eBay Sellers - delivery options

Crowqueen

Flickering_Ember wrote: »

But for trackable online couriers or special delivery, the buyer would also need to be at home to sign for the item when it was delivered...

The item would presumably be worth staying at home for. A DVD or CD or hairband or pair of socks isn't really, is it?

vicx

Crowqueen wrote: »

Items left for me are left on the front doorstep so it does make a difference.

And it's an extra 77p on top of normal costs, just because you don't trust a minority of buyers - and yet you still have two INRs.

I don't get sellers who don't get the amount of trust involved in selling on eBay and if you don't trust your buyers, you might as well give up now, as it isn't going to get any better.

The two items that have apparently vanished into thin air are items which I sent standard delivery as the postal service on this listing was 'standard delivery'. If they wanted recorded delivery then they could select this service from the drop down box at an extra cost of 77p.

There is many honest ebayers but there is also alot of dishonest ebayers who want a free item so as a seller I would rather post recorded delivery for higher value items (over £10.00). That way there is no false INR claim, the buyer doesn't get a free item and the seller or RM are not out of pocket. Recorded Delivery rarely goes missing, is it usually items sent standard delivery as there is no proof the buyer received the item.

soolin

vicx wrote: »

The two items that have apparently vanished into thin air are items which I sent standard delivery as the postal service on this listing was 'standard delivery'. If they wanted recorded delivery then they could select this service from the drop down box at an extra cost of 77p.

There is many honest ebayers but there is also alot of dishonest ebayers who want a free item so as a seller I would rather post recorded delivery for higher value items (over £10.00). That way there is no false INR claim, the buyer doesn't get a free item and the seller or RM are not out of pocket. Recorded Delivery rarely goes missing, is it usually items sent standard delivery as there is no proof the buyer received the item.

Recorded is standard delivery, the only tracked service is special delivery.

I use standard 2nd class for all items under £46 and lose about 1 in 1000 items. If I suspected everyone on ebay was a crook those 1000 items would have cost me an additional £770- all to protect against one loss that cost me less than £7.

I've just lost two further items actually, one to China and one to Australia and will be refunding both today as it has been 3 weeks. However most of my sales are overseas and it would cost me thousands to use tracking and I would need a courier- so again it is not cost effective. However I do not believe my buyers are thieves and liars, I believe there is an issue currently with some overseas post and these items are lost.

However in the spirit of competition I would urge every single other seller on ebay to use recorded- it helps my own sales a lot as I look so much cheaper!

Strapped

^what Soolin said. I have a similar loss rate. Some I am pretty certain were the buyer scamming, some were genuine, but you can never really be sure so there's no point in worrying about it.

I do think that it's absolutely pointless listing standard posting, and recorded postage as an option - why would the buyer fork out extra money for something that is for your benefit not theirs? Do you have anything in your listing that says that you will not be responsible for items lost in the post unless the buyer chooses recorded? As I've seen quite a few sellers who say this, and I'm pretty sure that it attracts dishonest buyers.

custardy

vicx wrote: »

The two items that have apparently vanished into thin air are items which I sent standard delivery as the postal service on this listing was 'standard delivery'. If they wanted recorded delivery then they could select this service from the drop down box at an extra cost of 77p.

There is many honest ebayers but there is also alot of dishonest ebayers who want a free item so as a seller I would rather post recorded delivery for higher value items (over £10.00). That way there is no false INR claim, the buyer doesn't get a free item and the seller or RM are not out of pocket. Recorded Delivery rarely goes missing, is it usually items sent standard delivery as there is no proof the buyer received the item.

why would a buyer want recorded delivery?

custardy

Strapped wrote: »

^what Soolin said. I have a similar loss rate. Some I am pretty certain were the buyer scamming, some were genuine, but you can never really be sure so there's no point in worrying about it.

I do think that it's absolutely pointless listing standard posting, and recorded postage as an option - why would the buyer fork out extra money for something that is for your benefit not theirs? Do you have anything in your listing that says that you will not be responsible for items lost in the post unless the buyer chooses recorded? As I've seen quite a few sellers who say this, and I'm pretty sure that it attracts dishonest buyers.

lol. I was looking at a sub £10 item with similar statements on their listings
I may still bid as stuff like that generally keeps the bidding lower

vicx

custardy wrote: »

why would a buyer want recorded delivery?

So your saying Reorded Delivery is pointless as standard delivery insures items against loss up to the same value? I did not know Royal Mail paid the same compensation for standard 1st and 2nd as Recorded Delivery.

Quite a few of my buyers have chose the Recorded Delivery option over standard delivery - Next time I'll ask them why. Maybe it is because they want the item so much they don't want to risk it getting lost in delivery. Not many recorded delivery items get lost, it's almost always standard 1st and 2nd class.

vicx

soolin wrote: »

Recorded is standard delivery, the only tracked service is special delivery.

I use standard 2nd class for all items under £46 and lose about 1 in 1000 items. If I suspected everyone on ebay was a crook those 1000 items would have cost me an additional £770- all to protect against one loss that cost me less than £7.

I've just lost two further items actually, one to China and one to Australia and will be refunding both today as it has been 3 weeks. However most of my sales are overseas and it would cost me thousands to use tracking and I would need a courier- so again it is not cost effective. However I do not believe my buyers are thieves and liars, I believe there is an issue currently with some overseas post and these items are lost.

However in the spirit of competition I would urge every single other seller on ebay to use recorded- it helps my own sales a lot as I look so much cheaper!

The buyer pays the delivery charge so the additional £770 would not of came out of your pocket, unless of course you offer free delivery on all your items.

soolin

vicx wrote: »

The buyer pays the delivery charge so the additional £770 would not of came out of your pocket, unless of course you offer free delivery on all your items.

Buyers buy on price. If they have £10 to spend on something and and my 2nd class postage is £2.36 they can afford to pay £7.64 for my item. If you are charging for recorded they can only pay £6.87 for your item..therefore you are in effect paying the 77p recorded.

I'd rather get the full £7.64 for my item rather than only £6.87..but then I sell on ebay too make money and don't believe every buyer is a scammer.

vicx

soolin wrote: »

Buyers buy on price. If they have £10 to spend on something and and my 2nd class postage is £2.36 they can afford to pay £7.64 for my item. If you are charging for recorded they can only pay £6.87 for your item..therefore you are in effect paying the 77p recorded.

I'd rather get the full £7.64 for my item rather than only £6.87..but then I sell on ebay too make money and don't believe every buyer is a scammer.

That's the way I look at it too but for items that retail over £10.00 or more I mainly only offer recorded delivery. If it comes out of my pocket then I don't mind as long as they receive the item and I can track it online to prove delivery plus it avoids getting negative feedback if a buyer claims they never received their item.

If I bought an item for £40.00 and I sell it on ebay for £20.00, the item is lost in post. Will RM only pay up to £20.00 compensation?