MSE News: eBay sellers beware - its fees now eat into postage costs

Sstripey

ballisticbrian wrote: »

If you add the cost of posting your item to the USA to your item, I don't think you will get much domestic interest in your products.

I'll have to think carefully about my strategy! I suppose another way is to invite overseas buyers to contact sellers about likely postage costs.

betman

Ebay have been upping their fees for a long time. Their CService is disgusting as they can't or won't answer apart from quoting stereotype template statements. As a seller you are treated unfairly. Trouble is they have the monopoly for a worldwide auction site and think they are God. Now we can just complain here or you can Network...Contact the media, enlist your friends. I found this petition which I have signed. It only takes a few clicks but as usual people cannot be bothered to do anything. If you have read this then please for all of us whilst you are still angry sign. This is the email I had after I signed:
Hi,

I wanted to draw your attention to this important petition that I recently signed:

"Say no to Ebay FVF on P & P!"
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/say-no-to-ebay-fvf-on-p-p/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=system&utm_campaign=Send%2Bto%2BFriend

I really think this is an important cause, and I'd like to encourage you to add your signature, too. It's free and takes just a few seconds of your time.

Thanks!

campdave

All the petitions in the world won't make ebay change the fee structure.

ballisticbrian

I'm thinking of starting a petition, to *Put the Mark-As-Dispatched Button Back on the Order Page* but I think it wont make a blind bit of difference to such a belligerent organisation.

RFW

betman wrote: »

Ebay have been upping their fees for a long time. Their CService is disgusting as they can't or won't answer apart from quoting stereotype template statements. As a seller you are treated unfairly. Trouble is they have the monopoly for a worldwide auction site and think they are God. Now we can just complain here or you can Network...Contact the media, enlist your friends. I found this petition which I have signed. It only takes a few clicks but as usual people cannot be bothered to do anything. If you have read this then please for all of us whilst you are still angry sign.

Ebay has a monopoly on a successful worldwide auction site called Ebay. If they raised their final value fees to 90% I expect most people would find other places to sell.

As for price increases and signing the petition, I think for the first time my net fees will be lower after a round of price changes, so I'd be an idiot to request a change.

If people think Ebay's fees have gone up to much, find somewhere else to sell, it isn't difficult. Ebay's only been around for about 13 years, try and have a think where people sold stuff before.

malificent

Could it just be that ebay have cottoned on to the fact that sellers have been listing higher postage charges, but listing the goods at much lower prices. That way the seller got more from the transaction by profiting on the postage costs albeit getting a lesser amount potentially for the goods. At least they weren't paying ebay any fees on the excess postage costs and a much lower payment then on the sale of goods.

malificent

Just a note to the hard done by sellers on ebay - as a buyer I'd just like to point out that sellers appear to benefit from far greater protection from both ebay and Pay Pal. If a buyer receives damaged goods or an item seriously not as found i.e. nothing like what was detailed in the sellers blurb, the onus is on the buyer to approach the seller to get a refund for the transaction. The refund only goes as far as the item itself and the postage paid for the item being sent out by the seller. To get a refund the buyer is then expected to return said item at their own expense, refund of which is not guaranteed or enforceable with the seller. Why should a buyer be left out of pocket due to dishonest sellers and the less than careful couriers (cheap) that they use.After all if they paid out postage that they charge for they would be covered to reclaim from Royal Mail etc.

campdave

Then you slap the seller with a big negative as a warning to other buyers. You can't do that with John Lewis online.

RFW

malificent wrote: »

Just a note to the hard done by sellers on ebay - as a buyer I'd just like to point out that sellers appear to benefit from far greater protection from both ebay and Pay Pal. If a buyer receives damaged goods or an item seriously not as found i.e. nothing like what was detailed in the sellers blurb, the onus is on the buyer to approach the seller to get a refund for the transaction. The refund only goes as far as the item itself and the postage paid for the item being sent out by the seller. To get a refund the buyer is then expected to return said item at their own expense, refund of which is not guaranteed or enforceable with the seller. Why should a buyer be left out of pocket due to dishonest sellers and the less than careful couriers (cheap) that they use.After all if they paid out postage that they charge for they would be covered to reclaim from Royal Mail etc.

This is only with poor sellers. All business sellers that send out a faulty or not as described item are legally obligated to refund all postage and the buyer's costs in returning the item.

If you purchased a faulty item from me I would largely refund without asking for it to be returned.

Despite what we read on here most buyers and sellers on Ebay aren't out to rip you off.

Strapped

malificent wrote: »

Could it just be that ebay have cottoned on to the fact that sellers have been listing higher postage charges, but listing the goods at much lower prices. That way the seller got more from the transaction by profiting on the postage costs albeit getting a lesser amount potentially for the goods. At least they weren't paying ebay any fees on the excess postage costs and a much lower payment then on the sale of goods.

Ya think??