misleading listing re 'Free Post' and things

[eddiewoof]

There is a seller who has two identical items listed, one as 'Free Postage', this latter item is some $30.00 MORE expensive than the first item, which has a postagse of some $30.00. Surey this is against decent rules. The item which is not free postage will be exactl the same as the other once postage is paid, etc. I think I habe pointed this out before but nothing was done. Also, when searhing for 'Nikon Scanner', I get a heap of Nikon Cameras listed as camera and scanner. This again is misleading. I contacted ebay who moved on my comments to the Italian seller (power seller) who answered me in Italian and removed the two example listings only from many . Again, completely misleading listings as these camaeras are NOT scanners.

Eddie

[animecat2]

But to be fair most items that have free post have the postage cost incorporated into the items price anyway , you don't think sellers would sell at a loss now would you ?

It's just that you've picked it up because the seller hasn't been very smart in the way they have listed the 2 items.

Look there are thousands of incorrectly listed items be it in the wrong category or misleading headers etc so while you can report them personally I'd spend my time looking for items from sellers that have good listings and move on from those that purposely mislead the buyer.

[b3llag1na]

There isn't such a thing as "free post" here, it is just what ebay like to call it! Australia Post won't let sellers not pay for postage - it costs us each and every time 😉

It really should be called "postage included" so that buyers know exactly how it works.

Ebay are pushing sellers to list everything with "free" post as they get to then charge us fees on the postage cost as well....

[*sparklz*]

As ebay are pushing to have sellers to list free post on all their listings a lot of sellers are going to punished for following the advise of ebay for the very reason you have posted.

As said AP do not give free postage so why should a seller be out of cost to pay the postage from their own pocket?

If you pay

$15 for the item with $15 postage a total of $30

or

$30 with free postage

which would you choose?

It is still the same amount and the only difference is ebay get the fees on the item total price and not the postage price.

This is why they want sellers to include the cost of postage in their item price as it gives then another cut of the money.

This way they get ebay fees from the "free" postage and they get paypal fees as well from the postage (which has all ways been like this as paypal fees is on the total amount paid via that).

[marian_100]

Eddie, there is NO such thing as FREE Post. It sounds to me as if the seller is merely being honest in a highly sarcastic manner.

[leader-of-the-band]

I am sure that we will eventually be charged eBay fees on the item price AND postage . . . . just as it is on eBay.com

When that does happen, expect to see many more Buy-It-Now items listed with "free postage" as the postage will be built into the price as there will be no saving on eBay fees by charging for postage and having a lower item price.

As stated by previous posters, there is no such thing as free postage.  Even on auctions, bidders take into account their 'total spend', which would mean many auction items sell for higher prices when they have free postage.

[patchoo78]

Sparklz you should copy that post and save it as a text file, so you don't have to write it all out again when the question inevitably comes up again 

:^O

[syrupsmummy]

eBay allow sellers to list items as free postage and include postage cost in the item cost.

I prefer selling item with postage but eBay want sellers to post items as free postage. eBay doesn't charge Final value fee on postage. So for sellers it's cheaper to list item with postage rather than free postage with postage included in item price. But eBay will penalise non-free postage item in search result.

I sent an email regarding free postage early last year and this is a copy of reply email I received from eBay.

Hello Yumi,

Thank you for writing eBay in regard to search results and free postage.

Yumi, I apologise for the frustration and inconvenience this has caused you. As you've stated, one of the factors that is important in Best Match search results is free postage. When people shop online, they're increasingly expecting to get free postage. By having items with free postage closer to the top of search results, buyers will be more likely to purchase items.

Free is a great motivator to purchase. Items with a price and a postage cost are less likely to sell than an item with free postage, even if both items are around the same price.

I can understand your wanting to be able to combine postage and not wanting to rip customers off. And your feedback shows that you do make your customers happy. Whenever possible, giving the free postage option can include the likelihood of a purchase, and starting bids on auctions at a higher price, or having a fixed price item that includes postage in the price, can still lead to sales.

I hope this information was useful to you, and if you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us again.

It is my pleasure to assist you. Thank you for choosing eBay.

Warm regards,

eBay Customer Support Team

[digital*ghost]

Free is a great motivator to purchase. Items with a price and a postage cost are less likely to sell than an item with free postage, even if both items are around the same price.

Not in my experience. When my items were free post, they were cheaper than they were in total but I didn't sell a thing. I put postage back on and the prices were higher in total, and as I've mentioned before I sold more in a weekend than I did the entire time they were free post (about three weeks).

Some customers don't trust 'free post' listings, others prefer it, so my guess is the seller is trying to keep the item in searches where people tick to show only free post items, and still have a listing that appeals to those who prefer post and purchase price to be separated. It's the same reason some sellers have a Buy It Now price that's the same as the auction start price (or just a negligible difference), so they appear in searches for just BINs or only auctions - the tactic in itself is not against any policy, so not reportable at all. 

[syrupsmummy]

I'm not sure how true this buyers prefer free postage items thing.

Personally I don't care if items are listed as free postage or with postage. As a buyer I always prepare total prices.

I buy some books and DVD from an online shop sometimes (not eBay). They used to have free postage for over $50 purchase. Now they have all free postage.When they had free postage over $50 purchase I tried to buy multiple items to make total price over $50. So after putting items I really wanted I looked for more to add and they got more sales. Now I just buy what I want whether it's $10 or $50. So after they made all free postage they got less sales from me.