Ebay postage and delivery.

jetplane

What is happening to ebay lately?

I have read posts about buyers not paying for their item for days and being impatient for delivery. But as a buyer I have also noticed a shift in postage charges and delivery on some items. I check the postage, dispatch and delivery time and in the past I have usually received contact within 48 hours either by email, dispatch icon or feedback. Even where the seller states dispatch within 5 days it is usually a couple of days, not including weekends and sometimes a refund if the p&p has been noticeably less than quoted.

Recently I have noticed inflated P&P particularly on lower priced auction bids. If I like an item I have paid higher postage especially if the item has needed extra packaging. I know that postage has increased but some are way off the mark.

In the last few weeks I have an item that stated it would be dispatched next day but no dispatch icon, no 'sent' on paypal and when I emailed the seller 5 days later to ask if & when it had been dispatched she just replied 'yes it has', it never arrived. I've had an item which was 5 day dispatch and was posted at the last possible moment. I have received an item posted in a bin bag and the seller refused to refund the excess £3 p&p that was not used. I have had a knock on the door from a man who lives close to me and works with a seller who I bought off and so he passed it to him to drop off, I paid £6 postage.

I know people are having a tough time but it seems there is also a profit to be made in P&P and now I find that I am reluctant to bid on anything with higher postage or anything over 3 day dispatch.

RHemmings

jetplane wrote: »

I have had a knock on the door from a man who lives close to me and works with a seller who I bought off and so he passed it to him to drop off, I paid £6 postage.

That really is taking the <something>.

soolin

Unfortunately there will always be people who see the post and packing as a way of making extra money- especially private sellers who can list at 99p for free.

Even here on MSE you will have a number of people replying to this thread explaining that they want you as the buyer to pay their bus fares, shoe leather, cappucino on the way to the PO and telling you if you don't like it, then don't bid.

So, if you think the p and p charges are inflated- don't bid, the sellers will eventually get the message.

However, be mindful of the fact that anything too thick to go as a large letter and has to go as a packet instead attracts a minimum postage charge of £2.70 1st class- there is no cheaper postage at all for 1st class packets

mimi1234

Wow. That's appalling. I sold something recently and charged £2.40 for 2nd class postage. Got a message off the buyer asking me if I would refund the 20p excess. I thought it was called postage and PACKAGING, not just postage!

The super excess charges the OP has suffered is appalling.

jetplane

I think generally for small items the p&p quoted for small package items is <£3 and on delivery postage was usually between £2.40 & £2.80 and I accept that packaging incurs extra cost. If I paid higher than this due to weight or extra packing then that is fair enough. But lately it seems like a free for all and I wonder if buyers are bidding less therefore sellers think they may as well whack it on the postage, having said that one of my overcharges was BIN item.

For example I have been looking at an item there are 5 of the same from different sellers they are all economy delivery, most dispatched within 2 days and the p&p ranges from £3 to £7.50.

It is difficult when you are happy with the item but just feel ripped off, there doesn't seem to be much we can do about it other than not bid.

Crowqueen

Report really egregious violations of it and leave appropriate stars.

If market forces take over, combined with eBay sanctions which are fairly strict for people who abuse buyers' trust on things like dispatch and packaging - according to the banned sellers who post on Seller Central - then things will happen.

eBay do impose caps but sometimes that sends out the wrong message as some people think that it's OK to charge the full whack for a very light item, and some caps are now too generous so they become redundant.

My response would be to charge fees on postage; that way, people would have no incentive to overcharge. They only do so now because it's free money - so make it not free. They do this in the US so it's not an unworkable solution by any means.

plumface

jetplane wrote: »

For example I have been looking at an item there are 5 of the same from different sellers they are all economy delivery, most dispatched within 2 days and the p&p ranges from £3 to £7.50.

It is difficult when you are happy with the item but just feel ripped off, there doesn't seem to be much we can do about it other than not bid.

Exactly!
If all 5 items sold for exactly the same TOTAL price,which one would you choose and would it really matter?

Crowqueen

In my case, the one who is doing the right thing by eBay and paying for what they use properly; usually also the one with free postage because I know the seller is costing based on real prices to themselves not because it's free money to cream off eBay and the buyer.

soolin

plumface wrote: »

Exactly!
If all 5 items sold for exactly the same TOTAL price,which one would you choose and would it really matter?

I would always prefer to go with a seller that looks as though they know what they are doing and can understand ebay rules. If a seller feels it is OK to get silly with postage, I could not be sure they wouldn't also be trying it on in other areas as well.

Strapped

plumface wrote: »

Exactly!
If all 5 items sold for exactly the same TOTAL price,which one would you choose and would it really matter?

I'd choose the one from the seller with the best feedback.

kev225

I fail to see the dilemma people have with postage.

There's no difference to you as the buyer whether the item is:
£1.00 with £9.00 postage
£9.00 with £1.00 postage

With regards to asking for the money back the seller hasn't spent on postage, would you be happy if he/she underestimated and asked you to pay more?

If you're not happy with the price don't bid. Don't bid and then get shirty about it.

Regarding the guy who gave it to his workmate, would you have been happy if he lived down the next street and hand delivered it?

I can understand the instinctual reaction of 'this is dodgy'. But really you've got the item quicker and with less risk of it being lost/damaged by the postal service he would otherwise have used.