A Few Words About Prices and Terms

[james terrio]

From time to time discussions arise about sellers asking buyers to pay via PayPal, but either use the "gift" option or to add 3-4% to cover the fees. I do not recommend going along with that. Adding extra fees is a cheep way for a seller to get his customers to pay extra for his convenience, and using the "gift" option strips a buyer of any recourse if for some reason the deal goes wrong.

Part of my job is to make it as painless as possible for people to buy my knives. Therefore...

I sell knives at a flat price that includes shipping and handling to anywhere in the US (international orders obviously require more $ from the buyer, and that has never been a problem).

I strongly do not recommend mailing cash for obvious reasons, and I am not currently able to accept credit cards directly, so nearly all my knives are sold through PayPal, and occasionally someone will prefer to mail me a check or money order.

When folks pay me via PayPal, I do not charge them extra, because I agreed to PayPal's fees for processing the transaction for me when I set up my account there, and I think the convenience is worth it. When people pay via check or money order, I do not give them a discount, because I have to deal with all that myself (and in the case of a check, wait for it to clear). Same knife, same price either way.

Thank you for your support!

 

[Greykilt]

Well Said. One can buy from a maker with integrity OR maybe choose not to. James is an honorable man.
I have been using paypal for years and I always wondered why a seller just didn't flat rate his wares rather than the "Gift" option request I see in several For Sale' posts. Now I know.

 

[daizee]

You said it.
Transaction fees or 'handling' are part of the cost of doing business. Price your wares accordingly and present a consistent view to the customer. I usually will ask a flat $5 or $10 for shipping depending on value (insurance), which lets me save a local customer a few bucks by saving me trouble, or waive shipping if I want to give an incentive or discount to certain online customers. But other than that the price is the price.

 

[AddictedToGear]

Well said, and from a business stand point it makes the most sense.

 

[james terrio]

I just include insurance in my "shipping and handling" costs.

The only time I make it more complicated is to offer if a person buys more than one knife at a time, I'll knock a few bucks off the total, since I'm saving a little by shipping two knives in one box; likewise, if they're going to pick it up or we're going to meet up at a show or gathering, I'll take some off the total since I don't have to ship it at all.

 

[james terrio]

Please allow me to clarify something... last night a client bought a knife from me and added a few bucks to his PP payment, to cover any fees. That is not necessary!

I refunded the extra back to him, because my original asking prices include all domestic shipping (I generally ship by USPS Priority Mail, unless the customer requests a different carrier), fees, sales tax, insurance, etc no matter if you pay by PayPal, money order or whatever. That complies with various PayPal and BladeForums rules, and frankly it makes it easier for me to keep track of my books.

The only time I ask customers to pay more is if they're in another country, because that usually entails more cost to ship, possible customs fees/taxes etc. For international orders, I will look up all the actual costs and let the customer know

That gentleman also confirmed his correct shipping address in a private message, and that's always a good idea :thumbup: On two separate occasions I sold a guy a knife, they forgot that they had moved but didn't change the address on their PayPal accounts, and I sent it to their prior home Happily, we got it squared away both times and they got their knives, but it was a bit of a hassle.

Also, if you want a knife shipped to your job or something, so you know someone will be there to get it during the day, just let me know. I understand that sometimes people are leery of having an expensive package just sitting on their doorstep all day.