Debt, get ready to kiss your @$$ goodbye!

HOK3Y

Well, it has been an afternoon. I packaged up everything to mail (which included one mammoth box of sports stuff) and decided I would fill our pull cart with those and all the books I wanted to sell, walk into town and stop by the second hand book shop on the way to the post office. Cool.

So I dig out all the books and I have quite a few. I load them into the cart. The cart is now rather heavy but it has 2 large proper inflatable tires so I figure it will be no problem. I load all the packages on top, tape a binbag over the top to fend off the threatening shower and set out.

Now, I should point out here that I live in a rather hilly town. That's a fair understatement to be honest. I am pulling a cart that has to have at least 50lbs of books in it and, of course, the town centre is all uphill from my home. We are also experiencing the gale force winds and it's not working in my favour. By the time I get to the second hand bookstore, I'm considering asking him if he knows where the nearest defibrillator is.

There is an old Chinese saying, "Man without smile should not open shop". Where were the Chinese when this guy at the bookshop was considering what to do with his life? Couldn't get him to crack a smile what-so-ever. So he looks over the books and says that only a couple are of any use if that's okay. Well, yes, it's okay because any pennies are better than no pennies and it's two less books in the house.

I leave the shop and quickly realize it doesn't feel like there's two less books in the cart though. Head uphill again (dear God what was I thinking!) to the Post Office. Off loaded all my parcels and realized I actually made money on my shipping even considering the fees that Ebay charge. Wowzas! Of course, I think this was less comfort to the lady at the counter as I wheezed and sweat profusely throughout the entire transaction.

I turn to head for home. Despite 2 books and 4 parcels leaving the cart, I still felt as if I was pulling the Liberty Bell behind me. Without wheels. To add insult to injury, the heavens opened and I couldn't manage the cart AND the umbrella. I consoled myself with the fact that it was at least now all down hill back to my house. Yeah. Ever tried to get downhill with a cart that weighs 50lb that doesn't have any kind of braking mechanism? Well, needless to say I have slithered and slipped and braced myself all the way home. Twice it flat out tried to run me down. By the time I made it to my front door I was convinced the cart was possessed and I needed a gym membership....

So to sum up in HOK3Y's positive way: "Adventurous trip into town this afternoon. Got in my cardio and resistance training and even ran some hills. Sold 2 books at the second hand shop which gave me £2 to put in my sealed jar and when I mailed all my Ebay packages, I was way under what I had charged! Score! Came home and had my second shower of the day and am sat here having a lovely cup of tea. Hope you are all having a lovely afternoon too."

At least, that would be how I was looking at it if I didn't feel like I've been hit by a truck!

wegle

Oh you do make me chuckle HOK3Y!!!

Shame he wouldn't take anymore books but £2 is £2 and like you said you got a great cardio work out for free!!

I've just done the post office run as well. Probably have covered the PayPal fees but not the eBay ones! Boo! Oh well I'm still in profit and that's what counts. Off to scramble round the spare room now to find more stuff to sell!!!

HOK3Y

Lol! Yes it was an interesting afternoon, wegle! Still £2 is £2 more than I had when I left the house. Some days I struggle to positively spin the continuous calamity that seems to permeate my existence! I am a walking disaster area!

I think it stinks that EBay are charging on the postage. I know why they are doing it but are they honestly saying they are not making enough? Crazy. I had someone query my postage the other day and I flat out told them its not just the cost to mail, it is also the packaging such as tape, paper, and bubble wrap, travel costs to get to the post office, plus EBay now takes a 10% cut which I have no choice but to pass on with raised postage charges. They were understanding in the end but originally wanted me to charge the exact postage - er.....no! You got a great deal on the item, I am not getting stung for the postage AND PACKING!

What's worse is eBay are hitting us with these fees AND having bidders rate us on our shipping fees! How crappy is that?!

HOK3Y

Ooooohhh!! HOK3Y got negative there! Where is that chocolate......:D

wegle

I've only been charged a final value fee on the sale amount from eBay. PayPal have charged based on the total cost but they've always done that. Ate eBay definitely taking a cut of postage as well? I may have slipped under the radar! Shhh don't tell anyone!

It doesn't help that Royal Mail is so expensive as well now. £5.20 for a 2nd class medium parcel!!! A parcel the same size last year would have cost £2.70 1st class. It's hard to justify especially on low value items.

HOK3Y

You are better than me as I rarely check my statement of account on EBay. I knew they were going to start charging 10% on postage and I figure it's to stop people getting high amounts for shipping fee free but it seems to me that it's penalizing the majority. They were due to start charging on postage as of early September and I just assumed they had started......I'm curious now!

I know, some of the postal charges are outrageous. I got charged almost £6 to mail a sweatshirt a couple of weeks ago. I was horrified as had only charged £3.50. Just wasn't expecting it. I did charge £25 to ship a large package today and it ended up costing me £16 but that doesn't happen very often!

wegle

We'll just have to keep an eye on it. I've been stung in the past getting the postage wrong so now I religiously measure and weigh everything. I charge whatever the postage cost is plus 30p for packaging material. I'm lucky as I live a 30 second walk from the post office and I go past it everyday anyway on my dog walk so it's no hassle for me to get to the postie. I've registered an account with Myhermes as they seem to offer good prices, plus they collect from your door and do a fully tracked next day service. I've not tried the yet but that might be the route I head down soon.

HOK3Y

I'll check my account closely tomorrow and will report back. You've peaked my curiosity! Plus I need to pull my finger out and list the couple of things I have put to one side for this week's auctions. We have definitely whittled down our junk but you wouldn't know that if you looked in the spare room right now!

scotdebs

Sounds like an epic afternoon HOK3Y as ds1 would say:D

HOK3Y

scotdebs wrote: »

Sounds like an epic afternoon HOK3Y as ds1 would say:D

You ain't wrong scotdebs!! :eek::)