Excessive postage charge: should I bid?

thepedestrian

ask them if you can pick up in person as you will be down that way on business anyways - see what the reaction is !

epm-84

martindow wrote: »

Assuming it is being sent from the UK, 14 pounds is a lot more money for postage than RM or a carrier would charge unless it is an enormous item.

I've sold an old video recorder on eBay and it costed around £10 to post with Royal Mail, so I imagine something heavier like a printer could cost £12-13, making £14 the right price when you add on packaging as well.

epm-84

thepedestrian wrote: »

ask them if you can pick up in person as you will be down that way on business anyways - see what the reaction is !

Unless the buyer has offered this then they can just say 'no' People with children or who are pensioners or live with pensioners probably don't want to offer 'pick-up' service for legitimate reasons.

Also don't forget if the buyer hasn't offered 'pick-up' they may have purchased expensive packaging that they don't imagine they'll find another use for so they are within their rights to say you can collect it for £2-3 if they package it properly.

George666

Hi Op I always look at a seller deliberatly overcharging on postage to get around ebays fees this way.
If the seller is willing to rip of ebay for a few pennys then the same seller could easily try to rip me off as well.
So for that reason even if it looks like a bargain I would not buy anything from a seller like that.

thepedestrian

epm-84 wrote: »

Unless the buyer has offered this then they can just say 'no' People with children or who are pensioners or live with pensioners probably don't want to offer 'pick-up' service for legitimate reasons.

Also don't forget if the buyer hasn't offered 'pick-up' they may have purchased expensive packaging that they don't imagine they'll find another use for so they are within their rights to say you can collect it for £2-3 if they package it properly.

I take it you meant "seller" - I realise they are not obliged to - just as they are not obliged for the buyer to arrange their own courier - just said it would be interesting to see the reaction

TurkishDelight

epm-84 wrote: »

I've sold an old video recorder on eBay and it costed around £10 to post with Royal Mail, so I imagine something heavier like a printer could cost £12-13, making £14 the right price when you add on packaging as well.

If the alternatives are in China then I doubt it is a large and heavy item.

hermum

Why oh why, if you are disgruntled before buying would you even contemplate it? If it's against ebay rules report it, if you must. Life can be bl00dly difficult enough without going out of your way to make it even harder.

George666

I think by what the OP wrote in the first post that they know the postage is excessive.
The title "Excessive postage charge: should I bid?" gives me this immpresion.

epm-84

thepedestrian wrote: »

I take it you meant "seller" - I realise they are not obliged to - just as they are not obliged for the buyer to arrange their own courier - just said it would be interesting to see the reaction

I was replying to martindow's message saying that £14 would only be what would actually be paid for an enormous item and pointing out that £14 would be an approparite cost for something quite a bit smaller than an old style TV with a tube inside.

epm-84

TurkishDelight wrote: »

Yeah I know I'll get flamed, but tough- I pay full whack on my fees, cheating little gits deserve all they get.

At the end of the day in most cases it's the end buyer who benefits most from lower starting prices and higher P&P. eBay may appear to lose out on fees for starting bids but in reality most people wait to free listing days to sell more expensive items.