Changes to compensation limited on RM signed for

jon81uk

24febstarter said:

To be fair, MSE was one of those places where you'll have heard it was a good idea to stock up on postage stamps before yet another 10 to 15% Royal Mail price hike - thanks, Martin! But then how was anyone to know that postage stamps seem to be getting being phased out?

As an Ebay seller I'd want to use a service that protected me in case a pricey item was 'lost' in the post. Aside from the obvious lack of index-linking Signed For did the job up to £50. That this was cut to £20 does look like a ploy to phasing out the service. But even then some basic tracked service available to buy over the P.O. counter would seem to be an essential requirement, bearing in mind not everyone sending an item must be online and even fewer can print off address labels.
 
We also have threads elsewhere by confused buyers attempting to check a photo to identify where on earth their 'delivered' parcel has ended up, often to an unrecognisable front door outside their neighbourhood.

Ultimately, if RM won't provide the service it seems likely that other couriers will end up picking up the business. 

I don't think they ever encouraged stocking up on stamps to use on parcels, only letters.
The article here Stock up on postage stamps now to beat the April price hikes (moneysavingexpert.com) actually links to another guide on cheap parcels for larger items.

Basic small parcels do get confirmation of delivery which is enough for eBay protection under £20. That works from Post Office or online purchase.

soolin

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

24febstarter said:

2nd class standard letter signed for was £2.25 in March. The lowest available 48hr tracked/signed rate is now £4.40. So the cost to send has effectively doubled, if you still want both cover and signature.

Tracked on its own appears to start at £2.70. As you say, that may suffice in most cases but it's not really a comparable service.

For eBay protection on an INR you only need a signature for orders over £400 (by which point you are in SD territory) so the standard Tracked is sufficient. 

If you buy 1st/2nd online you'll also get delivery confirmation, not as reliable as Tracked but I think by now the posties are in the habit of just scanning everything and again this will cover for INR. 

I assume you get the same when buying at the Post Office but don't know if you do when paying solely with stamps, @soolin probably knows the answer to that one  

I don’t actually know for definite 😀 many regulars on here have said that if they leave a parcel a little short, even 20p or so, then when the post office counter adds the 20p to the stamps already on there it generates a delivery confirmation . I’ve never tried it as I prefer to keep things simple and cheap, but perhaps someone might want to confirm it has worked for them.

Postage is an emotive subject , we all have our own way of doing things . The one thing that should be remembered though when selling online is comparing your costs with other sellers. So for instance if person x buys online RM 48 for a small parcel for £3.39 and person Y has to pay 50p extra at the PO, or even upgrade to special delivery then person X is already making more money than person Y. The argument that buyer pays the postage doesn’t really work, as I can’t imagine I’m alone in looking at the total price when I choose who to buy from . So a £15 item with seller X charging £3.49 for postage is always going to be sold to me before that same £15 item with £4 (or whatever postage) . This is further complicated by the fact that postage costs attract eBay FVFs ,so sellers have to add the charges on as well, making person Ys charges even higher. 

24febstarter

I will have to try that trick with topping up postage at the post office.

I have wondered about item pricing. I tend to charge only the actual postage and ignore extras like costs of packaging and fees on top. But sellers who are able to reduce item price by hiking postage seem to do well, like 99p records or cds with £4 postage. Tho' it's also possible that a savvy buyer will then negotiate a refund for the overcharged postage?

Ebay allows you to order a search by item price as well as total price including postage, so while it makes logical sense to make a decision based on the overall total a lot of buyers are enticed by a low item price. For the same reason I've found it harder to sell items with free postage.

The converse is there may be some cod psychology at work too. Given that you may find the same item for sale at a range of prices it's possible that one priced higher is in some way more desirable? I've managed to sell items at a higher price that wouldn't sell at a low one. It's a strange game.

kalsha

24febstarter said:

I have wondered about item pricing. I tend to charge only the actual postage and ignore extras like costs of packaging and fees on top. But sellers who are able to reduce item price by hiking postage seem to do well, like 99p records or cds with £4 postage. Tho' it's also possible that a savvy buyer will then negotiate a refund for the overcharged postage?

£4 postage on a record is not overcharged at all.  It costs £3.69 at a post office (small parcel).  Postage also attracts Ebay commission so add 12.8% (now it is slightly more but I forget the actual %)
and that will be 47p more so in total £4.16.   So £4 is actually undercharged and not overcharged.

soolin

kalsha said:

24febstarter said:

I have wondered about item pricing. I tend to charge only the actual postage and ignore extras like costs of packaging and fees on top. But sellers who are able to reduce item price by hiking postage seem to do well, like 99p records or cds with £4 postage. Tho' it's also possible that a savvy buyer will then negotiate a refund for the overcharged postage?

£4 postage on a record is not overcharged at all.  It costs £3.69 at a post office (small parcel).  Postage also attracts Ebay commission so add 12.8% (now it is slightly more but I forget the actual %)
and that will be 47p more so in total £4.16.   So £4 is actually undercharged and not overcharged.

Nicely said - I fear a lot of buyers equate the value of an item with what postage ought to cost!

I'm selling a few items, light and cheap but large letter size. I routinely get people ask me why I am charging over £1 postage for an item when a stamp only costs 85p - and when I explain how much a large letter is I even get told that they 'always' buy this type of widget and just know it can go in a small padded envelope with a normal stamp. 

Pollycat

soolin said:

kalsha said:

24febstarter said:

I have wondered about item pricing. I tend to charge only the actual postage and ignore extras like costs of packaging and fees on top. But sellers who are able to reduce item price by hiking postage seem to do well, like 99p records or cds with £4 postage. Tho' it's also possible that a savvy buyer will then negotiate a refund for the overcharged postage?

£4 postage on a record is not overcharged at all.  It costs £3.69 at a post office (small parcel).  Postage also attracts Ebay commission so add 12.8% (now it is slightly more but I forget the actual %)
and that will be 47p more so in total £4.16.   So £4 is actually undercharged and not overcharged.

Nicely said - I fear a lot of buyers equate the value of an item with what postage ought to cost!

I'm selling a few items, light and cheap but large letter size. I routinely get people ask me why I am charging over £1 postage for an item when a stamp only costs 85p - and when I explain how much a large letter is I even get told that they 'always' buy this type of widget and just know it can go in a small padded envelope with a normal stamp. 

I think a padded envelope will almost certainly take up the .5cm thickness limit for letters.
Once you put something in it, there is no chance it will go letter.
If you buy a greetings card that's any bigger than totally flat e.g. with a ribbon or some sort of decoupage, it is marked 'large letter' as it is too thick for letter.

soolin

Pollycat said:

soolin said:

kalsha said:

24febstarter said:

I have wondered about item pricing. I tend to charge only the actual postage and ignore extras like costs of packaging and fees on top. But sellers who are able to reduce item price by hiking postage seem to do well, like 99p records or cds with £4 postage. Tho' it's also possible that a savvy buyer will then negotiate a refund for the overcharged postage?

£4 postage on a record is not overcharged at all.  It costs £3.69 at a post office (small parcel).  Postage also attracts Ebay commission so add 12.8% (now it is slightly more but I forget the actual %)
and that will be 47p more so in total £4.16.   So £4 is actually undercharged and not overcharged.

Nicely said - I fear a lot of buyers equate the value of an item with what postage ought to cost!

I'm selling a few items, light and cheap but large letter size. I routinely get people ask me why I am charging over £1 postage for an item when a stamp only costs 85p - and when I explain how much a large letter is I even get told that they 'always' buy this type of widget and just know it can go in a small padded envelope with a normal stamp. 

I think a padded envelope will almost certainly take up the .5cm thickness limit for latters.
Once you put something in it, there is no change it will go letter.
If you buy a greetings card that's any bigger than totally flat e.g. with a ribbon or some sort of decoupage, it is marked 'large letter' as it is too thick for letter.

Exactly - unfortunately there seems to be a lot of buyers now who still think of postage being just weight and based on the value of the item. Obviously I don't want to say exactly what I'm selling, but it is the sort of same shape and weight as a Lego mini figure - try getting one of those through a standard letter slot! 

24febstarter

kalsha said:

No, I was thinking of a 7-inch single or single cd. And it makes better sense to complain about being overcharged only when you have been. Clearly one of these would comfortably fit in a large letter envelope, even with padding. You can buy special square mailers and stiffeners made of card. Even including the cost of those, between 40 and 50p, upping the postage to £4 seems excessive. Same with booklets, comics, maps, etc.

I was not suggesting that parcels should be sent at the letter rate. That sounds like a recipe for negative feedback. But I'm sticking to my observation because I've seen it happen - buyers are often swayed by lower item prices and ignore the total cost.

Having said that, I have negotiated a part refund when a seller charged me at the parcel rate and then used a large letter. It happens. But other buyers don't seem too bothered by it.   

soolin

24febstarter said:

kalsha said:

No, I was thinking of a 7-inch single or single cd. And it makes better sense to complain about being overcharged only when you have been. Clearly one of these would comfortably fit in a large letter envelope, even with padding. You can buy special square mailers and stiffeners made of card. Even including the cost of those, between 40 and 50p, upping the postage to £4 seems excessive. Same with booklets, comics, maps, etc.

I was not suggesting that parcels should be sent at the letter rate. That sounds like a recipe for negative feedback. But I'm sticking to my observation because I've seen it happen - buyers are often swayed by lower item prices and ignore the total cost.

Having said that, I have negotiated a part refund when a seller charged me at the parcel rate and then used a large letter. It happens. But other buyers don't seem too bothered by it.   

Your post specifically said record  not CD, a CD can be adequately packed to go as a large letter, probably over 100G. However, I wouldn't risk sending even an old 45 record as a large letter , there really wouldn't be enough strong packaging to keep it from being bent if you tried and keep it under 25mm. There's also the maximum width as well, if this was going boxed you only have 250 mm width and a 45 record before any packaging is approx 180 cms .

24febstarter

Yes, I said record but meant a 7-inch single, NOT a small parcel. Hence the overcharged postage. And there genuinely are customised record mailers made of thick card and customised stiffeners, all available for sale on Ebay. Having bought and sold I have a supply of these.

Obviously, as a buyer I'll look at the overall cost for items in the same condition. But as a seller I like to be close to the top of the list so that my items sell quick. Which is difficult enough when trying to sell things like records (often a buyers' market), not helped when the competition undercut an item price by inflating their postage costs.