Ebay Postage - Opinions

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

campdave wrote: »

The question being if £2 cost and £8 p&p is the same as £8 cost and £2 p&p, why a seller would choose the former and risk their account and DSR for the sake of saving 60p in fees.

Personally I think the people who clearly overcharge just to avoid fees, although eventually will be restricted, get less lows as the buyer choosing knows the P&P is so high that seller pays less fees and they in turn are paying a lower price.

It's those in the middle, normally with a £ or 2 on top that get stung the hardest, most of which is through naivety or misunderstanding what is expected rather than a deliberate intention to overcharge.

Personally I've never looked at the stamp on the parcel, far more important things in life to be concerned with.

ballisticbrian

I've posted this before and received angry responses from sellers criticising
my policy. But I've never received a proper reason why I shouldn't base my stars
decision for p&p on ... the p&p. And that's why I continue to do so.

Here's the proper reason: eBay is a very competitive place to do business. Many of the sellers are making far less on there from individual items on eBay than on their own web sites where they charge 5.99 postage with handling etc.

In other words, you are fueling the race to the bottom.


The seller you marked down charged you the same amount as the other seller, but gave less money to eBay in fees.

What is the result?

You have put more pressure on sellers to give even more money to eBay, thus pushing the pressure on sellers further.

In many ways this is pushing the quality down. On some items you need to scroll through pages and pages of cheap and tacky foreign imports (depending on your settings) before you will find decent items.

What you are doing is favouring those cheap sellers, who don't normally offer the best products.

In other words, you are helping fuel the race to the bottom.

RHemmings

ballisticbrian wrote: »

Here's the proper reason: eBay is a very competitive place to do business. Many of the sellers are making far less on there from individual items on eBay than on their own web sites where they charge 5.99 postage with handling etc.

In other words, you are fueling the race to the bottom.


The seller you marked down charged you the same amount as the other seller, but gave less money to eBay in fees.

What is the result?

You have put more pressure on sellers to give even more money to eBay, thus pushing the pressure on sellers further.

In many ways this is pushing the quality down. On some items you need to scroll through pages and pages of cheap and tacky foreign imports (depending on your settings) before you will find decent items.

What you are doing is favouring those cheap sellers, who don't normally offer the best products.

In other words, you are helping fuel the race to the bottom.

There are plenty of sellers on ebay selling items for reasonable prices with reasonable p&p charges. And this includes sellers selling branded products which are identical no matter who you buy them from. I searched on Bic Cristal pens, then Speedo googles adult, then Star Wars DVDs. The vast majority of p&p costs I saw looked entirely reasonable. Hence I don't think that giving low stars to the few sellers who apply inflated p&p costs is going to have a major effect on the market.

E.g. as for the costs going higher, here's a Kenwood 3 in 1 can opener, which is £15.99 plus £4.99 p&p. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kenwood-CO606-3-in-1-Can-Opener-with-Knife-Sharpener-and-Bottle-Opener-40-Watt-B-/380426175652?pt=UK_Kitchen_Accessories&hash=item58932ac4a4 If I look for a free postage item, then it costs me, erm, £15.99 item price. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kenwood-Chrome-3-in-1-Electric-Can-Opener-Bottle-Opener-Knife-Sharpener-/181151629067?pt=UK_Kitchen_Accessories&hash=item2a2d7a7f0b

RFW

POPPYOSCAR wrote: »

It is my impression that Ebay has lost a lot of the smaller sellers and buyers over the last few years due to the increased costs of paypal fees and postage, hence why they do their free listing weekends so frequently.

The free listing weekends are to get more private sellers buying and to stay on the site. Small sellers are a hassle Ebay can do without. It costs them more to 'police' the smaller sellers than larger ones. Joe Bloggs who sells 6 items and receives 4 complaints takes up more time for them than say, Argos who essentially look after themselves and generate a substantial amount of revenue.

As regards postage issue, if you buy something you are free to leave whatever stars you like, whether that is right or wrong is up to you. No amount of arguing to and fro will convince anyone one way or another.

In general, customers prefer inclusive/free postage, whether they are stupid for wanting it is another matter, they very well may be. Personally I'm happy to serve anyone, if they pay up and don't give me any aggro, then come back and buy more, job done.
If you get regular complaints for your postage charges, you need to adjust them, not sit looking at your computer screen saying "it's not fair".

Takeaway_Addict

If you know the P&P ahead of buying then however much it is is irrelivent. If it makes the total cost of the item to much then you don't buy it.

KxMx

4771_Miles_To_Caracas wrote: »

Okay here's my pennys worth, when I buy on eBay I look at the total combined price for postage and packaging when deciding if I am going to buy or not, unless the item arrives in inappropriate packaging I am not going to mark the seller down regardless of the actual postage charge, as long as they have sent it by the agreed service.

Does the OP pursue other large retailers off of eBay if they feel they delivery charge is too high?

I often feel that some people complain because they feel it empowers them, not because they have a valid reason for doing so.

I can't speak for the OP, but I certainly hold large retailers to the same standards that I do for eBay sellers.

Only recently Debenhams had a complaint from me, because their order tracking now consists of "ordered, dispatched" and even that system doesn't work half the time. My beef is items sent via Hermes are then trackable but Debenhams no longer supply a link or even a tracking number so the buyer can track themselves (they used to do this). Sending an item with tracking without giving the buyer means to track is a no-no in my book on eBay and for a large retailer.

ballisticbrian

E.g. as for the costs going higher, here's a Kenwood 3 in 1 can opener, which is £15.99 plus £4.99 p&p. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kenwood-CO...item58932ac4a4 If I look for a free postage item, then it costs me, erm, £15.99 item price. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kenwood-Ch...item2a2d7a7f0b[/QUOTE]


That's not really a valid comparison as the totals come to different amounts!

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

RHemmings wrote: »

E.g. as for the costs going higher, here's a Kenwood 3 in 1 can opener, which is £15.99 plus £4.99 p&p. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kenwood-CO606-3-in-1-Can-Opener-with-Knife-Sharpener-and-Bottle-Opener-40-Watt-B-/380426175652?pt=UK_Kitchen_Accessories&hash=item58932ac4a4 If I look for a free postage item, then it costs me, erm, £15.99 item price. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kenwood-Chrome-3-in-1-Electric-Can-Opener-Bottle-Opener-Knife-Sharpener-/181151629067?pt=UK_Kitchen_Accessories&hash=item2a2d7a7f0b

The more expensive one is new, the cheaper is manufacture refurb.

RHemmings

Takeaway_Addict wrote: »

If you know the P&P ahead of buying then however much it is is irrelivent. If it makes the total cost of the item to much then you don't buy it.

Are you suggesting that the cost of p&p is irrelevant when deciding what stars to give the seller for p&p? I don't think that anyone is suggesting that the p&p charge is a major factor after the total cost is known in terms of whether to purchase or not?

RHemmings

ballisticbrian wrote: »

E.g. as for the costs going higher, here's a Kenwood 3 in 1 can opener, which is £15.99 plus £4.99 p&p. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kenwood-CO...item58932ac4a4 If I look for a free postage item, then it costs me, erm, £15.99 item price. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kenwood-Ch...item2a2d7a7f0b

[/QUOTE]

That's not really a valid comparison as the totals come to different amounts!

Yes, the one with free postage is cheaper overall. This is an anecdotal example in response to claims that sellers having to limit themselves to charging reasonable p&p or less won't be able to compete on price. Overcharging on p&p does not mean that the item price goes down.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head wrote: »

The more expensive one is new, the cheaper is manufacture refurb.

That's fair enough. That example doesn't work. Here's another item which is new and chosen because the total price comes out to within a few pence of the item with postage (to appease ballsiticbrian). http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kenwood-CO606-Electric-3-in-1-Can-Opener-Chrome-New-/261211695292?pt=UK_Kitchen_Accessories&hash=item3cd16e28bc So, in this case, whether I pay the higher postage (which may still be reasonable), or go for the 'free postage', then I pay the same. And higher postage, in this case, benefits me as a buyer not at all. It just gives a higher profit margin to the seller and less money to ebay.