I were to make an instant re-sale (not that I plan to), I wouldn't really have an issue with charging that amount because 1. Someone who would order a brand new doll would be paying the same amount and 2. they get out of that long wait for it.

Perhaps I decide that the brand-new doll just isn't right and would rather get another--let's say, another mold from the same company. It would be nice to have all of the same money back.

 

I do not think there is anything wrong per say about trying to recoup your shipping costs, particularly when an item is sold out. Often buying from a distributor rather than a manufacturer has a markup and that is related to the handling they supply as a middleman supplying you the item. On here resellers do the same thing, they try to cover their expenses, sometimes they try to make a profit. There is a difference between buying a doll specifically to later sell it at an inflated value and selling a doll at increased cost to cover your costs, the price of modifications etc.

However I DO find it a bit cheeky if someone buys a brand new doll, non limited, still available on the site, and says "well I paid this for the doll, this for the faceup, this for this shipping, totalling $X so I am charging $X + shipping from me to you, when you could just as easily go and buy the doll from the site. Like I said I find it cheeky, but I have no real issue with it, because in this case the added expense is a saving to you...in time. Think about it yes you are paying for THEIR shipping, but what it really comes down to is you are paying extra so that you do not have a one to six month wait to have the beloved doll in your hands.

That said I have never tried to recoup losses on shipping, I have enjoyed the product for a period, so why should I complain about what I paid for shipping? lets call it rent for time served?

 

As someone whose bought and sold on Ebay, I view shipping costs as an investment in whatever it is I'm buying be it dolls or Transformers. I don't try to get it back when I sell something. I do think its a matter of personal ethics.
However, it must also be said that the buyer should be doing their homework and checking and comparing prices.

 

i think it's in poor taste to list what you're paying them for. it would be like marking a car at 1000, and then adding 250 for the tires, 300 for the alternator, 150 for the battery, and so on, instead of just marking the car as 1700.

it's a sellers' right to do so, but in my personal opinion, it's tacky to list it for all to see that you're trying to get back your shipping money for something you ended up not wanting.

 

It'd be nice if they paid for the shipping, but that's not usually what determines the value of a doll. They'll likely be waiting much longer to sell the item if it's for a high price that will make up for their shipping.

 

Is it wrong for someone to include their previous shipping in their price ... no, not at all.

I mean, it kind of sucks that the next person will be paying for the shipping But if I wanted a doll or an outfit that someone else was offering, and I was okay with their price ... I would buy it. If I felt I could get a better deal else where, then I would order it from the other source.

 

The seller sets their selling price, it's up to the buyer whether or not they want to pay what is being asked. I'd rather pay a little extra to have the doll next week, instead of waiting 4,6,8 weeks for a factory doll.

I think I usually forget to add what I paid for shipping into the cost of something I'm selling. If I mark my prices up or down, it is to stay in line with perceived market value.

 

I really don't have an issue with people charging to get back the money they spent on the shipping to them initially. It's part of the cost of what I am buying from them. If they don't include that cost, all the better! I am not, however, going to expect another person to take a sizable loss on the sale of their doll, which this really can be if they had the doll shipped to them from overseas. I consider the cost of shipping the doll part of the doll's cost.

If I was selling one of my dolls, I would probably include the shipping cost to me from the doll company in the price -- but if I'm shipping it within my own country, I'd probably be willing to eat the cost of shipping the doll to the buyer to help balance it out. It would be a smaller savings to the buyer, but it would be something, and no more than they'd be paying to order the doll from the company -- and a smaller amount for me to be out of pocket as a seller.

Customs fees I view a bit differently, though I can't put my finger on exactly -why- I feel that way.

 

If they buyer insists on me paying for their shipping, they just better not say so in the thread. If it is already factored into the price (but not stated) and I don't catch it and think the buy is a good deal, I will go for it. However, if it specifically says something like $199.99 (100 for doll + 99 shipping from CompanyX to me + 9.99 shipping to you) I am gonna pass every time.

If the cost to buy a currently available doll on the MP is a little too close to the company's retail price (for me, $50), I'm gonna buy new from the company. I would rather shell out the extra money for something new than for someone else's goods.

 

as a very cheap person, i'd be tempted to say YES. but since that its a used doll, i'd say NO. already that it sorta bothers me when i see ppl sell their old doll full price (even though most start to yellow), if the person also add the shipping he paid to the price, i believe this would be very stupid :/

 

I don't think they should have to pay the shipping costs that you paid, only the cost of you shipping the doll to them. I mean, they didn't ask you to buy the doll in the first place, that was your choice. They shouldn't have to pay for that. I've sold many dolls in the past year, and I never added extra to cover what I paid for shipping. I just don't think it's right.

 

I think it depends. If they're selling the item in brand new condition, with both shipping costs low, well, then i don't have much of a problem with it. Sometimes I'm willing to pay out more to get something quicker.

 

I price my stuff at market value. If it somehows covers my shipping, fine and good.