Another excessive postage amount

soolin

custardy wrote: »

one xmas i offered gift wrapping and listed instruction on adding a gift address to paypal on a certain item i was selling
made it very popular!

Actually I think that is a brilliant idea- especially the instructions about adding a gift address to paypal.

We'll be able to spot all us MSE sellers now this Christmas as we will all be doing it!

custardy

soolin wrote: »

Actually I think that is a brilliant idea- especially the instructions about adding a gift address to paypal.

We'll be able to spot all us MSE sellers now this Christmas as we will all be doing it!

Im surprised more dont do it
from a buyers view its a done deal once they buy and wrapping stuff costs very little
I also offered to add custom messages such as do not open till xmas etc on the tags

Fishingtime

If I think the P&P are too much then I won't bid.
But like others have said it is not always the cost of the stamp and envelope,but it can be the time and the petrol to get to the PO.

soolin

custardy wrote: »

Im surprised more dont do it
from a buyers view its a done deal once they buy and wrapping stuff costs very little
I also offered to add custom messages such as do not open till xmas etc on the tags

I'm customising some of my BINs to offer 'added value' as we speak.
:money:
Although browsing one of my competitors I am highly amused at the statement in big bold letters on their auctions 'cheapest postage on ebay guaranteed' when my postage is around half of theirs. Shame no one ever gets to buy from them though as they are almost invisible now in Best Match.

custardy

soolin wrote: »

I'm customising some of my BINs to offer 'added value' as we speak.
:money:
Although browsing one of my competitors I am highly amused at the statement in big bold letters on their auctions 'cheapest postage on ebay guaranteed' when my postage is around half of theirs. Shame no one ever gets to buy from them though as they are almost invisible now in Best Match.

i dont really get best match
I do a search
have a quick look
then filter for ending soonest(incase one is just finishing at a good price)
then lowest price Inc P&P
then nearest incase there's one i can collect
so top or bottom of best match i will catch them with the other searches

System

Re postage....as a seller I needed to send a fragile item (overseas) a few weeks back...the postage I could easily work out with my trusty scales and the RM price finder...what I hadn't bargained on was trying to find a strong box, not too big, not too small... the cost in the shops was over £3.49 for a box! Yes I found one but still with the amount of bubble wrap etc I was out of pocket on the P & P.

I am fairly new to selling. but my feedback so far emphasises how much buyers appreciate good packaging so with fragile/delicate items I tend to say that I will be charging a bit extra to ensure safety...if a customer doesn't want that then they can always say so If I was buying I would rather pay a bit extra for decent packaging myself ( after all it can often be used again lol!)

soolin

Purbeck wrote: »

Re postage....as a seller I needed to send a fragile item (overseas) a few weeks back...the postage I could easily work out with my trusty scales and the RM price finder...what I hadn't bargained on was trying to find a strong box, not too big, not too small... the cost in the shops was over £3.49 for a box! Yes I found one but still with the amount of bubble wrap etc I was out of pocket on the P & P.

I am fairly new to selling. but my feedback so far emphasises how much buyers appreciate good packaging so with fragile/delicate items I tend to say that I will be charging a bit extra to ensure safety...if a customer doesn't want that then they can always say so If I was buying I would rather pay a bit extra for decent packaging myself ( after all it can often be used again lol!)

Just a tip I sell a lot of breakable items and tend to buy more boxes flat packed from ebay, if you buy in bulk they can work out very cheaply.

System

Thanks Soolin, will check that out

Hammyman

Crowqueen wrote: »

I think most people on this thread are fighting a losing battle - Hammy I think excepted, since his charges are probably a small proportion of the overall cost.

I make a loss of about £1-£2 on every laptop I ship depending on what box it goes in. Doesn't stop people complaining though. :D

soolin

Hammyman wrote: »

I make a loss of about £1-£2 on every laptop I ship depending on what box it goes in. Doesn't stop people complaining though. :D

That's where the pyschology comes in. I saw a great explanation on the community boards which somehow managed to convince me that setting the postage at just below the actual stamp cost was in fact more beneficial than giving free postage. 'Free' to many buyers suggested no one was paying, but charging say £1.50 when the item turned up with £2.16 of stamps on it psychologically made a buyer feel that he had scored a little victory. It was also suggested that whilst a seller can only get 5* for postage if the postage is 'free' a buyer might be tempted to mark down one of the other categories instead just to feel in control.

I have to say that my explanation rather lacks the finesse of the way I saw it explained on ebay.