ebay stupid postage rule

cohort

[ Buyers had to pay the cost before the only difference is it is included in the price.]

But doesn't this mean that ebay make money from postage costs ?

cyril82

cyberbob wrote: »

Soon ebay will specify Free P&P on all items. Good sellers will adapt and the poor ones will moan a lot and then go.

So as far as I can see it can only be a good thing,
.

My opinion on why it's not a good thing,

Less sellers equal less choice for the buyer and less competition leading to less "price wars" and higher prices for the buyer, add to that postage charges being forced into the sale price only adds to the perception of ebay being more expensive for the buyer.

Add to this that the changes to the search results whereby "best match" is now the default search matching criteria and the options displayed to the buyer again appear limited giving the impression that there is less choice on ebay, research proves over 90% of people don’t look past page 1 on any kind of search results.

Best match is designed to favour Buy it now listings, something ebay were keen to encourage when they brought it out but which has failed to catch the buyers imagination.

The appeal of ebay used to be the "thrill of the auction" and the possibility of a real bargain, the fact that most auctions ended up finishing above the high street retail price made little difference to the buyer as they were just happy to win the auction and the excitement of outbidding the competition or sniping them right at the death was far more exciting than going to a shop and picking up an item with the price stamped on it, they wanted the thrill and the excitement of the auction.

This had the positive knock on effect for sellers of great profit margins that today’s ebayers could only dream of. Today ebay is all about Undercutting each other, in the heyday of the ebay auction sellers didn't undercut each other, we all set our goods out 99p start and the buyers decided the price, this worked well and we all made a fortune. Ebay too, higher sale prices equal more fees!

With ebay pushing the buy it now format what has happened to the site is;

• The buying process has become boring
• limited "best match" search results obstruct buyers and discourage "impulse buying" and "cross selling" and give the impression of less choice
• Sellers with no business acumen constantly undercut each other until their items return the tiniest of margins.
• Ebay are forcing postage into start prices which gives the impression of items being more expensive.

As the site becomes restrictive to buyers, with ebay hiding sellers from them based on their DSR ratings (which mean nothing) and the auction format being pushed out removing the "fun" from ebay buying buyers will reduce their activity or shop elsewhere altogether.

With the boring "buy it now format" if it aint dirt cheap, the buyers don't want it, which is why they won't like inflated prices due to free postage being enforced.

With the auction format buyers would enter the bidding in the hope of a bargain but then it became a challenge to "win" the auction. I remember when people used to refer to ebay as an "addiction" it was more about the bidding itself than the buying for so many people and that is the magic that ebay have lost.

soolin

rebeccauk wrote: »

I find this annoying too because generally I list things starting at under a £1 - this is because ebay charge you to list anything over £1 and most of what I'm selling isn't worth very much at all. I make about 5p profit on each item by adding a little extra to the P&P but offering free P&P means I have to account for ebay fees, Listing fees, Paypal fees and my own meagre few pence profit on the starting cost of the auction! I also don't think that explanation that you have posted is very concise or plain english!!! When I first got that I was very confused!
Rebecca

Some gentle words of advice. If you are really only making 5p profit on an average item I wonder if you should consider not bothering? One postal loss will put you into a debit situation so quickly that it can't be worth the risks for so little return.

Why not build up some good karma and just frecycle your unwanted things instead?

flipper_2010

soolin wrote: »

Why not build up some good karma and just frecycle your unwanted things instead?

I've put about 10 things on freecycle this week, had about 20 replies, not one has said please! I always make sure I say please and thank you if I ever ask for anything

StaffsSW

flipper_2010 wrote: »

I've put about 10 things on freecycle this week, had about 20 replies, not one has said please! I always make sure I say please and thank you if I ever ask for anything

Our local FC groups straddle a proper rough sink-estate, and a very tranquil rural area.
You can tell instantly where the people come from by the replies.

My OH is one of the moderators and it is comical, yet pitiful, to see some of the reasons for joining.

"cos i want free stuff innit"
"i wanna new telly"
"i'm (insert sob story) and I want (insert unnecessary high value luxury) for nothing"

Compared with -
"we've retired and need to declutter downsize",
"recently refurbished a property and have lots of left overs"

flipper_2010

stevew8975 wrote: »

Our local FC groups straddle a proper rough sink-estate, and a very tranquil rural area.
You can tell instantly where the people come from by the replies.

My OH is one of the moderators and it is comical, yet pitiful, to see some of the reasons for joining.

"cos i want free stuff innit"
"i wanna new telly"
"i'm (insert sob story) and I want (insert unnecessary high value luxury) for nothing"

Compared with -
"we've retired and need to declutter downsize",
"recently refurbished a property and have lots of left overs"

Ours is pretty much the same (not from Hastings Freecycle are you?) Horrible estates around, but also nice people in the surrounding area. Now I have to sift through all the illiterate ones and delete them!

moneypooh

..with regards to DVDs - if it's a box set you can sell in the 'job lot' category and then charge postage. I asked ebay about free p&p and this is what they recommended for more than one disc DVD when it's obviously heavier.

TheAlex

cyberbob wrote: »

Soon ebay will specify Free P&P on all items. Good sellers will adapt and the poor ones will moan a lot and then go.

So as far as I can see it can only be a good thing,


Give it a chance if you list at the correct levels you will be competitive and still make a profit as everyone else has to do it. Buyers had to pay the cost before the only difference is it is included in the price.

It's not a good thing. It's just a way of ebay taking more money from sellers via the final-value-fee.

cyberbob

TheAlex wrote: »

It's not a good thing. It's just a way of ebay taking more money from sellers via the final-value-fee.

I'm afraid I have to disagree. I've been offering free postage on most items for 6 months and my sales have increased. So personally i think its a good thing

I'm afraid ebay is where the buyers are so if you want to sell to such a big market people will just have to stop moaning and get on with it

cyril82

cyberbob wrote: »

I'm afraid I have to disagree. I've been offering free postage on most items for 6 months and my sales have increased. So personally i think its a good thing

I'm afraid ebay is where the buyers are so if you want to sell to such a big market people will just have to stop moaning and get on with it

Of course your right, there’s nothing people can do if they want to sell on ebay, as you say they just have to get on with it but i disagree that the free postage rule is a good move.

As i said in the more detailed analysis above, back when ebay were comfortable doing what they do best (Auctions) the site was better, better for buyers and better for sellers, none of the changes implemented since late 2007 have been good ones and the performance of ebay shows that.

Back before DSR's, Best Match, Restricted feedback, free postage, higher fees and the pushing of "buy it now" the site was.

• a better place to buy with the "thrill of the auction" drawing the buyers in and pushing up sale prices for sellers.
• A better place to sell, no price wars, no feedback blackmail, higher end sale prices and equal visibility for everyone, After all we all pay the same to list on ebay.

The site just isn't what it was, but you still can make a good living there however it is no longer the road to riches it once was, and mainly because of stupid changes like this one.