postage and packaging

RFW

kriss_boy wrote: »

Business sellers, yes.

But people trying to sell a few bits from the house to make the bills a bit easier that month... give me a break.

If you're selling on Ebay, business or private seller, you really should have scales. You can get something usable for under a fiver.

If you're selling regularly on Ebay, assuming you have access to a computer, there are only 3 items you need, scales, a camera (or phone with a good camera) and a tape measure. If you're selling anything in media you don't need a camera or a tape measure, just scales.

When the new post prices come in, if you aren't checking the prices before you sell you may end up losing a lot of money. Especially if you have a large lightweight item.

Surely if you are after taking an extra few quid to 'make the bills easier' you would know how much to expect to pay for everything, from Ebay fees, to the price of an envelope to postage. If you don't and you end up losing money then it's fairly easy to see why you needed extra money;)

heatherks

Goldfizz wrote: »

£2.50 is a reasonable amount to pay for a dress to be posted via 1st class IMO.
Luckily for the seller, it obviously slipped through as a large letter.....a slightly bulkier item would've been £2.70.
Not worth trashing their stars to be honest.
I remember the days when Ebay sellers would 'intentionally' charge £5 for an item like that.

If i don't agree with how much a seller charges for p&p, i simply don't bid on the item!

i have seen kids t shirts with 3-50 postage on them way too excessive and i have also had items turn up in carrier bags lol

but again it depends on the post office wether they bother to check item will go as a large letter or just go through as parcel ..where i think the seller has charged the higher rate

as a seller i have also had it the other way where i have had to pay the higher rate when posting item and only charged large letter rate

..i have been overcharged by a few £££ myself and emailed the seller but more often than not they dont bother replying or tell you you knew the postage when you bid .. i dont mind a £1 overcharge but anything else is taking the mickey

Contains_Mild_Peril

RFW wrote: »

If you're selling regularly on Ebay, assuming you have access to a computer, there are only 3 items you need, scales, a camera (or phone with a good camera) and a tape measure. If you're selling anything in media you don't need a camera or a tape measure, just scales.

If selling secondhand items you'll soon need a camera anyway: when the new rules on photos come into effect, stock photos for used items will be banned. I don't imagine many eBay sellers are without a usable camera though, even if it's just the one on their phone.

Goldiegirl

kriss_boy wrote: »

Business sellers, yes.

But people trying to sell a few bits from the house to make the bills a bit easier that month... give me a break.

I've been selling off bits from my house - but I still want to provide a professional service for my buyers, and that includes charging an accurate amount for postage and packing.

Just because you are a private seller it doesn't mean it's acceptable to be sloppy with your eBay practices.

soolin

Goldiegirl wrote: »

I've been selling off bits from my house - but I still want to provide a professional service for my buyers, and that includes charging an accurate amount for postage and packing.

Just because you are a private seller it doesn't mean it's acceptable to be sloppy with your eBay practices.

Well said, and it is good sellers like you that proves that private sellers are not inferior to business ones and are quite capable of reading a postage chart.

carnehan

Postage charges are a real bug bear to me. I recently bought an item from a seller with P+P charges of £7.95. I knew they were too high but continued anyway as the seller lived only 20 miles from me and thought I could arrange pick-up. He refused this option and told me to pay postage.

When the parcel arrived postage had actually cost £3.50. With packing materials I would have accepted P+P of £4.50 - £5. I queried with the seller and he refused to respond. I therefore, escalated the case to ebay and surprise surprise he replied but said it was my problem for bidding and nothing he was going to do.

After waiting the alotted time for the seller to respond following an exchange of emails I escalated the case further to ebay. I didn't expect much but wanted to fight my corner. To my surprise, within minutes of the case being submitted ebay called in my favour and refunded the postage AND the cost of the item!! I had requested a £4.00 refund from the seller. It has now cost him £18.45!!

I know the ethics of this are perhaps wrong in accepting the full refund but this was ebays decision and in my view is a warning to the seller to be more reasonable with his postage charges in the future.

Ebay do sometimes listen.

alx2013

I use my kitchen scales - just simple digital scales. For very heavy items I jump on my bathroom scales :-)
If you sell regularly on Ebay you might as well get a parcel template, it's free.
http://www.royalmail.com/parcel-template-order-form

zerog

carnehan wrote: »

Postage charges are a real bug bear to me. I recently bought an item from a seller with P+P charges of £7.95. I knew they were too high but continued anyway as the seller lived only 20 miles from me and thought I could arrange pick-up. He refused this option and told me to pay postage.

When the parcel arrived postage had actually cost £3.50. With packing materials I would have accepted P+P of £4.50 - £5. I queried with the seller and he refused to respond. I therefore, escalated the case to ebay and surprise surprise he replied but said it was my problem for bidding and nothing he was going to do.

After waiting the alotted time for the seller to respond following an exchange of emails I escalated the case further to ebay. I didn't expect much but wanted to fight my corner. To my surprise, within minutes of the case being submitted ebay called in my favour and refunded the postage AND the cost of the item!! I had requested a £4.00 refund from the seller. It has now cost him £18.45!!

I know the ethics of this are perhaps wrong in accepting the full refund but this was ebays decision and in my view is a warning to the seller to be more reasonable with his postage charges in the future.

Ebay do sometimes listen.

So you agreed to something but then didn't follow through, and just assumed that you could arrange things at your own convenience?

Do you know if the seller actually had to refund or if ebay just decided to give you money? This is why ebay FVFs are now 10%..

ballisticbrian

I had requested a £4.00 refund from the seller. It has now cost him £18.45!!

It's appalling - you should take the postage costs into consideration before bidding. The seller could be charging for their time, petrol, kid's operation, anything.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

carnehan wrote: »

Postage charges are a real bug bear to me. I recently bought an item from a seller with P+P charges of £7.95. I knew they were too high but continued anyway as the seller lived only 20 miles from me and thought I could arrange pick-up. He refused this option and told me to pay postage.

When the parcel arrived postage had actually cost £3.50. With packing materials I would have accepted P+P of £4.50 - £5. I queried with the seller and he refused to respond. I therefore, escalated the case to ebay and surprise surprise he replied but said it was my problem for bidding and nothing he was going to do.

After waiting the alotted time for the seller to respond following an exchange of emails I escalated the case further to ebay. I didn't expect much but wanted to fight my corner. To my surprise, within minutes of the case being submitted ebay called in my favour and refunded the postage AND the cost of the item!! I had requested a £4.00 refund from the seller. It has now cost him £18.45!!

I know the ethics of this are perhaps wrong in accepting the full refund but this was ebays decision and in my view is a warning to the seller to be more reasonable with his postage charges in the future.

Ebay do sometimes listen.

If that story is true, it's not very good behaviour and what a seller should do in such an instance is report the buyer for abusing the resolution centre and opening a case which isn't in "good faith" (as the item wasn't SNAD) and as such would see the buyer without the luxury of eBay buyer protection in the future.