Postal Gouging, as it is known is done to keep the listing price of the good as low as possible while making the real money in the shipping.
Ebay’s policy is pretty clear on this and basically states that sellers may charge the actual shipping price (inc insurance, tax, etc) and at the sellers discretion a nominal handling fee to compensate for packaging, tape etc.
An example listed on the policy page:
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (2001, DVD) BIN: US $1
Shipping: US $11 First Class USPS
Explanation: The actual cost to ship this DVD would be less than $3 using First Class Mail stated in the listing. This seller is charging all costs for this item in the shipping price thus hiding the “true†cost for this item from buyers.
Although this example is clearly against their terms, I can see grey areas that sellers could half-legitimately operate in. For instance listing a low priced item usually listed at $2 at $0.001 BIN, and then charging a $2 handling fee on top of the $2 shipping fee.
As I see it, the difference between the handling fee and the listing price shouldn’t raise alarm bells, but shipping or handling charges more then about $2 over actual cost should be avoided.
