Seller adding Paypal Surcharge - what should I do?

Nostromo

I reported a guy the other day who selling a Modem Router for 1p + £30 delivery !!

sp41700

Wow what a cheap router Think i might buy it and go and collect ;D

lynneinjapan

Sounds like Hintza and I use the same kind of approach: I get round the "no surcharge" rule by building a bit extra into my postage costs to cover PayPal fees and then state clearly in my listing that there's a discount on postage costs (varies according to value of item, but typically 50p for things worth less than about £10) if the buyer chooses to pay by a method OTHER THAN PayPal. I checked on the eBay forums and it seems that this is permitted. The vast majority of my buyers still choose to pay via PayPal though, because it's just so convenient for them. The occasional buyer does pay by another method but forgets to deduct the 50p, so I win either way!

I state that my preferred payment method is by online bank transfer, pointing out that it's free for us both, dead easy (if you use online banking) and also that your bank sort code and account details are on every cheque you write so they're hardly confidential information, and two or three buyers so far have paid me this way, but still most people stick with PayPal.

I do agree that there should be nothing preventing sellers from surcharging for PayPal provided that it's clearly stated upfront. Otherwise they just have to find less obvious ways of covering their costs. The way things currently stand at eBay, all you can do in terms of surcharging is to ask buyers to VOLUNTARILY pay a bit extra for using PayPal, but if they refuse then there's nothing you can do about it.

halil

Wow what a cheap router Think i might buy it and go and collect ;D

LOL ;D

derbyjo

Help what should I do? On the payment instructions it said the 3rd para below, but that made no sense to me (thinking PP was postage and packing) so I asked for an explanation and got the following. The cost of the item is £11

Congratulations, an invoice has been sent.

Please add 15 percent towards PP if paying via this method, if via cheque please wait for clearance of payment before chasing delivery.

This statement means, please add 15% to the cost if you are paying by PP (Pay Pal), alternatively you can send a cheque but please wait for the funds to be deposited and cleared before chasing the product.

The address for cheques is on the invoice also.

Kind regards

robnye

email the seller quoting the following

eBay has adopted the following surcharging policy in the interests of ensuring that all buyers receive clear and accurate pricing information when trading on eBay.co.uk. This surcharge policy applies only to items listed on eBay.co.uk.

eBay prohibits surcharging by sellers except where described below. Surcharging occurs when sellers pass the charges they incur for using eBay or third party services such as payment services onto buyers.

Specific examples are explained below for your guidance:

1. Electronic Money Services: Sellers who accept electronic money services as a means of payment for an item purchased on eBay, may not impose a surcharge.

Electronic money services include, but are not limited to, services such as PayPal, Nochex, FastPay or Moneybookers.

also direct them towards the following page
http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/listing-surcharges.html

if they still insist on adding the surcharge, then if you dont mind waiting , send them a cheque,

stavros_2

15% extra for PayPal!!!! that's not only covering the costs of paypal's charges but pretty much everything else (maybe even their electricity bill for using the computer to put on the item)

stavros_2

barmonkey, whats your problem with this seller, he clearly states if you want to pay by paypal add 4%, if you dont want to pay it just dont pay by paypal or dont bid!! This reminds me of the people who complain about programs on TV, i always say if you dont like it, dont watch it! its that simple. I've charged people 3.5% paypal fees before, but i clearly stated the options in the terms of the auction, its up to the buyer to decide if they want to accept the terms or not. I dont think you should try to get the board to persecute this guy for trying to make a buck!!

it is however against ebay policy >:(

soolin

it is however against ebay policy >:(

Absolutely!

It is always in the back of my mind when I see sellers adding a surcharge that if they are willing to break that T and C what else are they likely to do as well.

I prefer not to bid on sellers that add a surcharge and it does seem that their closing prices reflect a slight reluctance on the part of bidders to bid.

Soo

robowen

Ebay does say you cannot add a surcharge to cover fees. ::)

But it also states you CAN add a surcharge when the buyer pays by c/card or debit card. :-/

Here's the question :
How can you tell in advance if the buyer is going to use a c/card or not when paying through paypal. ? :-/

If you have the free account, you can refuse the c/card payment.
If you have the next level up, the payment clears automatically and you have no idea if its a c/card.

I'm going to sack paypal. It's not safe, not very good at reclaiming funds and too expensive. >:(