how do i report fee avoidance

Ames

sunnysea83 wrote: »

Re alfiesmum comment - well no im not really happy,as i could have bought it from a competitor for the same money and it would have been sent 1st class recorded in new packaging and not in a used dirty packaging that has caused a new item to smell.

They are making a profit on postage which isnt allowed, if they want more profit the item should be more in the first place

The seller is clearly trying to save on there ebay fees and it makes those sellers that are trying and being honest look bad and lose on sales. I would have bought from the other seller had i have known this sellers poor service beforehand

Ok not in the original post, but still there.

Up2myneckindebt

Ames wrote: »

I think there are two issues here.

Firstly, it was poorly packaged and the item was damaged because of it. That, I think, is something that needs to be addressed through whatever the process is.

Secondly, the seller has admitted that they bump up postage to make a profit. IMHO that's wrong, but I can understand the point about the buyer knowing how much they were paying and not being able to complain about that.

Hi Ames!

Just spotted this on here and thought you might be interested in my take on it as I used to do a lot of ebaying and was a powerseller and need a break from all those forms I've been doing today!

I'll explain it exactly as it is -

Most of the reputable sellers who are business registered have to cover many overheads not just the postage. There's the packaging, printing invoices, ink cartridges, and electiricty etc that all have to be factored into their costs. Ebay charge ebay shop owners who are registed as businesses 5p listing fee. When item sells they charge them 10% of sale cost. The seller also has paypal fees are they are generally exceeding the limits for basic paypal accounts. ie they have to register for premier accounts and the commission charged by paypal is variable depending on their turnover. Generally they charge an initial 20p per payment received plus a % commission ranging from 1 - 5% or therabouts. So if your purchase an item for £10 with £2 postage ebay would charge seller 5p listing, £1 final fee. Paypal would take 20p plus % of total payment of £12. From what I can remember I think i was having 2% deducted by paypal so if it was my £12 total sale we were talking about I would have deductions of £1.05 from ebay and .44p from paypal - totalling £1.49. Royal Mail postal rates are very steep for the UK. If a package is under 100g but won't fit into the Large Letter size guide which would cost 61p 1st class, it has to go as a Packet which increases postage to £1.28! This is all on top of the actual cost price of the stock they are sellnig as well! A parcel weighing up to 4lb sent by USP Global Envelope to the UK from USA only costs $13 and can be filled to bursting with loads of stuff at that price! So Royal Mail are ripping us all off big style!

On top of all that registered ebay business sellers also have their tax bills to pay to Inland Revenue.

I do know some sellers who add all of these charges into the postage rather than add them onto actual price of item. It isn't unreasonable to do so and if buyers aren't happy at price and postage quoted then they shouldn't buy from that seller and should look for someone showing lower costs that are more acceptable.

I always built the cost of the extra ebay and paypal charges into my price for the actual item and only levied about 50p onto actual quoted postage to pay for the packaging. Jiffys and bubble wrap are also quite expensive.

These days a lot of sellers are putting postage as FREE - BUT they are increasing the price for the item considerably to absorb the other costs.

As long as a buyer is happy with the OVERALL total amount they are paying for the item and have read th listing properly there shouldn't be a problem. It is the buyers choice whether to buy from that seller - if not happy with cost then they are free to find a seller who's overall price they are happy with.

I won't get started on feedback etc on this post or I'd be here all night!!

Hope this helps you or anyone who reads it to see a clearer picture of exactly what hidden charges ebay sellers have extracted from the cost of their sale.
Regards, Mx

sunnysea83

bluffer wrote: »

You cant compare a business and a private seller. I am the latter and like other sellers, I sell on ebay is to maximise the amount of money I get from each object.

This was a business seller not a private individual

The packaging was used and old and dirty, im all for reusing packaging and i do it my self (dont charge for packaging when i do) but i would not use something that would cause the item to be dirty/smelly.

sunnysea83

Up2myneckindebt wrote: »

Hi Ames!

I do know some sellers who add all of these charges into the postage rather than add them onto actual price of item. It isn't unreasonable to do so and if buyers aren't happy at price and postage quoted then they shouldn't buy from that seller and should look for someone showing lower costs that are more acceptable.

Totally disagree the running costs of the business etc would come from the profit of the item sold, the same as it does in any other business!

sunnysea83

bluffer wrote: »

remind me to block both of you from buying from me.

Unless your ignoring ebay rules and a poor seller you have nothing to worry about!!

doesnt matter now anyway as my seller has emailed me and apologised and explained the mix up.
shes also changed all live auctions that have no bids to 1st class recorded delivery.
ive now left her positive feedback and 5 stars as she sorted the matter, whether or not her reason given is true who knows but at the end of the day she apologised and refunded the difference with an explanation! she was after all a decent and honest seller it would appear and i know longer have an issue. The top can be washed before i wear it, which istn a problem

Up2myneckindebt

sunnysea83 wrote: »

Totally disagree the running costs of the business etc would come from the profit of the item sold, the same as it does in any other business!

You're splitting hairs! All overheads including purchase price of stock has to be taken into account by sellers so they can fix the retail price so they can make a profit. Why else would they be in business anyway if they can't make a profit?At the end of the day the seller fixes their price and postage. If buyers aren't happy with that then DON'T BUY FROM THAT SELLER - go elsewhere and find another seller whose overall total price you are happy with and buy it from them! No use whingeing retrospectively when you had all the details as regards price and postage on the listing and then continue to go ahead and physically buy the item - only to complain later! :rolleyes:

sunnysea83

It isnt fair on those honest sellers tho is it,.

you have seller 1 selling the item for £10.00 and posting for £2.00, theyre postage costs them £1.92 to send so they get 8p for packaging.

You have seller 2 selling the item for £10 with postage of £2.00 but it costs them only 92p to post. so they are making an extra £1 on the honest seller who is charging actual postage for the postage listed and paying the right fees!

Same as if seller 1 was selling at £11 and £1.00 postage and sending for 92p same as seller 2 - seller 1 is being honest and charging honest postage and yet losing out as they get chrged more for fees for it!

Thats looking at it from a sellers view and not as a buyer.

cyberbob

Up2myneckindebt wrote: »

At the end of the day the seller fixes their price and postage. If buyers aren't happy with that then DON'T BUY FROM THAT SELLER -

So were you one of the first people that started whinging when Free P&P came in! Attitudes like this are the reason why. If you wish to use ebay and the market that they give you. You need to follow the rules. Otherwise sell elsewhere. Thats why sellers are slowly being told that they cant fix there P&P, Maybe you should read the rest of the thread properly.

Slowly sellers with attitudes like yours are being weeded out and with tougher restrictions on DSRs and More Free P&P coming more will go. That can only be a good thing as it will give buyers far more confidence in the platform and open up the market for sellers who do not wish to rip there customers off and believe in Customer service, Bring it on I look forward to lifting my Customer service even more and making more profit due to this.

Brooker_Dave

sunnysea83 wrote: »

the response i got was that they they have to charge high postage to make a profit as they cant list the item for more cause their competitors charge the same as them, there competitors postage is 20p more for postage but its 1st class recorded delivery!

Its clearly fee avoidance and the seller has even said they use postage for a profit.

how do i report this??

Don't report it to anyone.

It's only a few £s and everyone has to make a living.

The more you people whine and get people booted off ebay, the less competition there will be and the more you'll end up paying.

Brooker_Dave

sunnysea83 wrote: »

No i was over charged by £1.60

Why would you even care about £1.60?

It's P&P not just P....