Postage Gouging...again!

plumface

pinkshoes wrote: »

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

Of course,an easier way to get a bargain is choose a seller who is selling the same item at a total,delivered price cheaper than the one you bought in the first place!

Cornucopia

And after all that, the woman in the Post Office today didn't know how to measure a Large Letter.

techspec

Cornucopia wrote: »

And after all that, the woman in the Post Office today didn't know how to measure a Large Letter.

Thats my point - sometimes the post office under-charge - mine does it all the time. I don't go back spending hourse refunding.

And just for the record for those who think they know the rules - ITS AGAINSY EBAY POLICY TO ASK FOR MONEY BACK!!!!!!!! Your trying to change the price you bid.

I have successfully reported a buyer for feedback extortion for asking for some of their money back.

Fee avoidance is for those chareging 99p for the item and £80 postage. In such cases you can report Ebay if your that petty - but you are NOT ALLOWED to scam the seller and ask for money back.

Cornucopia

techspec wrote: »

Thats my point - sometimes the post office under-charge - mine does it all the time. I don't go back spending hourse refunding.

Our Post Offices NEVER under-charge.

In this case, she was trying to tell me that the package had to pass through the large letter slot fully on its widest side (therefore making the widest side 250mm maximum, rather than the published 353mm maximum).

TBH, I'm beginning to wonder about whether the slot is narrower than 25mm, too.

Goldiegirl

It can be difficult with clothing.

You might think that it will go as a packet, but when you actually get it in the mailing bag and down the Post Office, it slips through the large letter slot.

On the other hand you think it'll go as a large letter and it ends up as a packet.

I try as hard as possible to get it right, but sometimes I have to take a loss on the postage cost, other times I make a small unintentional gain. In those cases I have made a small refund.

All I can say is, if, at the outset, you don't like the cost of the postage, don't bid.

In the case of the OP, unless I really, really wanted the item of clothing, I wouldn't have bid. For clothing like blouses and tops I'm looking for postage costs of around £2.50. £3.50 would have been more than I wanted to pay.

notanewuser

I've just given somebody 2 p&p stars for a second hand dress I bought for DD. Paid top dollar for the dress (£9) plus £3.75 postage.

It arrived in a reused plain envelope, posted for £1.90ish and absolutely stinking of smoke.

Dunroamin

notanewuser wrote: »

I've just given somebody 2 p&p stars for a second hand dress I bought for DD. Paid top dollar for the dress (£9) plus £3.75 postage.

It arrived in a reused plain envelope, posted for £1.90ish and absolutely stinking of smoke.

The number of sellers who post clothes in old carrier bags and masses of tape and still charge top dollar for p&p is terrible and a good reason for low star ratings.

SharkyGeorge

jpsartre wrote: »

I agree that there's no point in complaining about postage after buying but if you can't mark down stars when postage costs are inflated when can you?

But that is the whole problem - the star ratings system eBay have implemented should not be applied to postage! You can choose whether or not to accept a postage charge - you can't choose whether a buyer communicates well, sends promptly etc - and so that should not be something buyers are allowed to mark down on after they've already made a choice.

It really bugs me when buyers complain about postage for this reason. There is no such thing as being 'ripped off' on postage if you agreed to the charge, regardless what it actually cost the seller to send. As has been mentioned numerous times, it takes time and money to package an item and then take it to the post office and send it.

I am happy to sell items at 99p because I am decluttering and it is more incentivising to get rid of stuff via eBay than give it away. But when buyers then expect me to cover the cost for postage it makes my blood boil - why would I effectively *pay* someone to take something away?

When I buy stuff on eBay I mentally include the postage charge into what they're actually charging and if I'm happy that the item is worth the total to me then I pay and don't complain. It doesn't mean I don't sometimes wish it was cheaper but I make a choice as to whether I am willing to pay that amount for that item. And I never bother to check how much it cost to send. Pathetic.

Gleeful

If you all think that a paper envelope is suitable packaging for an item of clothing, then more fool you if you sell on eBay.

As Soolin said, I can reflect my feelings in the stars. Oh and yes, I am a seller, and I would expect to get my DSR's hammered if I overcharged by such a massive amount as well.

Gleeful

Dunroamin wrote: »

The number of sellers who post clothes in old carrier bags and masses of tape and still charge top dollar for p&p is terrible and a good reason for low star ratings.

I've had a t shirt wrapped in a bin bag before, all delivered for £4.75. Despatch was slow as well. I think that if you charge £4.75 for such an item, you should at least try and wrap it nicely.

I paid £4.75 for a silk top to be posted. It arrived in a box, with ribbon, and a lovely hand written note. They got five stars.

The first seller I mentioned did not get 5 stars....