Ebay

ste_bla

ste_bla

ste_bla

Soldato
Joined
9 Aug 2004
Posts
7,795
Location
Milton Keynes
Looking on the "bay" and actually for the first time actually nearly bought something but have a question in general. Why on earth do a lot of people have massive postage costs and optional insurance?

Does that mean if i don't take the insurance and it gets damaged/lost its up to me to suck up the loss of the senders problem (like online shops?)

Then with regards to the postage cost do you get a refund if they send it and its not as much as you've paid or do they just keep the cash?

Lastly whats the safest way to buy a lowish value item (£40) CC/Cheque or Paypal?

Cheers
 
Postage is so high due to people wanting to make the extra £3-4.. (maybe to cover the fleabay charge too i dont know) :(

Safest is Cheque I would say, but Paypal is everyones preference and it is fairly safe.
 
Its a pet hate of mine when you get charged £4 or £5 for postage and the item arrives with a stamp on saying it only cost £1.50. Fair enough if its someone who is selling a one off and perhaps wasn't sure and didn't want to lose out, but when people who obviously sell lots of one item to the UK it can add upto a lot of extra cash!
 
postage is higher to cover the fees imposed by ebay,

when sending items out myself i am always surprised at how cheap it is to send things, i did once send a uni book and that had P&P of £15, and the person buying it bought the book for £15
 
\Postage is high

a) to make more money, so take postage into account. no you wont get a refund.
B) you don't pay fleebay fees on postage so some stick huge shipping fees on, then expect the item to sale for 99p.

Although, there has been lots of rule changes recently, Which I haven't kept upto date with.

Never had a problem with paypal, just be sensible.
 
lukechad said:
Its a pet hate of mine when you get charged £4 or £5 for postage and the item arrives with a stamp on saying it only cost £1.50. Fair enough if its someone who is selling a one off and perhaps wasn't sure and didn't want to lose out, but when people who obviously sell lots of one item to the UK it can add upto a lot of extra cash!
Click to expand...
i agree, although its not just the cost of the stamp etc that you are paying for.
its postage and PACKAGING.
 
lukechad said:
Its a pet hate of mine when you get charged £4 or £5 for postage and the item arrives with a stamp on saying it only cost £1.50. Fair enough if its someone who is selling a one off and perhaps wasn't sure and didn't want to lose out, but when people who obviously sell lots of one item to the UK it can add upto a lot of extra cash!
Click to expand...


I'm not bothered about it, just take it into account and bid less on the item. it means they pay less fees and your much more likely to get a bargain as everyone else is put of by high postage.
 
postage being so high also can mean that if the customer wants a refund they may only get the sale price back and not the postage. Also like someone has said its not postage you pay for, it's Post and Packaging which even for a small item can be another £1 or so.

I guess you could also agrue the fact that the seller has to go to the post office to post it so its his pertrol time etc to post it you also pay for and not just the post offices.
 
i used to always bump up the postage to cover fees

tbh - if you dont like the p&p cost on top of the item cost - dont bid on it? simple
 
A2Z said:
tbh - if you dont like the p&p cost on top of the item cost - dont bid on it? simple
Click to expand...


Good point - then they'll either change their ways or stop selling. I was looking for something the other day, very cheap but on ebay it was something like this:

Item: 99p, P&P: £6.99

OR

Item: £4.99, P&P: £2.99

But it is wrong, just list it at the price you want for it - dont hide VAT in some short text at the bottom of the listing and charge a realistic P&P.
 
I accept that some sellers add a few bob onto the postage to cover ebay and paypal fees. If I don't like the amount the seller charges, for postage, then I don't bid on their items.

I often wonder about those disclaimers, on listings, that say things like if you do not take out postal insurance then they cannot be held liable for loss or damage.... If I paid for an item and it didn't arrive, or it arrived broken, I would certainly feel the seller was liable. Until I got the goods in the condition described in the listing, I don't believe the contract entered into has been honoured.

That cuts both ways, when I sell anything I believe it's my responsibility to get the item to the purchaser in top condition. If the item sells for more than the £20 or thereabouts that Royal Mail offer in compensation for loss or damage, then I feel it's my further responsibility to insure the item.

I use PayPal exclusively these days, the buyer protection alone is reason enough. Also no special journeys to the bank are needed for paying in cheques or cashing postal orders. Then there's the speed of the transaction, some buyers will not post goods till cheques have cleared.
 
I always bump up the postage just to cover the fees. The more the item goes for, the more you get charged by ebay. Hence why people put quite a lot more on postage than the actual item.
But if ebay catch you doing this, (putting a ridicoulus ammount on postage for a 99p item for instance) you will get the listing removed. And if you carry on to do so, can get your account suspended.

Not only that, but its paypal that take the mick to, they take a fair few quid off you between them (ebay/paypal). So tbh i don't blame people for bumping up the postage.
 
DanMc07 said:
Not only that, but its paypal that take the mick to, they take a fair few quid off you between them (ebay/paypal). So tbh i don't blame people for bumping up the postage.
Click to expand...

If this bothers you, perhaps you shouldn't use Ebay, rather than trying to get someone else to sub your listing fees?
It's like asking a buyer of a car to pay an extra tenner to cover the cost of the add in the paper.

It remains a Postage & Packaging charge, not a Ebay & Paypal fee suppliment. :eek:
 
It doesnt bother me one bit. And I will charge what I like on my own listing, i do not enforce people to bid on my things, and if they dont like the cost of the item+ shipping, then theres no need for them to bother bidding at all.
 
When i first sold odds and ends, i used to refund any overpayment of postage. After packaging and a reasonable handling amount was taken off. If it was clearly excessive, i used to refund a quid or 2. Now I just use proper scales instead of cheapy dial ones and dont have that problem. I sell to people like i want to be sold to. Mind, ive never sold anything on there for a good 6-8 months.
 
You dont get charged what what you make on postage costs ;) so the higher postage the cheeper the fees to "bay" are..

Mr DanMc07 is smart in that was something like 1.99 for the item.. 11 postage hehe.. not a bad idea..

and hes right in what he says, if ebay want to charge you for the listing then you, as a seller have the right to put the price for postage at what ever reasonbly possible aslong as the item sells for a cheep price... you know if an item isnt worth the price, if i sell a tv for 10p i will put postage very high, they think they have a bargain but yetthey have the postage which they will know is right for what the item was worth!!

You see it a lot, computer items especially, charge you half the price, but put extortionate prices on shipping which is then acceptable when you compare with other prices..
 
Last edited:
spike's said:
i agree, although its not just the cost of the stamp etc that you are paying for.
its postage and PACKAGING.
Click to expand...

agreed. also if your like me then not every one has a post office two doors down , some people have to drive miles into town to the post office or take public transport, so you are paying for the effort involved not just the stamp
 
macca672 said:
agreed. also if your like me then not every one has a post office two doors down , some people have to drive miles into town to the post office or take public transport, so you are paying for the effort involved not just the stamp
Click to expand...

exactly, your not just paying for the royal mails times to get the item to the buyer but also the sellers time to get it sent
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom