You make some good points about how much it cost you to offer, list, and mail your sales. It is good that you attempt to package and label your packages well and I agree that people should consider all those costs when bidding and determining the fairness of postage etc. Also consider weight. Decks of cards for example, while not expensive, do command a high s/h fee because they can be heavy. I once won a dozen decks from someone and thought the 6 bucks or whatever he wanted was outragous considering the cards only cost 9. Then I got the package and realized how heavy 12 decks of playing cards was.

Your mention, though, of the listing expenses is one that was part of a previous thread a month or so ago where some including myself felt that those costs should be separated from s/h and included into part of your listing prices, your open bid price that is. Some people get so caught up in listing their $5 chips for $4.99 or .99 and hope that they get to a reasonable bid that, I feel, they cheat themselves. I personally do not pay attention to those prices because I know they are done for marketing reasons or to save a little on listing fees etc. I have never sold on eBay so I am not fully aware of all the strategies that are practiced. Anyways. I believe that sellers should take the cost of their product and add to that their cost of putting it on eBay. Maybe even start open with a small profit so that if you have to relist a couple times you can still cover the expenses of previous listings or other items that didn't produce bids. Then you at least break even when s/h is added. If you make a big profit, the commission eBay takes is reletive to your sharing that profit. Otherwise you might mention all this as part of the s/h fees and say s/h and listing expenses, $2.50 or whatever.

Personally I have no real problem with the $2 you mention. Especially from a dealer that I am experienced with and know that there is a justification for his fee. I note though that on several occasions, I have bought items, like a 100yr old magazine ad once or an old, nearly 100 yr old yearbook from my high school, that were sent for a high s/h fee and were sent in envelopes or packages that were mangled and not adequate for what was being sent. The add was creased in it's thin cardboard mailer when the mail carrier jammed it in my box. The yearbook came through fine but I cringed when I saw the soft packaging. No insurance, No padding etc. That is where the problem lies. It is always good though, when, like the 1903 book I received today, where it was in a plastic bag to protect from moisture and wrapped in a cut up Priority Mail BOX, not mailer. Good heafty corrigated cardboard and taped around all edges. And that wasn't unreasonable postage charges.

That showed a good sign of a consciensious good eBay seller. One that I would gladly pay a higher end s/h price for.