Sick of being accused of Postage Rip Off

BoltonMinx

Just my 2p

I tend to sell packages of items and sometimes they are borderline between one price range and another. For example just under 2kg I beleive is £4 and 2kg or above is £7-ish, and since most of us probably dont have PO scales at home, it can be really tricky to get it exactly right.

NellyLock

im not sure of my opinion on this one,

whilst i completely disagree with the people who basically sell the item based on p&P eg ive have seen cd listed as buy it now for 1p but then charge £8 or so for postage which makes it normal price - this should NOt be allowed

however as for individual sellers i think its up to the bidder to decide if its reasonable - im put off buying stuff from online shops due to there seemingly high p&p and i know for certain some things i have paid high p&p from an online shop certainly hasnt cost that - one example was a memory card from ebuyer charged £5 or something and it came royal mail ok it was signed for but i doubt that would cost £5 for a jiffy./stamp!

perhaps what would be a neat idea on ebays part is to be able to have a search feature with p&p included automatically...but this wont happen.

ebay needs to become more transparent with costs in my opinion

neil

carpbud

NellyLock wrote:

im not sure of my opinion on this one,

whilst i completely disagree with the people who basically sell the item based on p&P eg ive have seen cd listed as buy it now for 1p but then charge £8 or so for postage which makes it normal price - this should NOt be allowed

however as for individual sellers i think its up to the bidder to decide if its reasonable - im put off buying stuff from online shops due to there seemingly high p&p and i know for certain some things i have paid high p&p from an online shop certainly hasnt cost that - one example was a memory card from ebuyer charged £5 or something and it came royal mail ok it was signed for but i doubt that would cost £5 for a jiffy./stamp!

perhaps what would be a neat idea on ebays part is to be able to have a search feature with p&p included automatically...but this wont happen.

ebay needs to become more transparent with costs in my opinion

neil

My opinion exactly.

I totally agree with this

stavros_2

you can show p&p costs in the results page of a search/browse if that helps!

Lazy_Ike

“[font=&quot]i think the prob is people do see ebay as a money making scheme/business, whereas usually auctions are a way of getting rid of stuff you no longer want, for the best price you can achieve[/font]”

Why is it a problem using Ebay as a money making scheme? Many people make a living from auctions, on-line or otherwise, and where does that put Ebay Shops?

“to include associated fees in a sale, isnt what auctions are about - thats what reservce prices are for, to stop the item selling for less, than what you think it is worth”

Ebay chose to increase the minimum level for reserves @ £50, which is not much use to someone selling low-cost items.

While in agreement that excessively overcharging on P&P is not in anyone’s interest, including the Seller as Patchwork cat (et al) say, just vote with your feet, and do not buy.

“if i can afford to send parcels at cost, then why cant others”

The question is, can you really? See below

“paypal fees and listing fes are a hit you have to take”.

Agreed, but still no reason for not trying to recoup these costs. Many small businesses going to the wall through lack of profitability, all those little extras add up.

Point in question is the offering by nuttersinc “[font=&quot]eg your starting price would be better at 99p + (112-34) = £1.77[/font].” run the figures, use Hintza’s figures and these, with list prices = sale prices and you find that profit reduces by 57% and Buyer’s cost reduces 8%. At the risk of being repetitive, Hintza lists P&P, so Buyers need to either take “the hit you have to take” (sauce for the goose?) or not buy.

I sell some items with “Free P&P” as a hook to get customers, but as Milton Friedman said, “There is no such thing as a free lunch” or in this case, P&P. I just factor all the costs into my pricing calculations.

“£8 or so for postage which makes it normal price - this should NOt be allowed”

It is not allowed. See http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/polici...cumventing.html and http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=38525

snaveuk

A while back I saw a seller listing a digital camera. I can't remember the p+p for it, but for arguments sake lets say it was £5.

What was noticable the auction was the ablity to add a 512MB memory card at a discounted rate to the total package. The way he added the price to it was to have diffrent postage options, ie;

Sellers Standard Rate : £5
Other Courior : £10

I'm intrested to see what is thought of this. As a potential buyer it seems like a covienant way to add accesories to an order, plus you're saving maybe £10 on the cost of a 512MB memory card. However I'm guessing this will be frowned upon!

Dan

flea72

the reason i can post stuff at cost, is because i do not see ebay as a way to make money - i see it as the equivalent of a car boot/table top sale - im not selling stuff to recoup my initial spend on the product, i am selling it, to get rid of it

the only reason people need to up p&p to cover their expenses, is when they are selling something purely as a profit making scheme - ie running a business - and they feel that it is unlikely the bids will cover what they paid for the product initially - so what does that mean, they have made an unwise business decision, buying something for more than they can sell it for, unless they do underhand charges?

i still dont see why people moan about having to pay fees for paypal, etc. - its obviously for the sellers convenience, so why should they not stump up the fees themselves - chqs are just as easy to deal with, and then the additional expenses fall with the buyer - or maybe even postal orders, as you can cash those, as you post the parcel

so you cant use reserves on low cost items, but you can start with a higher listing price, but oh dear, does that mean the seller will have to pay a couple more pence in fees?

ok, i personally dont mind paying an extra 50p for someones time and effort, but anything above that just seems a ripoff - if i pay £1.50 for postage, i dont expect to receive an item sent 2nd class with a 21p stamp

the main prob is until you get the item, you have no idea how much it weighs, and you just assume that the seller had to charge the fees, due to the weight of the parcel, not as a way to make some extra money

in all auctions you win some you loose some - it just seems some people want to be in a win, win sitation, by false means

Poppy9

A good point was made by Flea. If you are selling as a private individual to get rid of your own stuff you are never going to make a profit as you are just off loading something you bought and no longer want.

If you are making a profit because you are buying to sell be up front and say this is a business transaction. Therefore you will seek to recover all your costs.

This is the honest non tax avoidance way to trade. Also the buyer has protection from the Distance selling laws.

Why should employees and legitimate small business pay tax and Ebayers who are making a living out of the site not. Not only is tax evasion illegal but its not fair on the majority of law abiding tax paying citizens. You avoiding paying tax is increasing everyone elses tax bill.

Hintza

I have been keeping track of all the comments on here. To summarise there appear to be two schools of thought:-


1. Buyers should swallow all costs in their final sale price.

2. Buyers should be more aware of the total all in price and bid accordingly.

My thoughts on the subject vary but for many to believe ebay is an outlet for unwanted goods (and by default should not be used by traders) I disagree with this outlook totally. I use EBay to purchase many items of which I am glad of the traders offering quality products at what can be huge discounts to stores.

I have my page customised so that I can see the Bid Price and the P+P costs and therefore can compare easily.

As a seller I am in a competitive market and will generally start auctions at the market norm, I will also price my P+P and what is the average charge of the other sellers I am competing against. Some will charge less and buyers can always buy from them, it is their choice after all.

I am trying to make a few extra pounds and if I start my auction at or below what I paid for my item (with 20%-25% selling at/below my purchase price) I need to make sure I cover my costs. If I don't I will be off to the poor house in double quick time!!

If you don't like what I charge in P+P (and admin costs) buy elsewhere.....I have many competitors only too wiling to take your order.

As far as taxation is concerned there seems to a perception that everyone who sells on ebay is ripping off the taxman.....maybe some are but I feel this is just sour grapes by some who haven't got the whit to do it themselves and are maybe a little jealous.

To sell on EBay takes a lot of hard work sourcing the products, listing them, packaging them, dealing with problems and chasing up non paying bidders. Much of this is repetitive and very very boring.

There are some rogues out there but the vast majority of sellers take some pride in offering a service which you can use or not as you so wish...no one is having there arm twisted.

My one piece of advice to buyers is read the auction listing thoroughly and only bid if you are entirely happy with it. DO NOT BID IF YOU ARE NOT!!! (saves everyone hassle later on).

RACHIE77

well said