I’ve noticed a couple or three troubling trends in BST postings lately…
The easy one to deal with is needlessly bumping other peoples BST topics by posting in them sometimes with the caption “Free Bump”. Please don’t do that. We have a one bump/day rule that we hold the original poster to out of fairness to everyone else trying to sell items so the same guy isn’t always on top. If you want to make an offer or inquire about an item offered for sale, please do so via a PM. Don’t bump other people’s topics.
Next is paypal and shipping fees as add on costs. Offering a yoyo for $50 then asking for shipping and/or paypal fees is like going to Jiffy Lube for the $20 oil change and then getting charged $10 for shop supplies. Truth in advertising is lacking. Plan ahead and price your stuff accordingly to account for shipping and paypal fees. Note that our rules expressly mention including the paypal fee in the price of an item rather than tacking it on after the fact. In my opinion, shipping costs come under the same rule.
(just spitballing here) Can you remove the ability for other people to post in BST’s other than the OP? There is not many reasons one would need to post in someone else’s BST post anyway.
Is it possible for us to have the ability to lock/unlock a post but only in the BST section?
Make an OP then lock it, Unlock to bump than lock it back. a couple extra clicks and problem solved?
Palypal fees should be take into consideration to every post, I agree.
But what was the third thing that bugged ya? you only listed two, and here in Gotham, Inquiring minds Must know!
Free bump.
However, I understand and I am a culprit to the bump issue. I tend to post a grateful line or two about my experience with that seller. Which have been excellent IMHO. won’t happen again.
When I see a yoyo on the YYE store that is $50, I put it in my cart. Then when I go to checkout, they add on shipping fees.
Offering a yoyo for $50 then asking for shipping and/or paypal fees is like going to Jiffy Lube for the $20 oil change and then getting charged $10 for shop supplies. Truth in advertising is lacking. Plan ahead and price your stuff accordingly to account for shipping and paypal fees.
Counter rant: Putting shipping pricing separate
First, if there is a specific rule that states shipping price must be included with the yoyo price, then I apologize, but if there isn’t a rule, then I think separating the two things is actually better.
When I post a yoyo, I give it a sale price. I then ask the buyer to add a certain dollar amount for 2-3 day priority shipping. By separating the two items, the buyer knows exactly what they’re getting including the type of shipping.
i.e. $40 for the yoyo, please add on $7 for 2 day Priority shipping.
On the other hand, “$47 shipped” gives the buyer less information. What type of shipping is being used? That would have to be arranged by the buyer, I guess. But, more likely, the buyer is a young person who doesn’t ask a lot of questions and receives the yoyo via the cheapest shipping possible. I personally had a yoyo get damaged when shipped that way.
I even give deals by eliminating the shipping costs when a buyer purchases more than 1 yoyo, and they still get the high priced shipping. I get why you don’t like the extra bumps, but how the money is handled is really up to the seller & buyer.
Regarding YYE’s shipping charges, it’s one vendor with one set of rules governing things such as sales tax and shipping charges. The problem on the BST with complicated matters like PayPal fees and shipping charges is that everyone has their own rules and they’re all different. That’s why it should be the standard that PayPal fees and shipping are included in the price. It makes buying and selling easier, with less confusion, where everybody knows what they’re purchasing and how much they’re paying, like you do with a store like YYE.
I literally just had a yoyo on the BST I was interested in. I was ready to purchase it when the seller got back to me and wanted to charge an extra 35% over what they had it listed in their thread for shipping, which hadn’t been mentioned in the earlier message or in the thread, making me assume the shipping charge was already included. Deal scuttled, time wasted. It should be easier and it could be if accounting for PayPal fees (already nominally a rule) and shipping charges in your price were a requirement.
I think it should become one of the rules of the BST and threads that don’t comply should be warned and ultimately face removal. Take the uncertainty out of the BST.
I am in complete agreement about bumping and listing shipping charges as part of the price.
The PayPal fee issue is a bit more complicated than some people are making it out to be. PayPal fees are not always included. When they are, it is usually at the behest of the buyer.
Just for perspective, the PayPal fee we are talking about is a whopping 2.9%. That is $2.90 on a $100 yo-yo.
If you are a PayPal member, then you have the ability to send money to other PayPal members for free. This is done by choosing “Send as gift”. This is a great way to send funds without incurring PayPal charges, but it does not protect the buyer and the seller should a dispute occur.
If you wish to make use of the “Buyer Protection”, then the funds MUST be sent using the “for goods and services” option that will incur PayPal fees BUT will automatically include Buyer Protection. This will make PayPal the arbiter and resolver of all disputes. Generally, this means that you will get your money back if you do not get what you paid for. Since PayPal holds the $, the decision is enforceable by them.
I have had many transactions on this forum. Some people want the peace of mind with Buyer Protection; some “trust” forum members and want to save a few bucks. So, should I automatically add the PayPal fees to all of my prices? Or, is it up to the parties to decide on what type of PayPal transaction makes the most sense for them?
I have to disagree with adding shipping in the price. Often times people have more than one yoyo for sale with the caveat that if you buy more than one it’s still one shipping price. The easiest way to do that is to say up front “add $6 for shipping” or whatever the shipping charge is.
Rule #14 of the existing rules already states: “If using paypal, You must include the 4% paypal fee in the price before hand. You can’t sell a yoyo for $80 and then add the 4%.”
I think this is the best policy. One reason why, other than no recourse for scammed or unsatisfied buyers, which is already enough reason, especially for the forum/store that hosts the BST, is that you are making a transaction. It’s not a gift you’re sending to friends or family, you’re exchanging money for goods. You have to essentially cheat PayPal out of the fee they should be receiving for your business and cheating yourself out of buyer protection by fudging the truth on the form. I accept that that’s probably not going to be a compelling reason for most people, but it’s why it needs to be policy on a forum connected to a store that values good and fair business practices like YYE does.
That can be done a different way, though. “$5 off if you buy two or more yoyos,” etc. I’ve had it happen too many times that once I make a deal to purchase something, the seller magically remembers a shipping fee that didn’t exist until then and wants to add it on the total. If people want to work out paying extra for faster shipping or something similar, that could be mentioned in the BST thread or in messages. A uniform shipped to your door price on all transactions is the easiest and least confusing policy.
But you see that’s the problem I have. Adding the shipping price into each yoyo if you have many for sale isn’t really the price if more than one is purchased. My trade count here is 32 and was 200+ on yyn. I never had a single problem ever with someone else or myself not understanding a shipping price.
I agree on the shipping issue if you sell multiple yoyos to one person. I have recently been in that situation and we negotiated a lower price because of that. My experience however has been that most people buy onesies.
On the paypal issue, I don’t really care if you send as a gift or as a transaction for goods, that’s not the issue.
You can specify that the more you buy, the less you pay. $5 off, or $2 off, or 10% off each extra yoyo you buy. Maybe it’s just me, but basically whenever I’m bundling more than one yoyo off a BST together, I already try to negotiate a lower overall price to reflect that. Usually people will do that because you’re offering a nice, big cash offer that allows them to ship less things and sell more at once.
I’m not sure if I’ve ever purchased anything from you, I know I’ve purchased from a few people that have posted in this thread and had no problems whatsoever either, but you’ve had no problems because you’re probably a perfect, conscientious seller. I assume you list your shipping charges clearly in your thread, make sure your listing is accurate and ship quickly, everything a responsible seller should do. Not all sellers are so reliable and consistent. Having so much wiggle room on fees and charges just makes it that much more difficult and confusing on the whole. There are going to be sellers like you and many others who make it clear and fair, but then there are going to be others who aren’t so clear and aren’t so upfront. That problem can’t be solved totally, but having a firm understanding that the price you put in your listing should be the price shipped to their door with fees and shipping charges baked in is a good step.
Personally, I don’t see the difference. If the costs for shipping and paypal fees are listed clearly in the BST thread, are we asking all that much for the buyer to simply add?
However you want to discount it, isn’t it up to the buyer and the seller? Why does the forum have to play a part in how they negotiate? I’ve had people ask me to ship using a cheaper method. I agreed and charged them less for the total sale.
There are legitimate gripes about finding out about shipping fees after the fact. That’s obviously lame and not recommended. But, if the buyer and seller have clear communication, their transaction should go fine.
