Fees On Postage

[contrarys]

Am not really a 'Seller' on eBay . . More of a buyer . . BUT - - Have recently sold a bowl for $300 - (Postage was $27 Odd Dollars ) . NOW - - As I can understand and  'Accept' their 'Seller Fee' . . What I CAN'T accept OR understand is WHY they have a right to hack into your postage costs - AS WELL .   My Question Is . . What The Hell Do THEY Have To Do With The Postage ??. . .

[gumleaf_goodies]

And just to add to the confusion - the postage states free local pickup, but the description states free postage. Which is it? or I suppose it could be both. 

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

unfortunately, we often never hear back from an Opening Poster who is new to these boards.

[imastawka]

Sometimes I  think they don't know where they posted

[chameleon54]

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@imastawka wrote:

Even more confusing is viewing that listing, and then seeing the only other listing.

The same jam labels for $100

WTH?

I love that carnival glass bowl so much.  I have one in the same design, but it's a large comport with a 6 inch stem.   I'm hoping it's worth about 2 grand in my old(er) age.

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Sorry to be the grinch, but unfortunately carnival glass has come off the boil a lot in the last five years. Like most collectables it follows a cycle.

* stuff is sold as cheap trinkets. ( carnival glas is named as it was often given as prizes at carnival " knock em down " type tents. )

* It becomes absolute rubbish and no one wants that old stuff preffering the new items.

* lots get thrown away or damaged as no one cares

* Suddenly its not around any more as it is now a lot older.

* People who grew up in the era when they had it or granny had a " special one " start to pick it up reasonably cheaply

* It becomes collectable and suddenly everyone wants it, especially the rarest and best pieces.

* It gets very expensive and prices some sellers out of the market, leaving the die hards to pay the big money

* People who remember using it themselves or granny having a " special one " start to get older, move into retirement homes or pass away and whole collections come onto the market, but most collectors are down sizing, reducing prices.

* Prices fall away for all but the very best pieces and people of today collect different things

Younger people are still collecting and spending big dollars on their collections, but they are not interested in the same things as older generations. Collectables of today include 1970,s & 80,s records, Lego, pop culture such as the Simpsons and Star Wars and anything techno including mobile phones ( old bricks are worth a small fortune ) and the real biggies, early computer games and computers. Things such as Nintendo SNES and Commodore 64 / early Tandy stuff are increasing rapidly in price and disappearing fast. I expect that one day McDonalds toys ( especially early ones ) could be worth some money and have hoarded up a large trunk full of them in the shed.

.

[imastawka]

Then you obviously don't follow carnival glass.

It has never gone out of fashion for collectors.

This one is smaller than mine.  And mine has a longer stem - making it a rare item IMO

163304159277

[chameleon54]

Sorry to be the grinch, but unfortunately carnival glass has come off the boil a lot in the last five years. Like most collectables it follows a cycle.

* stuff is sold as cheap trinkets. ( carnival glas is named as it was often given as prizes at carnival " knock em down " type tents. )

* It becomes absolute rubbish and no one wants that old stuff preffering the new items.

* lots get thrown away or damaged as no one cares

* Suddenly its not around any more as it is now a lot older.

* People who grew up in the era when they had it or granny had a " special one " start to pick it up reasonably cheaply

* It becomes collectable and suddenly everyone wants it, especially the rarest and best pieces.

* It gets very expensive and prices some sellers out of the market, leaving the die hards to pay the big money

* People who remember using it themselves or granny having a " special one " start to get older, move into retirement homes or pass away and whole collections come onto the market, but most collectors are down sizing, reducing prices.

* Prices fall away for all but the very best pieces and people of today collect different things

Younger people are still collecting and spending big dollars on their collections, but they are not interested in the same things as older generations. Collectables of today include 1970,s & 80,s records, Lego, pop culture such as the Simpsons and Star Wars and anything techno including mobile phones ( old bricks are worth a small fortune ) and the real biggies, early computer games and computers. Things such as Nintendo SNES and Commodore 64 / early Tandy stuff are increasing rapidly in price and disappearing fast. I expect that one day McDonalds toys ( especially early ones ) could be worth some money and have hoarded up a large trunk full of them in the shed.

.

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@imastawka - As per the last point mentioned in post, in all areas of collectables the very best pieces always retain thier value. It would appear your item is in this bracket and a nice piece. The rare carnival glass featuring Australian birds and animals is also holding its prices, but lessor pieces have fallen quite noticably in value in recent years..

I used to buy carnival glass and sell the best pieces to an antique shop I supplied, or sell them in antique auctions, with lessor pieces going on ebay. The price fall for common items means the risk of breakage in transit is no longer worth the risk of selling on ebay and like a lot of traditional antique shops, a slow decline in patronage for traditional collectables means it shut several years ago.

A good example of this theory is stamps. Once a very popular pass time, most stamps have virtually no value now, but the rare ones are still sought after by a small field of avid collectors.

Personally I quite like the carnival glass and still buy the occasional piece if its going cheap, but these days I just stash it away in trunks for the kids to find when I fall off my perch.

[spoilt4choice_aus]

I have just had a rant to Ebay about the postage final value fees. I know it will be to no avail but I don't accept their response, that the fees are all listed in the terms and conditions. I remember when they came in and I understood why, (thanks to the dodgy sellers out there) but seriously, why are we still paying it? Surely some geek somewhere could have invented a code that distinguishes real postage costs from extreme postage and charge the latter for trying to fraud the system. Am I the only one who thinks this is unfair? And where does that money go? I think as long as people just accept it, then Ebay won't do anything about it.

My rant tonight started because I'm selling a heap of items for a friend and I've just sat down and worked out how much I need to take out in fees. I'm embarrassed to even tell her, and that's not even taking Paypal's fees into account. She may as well have just dropped them in the op shop.

[davewil1964]

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@spoilt4choice_aus wrote:

I have just had a rant to Ebay about the postage final value fees. I know it will be to no avail but I don't accept their response, that the fees are all listed in the terms and conditions. I remember when they came in and I understood why, (thanks to the dodgy sellers out there) but seriously, why are we still paying it? Surely some geek somewhere could have invented a code that distinguishes real postage costs from extreme postage and charge the latter for trying to fraud the system. Am I the only one who thinks this is unfair? And where does that money go? I think as long as people just accept it, then Ebay won't do anything about it.

My rant tonight started because I'm selling a heap of items for a friend and I've just sat down and worked out how much I need to take out in fees. I'm embarrassed to even tell her, and that's not even taking Paypal's fees into account. She may as well have just dropped them in the op shop.

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Why are we still paying it?

Maybe because if eBay dropped the fees, things would go back the way they were? eBay gets the money, and they are on the record as believing they can drive revenue growth by gouging sellers, so don't expect them to drop ANY established fees. Expect instead to see more and higher ones - like the 'promoted' listings fees.

eBay at the time, in case you don't remember, got this through the ACCC by providing a postage option. They still do, and it is still about 10% less than the equivalent AP options. If you choose not to use this option, that is your choice, but it's there and available to any member.

[kitty-kat-kollection]

Just a question - if a listing is say a book or DVD for $30 with free postage, and it says "you will pay $8.55" or whatever (meaning the buyer pays nothing), does ebay base their fees on the $30 AND the non-paid $8.55? Or JUST the $30?

[davewil1964]

The fees are on the total transaction price.

Presumably $30. I'm not sure where you are getting $8.55. If the buyer pays $30, that is what the fees are based on. Whatever savings the seller is claiming are nebulous, at best. A $8.55 saving isn't really a saving just what has been included in the item price.