A savings tale from ebay... or Why people struggle

[disneysteve]

I sold an item on ebay the other day for $165. It's a totally frivolous collectible book with no practical value at all.

The buyer messages me and asks if I can downgrade shipping from Priority to Media Mail to reduce the cost. I tell her instead of $18, it will be either $11 insured or $7 uninsured (explaining that means I will not be responsible for any damage that occurs in transit). She says she has more time than money so send it Media Mail and do the $7 shipping because "I just need to save money."

Well maybe if you really need to save money you shouldn't be blowing $165 on nonsense on ebay.

[jenn_jenn]

Yikes. I really don’t understand some people’s logic or money management skills.

Side note: I have anxiety just thinking about shipping a valuable item without insurance through USPS right now. I’ve had too many lost items or very late (think 6 months+) deliveries lately.

[kork13]

Does the item even qualify for media mail?

I have a feeling that it's more likely that she simply wants to minimize shipping costs. The comment about "more time than money" could just as easily be sarcastic, and an easy way to justify wanting to save money on the shipping.

[disneysteve]

Side note: I have anxiety just thinking about shipping a valuable item without insurance

Yeah, I shouldn't have given that as an option. I'll end up insuring it and just eating the cost. It's not worth arguing about. I'll just make $3 less profit which I'm okay with.

[disneysteve]

Does the item even qualify for media mail?

Yes, it's a book.

[bjl584]

I see this happen at work all the time
Customers spend thousands of dollars on product then ask us to get shipping quotes from every carrier on the planet in order to save a few dollars.

[ua_guy]

I don’t think I can fault the buyer. It’s not much money ultimately, but the book is of relatively little value itself, and most packages aren’t lost or damaged in transit.

It does feel like splitting hairs over a couple of bucks, but when it’s someone’s hard-saved money, I can sympathize with that on some level.

[disneysteve]

I don’t think I can fault the buyer. It’s not much money ultimately, but the book is of relatively little value itself, and most packages aren’t lost or damaged in transit.

It does feel like splitting hairs over a couple of bucks, but when it’s someone’s hard-saved money, I can sympathize with that on some level.

I get that saving a dollar is saving a dollar. It just seems a bit short sighted to not want to adequately protect a purchase of that value. I don't know what goes on behind the scenes at USPS but I'd like to think that Priority Mail gets better treatment than Media Mail generally speaking.

Her message just struck me as odd. I'm buying this super expensive book but I don't want to spend $4 to protect it in transit because I need to save money.

[rennigade]

Im more curious about a book being worth that much. What type of book was it? Every now and then when im at goodwill I see people scanning books with their phones. I assume it tells then what the book is being sold for? I know people resell them all the time.

[disneysteve]

Im more curious about a book being worth that much. What type of book was it? Every now and then when im at goodwill I see people scanning books with their phones. I assume it tells then what the book is being sold for? I know people resell them all the time.

It was the first edition collector’s edition of Tales of Beetle the Bard (from Harry Potter). $165 is actually on the lower end. It often goes for over $200 but I’m not complaining.