Shipping charges are not the actual postage costs!!

Too many buyers believe that S/H charges should be only the actual postage costs for mailing. For those that believe this, please try selling anything then let us hear from you. Also do you really believe in Free Shipping???? Just curious thats all.|||~James~|||Most buyers realize this. The eBay culture though, which allows for shipping DSRs, dictates a competitive shipping rate.***** ***** 5, 5, 5, 5 - 100% ***** *****||||||Buyers don't want to pay aany shipping. They also don't want to pay anything for the item they bought.|||as long as i can see i got something for my $ , then i don't realy care. but charge 2x postage and throw it in a used bubble envelope and you'll get used dsr rateings. if it's at least in a box and bubble wrapped then i don't care about paying a little extra. but last 3 items were not even wrapped , but each charged a handling fee. so 2 got a 4 and 1 a 2 (the 2 was because they charged 3x and nothing to protect item was used . and a used bubble envelope at that )|||As a buyer, I am not in the habit of checking post marks and postage paid. I base my decision on the S+H amount in the listing. I would prefer to pay handling charges for a properly packaged item. I am not very fond of wayward boxes held together by three layers of cello tape. It takes 15 minutes with a very sharp knife to get these packaging misfits opened. I admit that I am not an expert on FRBs, priority vs first class rates, envelope sizes and the myraid of USPS rules that exist. To be honest, I don't think there are many buyers that are experts unless they also sell. I can only go on my past buying experience to evaluate a S+H charge and I think I do alright. People are developing unreasonable expectations when it come to S+H, IMO. Let's be reasonable. I presume the majority of sellers I buy from have jobs and other commitments. I don't want anyone staying up late at night just to make sure my item gets in tomorrow's mail. susan|||I don't use any used shipping supplies (bubble wrap) I do use boxes I get at the liquor store for parcel post as they are made to handle heavy items (bottles of booze or beer). I pay over $40.00 on ebay for 375 feet of medium bubble wrap~~that's over 10 cents a foot. Many items take a LOT of bubble to properly protect them and I never skimp on bubble wrap. Yet, I may as well be dumpster diving for used crappy bubble as buyers don't realize the cost of supplies needed to safely get their item to them. I usually buy my clear tape at staples but if I run out it costs me $3.99 a roll at my local hardware store for ir. The brown craft paper for wrapping the boxes is over $5.00 a roll at Staples. Buyers don't fully realize these costs. I consider the costs a part of the selling price of the item but buyers still don't even realize the postage rates are rising every day. They look at your shipping cost in the listing and think it's "too high" when usually you are just breaking even.