Eventually, if you do quite a few auctions on ebay (as a seller), you will want to achieve "top rated seller" status. Why bother? Well, you get 20% off the final selling fees, and 30% off the shipping rates. So the savings are substantial.
Unfortunately, in order to maintain this status on ebay, its almost impossible unless you offer "free shipping". Just like Amazon, and anyone else that offers free shipping, shipping is not "free", its just built into the selling price (otherwise, everyone will go out of business). So you build it into your selling price, just like you should build in the cost of padded envelopes, label stock, tissue paper, trips to the post office, etc.
Ultimately, if this does not work for you, then being an active seller on ebay won't work either.
I routinely buy stuff on ebay from China. 100% of the time, shipping is free. I just bought 100 spoke nipples, free shipping. Took about 3 weeks.
Really, its not ebay that is competing with Amazon, its YOU, as the seller. Ebay just provides a platform for buyers and sellers to meet. And buyers now are so accustomed to free shipping, its become an entitlement. I have discussed Amazon's free shipping with others. Does anyone think FedEx is giving Amazon free shipping? Of course not. Amazon pays millions in postage and shipping every year. So when they offer free shipping, its not free at all, its just built into the pricing.
Last edited by wrk101; 01-23-13 at 10:12 AM.