Resort Fees and more

Travel
1

Finally, Resort fees are getting some attention.
IMHO, every required fee should be included in the base rate except taxes. If they want to make the WiFi or Pool optional then that is OK. Keep it simple.

Airline baggage fees are a bit more difficult but doable.
How difficult would it be to show graphics of various luggage and carry ons at the start of the search and include the cost in the search either bundled or shown separate… No Surprises.

IMHO, the key to Amazon success is Prime and no Surprises. With Prime you get Free shipping and Free returns… The price you see is the price you pay. Airlines and Lodging could learn a lot from Amazon.

2

Yes and no. Amazon has created the illusion that packing/shipping orders costs nothing. This makes it hard for smaller sellers to compete.
Just yesterday, I was looking for a couple of little replacement bulbs (I miss Radio Shack!). Sure I could buy from Amazon with free shipping. But I searched and found a smaller business that cost a little less than Amazon (fewer bulbs) but that was fine.

I think certain stores and Amazon have ruined the concept that shipping/packing costs money, has ruined fair competition, and ruined the returns process.

3

I used to see this on Ebay:

A product would be listed as $14.99 with free shipping and the same item by the same seller as $9.99 with $5.00 shipping.

I also wonder if their Ebay fee was just based upon the item price before tax, so was their fee higher if theyincluded shipping in the listed price?

4

The seller might be trying to see which one sold faster. The $9.99 price may entail lower sales tax vs. the $14.99 price. Just a guess. Years ago, a long time ago, sellers would list an item for a very small amount and charge a large shipping fee. Ebay was back then only charging a fee on the sold price. Shipping was not hit with a fee charge. So sellers played that game for as long they could until Ebay caught on.

You used to years ago see bidders ID and not the cryptic ones they shroud with them now. There was a hack that you could see what they were bidding on. I found items that I competed with bidders on with this hack.

Ebay and its fees have turned to me off to selling on that venue. The whole $600 thing and getting a 1099 tax form if you go over $600 in sales in a year has turned me off. Getting taxed on stuff you are selling used simply because you have no receipts is a joke with a $600 threshold.