over charged on ebay postage. can I please have some good advice?

TrickyWicky

poet123 wrote: »

No, but you should recoup it in your profit from selling not as an expense.

Says who? - You? :rotfl:

Seriously, with profit margins on ebay being a race to the bottom and many items costing just 99p, where do you expect to recoup that from? - Seriously, I'd like you to answer that for the sake of everyone in this thread.

RFW

TrickyWicky wrote: »

As for getting around ebay fees, ebay charge fees on your profit. They don't charge fees on your P&P / expenses however by putting fuel and parking into the main sale price you are being charged on your expenses. Do you actually think thats right? - Thats not how businesses work and even the tax man won't tax you on expenses.

If you think ebay should be doing what even HMRC don't do then your understanding of the world is slightly warped.

Some warped logic in there. To start, Ebay couldn't give two hoots whether you make a profit or not. They charge fees on sale price. They are fees, not a tax, Ebay is a company not a public service.

No amount of arguing back and forth can stop your customer from thinking you have overcharged on postage, whether you have or not.

The fairer it looks like you are being with customers the more customers you will get. That's why the big online sellers, Amazon especially, offer free postage.

A while ago I had a quote for something for around £1000, there was an additional £5 for delivery on the quote, I was irrationally hacked off about that to the point of almost going for a higher quote that was inclusive postage.

The buying public aren't always rational, think about your own buying habits before condemning buyers who feel they have been overcharged.

poet123

ballisticbrian wrote: »

Sorry poet, but you'll never make it in business.

Many sellers do. The ones who charge postage others deem to high are the ones getting low stars.

TrickyWicky wrote: »

Says who? - You? :rotfl:

Seriously, with profit margins on ebay being a race to the bottom and many items costing just 99p, where do you expect to recoup that from? - Seriously, I'd like you to answer that for the sake of everyone in this thread.

You have to have loss leaders in business. You cannot expect to recoup full postage, packing and handling/petrol/parking etc on a 99p item that is available elsewhere. If it is a niche item perhaps, but generally I wouldn't buy an item for 99p with postage of £4.00 unless it cost that much to post. My profit margins are quite healthy thanks to judicious buying and selling of items that keep a highish resale value. I still only charge for postage at cost.

loopylu36

I just bought an item and was charged £6.95 for an item that cost £1.20 to post! Yes I did factor the postage into the overall cost and as a result my maximum bid was lower than it might have been. This was from a very new seller (5 ratings) and I wonder if she realises the damage she will do to her DSR. I don't think she does and I have to be honest, even though I knew the cost of posting before I bid I was still pretty hacked off when the package arrived and I saw the true cost of posting. A couple of quid over I can live with, but £5.75 over the actual cost of postage is leaning a little too far toward blatant profiteering in my opinion.

ballisticbrian

loopylo, you just completely contradicted your self in the same post:

Yes I did factor the postage into the overall cost and as a result my maximum
bid was lower than it might have been.

even though I knew the cost of posting before I bid I was still pretty hacked
off when the package arrived and I saw the true cost of posting

So you knew that the postage was high, but it was still a good deal, until
you thought of this money going to the seller. Had the money gone into
Royal Mail's coffers (who just made record profits) - that would have been ok?

But still, the product was worth it as you worked all that out when you bid, or no? I'm confused.

plumface

loopylu36 wrote: »

I just bought an item and was charged £6.95 for an item that cost £1.20 to post! Yes I did factor the postage into the overall cost and as a result my maximum bid was lower than it might have been.
SO YOU WOULD HAVE PAID MORE IF THE P&P PRICE WAS LESS?......Can you not see that you are a complete fool?) This was from a very new seller (5 ratings) and I wonder if she realises the damage she will do to her DSR.
He/she will only damage there DSR if pratts like you complain about something they were not forced into doing.
I don't think she does and I have to be honest, even though I knew the cost of posting before I bid (SO WHY BUY THE BLEEDING THING AND THEN MOAN?)
I was still pretty hacked off when the package arrived and I saw the true cost of posting. A couple of quid over I can live with, but £5.75 over the actual cost of postage is leaning a little too far toward blatant profiteering in my opinion.

Why are you "pretty hacked off?" (is it because you are perhaps embarressed for being a tad silly?)

If the item was only available as free p&p, ie the total cost was what you paid but are now moaning about, (idiots like you ACTUALLY think it is free) you would not complain, have no way to complain and have to admit your own incompetance!
Everything you have said is the reason why ebay is getting so ridiculously 1 sided in the favour of complete and utter fools like you!.

plumface

soolin wrote: »

Just to clarify are those people suggesting we sellers should add all our costs, petrol etc into the p and p costs confident that this will still mean we will not get poor stars because of it?
Where would you suggest these costs are placed?
Are you all finding that you can charge what you want and still get 5* and that the people being restricted for having too many lows are somehow mistaken or just unlucky?
If you charged 1p to send a 10kg parcel to the Hebrides you risk your DSR, but you tow the party line and think it is OK!

In the last few months we have had posts from sellers both business and private, who have suffered restrictions due to low stars (1 or 2 * in p and P), are they mistaken then?
No, they are being beaten down by buyers and people like you who think it is ok to do so.

Otherwise this whole discussion is pointless, if charging to excess can mean being restricted then why risk it?
Charging anything risks a restricted account.

I am worried that new sellers may feel that because all these random people on an internet forum categorically state they can charge what they want they may be less than impressed if it ultimately leads to a restriction and costs them money by not being able to sell their unwanted goods on a private account, or affect their fledgling business.

This discussion will never end when the forum spokesperson keeps aggreeing with ebay's 'forked tongue'.
Yes you can and should include all relevant p&p costs into the p&p listing price but (as given in an earlier link) , please expect buyers to complain and we will side with them.

plumface

poet123 wrote: »

Legally, P&P is just that, not any old charge you care to add into the mix....

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

RFW

plumface wrote: »

This discussion will never end when the forum spokesperson keeps aggreeing with ebay's 'forked tongue'.

or when some people realise that other people may have a different view.

Have you ever thought that Ebay have done some customer research and that many of their policies reflect that?

ballisticbrian

Have you ever thought that Ebay have done some customer research and that many of their policies reflect that?

Well I'm just playing Devil's Advocate on here, but eBay are like most corporations that putr out surveys that can get the public to say anything.

What's most important to you as a customer of eBay ... FREE DELIVERY? CHEAP DELIVERY ? EXPENSIVE DELIVERY ? GAURANTEED DELIVERY?