Overcharged by £2 for P&P what can I do?

JoolzS

I have to say that I can see this from both sides of the fence. If I ever bid on an item on ebay then I automatically take the P&P price into account. If an item is 99p with 2.99 P&P then it costs about £4 (to me).

My DH is one from the other side. He sees an item for 99p and, in his head, that's what it costs. He wouldn't complain about a 2.99 p&p cost, but would probably complain about a 12.99 p&p cost. He would, however, be wrong to complain at all - he's an ebay idiot on occasion.

The P&P cost is posted on most ebay auctions - when it is posted your bid is based on including that cost. On the rare occasion no P&P is mentioned, then you are simply a moron for bidding without asking.

Julie

aqueoushumour01

the postage debate always makes me laugh. I look at the item cost, say £5.00 and I look at the postage, say £4, and I say to myself "Is the item worth £9?". If yes, I buy it. If not, I don't. The fact that I don't know how much it will cost the seller to post it is irrelevant.

soolin

I just hope every buyer that can leave stars is as relaxed about the postage charges as many people on this thread are.

cyberbob

soolin wrote: »

I just hope every buyer that can leave stars is as relaxed about the postage charges as many people on this thread are.

I'm afraid they're not Soolin so keep an eye on your DSR's and your ESD. All that happens is these threads are a bit like moths to a flame or in reality flies to a dung heap with the same old defense for High postage. In reality what people say on these threads does not matter its what people customers do. I think in October a few more sellers are going to have a bit of a shock. There will be lots more winging about Free P&P (and the DSRs) and lots of threads threatening to leave Ebay or start petitions. What some sellers seem to have real trouble comprehending is that they bought Free P&P on themselves. They can come back to threads like this and give us the same old arguments again and again but it won't change a thing. I'm realy looking forward to October:D:D

asharon

People post ooh was I ripped off threads because part of them knows that they agreed to the price beforehand and they just want some people to give them the ok before doing it. Else they would just do it without asking first.

It was not please bid and I will only charge the cost of postage, but rather this is the cost for post, packing etc bid but see the cost first.

People are saying ooh no they ripped you off charging excessive postal charges. What tosh. Don't like it then dont bid !

More like I know a way to get an item cheaper...that is the rip off.

wam73

I'm an E-bay business sellar and to get people to even look at your items they have to be the cheapest. Selling what I do doesn't have much profit so I do have to put my fee's into my postage. When selling one item this is ok but to give discount on any additional items does bring the postage up higher. I don't actually make any money on this extra postage as it all goes in e-bay and paypal fee's. All I ask is please be aware of this and don't always mark stars down as some honest people are just trying to make a living.

soolin

wam73 wrote: »

I'm an E-bay business sellar and to get people to even look at your items they have to be the cheapest. Selling what I do doesn't have much profit so I do have to put my fee's into my postage. When selling one item this is ok but to give discount on any additional items does bring the postage up higher. I don't actually make any money on this extra postage as it all goes in e-bay and paypal fee's. All I ask is please be aware of this and don't always mark stars down as some honest people are just trying to make a living.

You don't need to explain yourself on a forum like this, if you charge a lot more than actual postage plus a few pence then you need to explain your reasons for charging that to the several million potential buyers. They will get an option box that asks for their personal experience of postage..and assuming most take that to mean the amount charged..you need them to consider you to be excellent. If even a tiny minority mark you down even by 1 star then your business will suffer. If 100 people think your charges are emerely good and all leave 4* that would be enough on s low month to ring your stars below your FVF discount levels.

As a business your FVF discounts are of course quite high if you maintain your star ratings so you could save money by keeping postage to actual + a small amount. You also pay less FVFs anyway, even before discounts than private sellers.

If I thought I was paying for all your on costs including paypal and ebay fees in the postage then you'd not get a 5* from me. Even if that makes me a complete minority, I might be enough to cost you money.

wam73

Thanks for your comment, So how do other sellers get around all the fee's and get 100% on their stars? They cant possibly be making a profit on their selling price. I always check the price of my items by other sellars and it is just impossible to run a business on what they are selling their items for. I must admit I am finding sorting the costings for my items very hard and time consuming but have only been up and running a month. So hope it is going to get easier.

cyberbob

wam73 wrote: »

I'm an E-bay business sellar and to get people to even look at your items they have to be the cheapest. Selling what I do doesn't have much profit so I do have to put my fee's into my postage. When selling one item this is ok but to give discount on any additional items does bring the postage up higher. I don't actually make any money on this extra postage as it all goes in e-bay and paypal fee's. All I ask is please be aware of this and don't always mark stars down as some honest people are just trying to make a living.

I totally agree with Soolin as I would also mark your stars down if I thought you had priced your fees into the postage. Also you need to be aware that the Higher your postage it will effect you search Status and push you down the searches. If you are having problems scraping a profit in what you are selling you may need to look at your stock and your business model. To be successful long term you need to be willing to adapt and change what you are selling and your practices.

soolin

wam73 wrote: »

Thanks for your comment, So how do other sellers get around all the fee's and get 100% on their stars? They cant possibly be making a profit on their selling price. I always check the price of my items by other sellars and it is just impossible to run a business on what they are selling their items for. I must admit I am finding sorting the costings for my items very hard and time consuming but have only been up and running a month. So hope it is going to get easier.

If you can't sell your stuff at a profit then blame your wholesalers, you need better stock or a better discount. It is not unknown for different peope to get different levels of discount for the same goods from the same wholesaler or supplier. Negotiate harder or change your goods.

Also look at your bottom line after tax and NI, if you are running borderline for a loss then rethink whether ebay is the way to go. There is a recession on, some of your competitors may even be selling stock off at a loss rather than sit on it, I've certainly sod some of my end of lines off at break even only just to get shot of it.

All your fees are tax deductible anyway, so you are in a much stronger position with that and your FVF discounts than a private seller just selling off odds and ends.

EDited to add: AS a new seller you may also have hit the problem that the existing sellers cana fford to undercut you and see you off and then put their prices up again. Whenever people ask on here about entering ebay in a market where there are already a number of established sellers we always warn that the more competition there is the less profit can be made as you will all just force each others prices down.

When you did your initial cost reviews before you bought stock did you work at the existing price? If so you must have realised you couldn't make a profit. If the prices were higher when you did your full analysis and research then you have just fallen into the supply and demand issues of competition. I recently sold a line through my business account, I could buy at £3 and easily sell at £12. Once I started to get competitors in that market my end prices dropped and sort of stabilised for a while at £7 which was acceptable. Once they dropped below that I sold off my stock and got out.