Ebay Shipping Costs

[Sad Iron]

Hey guys, I'm wondering if I could get some feedback on my methods for shippnig on ebay, I'm taking a lot of flack for what I've done from buyers and I'd like some advice on trying to improve on that.

I'm in Ontario, Canada and the shipping rates fluctuate quite a bit up here, especially to the southern States and the west coast.

I have selected flat rate for each location (Canada & United States) with Canada a little cheaper, and left them very high as an estimate.
In the auction listing I have posted (I thought very clearly) that I would calculate actual shipping for the winning bidder at the end of the auction and use the "discount" feature in ebay to subtract the difference from the estimated total.
Most of my problem seems to be from buyers who don't actually read the auction they just see the shipping costs and send a question right away to gripe, I even had one guy tell me that he was going to give me X amount of dollars and I would be responsible for getting the item to him.

How can I make this clearer to potential buyers and avoid future conflicts with them??

Thanks in advance

Jonathan

[Skip Landis]

Jonathan, i listed some things over the winter & took a bath on shipping because i underestimated the costs. i finally corrected by using flatrate boxes. in the case of foriegn shipments, i box it, take it to the post office to get a price, then email the buyer with that info. as far as people not reading the INTIRE listing, not much you can do. evan though people say you must take paypal, i listed in my adds 'NO PAYPAL'. no problems from ebay, but several people payed with it, so i had to revive my account. harry has the same problem on here. people do not read through.skip

[JKWidener]

I wouldnt list any shipping charges on your auctions, just put in the discription the following "Please email me for a shipping quote, due to fluctuating shipping costs" That should work and keep everyone happy.

[Gerry Boose]

We have a fairly accurate scale and measure the parcel, then use Canada Post web site to get a fairly close shipping fee. I give a shipping fee and then tell the buyer when I have shipped the package that I will refund any excess money, over $2.00 IF he has paid with Paypal. If the buyer is in no hurry I will take the parcel to the post office and get an accurate shipping cost, if I am going any way. We do not over charge and get mad when others do it. It's one thing to be up front with it, but we have had people say it is for a "handling charge" but nothing is in the listing about a handling fee. Like anything, there are good and bad.

[diesciple]

Indicate the weight & size of the item in the auction description and ask prospective bidders to check the shipping for themselves !!
I have to admit I'm getting sick of dumb wits not reading my auction details and screwing up the process after bidding Ebay doesn't help by heavily biasing in favour of buyers now. How ridiculous is it to remove the negative feedback option for sellers ??!! There are some real idiot buyers out there that don't realise when they have a good deal and just neg the seller even when a problem is not their liability !
The main problem with ebay now is this mandatory paypal thing ! Just how much does ebay want out of a deal ??!! I just tell buyers my paypal is down and they will have to pay by cheque