On EBay...what is a "reserve" and how does the "shipping work"?

Question

..if I'm in Canada, and i have a buyer in China; how will I know what to tell them what the shipping will be to add to their "bill"?
Usually if the seller is sending something in a box, or whatever, they are the ones who will pay for the shipping, to ensure that it gets to where it needs to go. How do you know what this will cost, with buyers oversees, or anywhere. Does Ebay use a certain mail service carriere?

Answer 1

A "reserve" is the price you may opt to place on an item to be certain it does not sell for less than that. Ebay charges extra for a listing with such a reserve. And, some buyers will simply not bid on a item with a reserve.

The advice about getting an accurate shipping scale is good, if you intend to continue sellng on ebay. (If not, then take your one item t o the post office for weighing before shipping.) You can buy a scale at an office supply place, or sometimes at a flea market -make sure the latter is accurate before forking over your money.

Weigh your item WITH the packaging (be sure it is adequately packed and protected against bumps) to get t he weight. Or take it to your local post office to get the weight, if you don't have a good scale.

Or go online to Canada Post. (Type that into google, it will show up on top)

They buyer almost always pays the shipping, unless the seller says otherwise.

You actually listed an item for international sale without knowing that? And to China? You're kidding us, no?

You sound like you are new to ebay. If so, you should not list internationally until you have gotten your feet wet in your own country, and have learned all the ropes.

You can obtain more solid advice from other ebay sellers (including thhose in Canada) by going to the ebay site, clicking on the COMMUNITY link, then DISCUSSION BOARDS - and then SELLERS CENTRAL. Lots of very helpful people there 24/7 to assist new sellers who have questions.

Answer 2

Reserve bid means that the seller sets a price minimum
That means if the initial bid is say 10 $
You bid $ 45
The seller sets a reserve ( does not have to tell you what the reserve bids is ) .
If you bid $ 45 but his reserve bid is $ 50 he does not have to sell you the item for that $ 45 even though you bid more than he was asking.
You are probably asking why not just ask the $ 50
Answer it can be cheaper for the seller to list it with a reserve bid and list it lower
Many reserve bid items actually go for less than regular listed items.
Many people will not bid on reserve bid items.
Shipping is a contract between the seller and buyer
Usually the buyer pays
Always ask before
Try to get it shipped by mail not fedex - in Canada you may have a $ 50 Fedex "Customs Opening Fee" on a $ 25 item.
If you get an item shipped by mail from asia
it can be a very good quick transaction.
Shipping costs are more than from the US>
However always always look at total price of the item shipped to your door.
An item shipped by airmail from Hong Kong can often come in record time as compared to a shipment from the us.
Just ask and look at feedback. You can get very good deals this way.

Note: ebay does not ship. They only take ads.
If you have trouble ebay will do nothing in any way other than tell you why they are wonderful and why they cannot help you
Ask questions first - it is common sense.
Shipping by mail in Canada is almost always the cheapest way and it will come to your door or your local post office pick up.

Answer 3

A reserve is the minimum price a seller will accept and will sometimes mean people won't bid because they can't get it cheap.
Shipping is whatever the seller wants to charge and whatever method they want to use. My nephew sells baseball cards and sends them first class US mail. It find USPS prices go to USPS.com(that won't work in Canada) and calculate postage. Many use UPS or ship by truck for large items.
Shipping to China might be by boat or you may not offer overseas shipping an only ship to Canada. For huge purchases like a Yacht you might require them to pick it up.

Answer 4

Your reserve price is the minimum amount you'll take for the item. It should be reasonable. If your price is not met by the bidders, the auction ends and the stuff still belongs to you, which probably means you set the reserve too high, or no one else values it as much as you.

UPS does international shiping - rates are available online.

The post office, too.

What you need is a good, accurate shipping scale so that you can weigh, as well a s measure, the package you are going to send.

A good idea is to package your item as soon as it's listed, so that you can get all this weight and size information. If you post that information, you can say something like "$5 plus UPS" in the shipping information slot, and folks can look it up for themselves.

Answer 5

They should know! You enter your zip code and it gives you the tax for your package, and shipping! And then it gives you exact, it really depends what they bought, how much it ways, and how far away you are!