Is there any fun to be had with high postage costs?

JQ.

I'm looking at an item that costs around £50 delivered from reputable shops via Ebay. Most offer the item inclusive of postage and I'm guessing the postage cost is less than £5. The item actually costs £50 to buy in high street shops.

An individual has started a couple of auctions for said item, brand new with tags, at a start price of £0.10 and postage costs of £50. I'm guessing they're hoping a couple of people will not read the advert correctly and push the price up at the thought of a bargain.

Very mischievous, but is there any way of buying at say £10 and then raising a claim over the ridiculous postage costs?

theonlywayisup

The best bet is to report for avoidance of fees. You cannot force the seller to give you a discount on the postage and although you can leave a negative and dash their stars, your intent is malicious, so you in theory are breaking as many policy rules.

JQ.

I must admit I don't think I'd have done anything about it, was just interested in the theory.

Although I have just had a look at their other items and there's a pair of trousers with £40 postage and a laptop with £250 postage, oh dear.

hermum

You could see yourself off & pay £10 over the odds for the item, or just not bid on that listing & report them for fee avoidance.
they won't last long as there p&p stars will get hammered & they'll lose their account.

kevineden

its because you dont pay final value fees on postage it is just away around paying fees

plumface

JQ. wrote: »

I'm looking at an item that costs around £50 delivered from reputable shops via Ebay. Most offer the item inclusive of postage and I'm guessing the postage cost is less than £5. The item actually costs £50 to buy in high street shops.

So if you managed to get the item for 10p with £50 p&p,a cost to you of £50.10 what would you be complaining about.........the 10p difference? :eek:

Crowqueen

No, the fact the seller is egregiously breaking the rules on fee avoidance. It also doesn't inspire confidence in them in general - if they are prepared to cheat eBay, they would also be prepared to cheat their customers, which is an excellent reason just to report them and move on.

They can undercut people who play by the rules, spoil the buying experience for everyone else, and get higher ranks in search - not fair to people playing by the rules or incurring slightly higher fees by offering inclusive postage.

Kite2010

It's people like that seller which I reckon will soon make ebay include postage in the final value fee. Maybe not in the short-term but in the next 18/24 months, maybe cutting back on listing fees

toffe

the best thing to do if this kind of thing botheres you is not bid/buy.

if the thought of the multi billion pound a year ebay losing a few pence in fees is going to keep you up at night then by all means, do ebay a favour, (not that they have ever done anyone else a favour) and report the listing.

but, as has been said above, if you bid on the item, on the basis of bidding at 10p then demanding the postage is dropped, using the threat of low stars, neg, reporting to ebay then what you are doing is just as serious a breach of ebay policy.

so in answer to your question, no, there is no "fun" to be had.

JQ.

plumface wrote: »

So if you managed to get the item for 10p with £50 p&p,a cost to you of £50.10 what would you be complaining about.........the 10p difference? :eek:

It wouldn't bother me in the slightest as I wouldn't pay £50.10 for something I could pay £50 for, but if another 2 people didn't read the advert correctly and ended up bidding it up to £25, thinking they were getting a bargain, I would feel slightly sorry for then. Although only slightly, as it would ultimately be their own fault.