Police Patches (the hidden cost of shipping & handling)

Here is my main concern, is with a lot of sellers on e-bay, that auction off shoulder patches. You are searching for police shoulder patches, and your search finds a few choice ones, but the real problem, isn't the police shoulder patch, or the price of the police shoulder patch. It is the additional postage cost $$$ attached to the police shoulder patch in question. Now I know that with gas prices $$ are at what they are, and such. But really $2.00 to $4.00 dollars for shipping and handling of a single patch. And that is after the price, of the auction item, added to the shipping and handling. You can add up to twenty dollars very easy with these business tactics..And this is what this does,YOU the buyer, receive, a regular sized envelope, with a .44 cent stamp placed on it, and your police shoulder patch stuck inside. A few quick pointers, to the Sellers. If you are going to ship a police shoulder patch, ( place two pieces of index cards are ideal, placed around the patch, or use hard yellow manilla folders cut to size, or maybe 5" by 8" index cards are fantastic to utilize, just cut, and place around the patch, add a little tape not much. And what this does it insures that your auction item will get to where it is going, instead of a ripped up non-deliverable envelope.These tips will prove great for both parties involved the Seller and the Buyer. And that holds the envelope together for the mail, bubble wrap envelopes are great but they raise your cost of your item. A good photo really works wonders, because you can see what you are bidding or looking at, the enlarge feature is a great plus, but if you have a great photo, that is the best result.  Always be up front about the condition of the patch, if it is from the 70's it is not going to be in new condition. And of course always be honest about what YOU the Seller are auctioning off (for example if your auction item is a hat patch, describe the item as such do not just list it, you might get by on a few buyers, but after a while e-Bayer's tend to recognize that this is your trademark and you lose future buyers, this is not a good business choice. Just be honest and you will benefit from that business selling trait. Free shipping is always a plus, or just the mailing price of 50 cents instead of $1 or 2 dollars for a patch. Which costs only .44 cents to send out. And many e-Bayers search for these types of bargains, and this is one of the best bargains on e-bay. I have searched and found patches on e-bay that I wanted but, after adding the price and then the shipping and handling which totals out to $8.00 to $12.00 dollars, I will pass every time on auction patches like that. Also we all have had a bad experience with a buyer, it happens unfortunately, but don't let a one time deal place negativity ruling your e-bay auction, it's bad for your business and e-Bayer's tend to stay away from situations like that. Sell your auction item, not a bad attitude, e-Bayer's will respond better a lot to that, then a stern warning about what will happen, we all know what will happen. So sell what you have, make a small profit and make everyone happy, if you try to sell at a steeper inclined price, your buyers, will look and watch but will not bid until the last second, or not at all. If you give a slight bargain. You will notice your selling power rating go up and you will get repeat customers, always a plus. Also communication is a major plus factor, it gives you the seller the chance to conduct business with a multitude of people. And last giving feedback is great it shows e-Bayer's on both sides buying and selling of your status within the e-Bay community. I've a number of e-Bay sellers that I do business with regularly because of their prices and their shipping and handling, I can't say that for everyone, that sells in e-Bay. Remember a happy customer always returns for more, so make them happy. PatchesByGunny