Ebay: theft on a massive scale !!!

ch0ccy

EXPAT wrote: »

...Ebay cancelled my auctions for charging "excessive postage & packaging"...

I can't win either way.

What if you put in your listing description that you only post via recorded (to be on the safe side) hence slightly higher p&p charges? Surely ebay won't remove your listings for charging, say, £1 more.

Premier_2

If 72p per item is the difference between a profit and a loss, I would suggest you re-evaluate your business model. Unless you're selling 1000+ very cheap items per week on ebay, then it suggests you're paying too much for them in the first place.

I've never known ebay pull an item for charging 72p difference in postage. Excess postage & packing items are usually pulled only where it is absolutely clear the cost is excessive and therefore some kind of fee avoidance as well as giving buyers an unpleasant buying experience.

If you want to be absolutely clear, make sure you specify the postage cost is based on Royal Mail Recorded Delivery (1st or 2nd class) rather than sellers standard rate. It probably won't affect ebay itself, but will explain to potential bidders why the postage rate is what you specify.

StaffsSW

Selling categories make a huge difference to the amount of Item Not Received claims. DVD's, CD's, phone accessories, memory cards etc are all very high risk, but as they have low individual value, recorded is often considered to be overkill.

If you do not want to go down the recorded path, you need to consider the margin you make on P&P to see if it allows you to "self insure" - if you make 20p on every item, and 1 in 50 goes missing, will all of those 20p's cover the single loss? If it will, then stick with what you are doing, if it doesn't then consider revising your P&P upwards slightly to cover the average loss.

Jvic28

EXPAT wrote: »

Well, you can't anymore!



quote]

Ok Ok. I was only saying that it's a silly new rule.

Btw, it sounds as though you're charging way to much for postage if Ebay are pulling your auctions. If you charge what it actually costs plus the 70 odd pence for recorded or however much it is for special and that is stated in the auction then there is absolutely no reason to pull it for excessive p+p.

x

bing0

Can you not get proof of postage from the post office as well as your receipt ? Surely this is enough if there is a problem for a claim under £35.00?
I agree with a previous comment of charging 70p extra for over this amount.Any normal buyer would welcome this,wouldn't they ?

BlimusOreilly

ikkle87 wrote: »

Surely its better to pay an extra 70p per item than to have people claiming they didnt receive the item and ebay/paypal making you give a full refund?

I didn't think that Paypal counted recorded delivery as a trackable postage method? I thought that only Special Delivery would suffice to avoid Paypal making you refund.

Creosote

bing0 wrote: »

Can you not get proof of postage from the post office as well as your receipt ? Surely this is enough if there is a problem for a claim under £35.00?
I agree with a previous comment of charging 70p extra for over this amount.Any normal buyer would welcome this,wouldn't they ?

I maybe wrong but doesn't royal mail sometimes confirm with the person receiving the mail if they did or didn't get the item? In that case if the buyer doesn't play ball and say it went missing royal mail will not compensate the sender, therefore a c.o.p will mean very little and negative feedback against said buyer cannot be left.

BlimusOreilly

Not only that, Royal Mail have never compensated me fully for any claims I've mad on behalf of buyers who have had items missing in the post - so you lose out to some degree anyway.

Premier_2

BlimusOreilly wrote: »

I didn't think that Paypal counted recorded delivery as a trackable postage method? I thought that only Special Delivery would suffice to avoid Paypal making you refund.

You need to use an service that provides online proof of delivery. RM Recorded delivery does this, providing you also have the receipt from the post office showing the address to which the item was sent and the associated tracking code.

https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/protections-pop-outside

Premier_2

Creosote wrote: »

I maybe wrong but doesn't royal mail sometimes confirm with the person receiving the mail if they did or didn't get the item? In that case if the buyer doesn't play ball and say it went missing royal mail will not compensate the sender, therefore a c.o.p will mean very little and negative feedback against said buyer cannot be left.

It is correct that RM may contact the intended recipient to verify that they have not received the item. In the event the intended recipient does not respond, RM assumes they received the item (which is the wrong approach, imho) However, you are given the opportunity to otherwise prove the intended recipient did not recive the item, and emails from that intended recipient claiming the item was not delivered are usually accepted by RM as adequate proof.