Ebay's free postage costs us more!!

wuckfit

It's really unfortunate that books vary so much in weight and size. I sold a book (on amazon) for example that cost over £8 to post first class. that's a massive chunk to absorb for anyone.
I do think that the policy is badly implemented. a cheap paperback can be posted for £1.62 and when sellers charge £4.50 it smacks of rip-off. I'll not be selling books, CDs or DVDs on eBay. at least amazon give you something towards postage.

splicecom

Hello All,

I am quite new to ebaying and I have recently sold a few items. I have to post two books (both paperback).

One weighs 0.5301grms
One weighs 0.3622 grms

When I click print postage label, it makes me sign in to Paypal and then the cheapest option to send is £4.41 when the book only sold for £2!

I should have check postage beforehand but just didnt think it would cost that much!

Am I going wrong anywhere? Does that postage sound right to you ebay pro's?

Thanks for all your help

wuckfit

splicecom wrote: »

Hello All,

I am quite new to ebaying and I have recently sold a few items. I have to post two books (both paperback).

One weighs 0.5301grms
One weighs 0.3622 grms

When I click print postage label, it makes me sign in to Paypal and then the cheapest option to send is £4.41 when the book only sold for £2!

I should have check postage beforehand but just didnt think it would cost that much!

Am I going wrong anywhere? Does that postage sound right to you ebay pro's?

Thanks for all your help

yeah, you're using eBay's postage system. will be cheaper to go to the postoffice and post them yourself, I would think.

trrk

gemtur wrote: »

I list my books as 99p then select 'heavy bulky/other courier' and list P&P as £1.60. Not had any problems yet.....

You open yourself up to negative feedback if you do this and don't actually send it by courier - especially if your buyer is someone who also sells on Ebay and is bitter about the new rules. People who are following all the rules never like it when someone tries to get around them and it's not fair really. I brought something recently with 'courier' listed as the postage option and they sent it with one 2nd class stamp - taking the p*ss really!

Scudlink

The problem I've found as a buyer with 'free' postage is the item I receive is in most cases sent 2nd Class mail and sometimes (not always) packaging is not as good/protective as sellers are trying to cut the P&P costs which they have to foot themselves.

I much prefer the old system where sellers added the stated P&P cost onto the auction end price. I would simply factor the P&P costs into my total max bid. Seller therefore doesn't lose out on P&P costs and additional eBay fees and buyer in most cases get item sent 1st Class post and potentially with better packaging (based on my experience).

I've never found sellers with high P&P costs a problem as I simply avoided them.

Debt_Free_Dreamer

nikki2804 wrote: »

I have seen people selling items with free P&P and then in the item description stating that they will add a certain amount to the final invoice for posting if this helps?

This is against eBay rules. You will get suspended if you keep this up.

toffeecoated

Ebay are pure scum. They need to be crushed. Never use them or their thieving friends at paypal.

soolin

toffeecoated wrote: »

Ebay are pure scum. They need to be crushed. Never use them or their thieving friends at paypal.

Then how will I pay for all my holidays

vgbear

I refuse to go on E-Bay now as there are just so many problems and the seller basically has no rights anymore even if they have done everything correct. (we should all write a book).

E-Bid is definately picking up now as more and more people are looking for an alternative to E-Bay and I have noticed a lot more activity on there recently. They also let you use google checkout option as well as paypal so you dont have to give E-Bay any money at all.

The problem is Ebay is just so big now people are reluctant to try smaller sites as the activity is nowhere near yet but unless people start using them they never will get as big and the vicious circle goes on and on.

ukmaddog

Of course it's correct to try to stop the sellers who are taking the p**s by selling something for a penny and charging £5 postage when it costs 31p to send it. However the rules that ebay have introduced are simply stopping genuine sellers from now selling lots of items such as books and DVD's because often these are not light items and cost a fair bit to post by any method. Ebay really have not thought this through. I have a nasty feeling that this is only the start and other goods will soon fall into this catagory of free post. Ebay state the rationale for change as 'other internet sellers offer free postage' ..well that may be true, but these are mostly large retail corporations who can absorb these charges because of the volume of sales. Ebay from the start was designed to be an auction site for buying from a variety of sellers at hopefully good prices. Unfortunately now the private seller is being squeezed out with the result being many more traders listing and only a hand full of private listings. If Ebay just want to be another Amazon, then they are going down the right path. This is more about Ebay securing more income from listing fees than saving buyers from paying excessive P&P. Why did they not raise the free listing threshold in those catagories? Do Ebay not credit the buying public with enough sense to avoid sellers who are charging excessive postage? With increased listing, final value fees and Paypal fees, it is becoming almost not worth selling any item unless it has some real value and will attract a lot of interest, otherwise it may as well be going into the charity bag! And for those who suggest only using free listing days? How many have you seen since this the rules have been changed?