Sick of being accused of Postage Rip Off

liz_uk

Hintza wrote:

I seem to be getting a lot of mioans about my postage charges and wonder what other people think.

My auctions start at 99p which is about the cost of the item to me. About 20% - 25% of my auctions will close at this price or within 5p of it.

I then charge £1.45 for P+P (and send items with proof of postage) and post item 1st Class in an envelope which is adequate. I will post within 24 hours thus offering a very fast service. My prices are clearly displayed.

Costs to me:-

Postage:- 28p
PayPal Fees:- 30p
Final Value Fees:- 5p
Listing Fees:- 30p
Envelope:- 5p
Sheet of Paper:- 1p
Printing Invoice:- 3p ??
Petrol/Car to PO:- 10p ??
Time/Effort:- ????
Total(excld Time):- £1.12

Is this unreasonable?

ONE THING I WILL POINT OUT, IS.....

That it is against ebay and paypals terms and conditions to charge fees for Paypal. It use to be acceptable, but you may wish to add this charge to anothor of your expenses if you wish to include it.

Liz x

cannylad_2

Hi,
Personally I think you are overcharging for postage, after all its for postage and packing and not to cover your admin charges etc.
Why can't you start your auction at £1.50 and that way you can't lose, unless of course your item isn't worth that.
I want to buy an optical mouse and the cost is around £10 - £15, the postage is an outragous £9, when it should be around £3 so I might as well but it from a shop. In my mind people overcharging for postage to cover other means is just spoiling ebay.

Thanks
Cannylad

BFG_2

It's the TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP that is important.

It's the TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP that is important.

It's the TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP that is important.

It's the TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP that is important.

RACHIE77

Wow, I only went out for a few hours - lol!!

It looks like there is a bit of a divide here, I think I can see most peoples views but IMO if you buy an item with £6.99 p&p fee and you are prepared to pay that then you shouldn't be upset that it costed that.

If something had "free P&P" and you got it delivered recorded delivery at a cost of £4.50 (which is what happened for one of my past auctions) would you complain and demand that you paid the seller more??

Of course not, you'd just think you'd got a good deal, so why complain when its the other way round and leave neg feedback... if the auction clearly states the p&p fee and the goods arrived packaged safely and in good time whats the grumble??

I know that some sellers (mainly overseas I believe) use the p&p fees to rip off ebay and save on ebay fees (i.e 'buy it now' at 99p and p&p of £29.99) and maybe that is taking things to a little extreme but it is saving money and the only person who loses money is ebay and surely thats something that many threads on this site support??

FYI most things I have sold have been free p&p or at the most £1.50 so even though I am making the comments that I do, I personally prefer to charge cheaper on p&p... this is not because I dont think that you should charge for time/petrol etc, its just cos it makes my items sell for more in the long run!

When buying on ebay I always include the p&p in the total price and assess whether I am prepared to pay the total amount, no surprises then when the item arrives regardless of what stamp it has on it - you are paying a total price for the item. Doesn't seem such a big deal to me thats all?

carpbud

PASCALI wrote:

carpbud

You knew the p&p was £6.99, you received the product safely and presumably in a timely manner, whats your problem ?

The fact it only cost £3 to send.

Im a seller myself, I charge what it costs to post, not charge double for it. If it was wrapped nicely, than fine, but the coat had marks on too, and had just been put in a bag, taped and posted.

This was a present for christmas!

My boyf asked him about it, not horribly, but all we got was "you the cost when you bid so tough luck". That wasnt what we were saying. It was the fact we were charged nearly £4 more! Negative feeback was left, but the fact he left a response back saying "I shall enjoy spending your extra £4 on holiday" I think said it all??

I have had this with videos too, and a mobile I won. I was charged £8 for postage, it cost less than £4 and was packaged really badly. But that is another story.

carpbud

cannylad wrote:

Hi,
Personally I think you are overcharging for postage, after all its for postage and packing and not to cover your admin charges etc.
Why can't you start your auction at £1.50 and that way you can't lose, unless of course your item isn't worth that.
I want to buy an optical mouse and the cost is around £10 - £15, the postage is an outragous £9, when it should be around £3 so I might as well but it from a shop. In my mind people overcharging for postage to cover other means is just spoiling ebay.

Thanks
Cannylad

This is just how I feel, and its not right.
I had seen a lovely top I like, but when you see the postage, for a one armed cotton top as £4.99, it makes you think.

Also, a satin slip strappy nightie, started at 99p, postage £5?! I asked how come so much, as I loved the item, but was no way going to pay that, and got no reply, and never relisted

Lantik

I think your overcharging....

You shouldn't charge buyer for your PayPal fees or Ebay listings and final value costs... that's unfair...

I personally don't buy off anyone with excessive postage costs... so ultimately it will be the sellers that lose out...

if you don't like the postage costs you have 2 choices:
1) vote with your feet and look elsewhere on ebay
2) try to negotiate the P&P fees down with the seller

99% of sellers P&P are perfectly acceptable... it's the 1% who see it as a vehicle to squeeze further money out of the buyer...

1jim

You shouldn't charge buyer for your PayPal fees or Ebay listings and final value costs... that's unfair...

Is it more unfair to include these in the starting price, either way you end up paying for them because people arnt selling to loose money

LongDongDave

1jim wrote:

Is it more unfair to include these in the starting price, either way you end up paying for them because people arnt selling to loose money

The trouble is some people are too thick to work out the TOTAL price for an item. "Oh yeah, got this for 99p", but don't include the £2.99 (+) P&P for the item!! The seller isn't there to do any favours, they've got to pay the listing fees, FVF, Paypal fees, packaging costs, postage costs, fuel to get to the PO and possibly VAT & IR!

nuttersinc

paypal fees and listing fes are a hit you have to take and should not be used in any postage calculations. your actual p&p charges should be from your calculations 34p. all the other costs are things that you have to take into account when setting your starting price. eg your starting price would be better at 99p + (112-34) = £1.77.

sorry to put such a downer on what you think is correct, but you should only charge what it actually costs you, not actual cost then inidental expenses.

i sell on ebay and only charge what it actually costs me. i have bought items on ebay been charged a few quid p&p for the item to turn up in a second hand jiffy bag with a second class stamp on it. cost to seller 21p!! i am not saying that you are doing the same but you are in the same realms