Buying 2nd hand books on eBay

Thefunkygibbons

I take the view that it is up to the buyer to know the postage in advance

I tend to re-use envelopes, but only padded ones with life in them

I reckon I make enough on the postage to cover the paypal fees

However, I don't think I earn any extra by moving some of the price into postage, the price paid is the sum of the price and the postage

hippypixie

I reuse some padded envelopes too but then I dont charge for packaging and only the real cost of the postage. I dont mmind people overcharging postage a small amount, but sometimes its just taking the mick! Sometimes as well its not possible for the buyer to know if postage costs are reasonable, if they are not sure of the approximate weight of an item, and lets face it, people who do not post alot of stuff probably have no idea what things cost to post. When for example sellers ask for £5 postage for a DVD, thats just ridiculous....well thats my opinion anyway.

numberthree

Just adding to previous posts - Greenmetropolis.com and Amazon marketplace are well worth a look for used books. Greenmetropolis are usually £3.75 for a book including p&p.

I'm not convinced ebay is the best place to sell second hand books - but sometimes you can find a real bargain to buy as long as the p&p is not too high. I always try to have a total in mind including postage and stick to that!

competitionscafe

Well, my book arrived today and from the stamps on the front the postage was £1.14 (seller charged me £3.50). Of course I knew this in advance and decided to buy it anyway, as the total amount was still a few pounds cheaper than buying the book new (and the book is in almost new condition).

On the other hand I think that charging more than 3 times the actual cost of postage is unreasonable profiteering - should I leave neutral feedback and mention the postage? (Seller has already left me positive feedback). I know somebody else who did this and that seller has since reduced their postage charges. Or I could leave positive feedback but still mention the postage issue (as everything else was fine).

Which do people think is more fair?

gkf

What about neutral feedback, goods fine, but felt postage was overpriced as item only cost x to post.

Glamourpuss_3

before leaving feedback I'd contact the seller to let them know I was unhappy about the postage costs and to give them the opportunity to offer a partial refund. if you don't get a satisfactory response then a neutral would be deserved. can I ask how the book was packaged? was it in obviously new packaging? the seller may say that they had to pay for packaging supplies (of course that wouldn't cost £2.361 but its the excuse a lot of people will use)

competitionscafe

Glamourpuss wrote:

can I ask how the book was packaged?

Yes, sorry I meant to mention that - book was wrapped in plain brown paper and parcel tape - no way that costs over 2 quid - even a brand new jiffy bag is only about 50p.

Sofa_Sogood

competitionscafe wrote:

On the other hand I think that charging more than 3 times the actual cost of postage is unreasonable profiteering - should I leave neutral feedback and mention the postage? (Seller has already left me positive feedback). I know somebody else who did this and that seller has since reduced their postage charges. Or I could leave positive feedback but still mention the postage issue (as everything else was fine).

Which do people think is more fair?

I'd leave either a neutral or no feedback at all - FWIW

Of course they left good feedback - they know and you know (now), that you were overcharged ...

But I'd definitely mail the seller and let them know you weren't happy, and before the f/b deadline obviously

Complaining on eBay's really alien to me. But I would in this case.

sassy_saver_2

Thanks sofa.. will definitely give it a go.. have hundreds of books to sell and the process is much faster to list than ebay or Amazon