Quote:
Originally Posted by oldjudge
John--think about it for a second. If I ship a $200 card at the post office (the cheapest way to ship one card) and insure it it will cost me about $5. The mailer cost me $1. The gas driving to and from the post office from my current house would cost me about $2 (this doesn't count wear and tear on my car), and this all takes about 45 minutes of my time (you figure out how to value that). What I am saying is that for you or me mailing a card worth $200 it will effectively cost us over $12. The big auction house has to pay for shipping materials, a shipping manager, etc. No matter how much you think the auction house may be ripping you off, I would bet that the shipping area, as a profit center, is a net loser.
Now, you can argue that the buyer's premium should be paying for this. However, that premium must cover all the auction house salaries (except the shipping manager who we already accounted for), insurance, rent, travel to find consignments, entertainment, interest costs on advances, systems work, etc. Remember, virtually no consignor pays a consignment fee any more. In fact, big consignors typically get a kickback from the buyer's commission on their lots. All I'm saying is that this is not a business model that churns out money. It is not unreasonable for auction houses to cover their total shipping costs.
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Well... if they had explained it the way you just did, there probably wouldn't be as much anger... right? I don't really have a dog in this fight, because I rarely have enough extra cash to bid on something... but I never like the feeling of being ripped off (it doesn't matter about the amount). I have zero problem paying what at first glance seems like a ripoff, if the explanation makes sense. It's also common sense and makes for good customer service. How tough is it to write a rote response and attach it with the bill explaining the reason for the cost? Cut and paste. Done. ...and a hell of lot less anger.
That's just my $200. (originally two cents, adjusted for inflation and time to write this.)
