How much are sellers allowed to charge for ‘packaging’

13

Comments

  • usefulmale
    usefulmale Posts: 2,627 Forumite
    marliepanda wrote: »
    £4.50 refunded just now so I’m leaving positive 5* feedback.

    What a coincidence.
  • marliepanda
    marliepanda Posts: 7,186 Forumite
    usefulmale wrote: »
    What a coincidence.

    Would you like screenshots of my eBay messages and PayPal?

    I sell on eBay stuff I no longer need. I’m in no way a business, but I don’t charge my buyers through the nose to make an extra few quid.

    Likewise when buying I expect reasonable costs, not twice the price.
  • soolin
    soolin Posts: 72,190 Ambassador
    Photogenic Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    I just remembered why I use inclusive postage for most of my items.
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the eBay, Auctions, Car Boot & Jumble Sales, Boost Your Income, Praise, Vents & Warnings, Overseas Holidays & Travel Planning , UK Holidays, Days Out & Entertainments boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know.. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
  • POPPYOSCAR
    POPPYOSCAR Posts: 14,897 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    sleepymans wrote: »
    Its threads like this that make me steer well clear of eBay these days. In my opinion the buyer and the seller in this case are as bad as each other.

    I agree with you.

    Whenever I buy on ebay I always take postage into account as an overall price.

    If I intend on buying more than one item I message the seller asking for a total price.

    I would not quibble about if after a price is agreed.

    As a seller I always quote postage at cost and start bidding at a price I would be happy to get and cover fees etc.
  • Marcon
    Marcon Posts: 10,647 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    OP was certainly utterly confusing. This started as a question about overpaid postage and then without explanation was all about item not as described...possibly the poor old seller was totally bemused about what the complaint actually was!
    Googling on your question might have been both quicker and easier, if you're only after simple facts rather than opinions!  
  • theonlywayisup
    theonlywayisup Posts: 16,031 Forumite
    Name Dropper Photogenic First Post First Anniversary
    I am with Marlie on this too.

    Charging ridiculous amounts when the actual postage is much less is just wrong. Don't charge a buyer £20 and send the item for £10. That's common sense (or so I thought).

    I too use the inclusive (free) postage option as that way the buyer doesn't get the opportunity to split the cost and work out if they've got a bad/good deal. I use RMT so there is no way they can guess the postage amount.

    Marlie, postage is probably one of the most discussed issues on this board. Some think you should add your shoe leather, tyre cost/petrol/diesel/bus fare to the cost along with 1p for sellotape, 10% for fees and their time taken off work for getting to the PO.
  • StumpyPumpy
    StumpyPumpy Posts: 1,458 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Photogenic
    And I'm with Soolin. I got bored with people demanding a £1 discount on postage for buying 2 widgets that I had already parcelled up, so I started listing everything with "free" postage.

    You want 10 widgets? You now pay for 10 lots of postage where as before I would have discounted it. Funny thing is my sales have gone up because I started selling the individual widget for less than the competition (I make a tiny profit if you buy a single widget) My margin kicks in when people buy more than one as I get to keep the built-in postage. And they usually do buy more than one. I've sold batches of over 100 at a time. I give bulk discounts at 5% but that is small beer.

    It's all swings and roundabouts. People seem to think they are getting a better deal with "free" postage, but they aren't always. Buy 100 widgets from me today with free postage and I make a lot more profit and get less grief than when I used to itemise the postage and packing costs.

    SP
    Come on people, it's not difficult: lose means to be unable to find, loose means not being fixed in place. So if you have a hole in your pocket you might lose your loose change.
  • Brooker_Dave
    Brooker_Dave Posts: 5,196 Forumite
    marliepanda wrote: »
    Fees and costs are a price of doing business on eBay. Not something for the buyer to pay all of. If you want to cover your costs, factor it in the price of the item not the postage cost.
    It’s postage and packaging, not postage plus all my eBay costs and PayPal fees.

    How do sellers make a living if passing on their costs to the buyers is not allowed?

    Ebay has brainwashed you into assuming anyone who charges more than the stamps cost is a thief.
    "Love you Dave Brooker! x"

    "i sent a letter headded sales of god act 1979"
  • olgadapolga
    olgadapolga Posts: 2,273 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary Xmas Saver!
    soolin wrote: »
    I just remembered why I use inclusive postage for most of my items.

    So do I. But I have still had buyers asking for combined postage when purchasing a couple of items . . . until I point out that there is nothing to combine as it's inclusive P&P :)
  • Dox
    Dox Posts: 3,116 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    olgadapolga wrote: »
    So do I. But I have still had buyers asking for combined postage when purchasing a couple of items . . . until I point out that there is nothing to combine as it's inclusive P&P :)

    You're missing the point - they are asking for combined p&p (i.e. a discount) because they know it will cost you less than posting the 2 items separately. I get it all the time, which is why I no longer offer free p&p! See http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p=73676083&posted=1#post73676083 - clearly I'm not alone.
This discussion has been closed.
★ ★ ★ Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 343.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 250.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.7K Spending & Discounts
  • 235.2K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 608K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 173K Life & Family
  • 247.9K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards