I know there are some eBay stores that sell DVD’s, and no matter how many you buy the shipping stays the same.

Unfortunately there’s no search capability at eBay that allows you to do a search over how much shipping charges are, or how much you’re willing to pay for shipping. They only offer an option to search for "free" shipping.

While eBay is huge and smart shoppers can find really great deals there, the fact remains that the shipping is one area where the consumer often gets ripped off. Sellers will often increase their shipping prices, even double them, then what they actually cost to ship that item, just to make a few extra dollars. So while the price of the item you bid on might sound reasonable, ALWAYS check the price of the shipping first.

If the shipping seems high, for example shipping a DVD for $9.00 when you know it cost less then $1.50 to send to you, would be considered to me a consumer rip-off. Read the fine print in the item description too as they might say something about an extra handling fee and don’t be affraid to "Ask the Seller" a question about the shipping cost before you make a bid. Those sellers who don’t answer you, don’t buy from them.

Many people don’t realize that eBay sellers can even hide the cost of the shipping and not have it printed out on the shipping label. Sellers can also add a ‘handling’ fee that is hidden within the total cost of the item you might be buying.

Smart shoppers on eBay will avoid those sellers trying to rip them off with high shipping costs. Again, the seller is trying to increase his profit by adding a few extra dollars to the shipping when in fact the majority of eBay shippers use regular USPS parcel post, or Priority Mail, services. It’s not hard to take an educated guess on what the "true" shipping cost should be.

Of course, I don’t mind paying $1-$2.00 extra for a handlling fee as just about all sellers everywhere, not just eBay, must charge something for the packaging and handling. Again, always check the shipping costs first before making a bid or buying the item.

I like to use eBay to search for something I want, then I will do some comparison shopping using Froogle that gives me an expanded list of other stores selling the same item I’m looking for and then I search the web too. You would be surprised at how many other places you can find the same item on eBay AND save so much on a realistic shipping cost.

I love eBay, but I will only buy from sellers who have reasonable shipping charges and not trying to insult me and rip me off by jacking-up their shipping charges to hide their extra profit off me.

Good Luck!