High P&P - Opinions Please!

soolin

RFW wrote: »

Well he doesn't wear any clothes does he?;)

Yes he does doesn't he, a little waistcoat and a t shirt ?.hmm, I'd better go and check.

RFW

I've checked he wears a t-shirt and nothing else! Tigger is completely nude though.

soolin

RFW wrote: »

I've checked he wears a t-shirt and nothing else! Tigger is completely nude though.

:eek:

I hadn't realised he didn't wear trousers.

consultant31

richto wrote: »

Yes it would have been on the item price - people would have been prepared to bid more had the P&P been lower! Most bidders consider the total cost when comparing items.

You COULD leave a poor rating. However to do so would be unfair as you agreed to the cost upfront and at the end of the day it just means eBay get more of your money.

In general you should always vote 5 for everything unless the seller doesnt do what they say they will. Unless of course you have shares in eBay!

Bit of a waste of time having a voting system then isn't it? Also, I didn't realise that the seller had to pay VAT on his postage costs - when did that start?

OP you should leave feedback to reflect how you feel the transaction has gone as a whole. If you think the p&p was inflated, say so (and I would agree, it was).

StaffsSW

consultant31 wrote: »

Bit of a waste of time having a voting system then isn't it?

Yep, people have been saying that since March 07 when the star ratings came to be, and became more vocal when visibility, discounts and ability to sell all became crucial to collecting as many 5 star votes as possible. 4 is not good enough in the eyes of eBay, despite stating "reasonable" and "satisfactory" as tags for the 4 star rating.

Also, I didn't realise that the seller had to pay VAT on his postage costs - when did that start?

For as long as VAT has been around - but only if the seller is VAT registered. Traders with a turnover of less that £67k (ish) do not have to worry about this.

consultant31

stevew8975 wrote: »

For as long as VAT has been around - but only if the seller is VAT registered. Traders with a turnover of less that £67k (ish) do not have to worry about this.

Thanks for that - I'd no idea p&p was VATable!

richto

RFW wrote: »

OK, carry on charging inflated postage then. 'Effort' = your job, you obviously work on minimal profit goods if you have to add on that for your p&p charges. !

Not my job, im MD. But the P&P pays for the warehouse staff too, yes.

I would hardly call our profit margin minimal. We make 30-80% margins depending on the item.

P&P is not inflated if it pays for what it is clearly meant to.

As an example, 10KG parcel costs us about £6 to send by 24H courier. We charge £9.99

DSR is for P&P is a steady 4.6

RFW

richto wrote: »

Not my job, im MD. But the P&P pays for the warehouse staff too, yes.

And its not inflated if it pays for what it is clearly meant to.

As an example, 10KG parcel costs me about £6 to send by 24H courier. I charge £9.99

DSR is for P&P is 4.6

So you are border line for discounts, a couple of bad ratings and you won't get any. Costs me around £5 (some a bit more some a bit less) for a courier parcel, I charge £5. DSR for p&p is 4.8 and rising, plus I have happy and repeat customers willing to bid on my auctions. As I've said on another thread undercharging for p&p is the best thing I've ever done on Ebay, I started it in April as a one month trial and have continued it.

richto

RFW wrote: »

a couple of bad ratings and you won't get any.

It would take more than a couple! We are a Platinum Power Seller on one account and Gold our backup to give you a rough idea of volume. (We maintain a spare account in a different name just in case we get banned, etc. as it is all too easy these days)

FVF discounts for 3 months in a row so far, and to be honest if we lost it, its peanuts versus the revenue P&P generates. Especially on low value items where the FVF is tiny anyway.

It costs us £6 inc VAT for a guaranteed 24 hour service. I would bet that your service isnt guaranteed at that price, or probably even 24h. And it includes loss cover for any goods - I expect yours is about a £50 limit.

RFW

richto wrote: »

It costs us £6 inc VAT for a guaranteed 24 hour service. I would bet that your service isnt guaranteed at that price, or probably even 24h. And it includes loss cover for any goods - I expect yours is about a £50 limit.

Parcelforce 24, goods are sent same or next day, so £150 insurance, I negotiated a good rate and pass it on to the customer. I too employ warehouse staff and have a high volume turnover and am a Platinum Powerseller.

I know people do different things in business, my point was that put us side to side, selling the same product at the same price and the same postal service, one with post for £10 and the other with £5, both with a good sales record and customer satisfaction, which do you think the customer will choose?