Sometimes when shopping on eBay, you can find some great deals.
Many eBay sellers will have a product that is priced lower than many other retailers.
When doing your initial searches, you may be quite excited about that fact.
However, when you start to take a more in-depth look, you may realize that the shipping costs are relatively high on eBay.
Although this is frustrating, there are some reasons behind this, and it is worth investigating a bit.
Let’s take a look at why eBay shipping is so expensive.
Why Is eBay Shipping So Expensive?
1. Estimation
With some eBay sellers, it can be hard for them to give you an exact number for shipping costs.
Most people are not going to make a purchase unless they have some idea of what the total price is going to be.
Therefore, the seller needs to estimate shipping costs.
When this estimation is done, it is going to be based on the shipping rates at the time, approximate location, and weight and size of the package.
From the time the package sells to the time it arrives, the shipping prices can change.
Sellers need to make sure the shipping prices people pay are going to cover the actual cost of the shipping.
If the shipping charge is $6.00, but the seller only charged the purchaser $3.00, then they will immediately lose some of their profit.
Since this is happening quite often to sellers, they tend to overcharge for shipping with the hope that the shipping costs will be lower than expected.
Most sellers will look at this as though they have just made some extra money.
The problem is that buyers are starting to see this issue.
When they purchase a box and pay $15 for shipping, they want to know that all of that went toward shipping.
When the box comes in, and it has a shipping cost of $2.90 on the front, a buyer is going to get very frustrated.
Only so much can be done about the accuracy of shipping costs from eBay sellers.
Some sellers choose to offer free shipping, and they have the costs built into the price of their products.
These products tend to get fewer views because they are usually priced a bit higher.
The world of eBay selling and attracting customers can be quite complicated.
Most sellers are just trying to make sure they are going to make a profit.
They will not try and overcharge people knowingly, although it does happen from time to time.
2. Out of Country
eBay is an international marketplace.
People from all over the world can sell on eBay.
Therefore, your package could be coming from another country.
When you have to pay for overseas shipping, the price is going to be relatively high.
Most of the time, when you purchase something from a website in the United States, you are paying for domestic shipping.
Although the weights can be heavy and still cost you quite a bit, it is not quite the same as international shipping.
International shipping will require for you to pay for the inspection process as well.
All shipments that come into the country go through rigorous testing to make sure nothing illegal is being sent.
Not only does this take time, but it takes money as well.
For those who are purchasing from eBay sellers in another country, be prepared to pay some higher fees for this shipping.
Sometimes this will be unavoidable.
If you need a certain product that is not offered domestically, the shipping costs are going to be high.
This is not something that is a problem only with eBay, it is an issue with any international seller.
3. Packaging
When you pay for shipping on eBay, you are also paying for the packaging and handling.
Once you complete your purchase, the seller is going to need to place the item in the box, package it properly, print a shipping label, and deliver it to the post office.
This is quite a few steps, and unfortunately, the price you pay will be increased by the packaging as well.
Most of the time, the eBay seller you are purchasing from probably has a small business and will be spending quite a bit of their time to package your product.
They will also have to pay for the packaging itself.
The cost of boxes, tape, and other supplies can add up rather quickly.
It is unfortunate that these products cost money as they often are wasted and thrown in the garbage when they reach their final destination.
The only way to avoid something like a packaging cost would be to pick up an item locally.
However, when you do this, there are still transportation costs involved.
However you look at it, if you want to bring a new item into your home, it is going to cost you some money to get it there.
If you notice that an eBay seller’s shipping prices are very high, it could be because it is a fragile or difficult to ship item.
If the item is oddly shaped and needs special attention to be packaged, you can expect to pay a good amount.
If you are purchasing quite a bit from one seller, you can ask them to package it all together.
This could save you money on both the packaging and the shipping of the item.
It is usually a lot less expensive to ship one box to a person than it is to ship multiple boxes to the same person.
If you are contemplating buying a few items from one particular seller, it makes sense to do it all at once.
Pay attention that eBay sellers are not adding additional charges for packaging as well as shipping.
Make sure you look at all costs and then contact the seller if something seems out of line.
4. Low Volume
Have you noticed that most large corporations are offering free shipping on all purchases over $50 or so?
These sellers can do this because they are producing such a high volume of sales.
They will get shipping discounts from UPS and FedEx because of the number of shipments they send.
If you think that Amazon spends the same about you do to ship a package, you are wrong.
Since they are selling and delivering millions of packages a day, they pay quite a bit less to have their products delivered.
For an individual eBay seller, this is not the case.
Although some successful sellers can make a full time living on eBay, most are doing it as a way to make a little extra money on the side.
Therefore, the low volume makes shipping more expensive.
If you look through eBay, you will notice that the sellers who are offering free shipping are those who have completed thousands of sales.
They have probably been able to work out bulk shipping discounts to make this possible for themselves.
These sellers still may charge a bit more for the actual product because of the free shipping.
Many times, when you buy products online that are offered with free shipping, the costs for the shipping are built in.
If you find a specific eBay seller you like, try to support them as best you can.
Chances are they will eventually lower their shipping rates.
When they do that, you will benefit as well.
Most eBay sellers are working towards lowering their shipping rates.
The lower a shipping rate is, the easier it is to sell the product.
5. Competition on Price
One of the reasons you will see that eBay shipping is expensive is the competitiveness of eBay.
People will take a product that is $40.00 with free shipping and advertise it for $24.00 with $16 in shipping.
This happens quite often because of how individuals search for products on eBay.
Many people are going to search for a product and then sort by price.
The product with the lowest pricing will come up first, even with the high shipping costs.
This makes many people think that eBay shipping costs are high.
Instead, someone is just trying to work the eBay selling system.
To compete on price, eBay sellers will play around with shipping costs.
eBay is a very competitive marketplace, and it only seems to get more competitive each year.
People are finding ways to sell products on eBay and make a full time living.
You can think of some of these eBay storefronts as actual small business shops located all over the world.
Is It Worth It to Buy Products on eBay?
Although the shipping and packaging costs can add up quite quickly, it can still be worth it to purchase products on eBay.
eBay has some great deals, and you can sometimes find products that have been sold out in stores.
There are some excellent systems in place on eBay to protect both buyers and sellers.
This is why eBay is known to be much more trusted than something like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace.
If you purchase something on eBay that is not what it was supposed to be, you will likely get a refund.
Most sellers on eBay have worked very hard to get their reputation and rating to the point that it is.
They will not want to lose this by selling the wrong item or trying to trick someone.
It is very easy to get suspended from the marketplace and much harder to win back your ability to sell.
People who are shopping on eBay can look at the seller’s rating and see how they have done completing previous transactions.
If the seller is well known and does a great job, you will easily be able to tell that from looking at their eBay profiles.
Sometimes those who are new to eBay or use it infrequently will not have a very high rating.
You can always contact these sellers to ask questions and see if they seem to be legitimate.
Overall, you will find that you can get some great deals on eBay if you search and do some quick math calculations.
Conclusion
eBay shipping can be costly.
If you don’t watch what you are paying for, you could end up paying more than the price of the item just to cover the cost of the shipping.
There are not too many ways around the shipping costs because of packaging, international issues, and the time it takes for a seller to package and complete a shipment.
The best thing you can do is try and find an item with the lowest cost and then look for a reasonable shipping rate.
This may require you to spend a bit more time on eBay, but eventually, you should find a way to complete this project and get a great deal.
NEXT: Why Is Switzerland So Expensive? (Top 10 Reasons)
Laure says
A lot of the shipping prices on eBay are crap. I get a 50 lb box every week. The cost to me is 8.99. Lots of packing and a very thick cardboard box. I took that same box to the post office with the contents left in.
I chose a very high shipping cost eBay item and priced the postage going back to the listers state. eBay seller wanted 71.95 but the cost for the actual postage was 24.95. The item being sold was no where near 50lbs. That is taking advantage of consumers. Yes we have the right not to buy it but still., what happened to honesty and fairness.?
Wilbur says
Unfortunately some people & sellers are always looking to stay ahead of the curve buy offering a very low opening bid on items with a ridiculous shipping charge to hedge there bets . Eight dollars & change to ship a single sport card or thirty eight dollars to ship a collector knife locally . Come on . Just not the right way to do business . I’ll move on but some people get duped , just like the person intended !
Char says
Many, many times I receive an item that included expensive shipping from Ebay. The reality is that lots of those items COULD HAVE been put in a Flat Rate Priority Envelope or box, saving me lots of money on the buyer’s end! More sellers could use these flat rate supplies! They don’t, which makes me think they pocket the extra money. Occasionally, a seller will refund excess shipping charges which I appreciate. Sellers should also realize that the less cost for shipping means MORE SALES! Now, I check shipping FIRST before clicking the To Buy button! I pass up lots of items with super high shipping charges and will continue to do so. I live in a poor shopping location with little choice, so I do shop on Ebay often.
Joe says
It’s ebay that is taking the money not the seller..
Pc says
You forgot to mention that EBay takes 12.55% of the final value on the sale “including” what the buyer paid for shipping.
Jose says
Shipping charges are a way for some sellers to enhance there profits on the total sale and they can charge what they want using the shipping and ” handling charge clause ” to do it . And just as Pc stated ebay gets a piece of the pie for the shipping cost’s also so they are not going to govern it . As Char has mentioned , when somebody is going to charge you a Exorbinate amount for shipping just move away from this seller . I have shopped this way and have found paying a little more for a item with no profit shipping is much more cost effective in the bottom line then grossly overpaying for shipping to save a couple of dollars . it’s the bottom line that counts . Hope this helps .
Linda buyer on ebay says
I have noticed that sellers charging 124 dollars for shipping on an item that only cost $39.95, now where in the heck do they have the right to do that.
Ebay should have report gouging on shipping like they do with them gouging pricing of the items, now that would be a start, the sellers should stop and do the math to see how there sells have dropped
CJ says
OK, so I’d seen this done as well and tried to understand why.
Let’s say a seller lists an item worth $500, for a starting price of 99 cents with No Reserve.
But, they list the shipping cost at $499. And the item sells for 99 cents.
If I understand how it works, Ebay will still charge the seller the 12.55 final value fee, including what the buyer paid for shipping or $499.99 total. However as the buyer paid only 99 cents for the item, they essentially get it tax free. Maybe that’s the incentive.
Let me know if this makes sense to you.
No name says
Ebay has gone fruitloops. I bought a shirt for $10 shipping was $12.99 I wrote the person and asked change it to free shipping they said nope out of my hands which is bullshit it isn’t. Ebay was a place for deals now the place is just like an online mall prices are almost exactly the same as new and in the store with a huge overly priced shipping price. I refuse to buy frompeople who charge shipping and another thing I love is the or best offer folks. They want $20 you put in $15 they refuse and say I’m looking for more I’m not taking less than $20 well then don’t put down best offer best offers means just that take the best offer and if that happens to be lower than what you want then don’t use the best offer feature. Sellers on eBay are a joke and act like they’re getting it put to them lmao 🤣 yeah ok whatever.
A downsizing seller. says
Before you start bashing sellers you need to be “one” to see how things really work. I know that there are a few sellers who may try and take advantage, but you evidently have not the full story. Try going through the process of a sale step by step, then dealing with all the fees, and even sometimes with a bidder who likes to bid but not pay. You’ll soon see, it’s not all that easy.
eBay Seller AND buyer says
I’m a new seller on eBay trying to learn the in’s and out’s of how to use the platform to be FAIR to all involved. Currently I’m selling good quality name brand items I have around that I feel I no longer use, never did use, no longer have a need for, or have out grown going up or down in size (clothes). I have not started to source items outside as of yet, but that takes time (do you give your time away for free? It is like any other job) and money to do and often with no results for time and travel spent. At the end of the day I’m trying to get a fair value for my secondhand items, something more than a garage sale where everyone expects you to give away everything. Even though I live in a highrise where garage sales are not an option, I have joined in with friends who live in houses garage sales, so been there done that.
Yes, there are a number of advantages to eBay’s platform over something like a garage sale, or other selling platforms even, which is why seller’s are willing to PAY for the service.. At the same time, since sellers have to pay a percentage of total sale price to eBay when they do sell something (and even listing fees at times for items that don’t sell for whatever reason), Sellers have to figure all costs of doing business on eBay’s platform into final cost/profit and hence selling price and shipping charges . Someone here mentioned $12.55. It’s a percentage sellers pay people, not a flat dollar amount. And the percentage amount varies based on category of item listing. I believe the lowest is no lower than 7%, and highest no higher than 13%, for most typical items. Quoting from memory, really big ticket items like cars/real estate are a whole other rate structure. Add to that cost of packing materials, boxes or container, bubble wrap or filler of some type, tape, labels, etc. it can add up. Plus some items don’t always fit standard sizes boxes, and because the shipping rate is based on not only the weight, but also the dimensions of box, often sellers are spending a good deal of time cutting down and resizing boxes to get the cost to ship for the customers as low as possible.
Then there are overall costs of doing business to consider such as all the add-ons fees you might have to resort to with the eBay listing, promoted listing, eBay storefront monthly subscription fee (if they choose to pay that for advantages it offers), etc. to get item to sell. Add to that the time spent taking decent pictures of the items, not as easy as one would think. Editing the pictures if needed, uploading pictures, completing the listing, etc. The time and cost of transporting sold items to whichever carrier drop-off (how much is gas by you?) Or cost of carrier pickup (they don’t come to a residential location to pick-up at no cost like they do a commercial location) yet another fee charged. I could go on, but let me finish with I am still trying to sort the best possible shipping options and costs. Not only for me, but also for my buyers, so I can list and sell my items at prices that are fair and conducive to making sales.
So yes, sellers of course want to make the most they can (it’s not a hobby no mater what you think) and not lose money when looking at the overall costs of doing business on eBay. Which beyond the occasional random item that might do really well, probably means volume of sales, which then increases costs of doing business. Just like buyers want the best price they can get, and not over pay. But what is the buyer’s overall cost in/of the transaction when said and done? How much time do they invest beyond just shopping online? More than the seller that paid for cost and time to source the item, and paid for the item to begin with? Then how much materials (that box, packing materials, label) and services (beyond pickup fees, or time and cost of getting item to carrier, also insurance and tracking are not always included in base cost of shipping) do buyers have to pay for to have it arrive safely at their front door? Hello? Just in case not everyone has heard, or doesn’t think it applies to their address… there is a huge supply chain issue currently and costs of shipping have/are going up considerably.. Then too, are they the buyer paying fees to the eBay platform to buy the item like the seller is selling it? Is there some eBay buyer membership fee I wasn’t told about? What would it cost the buyer to have that same item arrive at their front door from a different selling platform, if they could even find it? Sometimes individual eBay sellers just can’t compete with the advantages big corporate or commercial companies have when it comes to shipping costs. But they are just as human, if not more so. Just asking buyers to consider the whole picture from start to finish before forming opinions of the little guys just trying to make a go of things, ends meet maybe even, on eBay. They are not huge public companies or corporations and don’t have the same resources and options. They might not always have it, or do things, right. But hopefully follow up and make things right when/if that happens. Sure… there are going to be the few sellers that try to take advantage, scam, or have unrealistic expectations. Just like there always will be in buyers. But that’s not the majority on the platform I don’t think, and as expressed here the seller always has the option to purchase elsewhere.
Jeff says
So have you figured out a way to charge less for shipping yet? I to am a new seller on eBay, and I can’t seem to figure out how you can get a tracking number to someone without getting an eBay shipping label or use a more expensive shipping method at post office. Its not like when you buy a sports card like one guy stated, and it’s something that you could hand write an envelope and put a stamp on it and put it in the mail. But people want to track their package and know when it’s coming, but there is not an option to get a shipping label for the price of a stamp even though that’s all it should cost. I’ve offered free shipping and did just that and couldn’t get buyer to give me any positive review because they couldn’t track their package from me to them. That same . 50 cent or whatever the cost of stamps are goes way up when you need to use ebay’s shipping labels so that people can track their purchase.. turns it into 3-4 dollars for same purchase. Because you buy it from eBay and that’s the price they charge. The struggle is real for sure. Doesn’t seem like the buyers understand it at all
Elvis says
Does not quite work that way. Shipping is taxed also. They way it is viewed is seller purchases shipping and ‘resells’ to the buyer, making it taxable. If the buyer would purchase shipping from the carrier, then it is not taxed.
Larry says
I sold my first item on ebay today for $15.00. I decided on Free shipping. For a box 8x6x5 and 1 pound 3 ounces it was $11.00 to ship. I about jumped through the roof, I wanted to start selling more but if shipping prices are this expensive, I hate to see what the really heavy items cost. So I’m not sure I want to continue selling
Dave says
LOL, You are correct! I shipped a Microsoft desk cam in a box 3x3x4 and under a pound and it was $9.00. Man that is rough!!!!!
Karen says
EBay takes 30 cents flat fee for every item sold plus I believe 12.9 percent final value fee. By the time you pay for packaging supplies, tape, bubble wrap, gas, etc. plus whatever the item originally cost you. You maybe looking at a negative. Just saying. If you do charge a shipping fee, EBay takes the percentage on the total sale including sales tax and shipping leaving the seller at a loss.
dave says
And taxes is apart of the over fee….
Mialma Fine says
I do enjoy the luxury of shopping eBay, for hard to find item’s and items for collecting. Most of the sellers are wonderful to work with, bundling is a great way for both to enjoy the process financially. The hard pass is when the item price is maxed out and the S&H is excessive, there are more & more seller’s unwilling (?), unable, or just can’t make a fair deal. Recently I had an order total $104. with $54 in shipping, and if that isn’t a jaw dropper the one that tops this was $157. and $90 s&h, as her best deal just for me! Wow, when did it become such a game to purchase at a fair price and get your item’s without feeling bad? I think as a buyer most understand that a seller needs to make a profit & have it worth while for their time, but when each sale feels like you are the profit for the week, greed comes to mind. Overall, seller’s & buyers have enjoyed a partnership. What has changed this is the 3rd party rules and their level of greed. Shame on you eBay for making a happy partnership be so tested with greed & suspicion, tsk, tsk! Strike a bulk shipping contract & pass the bonus on!
Help preserve a wonderful buying & selling tradition, show loyalty to the sellers that have the right attitude & the buyers will do well also.
Pete says
Buy on AMAZON their shipping is reasonable. No headaches
Mrs Trellis Sth Whales says
Gerbil Shipping Program is a joke, 90 quid for a troy ounce or 31 grams