Shipping to mainland uk

benjimoron_2

Anyone have a link out there that says that postage costs are quoted for mainland uk only. Got a buyer that wants me to send to some island but it costs a fortune. I've told them that the quoted price is for mainland uk as that is what is standard but would like an ebay page to back me up. Also I told them that the price is only an estimate and can change as I'm sure I've seen that written somewhere before. If you have either of those links that would be great.

Thanks!

soolin

Unfortunately the way ebay is set up it does not distinguish between mainland and non mainland UK, the postage is for 'UK'. It is usual for sellers who are likely to be using couriers who charge more for non mainland deliveries to specify that in their listing, so as not to mislead potential buyers.

You can increase you postage after auction ends, but you can't force your buyer to pay it...is there any compromise you can reach or a different courier than you can use to stay within the original quoted amount?

benjimoron_2

Thanks for the reply, I'm not going to try to force the buyer to pay it! There's nothing that you can do other than put a strike on their account anyway. Tried getting other couriers but it's all quite a bit more expensive. My p&p quote is pretty much to the penny what it costs me so there's no extra there to soak up the cost this time. I'd make quite a loss sending to them unless they paid the extra.

I know that I am within my rights to change the amount but I thought there was a page on ebay somewhere that said quotes were for mainland uk, as obviously anything other than mainland uk is going to be a fair bit more!

soolin

This is the second thread today about increasing postage after auction ends and I'm very frustrated as I can't find the ebay link that mentions this. However it is worth noting that a buyer can refuse to pay and report the seller if charges are increased here:

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/contact_us/_base/index_selection.html

Buying and Finding-problems with a seller or purchase-seller asked for additional fees after listing ended.

This thread on ebay forum covers this question as well.

http://forums.ebay.co.uk/thread.jspa?threadID=1100094841&tstart=280&mod=1179940570877

soolin

benjimoron wrote: »

I know that I am within my rights to change the amount but I thought there was a page on ebay somewhere that said quotes were for mainland uk, as obviously anything other than mainland uk is going to be a fair bit more!

There definitely isn't anything to say the UK isn't UK but only mainland UK. Ebay assume UK to be UK with no exceptions. Ebay .com has similar problems with offshore states as well.

Obviously you can ask the buyer if he is willing to pay more, but he can refuse, in which case you will lose your FVfs as you can't in all honesty go through the NPB process on a buyer willing to pay the stated auction amount. You need to decide if your auction fees are likely to cost more than the additional postage costs.

Flexible_Friend

The Royal Mail's Price Finder calculator implies the UK is everything except the Channel Islands. What island are you sending it to?

http://sg.royalmail.com/portal/rm/PriceFinder

soolin

Flexible_Friend wrote: »

The Royal Mail's Price Finder calculator implies the UK is everything except the Channel Islands. What island are you sending it to?

http://sg.royalmail.com/portal/rm/PriceFinder

The Royal mail is fine as UK is UK to them and that's why this question doesn't come up all that often. However the problem arises when the seller opts to or needs to use a courier, then it gets complicated. Most couriers have tiers of charges and separate out UK mainland and UK offshore with a large difference between the two prices.

Usually a seller who is using a courier mentions this clearly in the listing and shows the two categories of post and packing in the auction listing rather than just putting 'UK postage' as an option. Unfortunately I am assuming the OP in this instance did not (although please correct me if I am wrong) and so shows his postage method as 'sellers standard charge' or similar and for UK delivery.

greenstreetprince

i think the text everyone is thinking of is something along the lines of:

you may reasonably increase postage costs to.....

damn i cant remember it all! but it was jus before the confirm button on the old sell your item form, what i do remember is that it was only for international postage if you have not already stated an international postage option but end up with an international buyer.

Flexible_Friend

soolin wrote: »

The Royal mail is fine as UK is UK to them and that's why this question doesn't come up all that often. However the problem arises when the seller opts to or needs to use a courier, then it gets complicated. Most couriers have tiers of charges and separate out UK mainland and UK offshore with a large difference between the two prices.

Usually a seller who is using a courier mentions this clearly in the listing and shows the two categories of post and packing in the auction listing rather than just putting 'UK postage' as an option. Unfortunately I am assuming the OP in this instance did not (although please correct me if I am wrong) and so shows his postage method as 'sellers standard charge' or similar and for UK delivery.

Then the question is, is it cheaper to use a courier rather than the Royal Mail as the Royal Mail doesn't seem to differentiate on prices (unless Channel Islands)?

The OP still hasn't told us where this 'island' is, what weight the parcel is or what price(s) he's been quoted. Perhaps then we can be more precise and constructive.

soolin

Flexible_Friend wrote: »

Then the question is, is it cheaper to use a courier rather than the Royal Mail as the Royal Mail doesn't seem to differentiate on prices (unless Channel Islands)?

The OP still hasn't told us where this 'island' is, what weight the parcel is or what price(s) he's been quoted. Perhaps then we can be more precise and constructive.

You are quite right...as soon as someone mentions a courier I do tend to assume they are shipping something heavy. We talk a lot about couriers on here and from my limited understanding it seems that they are often a fraction of the price of the Royal Mail, but only for big things.

Maybe then once the OP logs back in he can give some idea of the weight and dimensions and others that use couriers a lot can give some advice. Unfortunately Royal mail do have weight limits as well as a limit on the dimensions they allow as a parcel, hence the use of couriers.

benjimoron_2

Hey guys, thanks for the replies! I'm back!

The item is approx 60cm x 60cm x 40cm. 7kg.

Shipping is to Isle of Lewis, Scotland.

Parcelforce want an extra £16 for it. Ebay fees I would lose not going through with the sale are about a pound or two. Think I get fees back if I tell ebay we've both decided not to go through with the sale. Should I say shipping quoted to mainland uk only, please contact for other addresses in future auctions to cover myself. I always thought that it was pretty obvious that a single charge for p&p couldn't cover every address and that if your address was on an island you would contact first to get the price as it's obviously going to be higher.

Surely if you live on an island and you've had something delivered before then you'd know that the seller or company will have to charge you more to deliver? That's just common sence isn't it?