Postage Gouging...again!

Cornucopia

From a seller's POV (and yes, I accept that negative feedback may ultimately head my way), I think we base our starting bid (or BIN) price + the P&P on the overall amount that needs to be covered. It doesn't bother me whether I am selling at £2.99 with free P&P or 99p with £1.99 P&P - the end result is the same for both parties.

What then happens is that an item either sells (which means someone wants to pay the total amount required) or it doesn't.

FWIW, there does seem to be a preference amongst buyers for free P&P items compared to those with disproportionate P&P. But the advantage is illusory (in the case of my lots, anyway).

macfly

Gleeful wrote: »

so more money in the pocket of another seller who thinks this practice is perfectly acceptable!

This comment illustrates just what is wrong with ebay and particularly buyers. A little bit of power - straight to their heads.
I've just bought a brand new item for 99p. Postage £4.99. I know for a fact it will cost £2.20 to post. It would cost me £14 on the high street. I'm as happy as a pig in muck.
These otherwise powerless people are pathetic.

RFW

plumface wrote: »

Totally agree, but as it is ebay some people (SOME BUYERS) think they have the right to complain after agreeing a price.
The reason is, they can complain because ebay let them complain.

I'm pretty sure anyone has a right to complain about anything, whether justified or not and that has little to do with Ebay.

The OP had a reasonable cause for complaint and the seller answered pretty badly. In general customers don't like inflated postage on or off Ebay, I will concede that at least on Ebay it is clearly set out, unlike some sites where you don't see the post charges until the last page before paying.

sharnad

Give them low stars and neg or neural depending on how you feel their response was

plumface

RFW wrote: »

I'm pretty sure anyone has a right to complain about anything, whether justified or not and that has little to do with Ebay.
Ebay allow a buyer to, if they want, penalise a seller for the audacity of charging p&p.You can charge massively over the stamp price, massively under the stamp price or exactly the stamp price and ebay allow the buyer to rate it,this rating could have damaging consequences and the rating could be wholly 'incorrect'.
Sell an item free p&p and the buyer has no say in the matter even if the total buying price was the same for price + p&p or free p&p.

The OP had a reasonable cause for complaint and the seller answered pretty badly. In general customers don't like inflated postage on or off Ebay, I will concede that at least on Ebay it is clearly set out, unlike some sites where you don't see the post charges until the last page before paying.

Why has the OP " a reasonable cause for complaint"?
He saw a price for an item,and after taking all research into account (feedback,price etc etc) decided the price was right and would purchase.If he could have got a better deal than the one he paid,no doubt he would have gone to the other seller.
What the hell does it matter about inflated postage,he got the best deal on offer at that time and was happy with it.

Cornucopia

If the postage charged is X, and the actual postage is Y, then I suppose someone might have some basis for complaint if the quality of the packing was not worth X-Y.

But I'm inclined to the view that it is a lot fuss about nothing. Go after Bid-TV if you want to complain about inflated postage in "auctions".

Or perhaps someone can quote the eBay rule that says that P&P must only reflect the postage cost (and then explain why their postage engine does not enforce that).

Rotor

plumface wrote: »

Why has the OP " a reasonable cause for complaint"?
He saw a price for an item,and after taking all research into account (feedback,price etc etc) decided the price was right and would purchase.If he could have got a better deal than the one he paid,no doubt he would have gone to the other seller.
What the hell does it matter about inflated postage,he got the best deal on offer at that time and was happy with it.

Well I've heard many of the most respected contributers on here state excessive postage is fee avoidance and should be reported. Postage charged was very nearly 3 times the cost to send it.
I wouldn't give a neg ( or a neutral) because, your right, I would have agreed to the cost, but I would certainly use the p&p stars to state my opinion on the transaction in relation to p&p costs.That is what it is there for!

plumface

Rotor wrote: »

Well I've heard many of the most respected contributers on here state excessive postage is fee avoidance and should be reported. Postage charged was very nearly 3 times the cost to send it.
I wouldn't give a neg ( or a neutral) because, your right, I would have agreed to the cost, but I would certainly use the p&p stars to state my opinion on the transaction in relation to p&p costs.That is what it is there for! How can you complain/mark stars down to something you had already agreed with?

What has fee avoidance got to do with you, its ebays problem and not yours?
It costs you nothing, and cause you no harm.
Maybe in a case of item1p p&p £40, report that and you MIGHT get somewhere, report the 'overcharging' that you lot moan about and ebay will do diddly squat.
The 'savings' in fee avoidance in most cases adds up to pennies.
If ebay UK was to go the US way (i wish it would) and charge fees on the postage element of a sale..........what excuse would the moaners use when complaining about 'overcharging' then?
Why do so many people get so worked up over p&p costs?
If you bought an item for £10 and found out it cost the seller only £1 would you go running to a forum and complain about being ripped off?

pinkshoes

plumface wrote: »

Why?
You agreed to pay a price for an item including p&p
WHY MOAN ABOUT IT NOW?
Can i ask you:-
If the actual postage cost WAS £3.50 would you have started this topic?
If the postage cost WAS MORE than £3.50 would you have started this topic?
If the postage cost WAS MORE than £3.50 would you have sent the seller a paypal amount for the difference?
Quality of packaging is one thing, moaning about the cost is another.....you agreed to buy an item at an agreed price
stop your BL00DY MOANING!:rotfl:

I'm guessing most the people who clicked "thanks" are sellers.

A seller can charge what they like for postage.

A buyer will naturally feel p*ssed off if they feel they have been ripped off on postage.

I may agree to pay a set postage, because I trust a seller not to rip me off, but I cannot help but feel miffed when I discover that I've been ripped off or over-charged on postage. It just makes me feel grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, and it taints the happiness that you get when buying stuff and getting parcels in the post

So, by all means, charge what you like for postage, and carry on saying "but you knew what the postage was when you bid..." blah blah blah, but you CANNOT stop your buyer feeling miffed when they discover they could have had more of a bargain.

It's life! It's nature!

(so by all means charge what you like, but don't complain when your somewhat miffed buyer is leaving feedback, and isn't as happy as they could have been!)

ps - i always have free postage and add the costs to my start price.

Rotor

plumface wrote: »

What has fee avoidance got to do with you, its ebays problem and not yours?
It costs you nothing, and cause you no harm.
Maybe in a case of item1p p&p £40, report that and you MIGHT get somewhere, report the 'overcharging' that you lot moan about and ebay will do diddly squat.
The 'savings' in fee avoidance in most cases adds up to pennies.
If ebay UK was to go the US way (i wish it would) and charge fees on the postage element of a sale..........what excuse would the moaners use when complaining about 'overcharging' then?
Why do so many people get so worked up over p&p costs?
If you bought an item for £10 and found out it cost the seller only £1 would you go running to a forum and complain about being ripped off?

I'd have thought avoidance was every sellers problem in much the same way shoplifting is every consumers problem not just the shops. the 'losses' are paid for by all the sellers who don't fee avoid.

Secondly, ebay ask buyers to 'rate' their transaction and that is what i would , quite reasonably, do!