Advice on postage for an ebay newbie

mismax

Hi,

I am trying to list a few items on ebay to bring in some spare cash while I am on unpaid maternity leave. The range of postage options is just baffling to me and to be honest I'm a bit scared of messing up.

I have read through some of the stickies on here trying to find the answer but there is so much info my baby brain is spinning!

I wonder would anyone be kind enough to tell me what is the best postage option to select to keep my customers happy and to protect myself?

I would prefer to go via the post office rather than a courier collection.

I have one item that I am hoping will sell for about 100 pounds. It is about half the size of a microwave so I need an economical but safe delivery option for that one.

Everything else is low value. If I'm really lucky there might be a few 40 quid items of clothing but mainly under a tenner I would think.

Any other tips that you experienced folks can give to make it a smooth experience would be appreciated.:)

hermum

Anything over £46 needs to go special delivery via RM. Under that amount you are covered for loss with your COP, do make sure that you keep all your receipts for posting & that the postcode & house number are written on in the post office.
You can work out how much it will cost here, http://sg.royalmail.com/portal/rm/PriceFinder?catId=23500532&gear=pricingcalc
I always keep the leaflet from the Post office giving the prices.
Also on your ebay account, site preferences, buyer requirements, set up your account to block buyers
Have received 2 unpaid item(s) recorded on their account within 12 month(s)
Have a primary delivery address in a location I don't post to
Have 4 policy breaches reported within 6 month(s)
Have a Feedback score of -1 or lower
Have a Feedback score of 5 or lower and no credit card on file
I have also turned on my unpaid assistant to open non paid cases after 4 days, you can set that to a time you prefer over 4 days.

Crowqueen

To protect yourself on items below £46 you need to get and keep a proof of postage. If anything fails to arrive . In a few markets there are more than the normal fair share of items "not received" (wargaming miniatures being one) but in truth in most markets losses should be fairly small and recorded delivery doesn't always track delivery, and it doesn't protect you against genuine claims (it doesn't provide extra insurance or expedite the delivery any more than normal first or second class post). It adds considerably to low postage costs, and since the buyer needs to be in to sign for it or it goes back to the sorting office, really, people who work might begin to mark you down if you make them have to drive to their PO within a week of getting the card - and of course cards don't always get delivered either. It's really not worth it on anything cheap and cheerful, though as you begin to go slightly upmarket and 70p becomes less large a proportion of the total cost, you might want to consider it. On a 99p hairclip, to be honest, it shows you can't trust your buyers. On a £9 blouse you are still covered by RM. On a £99 iPod, it won't protect your item at all (see below).

I always send first class, but then I charge for it or build the cost into start price. I know I like to get things I paid for promptly as a buyer so do this when selling to give a good service. Second class can take up to a week and therefore might have an impact on your stars.

For items worth more than £46 you should always send Special Delivery or a courier. On items that go over your expected price, upgrading your postage method is a must to safeguard the bulk of your takings even if the buyer only pays the postage rate originally associated with the below £46 start price. Too many people arrogantly assume buyer should pay and take no care at safeguarding the items. Then they get upset and post here and people have to let them know they won't even get RM to pay out on a claim because they didn't send the correct way. Therefore it really is "a stitch in time saves nine"; better to spend £10 out of £100 on decent insurance and get £90, than to spend £5 on non-insured post and get nothing when lose it all to a bent postie (or a bent buyer taking advantage).

For the "half the size of a microwave" item you might look at courier comparison or broker sites. It really does pay off to do your research so you maximise your end price and get the best deal for your buyer. Doing the work now and being prepared to consider all options will be much better in the long run than skimping - you're the seller, the work you put in reflects what you get out of it at the end of the day.

For £100 I'd stay in all day for a collection, for example (of course then you have issues with Paypal...). For £1000 I'd hand-deliver to anywhere in Europe.

But that's just me.

soolin

postage requirements for seller protection here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3146680

and tips fo rnew sellers here

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1623183

misterthrifty

Rather than standing in the PO while they print a label for each parcel, I prefer to put my own stamps on, it also looks really good if there are lots of colourful one's.

You can buy postage at a discounted rate from online stamp dealers (just search for 'discount stamps' or similar) and you can also make a profit on the postage (I find this covers my ebay fees).

HTH

Mr T

soolin

misterthrifty wrote: »

Rather than standing in the PO while they print a label for each parcel, I prefer to put my own stamps on, it also looks really good if there are lots of colourful one's.

You can buy postage at a discounted rate from online stamp dealers (just search for 'discount stamps' or similar) and you can also make a profit on the postage (I find this covers my ebay fees).

HTH

Mr T

You still have to queue up though to get your proof of postage stamped.

mismax

Thank you very much for all the helpful replies, I really appreciate you all taking the time to help!

I have all my items listed now. I want to add some info to one (I found some extra detail on sizing) but when I go to click on "edit" on the listing it takes me to the ebay login screen. Obviously I am already logged in to be able to see the items I'm selling in the first place but even if I go to login again it just takes me round in circles!

Should I be able to edit my listing and if so how?

Thanks

hermum

Is there already a bid on it? If so you can add to the description but not edit, I also don't think that you can edit within 12 hours of the end.
If neither apply try clearing your cookies, or restarting your computer.
Yesterday someone said that had that problem in Firefox but not in IE.

mismax

Tried it in ie and it worked! Thanks, I would never have thought of that!
:j:j