unfair postage cost.

kiddy_guy

I think that the major point of contention here is not the cost, but the fact that the seller is claiming that the P&P covers fees. If they had kept quiet then the buyer would have no leg to stand on, but as the seller has basically admitted to hiding cost within P&P costs, then Ebay should investigate.

quietheart

silkyuk9 wrote:

In reality, no one does a special trip to the post office to post an item that is worth peanuts.

I always post my ebay items the first working day after payment received so I do many 'special' trips to the Post Office it doesn't matter how much the item is worth. Someone has paid for it so I get it to them asap. I don't have a car and if the weather is bad I get the bus so my expenses can be high.

silkyuk9

frivolous_fay wrote:

I'm confused why you thanked Snooze Control if you feel this way, silky

i tend to thank people what ever they say really, we are a democratic state, but there are a few replies i have not thanked, but that does not mean anything, lets not go off the thread.

silkyuk9

kiddy_guy wrote:

I think that the major point of contention here is not the cost, but the fact that the seller is claiming that the P&P covers fees. If they had kept quiet then the buyer would have no leg to stand on, but as the seller has basically admitted to hiding cost within P&P costs, then Ebay should investigate.

That was exactly my point, this person has told me he inflates his costs to cover charges.

blue_monkey_2

They took their com when the money came in and when I did a partial refund, I said refund £4 and it appear that £3.84 went to the buyer!

Yes, the customer got £4 but your account would have been deducted by £3.84 and not £4 as the 'missing' 16p is for the fees deducted which they have repaid you when doing the refund - hope that makes sense.

To get in on this conversation which has been done many times before, please remember, when you bid the price you see is the price you pay. For example, my postage price includes VAT, the cost of the postage bag (which are 50p but lighter and smaller so it saves £1 on postage as it'll go into packet rate), plus other costs entailed on getting it to the PO which is a 4 mile round trip but I certainly do not add pertrol costs onto my postage, but some people might so beware of this, we don't all live in towns. I used to employ someone to help me pack so used to charge more as this was part of the Post & Packing charge. Sure the seller was wrong in this case but remember, P&P is not just the cost of postage stamps but everything ele as well. If you are not happy with the price then don't bid on it. If you can get it from another seller cheaper then do, it could also be that the seller got away with it going as a smaller package than he originally thought he could - it does happen occassionally and can make up to a few pounds difference - but when you buy you are agreeing to pay th price you see whether you are happy or not - if you are not don't buy it, simple as that surely.

However, in this case the seller was wrong to state it covered fees as you can't surcharge and maybe he just needs a simple email reminding him of this.

cafenervosa_2

You paid £5.98 for the book is that over the top?

If the seller had only charged 80p postage then the book would have been £2.79......I am sure the seller would have lost money at that price.

I'm not defending the seller because £3.99 is a bit over the top for p&p but if it was not there it would be on the BIN price anyway so you still would have paid £6 ish for the book. As a buyer I only look at the total cost, if I can't get it cheaper overall from anywhere else I am one happy man, I do not care what the postage costs.

Hintza

Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhh not again!!!

Thankfully I frank my mail which saves my poor buyers all the stress of knowing how much it costs to post. The only unfortunate thing is I sell mainly on Amazon nowdays and tend not to cover all my postage and packing costs:-

Packer on minimum wage (that will be me)
Bag
Bubble Wrap
Sellotape
Paper (packing slip)
Printing
Proportional charge for printer
Ink
Electricity to run printer
Pen and ink to write the address
Petrol
Road Tax
Car Insurance
Tyres
Mileage charge on car
etc etc......
Parking fee (zero in my case)

I have to cover all that on the difference between the £4.50 i receive from Amazon and the £4.45 it costs me to post item via account.

So i have 5p to put against all my packing costs!!

mishkanorman

Hintza.

you cant compare the time and effort you put in to your packaging, to someone thats is wrapping it in one layer of brown paper or sending it in a carrier bag,

I disagree with the whole 'you agreed to the prices before you bid' rubbish because if someone charged me £4 and it arrived wrapped in bubble wrap, with clearly printed labels, in a jiffy bag, That is worth the money,
Jammed in an envelope with no protection does not provide the same level of value. How on earth are you to know how a seller packs the items before you bid ?? its not so much how much you pay but how that money is spent on your behalf.

i also think that if someone decides to sell online they should take their expenses into account and adjust the start price accordingly and not the P+P price, so if they live in the wilds of borneo and can only reach the PO by row boat maybe they should consider selling on-line is not for them ??


mishka

grayme-m

This is an age old debate. Doesn't it just come down to expecations?

I once paid £6.95 for postage of a laptop keyboard; I assumed professional wrapping, fast dispatch and SD.

Took him three days to go to the PO, he'd wrapped it up in wallpaper and sent it second class (£1.70ish).

I was miffed!

quietheart

mishkanorman wrote:

i also think that if someone decides to sell online they should take their expenses into account and adjust the start price accordingly and not the P+P price, so if they live in the wilds of borneo and can only reach the PO by row boat maybe they should consider selling on-line is not for them ??
mishka

Why should they? The cost of living somewhere remote is a valid reason to increase your post and packaging costs.
Ebay say: "Sellers may charge reasonable postage & packaging charges to cover the costs of posting, packaging, and handling the items they are selling"
"Handling Fee: Actual packaging materials costs may be charged. A handling fee in addition to actual postage cost may be charged if it is not excessive."
It isn't simply the price of the stamps:rolleyes: .