eBay Plus - Worth it as a buyer?

[oddsandendsoz]

Hi all,

Hope all is well and things are not too quiet for you all (my sales have certainly dropped, down about 50% on the previous 30 days). I know you may be wondering why I am asking this on the selling board but I only ever read this selling boards. Thus I have learnt to recognise and trust the people on this board.

Just wondering if you see any benefit to getting the eBay Plus as a very infrequent buyer? The only advantage I can see is that it would give me 5% off Coles and given I am an very infrequent buyer other than packing materials on eBay and the odd splurge, I am not sure it would be worth it. I think I have seen others post that they have yet to see the advantages, any thoughts?

[ilce]

I had it for two years but only because I waited for a deal where they gave me $50 credit on something (last year it was Coles)

I then dropped it just before renewal. Now waiting for the next offer.

To answer your questions is it worth it for $50 outright. IMO no. Nearly all sellers put the postage cost into the item price to sell as a Plus item so you are not really saving. There are a few major retailers that do actually give you free postage without increasing the price so if you buy from the right sellers only then is it good value.

[austfox]

5% off Coles would require at least $1000 purchased from them over the year to break even, which does seem quite doable. Is the pricing for Coles on eBay the same as the pricing on their own website?

Occasionally discounts for joining eBay Plus appear under the header on my browser. I believe I saw one recently that would give you $50 off your next purchase (not sure of the terms and conditions though).

[lyndal1838]

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@austfox wrote:

5% off Coles would require at least $1000 purchased from them over the year to break even, which does seem quite doable. Is the pricing for Coles on eBay the same as the pricing on their own website?

It is not as good a deal as it first appears.....several members have said that they rarely get their complete Coles order on ebay and the only specials are the ones that are available nationally.

Being in the position of needing home delivery in the near future I went into this thoroughly.  The best part is that a $50 spend gets free delivery but I did find that often the basic necessities are not available.....potatoes, carrots, onions....even bread is not always listed.  And it takes between 3 and 7 days to get the order.

Occasionally discounts for joining eBay Plus appear under the header on my browser. I believe I saw one recently that would give you $50 off your next purchase (not sure of the terms and conditions though).

The most economical way is to wait for a carrot from ebay.....the $50 voucher is the very best as you cover your subscription with one purchase.  It has come up regularly since Plus first started.

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[springyzone]

I'm a buyer. I wouldn't say I am infrequent, I buy steadily here and there but not necessarily every month and usually smaller things from Australian sellers.

For me, the answer so far has been no, I haven't thought it worth it to join.

It's going to depend though on what a person usually buys. I have seen some posts before where people rave about ebayplus and say it has saved them a fortune.

The reason I haven't joined is because a lot of the things I buy or look at already come with 'free postage' so being an ebay plus member wouldn't help there. Just a couple of days back, I purchased 2 cookbooks from BigW. Postage was $3.90 for both (which I thought was super cheap actually). I haven't added up what postage costs I pay per year but it may not be that much over $50 and even if it is, a lot of the stuff I buy is not covered in ebayplus so I'd be paying it anyway.

I have seen the discount offers eg join ebayplus and get a gift voucher towards next purchase etc. In effect I could have had ebayplus free for a year but I didn't bother as what I don't like is these rolling subscriptions where the money is automatically deducted. It means I would have to note exact joining dates then opt out before the next payment. Can't be bothered with the rigmarole.

What would it take to make me join?

-ebay plus covering about 80-90% of things on ebay. I currently do pay a subscription for 'free postage' on another site, Catch, but I do get my money's worth there, I have done the maths. On ebay not enough is covered yet.

If I bought a lot of shoes or clothes, the ebay plus free returns for any reason would be attractive but again, unless it covered about 80% of potential purchases, it just isn't worth it to me.

If I were you and trying to decide whether to join or not, hold off and over the next 3 or 4 months, study what you buy, see what the postage costs are, see if they would have been covered with ebay plus. See if there is anything in ebay plus that you would be inclined to buy if you had free postage.

Then make a decision based on your own spending patterns.

[oddsandendsoz]

Thanks for the input guys. It is exactly as some say, I keep gettign sent the $50 off voucher for joining so in lots of ways its cost neutral. However, saying that I probably would not buy the item I am considerign if I did not have the $50 off offer, and so it only becomes worth it if I have other savings throughout the year.

[oddsandendsoz]

Thanks. From the limited price comparisons I did quickly on common items I get from Coles, yes the price was the exact same, even on items that are currently on offer. 

[cezm]

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@springyzone wrote:

I have seen the discount offers eg join ebayplus and get a gift voucher towards next purchase etc. In effect I could have had ebayplus free for a year but I didn't bother as what I don't like is these rolling subscriptions where the money is automatically deducted. It means I would have to note exact joining dates then opt out before the next payment. Can't be bothered with the rigmarole.

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Just fyi, you can cancel straight after you receive you confirmation email and it remains current for the year paid for

[chris_random]

I think you get a $5 voucher every month, to cover the subscription. I mainly joined, because I noticed all the 15% off deals had gone away in the last 2 years, and wondered if they were all for ebayplus customers. No luck so far.

I'm a rural customer, so free metro delivery amounts to nothing. I'm not sure I've ever found an ebayplus item to buy. I think you might save more if you buy big price items.

[springyzone]

I guess just remember that if you don't want to be in it for a second year, you will need to opt out before the subscription automatically renews.