i dont want to charge for shipping as i would think it would generate interest in my items. and wanted to use ups cause i hear our usps system loses packages all the time and i dont want to have a ****ty feedback rating. what do u guys do regarding shipping???
Well, how does that $4 loss feel? Not good I'm sure.
When you do your listing you have the opportunity to offer several (2 or 3) methods for the buyer to choose from.
The buyer when he pays his invoice can choose the one he wants.
The only time I give free shipping is when it's something like a shoulder patch or a booklet that I can mail in an envelope for 44 to 88 cents, and that's when I have gotten 8 to 10 dollars for the item.
Buyer's expect to pay for shipping; eBay likes to push the idea of "free shipping" as a buyer incentive, but that doesn't work for me. I even charge a $3 handling charge which typically covers my cost of placing the ad. Sure they ding me a bit on ratings (I have a 4.8 for shipping/handling) and 4.9 and 5.0 for the others.
I am a power seller and a "recommended seller" or whatever eBay calls it. This helps a bit...the rep as being someone who sells some quantity and gets high ratings. I give feedback AFTER I have received feedback. Have to be careful NOT to get negative feedback...it's a matter of pride more than anything else.
I once got a negative from a buyer who claimed the item wasn't Princess House as advertised. It was PH; it was in a box from PH. The buyer had 10 feedback; I had 300 at the time. I gave them neg feedback too (allowed at that time). Each year at Christmas I send an email to that person (who still has 10 feedback as a buyer) and my feedback is now at 850 ..... as a seller. That negative feedback stayed around A YEAR before it dropped off. eBay's philosophy is that MOST buyers will see the OVERALL PICTURE on a seller's feedback, but most sellers hate seeing the red feedback.
Edit: ....if you have 900 or so feedback a neg won't take you down much, but if you have 5 feed back and get a neg you will be sitting at 80%...that would be painful though even the dumbest buyer should be able to figure out what was going on.