What should postage costs cover?

twiggy80

I charge reasonable rates for postage and hate it when sellers charge loads just to get cheaper fees!!! "buy it now for 99p" but oh look the postage cost is £14.99!!!! Please we all know it's because you would rather pay fee's on 99p than say £10!!!

soolin

flipper_2010 wrote: »

I get people buying a 2nd/3rd/4th item from me and expecting me to post for the postage cost of one of them, even though it would be a lot heavier and then they complain to me about charging unfair postage. When it's there in black and white what the postage cost is.
I think postage should cover petrol as the petrol has to be bought in order for you to be able to post the item. Its not our fault they closed all the post offices after all is it.

Is it your buyers fault then?

If you charge more than your competitors then you just won't sell as you can't compete either on total price or in visibility on Best Match.

Apart from some categories like DVDs and books where postage is either not allowed or is capped sellers can technically put what they want. A good business man though will know that any business must stay competitive to survive.

bluebell_lily

wishuponastar wrote: »

So if you are getting it delivered you pay the sellers fees but if you collect you just pay for the item and the seller pays their fees, does seem a tad unfair but yea I guess all we can do when a seller states the postage which is overcharged is to budget it into the price of the item.

It was quite funny watching a bid go for 99p when PP was £10 for a book, no collection, but in FB mentioned for this particular seller, the seller let the buyer collect for 99p! :rotfl:Seller must have made a huge loss, it was an education textbook!!!

twiggy80 wrote: »

I charge reasonable rates for postage and hate it when sellers charge loads just to get cheaper fees!!! "buy it now for 99p" but oh look the postage cost is £14.99!!!! Please we all know it's because you would rather pay fee's on 99p than say £10!!!

And for some reason, the same item which you are selling goes for less, and that high PP item goes for more! Just a strange place eBay is!

soolin wrote: »

Is it your buyers fault then?

If you charge more than your competitors then you just won't sell as you can't compete either on total price or in visibility on Best Match.

Apart from some categories like DVDs and books where postage is either not allowed or is capped sellers can technically put what they want. A good business man though will know that any business must stay competitive to survive.

Soolin, I noticed some strange things on eBay, especially in the book category. Could someone help me please?

I thought books were capped at £2.75 but somehow this seller has 'managed to put over £2.75' for some books? :eek: :mad:

1) http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Blood-Royal-Christopher-Sinclair-Stevenson-Hardback_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a2Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a0Q7c293Q3a5Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3911Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem199ce85d3bQQitemZ110006656315QQptZUKQ5fBooksQ5fNonFictionBooksQ5fNonFictionBooksQ5fSMQQsalenotsupported
2) http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Latitude-Zero-Windsor-Chorlton-Hardback-1st-edition_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a2Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a0Q7c293Q3a5Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3911Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem199e626cdfQQitemZ110031432927QQptZUKQ5fBooksQ5fFictionQ5fGLQQsalenotsupported

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120368724123&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&viewitem=&salenotsupported
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120368750993&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&viewitem=&salenotsupported
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/The-World-of-Roger-Tory-Peterson-Devlin-Naismith-HB_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a2Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a1Q7c293Q3a2Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3911Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem1f6ae4e1dQQitemZ8433585693QQptZUKQ5fBooksQ5fNonFictionBooksQ5fNonFictionBooksQ5fSMQQsalenotsupported

Percy1983

I basically look up the exact postage + 20p seems too work and people are happy with that, same with multiple items, just add 20p to the total.

I can see what some of these capped postage things have come in, but I have a games console listed right now with will cost over £20 to post but I can only charge £14, but in charging £14 I am not getting good results on the best match search.

I think the best match needs to be scrapped, or at least not the default as some items never get towards the top of the listings when they really aren't doing anything wrong.

StaffsSW

Percy1983 wrote: »

I can see what some of these capped postage things have come in, but I have a games console listed right now with will cost over £20 to post but I can only charge £14, but in charging £14 I am not getting good results on the best match search.

I think the best match needs to be scrapped, or at least not the default as some items never get towards the top of the listings when they really aren't doing anything wrong.

£20 to post a games console? Are you planning on driving it there yourself?!

£10 tops will cover the package including a decent insurance cover and fully tracked if you use one of the parcel delivery resellers such as parcel2go.

If you are losing visibility due to postage costs, the smart answer is to revise the amount you are charging. Start the console £10 higher, and reduce the postage by £10. Now you'll be cheaper than many so see the benefit of more bids.

Percy1983

Its an Orange gamecube with gameboy player, 4 contollers, matching orange gameboy advance and a few other bits, trust me it is £20 to post.

I don't why I should give free postage and increase my ebay fees more.

As mentioned I can see why some rules have been put in place, but it seems a lot of innocent people are getting caught in the net.

StaffsSW

Up to 25kg without tracking is only £7 with many resellers though...?

The choice is yours though - pay a bit more in fees by starting it higher with lower postage, or pay less in fees but sell for less money due to lack of visibility. Of course eBay are going to give higher visibility to the products and items that make them more in fees - they're a business after all.

"I don't why I should give free postage and increase my ebay fees more." - because at the end of the day, it will make you more money as well.

Sometimes you have to speculate to accumulate.

Percy1983

This going fully tracked and insured as it isn't a run of the mill item, yes I could send using standard parcels for much less but it really isn't worth the risk.

StaffsSW

Ultimately it is your choice, but by shopping around for cheaper postage options, you will be highly likely to increase your final selling price.

As long as you have all the options and facts in front of you and you are happy with your choice then that's fair enough.

Percy1983

Its more a case of the best match system is flawed.

Somebody can list an item with exactly what postage will cost them and get further up the listings than me who is technecially giving a postage discount and posting at a loss.

As you say I may be better off increasing my price and offering free postage or reducing it down to £5 or something.

I just off as I have always been on honest seller and always listed postage correctly and now I am being punished due to many other people who abused the system.