Sick of being accused of Postage Rip Off

Heinrich_2

I really cannot understand this misconception that Ebay is some sort of charity. That its somehow there to reward the naive buyer. Ebay is a multinational billion dollar company with a legal duty to produce a profit for its shareholders. When I post items I ALWAYS ensure that the post & packing covers ALL my costs, item purchase, paypal,postage and packing, my time and effort. i use the same techniques as the shopping channels. I expect Ebay to produce a handsome profit just like my other business interests. If it didnt then I wouldnt bother. Caveat Emptor applies to Ebay just as much as other home shopping outlets. You cannot devise rules to protect the foolish from making foolish purchases, its part of life. Why should I subsidise other peoples laziness in failing to take sensible precautions before bidding. I avoid all argument by insisting on my 'sellers flat fee' of £4.99 for items up to £10 value. Its there plain to see in my listings, any negative feedback is swiftly followed by a negative response, I will not be held to ransom by these feedback blackmailers.

LongDongDave

Hintza wrote:

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).

I totally agree. There's enough competition out there...move on to the next seller if you're not happy about P&P...but cheap P&P doesn't allways lead to the best eBay experience...late or non delivery, and items not as they should be from the eBayers out to get rid of their tat at a loss.

skdotcom

No-one wants to sell items on eBay and consistently lose money by doing so! The fees can be high, especially when you're paying a listing fee and the items don't sell. I don't rip people off with my "Shipping and Handling" charges, but I certainly make sure I don't lose money by seliing the item.

For example, i sell mostly CDs and charge £1.50 shipping and handling. I keep a spreadsheet to monitor my costs and over the past 4 years this charge has netted me a total gain of about £5.00! This is after allowing for postage, packing, eBay fees and paypal fees (but excluding, parcel tape, sellotape, petrol, HOURS spent in post office queues....).

For most people eBay is a hobby, but that doesnt mean they have to virtually give away their goods and absorb all the costs. Buyers seem to be expecting something for nothing these days. Maybe they are looking on the freebies board of MSE too much!

Reg_2

Well said that man! Its getting very tedious when all these ebay whingers start moaning and groaning about being ripped off. Do they spend their weekends campaigning outside tescos about the massive profits, i dont think so. where did they get this idea that ebay was some sort of buyers dreamland where you can buy aga's for a tenner delivered, which sunday supplement was responsible for feeding them this line?
Heinrich is right when he says you cant legislate against idiocy. It cant ber done off ebay so how can it bbe done on ebay?

Moby_Man

Dont worry about it. £1.50 is a fair price.

Go and have a look at postage charges for 99p sim cards. MOST are 3 or 4 pounds.

That is a rip off.

But as a buyer you have to look at total price and your item is only £2.50

A pint of beer costs more than that.

loates123

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?

now the best thing to do is what i do
just charge for postage and packing only ...

some people charge to much for postage just like u

RACHIE77

Moby_Man wrote:

A pint of beer costs more than that.

I like what you say!!

These moans and groans are only about pennies and I know they all add up but at the end of the day the price is there in black and white and its not like anyone is making a fortune out of this, just a few pence to make sure they not out of pocket!! Ebay is not a charity site and it wouldn't even exist if people were losing money on selling things...!!

I completely agree with what Moby_man says and here's a pint of beer to prove it!!

:beer:


:money:

r_holmes22

Although it irks me a little when I see people charging £2.50 to post a cd or DVD when I know full well it only costs 60p plus jiffy bag, I have to say I agreee with all those who say that the price is stated clearly in the auction and it is up to the buyer to work out whether the total cost of his/her maximum bid plus the postage is worthwhile. If the seller doesn't state the fees I won't bid until the buyer has confirmed for me.

That said, it is easy for seasoned eBayers to forget what it's like to start out on eBay and to be caught out with all the 'additional charges' some people levy (postage, VAT, PayPal fees). I do like all the charges to be as clear as possible both in the body of the auction and in the relevant section at the end of the listing.

Personally, I have tended to offer free postage for small/light items (writing this in the item title to attract attention), as it seems to invite more bidders. Certainly computer games I've sold have gone for a pound or two more than competitors when I've done this. Plus, I tend to recycle the jiffy bags of things I've bought rather than buy brand new ones.

kmhtkmhtkmht

I ALWAYS charge ton's extra for postage - they can't do nothing about it, if they don't like it they can go else where - had this guy pay me around 9ish for postage and it cost me 0.71 Pence to send!

another yesterday I charged around 18 quid for postage and it cost me 6.58 to send - it's just business - when companies charge you ridiculous amounts of postage you don't say nothing, but on Ebay you can?! I don't think so - it's part of the money making process!

Bargainbabe_2

kmhtkmhtkmht wrote:

I ALWAYS charge ton's extra for postage - they can't do nothing about it, if they don't like it they can go else where - had this guy pay me around 9ish for postage and it cost me 0.71 Pence to send!

another yesterday I charged around 18 quid for postage and it cost me 6.58 to send - it's just business - when companies charge you ridiculous amounts of postage you don't say nothing, but on Ebay you can?! I don't think so - it's part of the money making process!

I feel sorry for your buyers..but hey, I suppose if they're stupid enough to bid in the first place more fool them :rolleyes: