e bay charging fees on postal charges - if enough people give feedback they may change this practice

[emerald-fairy]

Ok so the past two years I have worn the ebay charges on post so if a parcel costs $10 to post to a customer you have to charge the customer another 8% - 10% extra to cover postal commissions ebay charges.

A Customer purchased some fabric from me and the post charged was $46.00 but when I went to pay the post - it was only $27.10 so I wanted to reimburse my customer the different - I went into my account and ebay had charged me $4.42 fees on my $46 postal charge - so in that case the customer has to pay the post of $27 plus the ebay commission of $4.42!!

I rang ebay about this and they inform me they would pass on my feedback of say charging fees on post was an unfair charge - the man on the phone told me if enough people complained about this extra charge they may change it. Wouldn't that be nice!!!

Not only does ebay get a bit of your post but so does Pay Pal - makes post expensive 

So give ebay feedback regarding fees charged on post and hopefully we can have a win

Thanks Lynn

P.S. usually when I overcharge on post I give a refund and wear it - but not this time

[*tippy*toes*]

Holy dooley! I hadn't looked at the listings. WOW! That's some serious butterflies! One thing that did jump out from amongst the butterflies......advertising an external website to buy stuff. Tsk tsk!

It would also be interesting to know what the OP's postage defect rate is given that tracking numbers are only available on request. With the way the current system is, no way I wouldn't be uploading tracking numbers! I certainly don't trust that all buyers will tick yes for the question, regardless of when it arrived. I'd rather them not get the question. That's just me though.

[rocket2retro]

Maybe if enough buyers complained eBay might listen. (but of course that will never happen) They've shown they care little about sellers. At the end of the day sellers need to make a profit so the fees are passed down to buyers- but I'd say the greater majority don't know (or care) about postage fees. I've even had some buyers in the past that were surprised sellers were charged fees at all to sell on eBay!

I've become more philosophical about eBay fees. The higher they are the more people are put off selling (which explains the exponential growth of Gumtree & FB sale items). There are already as many items for sale on eBay than there are stars in our galaxy (slight exaggeration). Imagine how much competition there would be if eBay fees were 5% or 2% etc of final value!

[samjess54]

I've a slightly contrary view in that parcel postage done through ebay (except for 500gm parcels) is usually between about 10% and 15% less than the advertised Aust Post rate which shows up when entering weight and dimensions into the "calculate postage" box when doing the listing. This retail figure is what shows on the listing (plus my handling fee).  I sent a parcel to WA last week and the ebay discounted postage was closer to 18% less than Aust Post retail.

For me those postage discounts effectively cancel out the ebay and paypal fees so I just add on a modest "handling fee' (usually $1.50).

I think I'm right on all this but if I'm missing something please let me know.

[digital*ghost]

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@rocket2retro wrote:

Imagine how much competition there would be if eBay fees were 5% or 2% etc of final value!

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The competition is still there, but they're drawing their buyers to wherever it is they choose to sell, and so away from eBay. There's been more than fee rate changes, of course, but it was still only a few years ago that the maximum FVF was a bit over 5%, and that was only on the first $75 of a sale price, so it would reduce the higher the price of the item. Most sellers remember those days fondly, not because of the lower fees, though, but because of the better sales... I opened my store on the cusp of all the latest, most dramatic changes, so I was here and dabbling back then, but only started taking it seriously as "eBay is dead" became a common catchcry and every new change evoked massive outrage from longer term sellers. 

I think part of it is a risk vs reward thing. I joined some FB groups recently because I now refuse to sell personal items here, but have a bunch of stuff that is worthwhile selling (i.e the kinda stuff a place like Cashies would give you $2 for, while I'd probably get $30-$40 here, but I honestly just don't feel inclined to give eBay a $5 commission to facilitate a personal transaction of questionable safety, for me that is. I accept the risk with my business because my volume and model allows for the few instances of transactions that go awry). 

I'm happy people are still ticked off enough about the FVF on postage to still be talking about it, though. It shows the anger and resentment goes deeper than a knee-jerk reaction. That's the kind of thing eBay should be taking notice of, JMHO.

I'd probably be a lot less resentful of it myself if the way it was implemented here didn't mean eBay gets quite a bit more money just because the buyer lives further away from the seller. 

[davidc4430]

you need a good book to calm those butterfy frears,

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Green-Guide-to-Butterflies-of-Britain-and-Europe-9781472916426-Paperback-...

i didnt even know there was green butterflies.

[transport-posters]

I don't think it will ever change.  Once it was brought to stop naughty sellers exploiting the system, it will always be here.

I had an alternative idea but it needs a bit more thought.  Some of us specialise in selling just one thing on one ID, like I do with car posters on this account.  We could enter into a 12 month agreement with eBay to "lock in" the postage price minus the 10% added by eBay, so we cannot exploit the system.  We would need to be able to increase it of course, only if we have multiple of items purchased, and an agreed factor there as well.  We would also have a clause where if AP change their pricing, we can change those prices and enter a new agreement.

Each agreement would need to be reviewed before being locked in to ensure we are matching our postage price to what we've been doing for the past X years, so eBay can confirm we're not ripping them off.

[justkidzbiz]

If you refund the buyer the excess on postage you can request a credit on the postage fees for the amount refunded.  

ie Postage charge $46 - eBay fee on postage $4.46

actual postage - $27 - refund to buyer $19

request a credit on the $19. I've done it and eBay have been more than happy to apply a credit 

[misterforgetfulsbooks]

if you have free post and think you overcharged on your guestimated postage allocation so give a refund, you are reimbursed your ebay fees aren't you?

[davewil1964]

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@misterforgetfulsbooks wrote:

if you have free post and think you overcharged on your guestimated postage allocation so give a refund, you are reimbursed your ebay fees aren't you?

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Only if you ring them and ask.

Wouldn't happen to you, rama; you're a professional book seller, with a B&M and everything.

[amber-eyed-girl]

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@transport-posters wrote:

I don't think it will ever change.  Once it was brought to stop naughty sellers exploiting the system, it will always be here.

I had an alternative idea but it needs a bit more thought.  Some of us specialise in selling just one thing on one ID, like I do with car posters on this account.  We could enter into a 12 month agreement with eBay to "lock in" the postage price minus the 10% added by eBay, so we cannot exploit the system.  We would need to be able to increase it of course, only if we have multiple of items purchased, and an agreed factor there as well.  We would also have a clause where if AP change their pricing, we can change those prices and enter a new agreement.

Each agreement would need to be reviewed before being locked in to ensure we are matching our postage price to what we've been doing for the past X years, so eBay can confirm we're not ripping them off.

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That presupposes that eBay's main concern was to minimise the exploitation of a fee loophole.

Rather than increase their fees...