Ebay postage charges

GrahamLM52

When listing an item, how do you know how much postage is going to cost you? I thought there used to be a facility where you typed in size and weight and a list of couriers would come up with the price each would charge.

I can't find that anymore. 

The Packlink site gives details of Evri, UPS and DPD charges, but not Royal Mail.

soolin

As most of my items are under 2KG I tend to stick to RM .

 The sites where you can compare couriers tend to be the third party sites, so use with caution as you are adding in an extra layer of bureaucracy if things go wrong.  Also ebay often have different couriers prices anyway if you buy through them, on occasions I’ve managed to get some absolute bargain courier prices. 

GrahamLM52

Hi soolin.

I know I can go on Royal Mail's site and get prices there, but I thought I could get cheaper postage if I purchased through eBay?

Also: I find some of the options confusing. For example, eBay list "Royal Mail 48" and "Royal Mail Tracked 48" as two different postage options but the Royal Mail site states that "Royal Mail 48" is only available with a Business Parcels Account and you need to send a minimum of 1,000 items per year.

soolin

GrahamLM52 said:

Hi soolin.

I know I can go on Royal Mail's site and get prices there, but I thought I could get cheaper postage if I purchased through eBay?

Also: I find some of the options confusing. For example, eBay list "Royal Mail 48" and "Royal Mail Tracked 48" as two different postage options but the Royal Mail site states that "Royal Mail 48" is only available with a Business Parcels Account and you need to send a minimum of 1,000 items per year.

Royal Mail prices on eBay are the same as standard prices, it’s only the couriers that are different. The PO prices are different again and for parcels more expensive than RM online and eBay. Although about 8 months ago there was a slight difference for a month or so, whether it was a glitch or not I’m not sure, but eBay for a while ‘lost’ some of the weight bands for large letters which meant that a LL between 100-250g was being charged at the rate of a LL up to 500g.

one other difference is that on eBay RM48 and RM24 is free to drop off at a PO whereas on the RM site it still shows as an extra 16p. re terminology, just use RM48 or RM24 for anything over £20  , fully tracked , delivery confirmation and compensation up to £150. 

soolin

Royal Mail prices here 
https://www.royalmail.com/sites/royalmail.com/files/2024-04/online-price-guide-april-2024-v1.pdf

post office prices here 

https://www.royalmail.com/sites/royalmail.com/files/2024-04/our-prices-april-2024-v1.pdf

GrahamLM52

Many thanks soolin.

jon81uk

GrahamLM52 said:

Hi soolin.

I know I can go on Royal Mail's site and get prices there, but I thought I could get cheaper postage if I purchased through eBay?

Also: I find some of the options confusing. For example, eBay list "Royal Mail 48" and "Royal Mail Tracked 48" as two different postage options but the Royal Mail site states that "Royal Mail 48" is only available with a Business Parcels Account and you need to send a minimum of 1,000 items per year.

Just because it is in the drop-down when listing an item doesn't mean eBay sell that postage. The options when listing are completely separate to buying postage.

Personally I just buy directly with Royal Mail and get the postman to collect the packages.

soolin

jon81uk said:

GrahamLM52 said:

Hi soolin.

I know I can go on Royal Mail's site and get prices there, but I thought I could get cheaper postage if I purchased through eBay?

Also: I find some of the options confusing. For example, eBay list "Royal Mail 48" and "Royal Mail Tracked 48" as two different postage options but the Royal Mail site states that "Royal Mail 48" is only available with a Business Parcels Account and you need to send a minimum of 1,000 items per year.

Just because it is in the drop-down when listing an item doesn't mean eBay sell that postage. The options when listing are completely separate to buying postage.

Personally I just buy directly with Royal Mail and get the postman to collect the packages.

I get my items collected a couple of times a week as well, even the large letters - but find it easier to use eBay labels as the address etc is all pre populated. 

RedImp_2

soolin said:

jon81uk said:

GrahamLM52 said:

Hi soolin.

I know I can go on Royal Mail's site and get prices there, but I thought I could get cheaper postage if I purchased through eBay?

Also: I find some of the options confusing. For example, eBay list "Royal Mail 48" and "Royal Mail Tracked 48" as two different postage options but the Royal Mail site states that "Royal Mail 48" is only available with a Business Parcels Account and you need to send a minimum of 1,000 items per year.

Just because it is in the drop-down when listing an item doesn't mean eBay sell that postage. The options when listing are completely separate to buying postage.

Personally I just buy directly with Royal Mail and get the postman to collect the packages.

I get my items collected a couple of times a week as well, even the large letters - but find it easier to use eBay labels as the address etc is all pre populated. 

I buy direct like jon81uk but eBay links to RM app so the labels are also pre populated for me too.