Has Ebay a rule on Collection and Admistration charges by the seller?

motorguy

Dave_Brooker wrote: »

If collections bother you that much, then simply state on your auctions that collection is not possible.

just pointing out there are costs involved - therefore i could see why people would charge a nominal fee for pickup, but yes, if i ever get to the point where i want to strangle buyers if they turn up in person, i would rather go for the 'due to the nature of our business, local pickup is not available therefore please do not ask' rather than charging.

However, ebay (by giving the option to charge for it) and other sellers may feel differently.

motorguy

Dave_Brooker wrote: »

Generaly I'd say yes.

If they turn up when we're open, then collection is no problem, saves bank charges and wrapping things up.

Then we'll have to disagree, generally i'd say most businesses incur incidental costs due to local pickup (such as those i listed above)- they just may not be aware of them

freddysmith

We all have incidental costs, just factor those costs into the lowest price you are willing to accept. Why complicate matters its only Ebay and not a life or death situation.

motorguy

freddysmith wrote: »

Why complicate matters its only Ebay and not a life or death situation.

Of course its not a life or death situation, Ebay have given people the choice to charge for pickups, and thats merely what we're debating.

greenstreetprince

its certainly not against ebay rules to charge for pickup, afterall, if it was, then as soon as people select the pickup option on the SYI form the box next to it would be greyed or an error message would be displayed when trying to save the information.

but, most people would find it strange that someone is charging for pickup, it wouldnt look good on the seller so i'd just add the costs onto the item price.

soolin

I think I should clarify my first response. I still believe that in the exact example given, ie 1p item and a £10 pick up charge, that ebay will consider it fee avoidance and clamp down quite hard. I wouldn't risk my account for the sake of a few pence if I was running a proper business as opposed to the toy town one I try to run at the moment.

However, charging for pick up per se is not disallowed. It will however tee off a lot of buyers who don't consider there to be any costs involved.

Personally I do not offer a collection option, I prefer to deal with my items in my own time and not wait around for someone to call and collect. However, on occasions where there is a very good reason and I am not put out at all I have allowed it and have made no chrge.

isayoldchap

Thanks Soolin
I see you mention it will be classed as fee avoidance.But is it actually allowed and have Ebay a write up on this subject.

frivolous_fay

There's no hard and fast rule; the gist of ebay's stance is that if they spot you charging 'excessive' amounts they'll throw the book at you.

If it LOOKS excessive, watch out. Even if it's a fair cost (say for a heavy book) if it LOOKS excessive compared to your item price, watch out.

More here:

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/listing-shipping.html