Will sellers ever admit that they charge too much for shipping?

I’ve shipped a lot of physical media. The price doesn’t go up until you exceed four records or CDs, if that many. It might be five. And when the cost does goes up once you top four or five items, it’s by maybe 20 cents, at which point it stays the same until you get to nine or 10 items.

But sellers constantly demand an additional $1 for every additional title. It’s ridiculous, especially when it’s applied to a two-disc set. I recently shipped nine LPs nearly 900 miles for far less than $7, but that would cost $12-13 by most online standards.

I won’t order from these types on principle but feel like I’m in a minority that should be the majority. It’s no extra effort or cost to ship several things in the same package via media mail, so why do people put up with this?

 

Uh, how did you manage that? I just shipped a properly packed 9 LP box set from CA to OH and it was almost $15, albeit it shipped insured, that only added $2.45.

I usually just include shipping here and only charge $5 on Discogs but am out of pocket $6.44 for every uninsured record I send. Media Mail is $3.82 plus $2.62 for mailer/pad and new cheap poly outer sleeve.

 

I guess media mail has gone up and I don’t pass along charges for packaging. Most people don’t, at least not legitimately. Every record I get is in a mailer that’s seen 1,500 miles.

Just forget it. I’m not even sure why I bothered.

 

Not sure where you got your numbers from. One LP if bare ones, non gatefold, with no special inner sleeves or inserts, shipped in a generic white mailer with inserts MAY be under 16oz, that's $3.19, Typically 1-3 LPs may possibly fall under 2lbs. Would be 3.89, I don't think I've ever mailed 4+ records at under 2.0lbs with mailer and inserts. And generally speaking at each LB the cost goes up $.50-80.

I buy in bulk but my cost in that bare bones scenario, mailer+2 inserts+plastic inner sleeve+plastic outer sleeve+postage,my actual cost is about $1.35+3.19=$4.54. though more often $1.35+3.89=$5.24, that's actual cost, not including minimal packing tape, gas, time..

I think your numbers may be a bit out of date, can't speak to CDs though they are way lighter

 

An e Bay seller wanted $15 to ship a $15 LP from Florida to NY. No sale.

 

Packaging tape has gone up big. Dollar Tree has the $1.25 rolls but the quality stinks now. Walmart is just under $2 now.

 

In particular, Discogs requires sellers to squeeze their shipping charges into a badly defined predetermined scheme that essentially mandates extra charges for each item. One could get around it by weighing each and every item and adjusting each listing individually, but in practice it's not sustainable. Buy a 3LP set which comes with a free CD and bonus 7" and you will in most cases be charged for 5 items.

 

This is a huge factor. At my work, I just do a 'buy as much as you like' for $5. Figuring out all that other math and stuff is just annoying. Plus people are bound to look around for other stuff. I'd prefer Discogs to just let us individually price shipping for items if we chose to. Plus if someone from a foreign country wants something, I can easily just adjust that one item and not do this whole rigmarole of changing all my settings for that one buyer.

 

Postage has gone up.
Cost of record mailers has gone up.
Cost of packaging tape has gone up.

It now costs over $4 to ship a single album in a record mailer, using media mail.

If you're selling on eBay, you also pay your 13% commission on the shipping you charge. So if you're like me and still charging $3.95 an LP to ship, you're actually losing a bit on the shipping.

The cost per album for additional postage if you buy more than one is probably closer to 50 cents than a buck, but it's not nothing.

 

Selling a few records here and there, the money lost between actual cost vs. amount collected is no biggie but when spread over moving even a small collection adds up to hundreds of dollars.

 

A proper "whiplash record mailer" costs around $2.50 each. That cost adds up for sellers. The best sellers realize they should new Whiplash style mailers.
It's crazy & naive to box up & mail a rare - expensive LP...in an obviously used damage prone mailer.

 

it's real simple

if the seller gouges on shipping - don't buy.

one CD - 50 cent padded envelope - $1 to ship max charge should be $2, many now charging $5 and more, again, don't buy

 

Let me know how I can ship a CD for $2 - thanks.

 

10 padded envelopes at most stores run less than $5.

media mail on one CD is about $1.35 where i live, another 50 cents for insurance if you choose.

if i add correctly, that's $1.85 - $2.35 per CD.

 

Your location says Ohio, is that in a different country than the Ohio located in the United States?

The lowest shipping for Media Mail (domestically within the USA) anything under 1-16oz, is $3.19. Maybe Media Mail rates in 2005, but not in 2022, it simply cannot be done.

 

hmmmmmmmmmmm

i'll get back to you.

i may be mistaken for sure.

 

Dude...you're not even close. Maybe you shouldn't judge sellers so harshly until you know what you're talking about.

 

see the post above your condescending one.

 

I mail at least one cd every week. It costs $3.19 for postage to mail a cd. I ship in cardboard cd mailers from bags unlimited, looks like the prices have recently gone up, but my last order cost about .45 each. And eBay charges fees on postage as well. I charge $3.75 for shipping on eBay, looks like I should raise my rates since I am losing money on shipping.

 

Glad to help out.

Today's arrival from a forum friend. Media mail, not variable based on location. One pound or less anywhere in the USA is currently $3.19.

 

I don't think that anyone's condemning you for voicing a legitimate concern. From what I can see, you asked, and people are answering. The biggest issue is the increase in USPS rates over the past 2 years especially.

As a general rule, how it should work is: Cost of packing materials + cost of postage (+ optional cost of any special handling, IF LEGITIMATE) = shipping rates.

Ultimately, it really depends on the seller, what they use, and how well they pack their items. Some use brand-new quality LP (or CD) mailers to ship, and pack really well to avoid damage. In those cases adding that cost on as part of the shipping charge is totally valid.

I'm not necessarily opposed to re-using undamaged LP mailers, as the cost of new ones do add up. There are plenty of well-packed records I've received that come in 'recycled' packaging. In those cases though, the only cost should be the actual media mail rates, and maybe (MAYBE) a very small labor cost. Anything more than that would indeed be over-charging.

HOWEVER, I think we've all seen folks on vinyl forums, YouTube, etc. who tell newbies to just "get a free Priority Mail box at the Post Office" and cut it apart / turn it inside out / slip the record in and tape it together. And I've received plenty of records shipped in 2 pieces of cardboard (an old box or whatever) taped together. And of course there's the nightmare "LP in greasy pizza box" stories. I've had valuable records unnecessarily damaged due to crappy shipping practices like this.

And yes, many of those sellers do just go online and see what other sellers charge, and add on what everybody else is charging for shipping. In those cases, then yeah... they are overcharging and should probably be avoided.

So I guess it's hard to generalize just by looking at a seller's rates. Difficult to tell unless you ask questions. And a quality seller will probably be OK with answering a question about their packing, especially with expensive and / or rare items.

Personally, if I have the knowledge and the choice, I would rather pay an extra buck or two and know that a record is well-packed and mailed securely. And I do give my business to people who do this.

 

Yes, precisely. The Discogs shipping calculator is archaic (Discogs interface in general feels like something out of the Geocities era) and requires the seller to be able to know the weights of every item if that is the method they are using. Or do what some of the mega sellers do and just charge shipping up to an amount and make it free after that point and take a loss on shipping. With vinyl it's really difficult, a single Music Matters album is about 3 lbs, 5 oz when packed properly. Same with The Doors gatefold releases from AP. But a Blue Note double 45 from AP will come in at just under 2 lbs. But on Discogs' system you can't account for these differences since all three of them are double LPs.

So to account for this I use the other calculator setting of quantity plus value so I can buy insurance over a certain amount. It invariably comes out to costing more than the weight method which will often under calculate if more than one item is bought. If I ever sell on the SH forum again I think I will do one set shipping rate like how the big Discogs sellers do it to make it simple.

I'm also valuing my cost to go to the post office to mail things, wear and tear on my car, gas (heaven forbid if I drive my car that I'll only fill with 94 octane), etc.

The other thing is we're now seeing historically high levels of inflation. Everything is going to get more expensive.

 

Let me know where you are able to ship for $1. I'll gladly use your service.

Shipping a CD with media mail is over $3.

But since you are so sure it's $1, just let us know who you use to ship.

 

you read the whole thread before you post and decide to bully someone.

i was in error and i corrected myself and apologize for it.

you are a little late in your belittlements of me.....nice of you to think of me though.

did you enjoy it?

 

There is a such thing as time. There are a lot of stores that sell things online now. Even individual sellers may be thinking of their own time listing. And now that anyone who makes over $600 has to pay taxes on earnings (basically making them a business), I think buyers should be considering that. Pretend minimum wage is $12. It may have taken 10 minutes to list an item, another 10 to pack and ship. That's about $4 in wages spent. Add the couple bucks of packaging and postage fee... shipping & "handling" should probably be around $8 to $10 for an item if the seller really wanted to make money off it. The real question is: when will buyers realize sellers lose money on shipping in order to compete in the marketplace? Not everyone is Amazon and gets special treatment from the post office.