OVERPRICING OF POSTAGE

[shellyshelly40]

DOES ANYONE HAVE THIS PROBLEM. I WAS CHECKING OUT DVDS AND FOUND ONE SELLING FOR $3.00 AND THEN $8.00 POSTAGE. BOTH SELLER AND BUYER ARE IN BRISBANE. WHY CAN'T EBAY DO SOMETHING ABOUT REGULATING POSTAGE AS THERE ARE SELLERS OUT THERE THAT SELL THEIR GOODS FOR A SMALL PRICE AND THEN HIT YOU WITH UNBELIEVEABLE POSTAGE. THEY SHOULD BE AWARE THAT IT ONLY DRIVES A BUYER AWAY AND IT IS NO LONGER CLASSED AS A BARGAIN.

[jamimishke]

I really hate when sellers use excuses like i had to pay for the box, Sticky tape, petrol for my car to get down to the post office etc etc. And what really gets under my skin is that they don't even take the time to place this sorta info in their descriptions.

Sorry i will not pay for you petrol, padded bags, boxs, sticky tape, bubble wrap. If you belive in good customer service you should be supplying these within the postage for free, so you know that your products will arrive safely to your customers.

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So what you are saying is this: if I list an item that cost me $10 to buy I start it .99 cents and sell it for .99 cents.(loss $$9.01) already, you then expect me to post it to you for the price of the envelope even though I have outlayed approx $5 to make sure the item is posted safely. Using your scenario I would be out of business in a week.

Everyone is entitled to charge for the true cost for sending the item which does include packaging (box,bag,envelope,satchel) bubble wrap, sticky tape,stamps,registered post and petrol costs to get to the post office. I actually list this in my description. After being a buyer for 4 years and only just starting as a seller I gave free postage on alot of my items,after a few weeks I was listing at 1/2 the postage cost,I then only charged the price of the stamps unbelievably I did not get 5 dsr's for postage and yet nobody paid any or full price for postage. So no more. I have never left a neg feedback for a seller due to postal costs as I am aware of what the REAL cost is.
When you walk into a physical store do you realise the cost of the item you purchased has already included the over heads,electricity, staff wages,rent etc. Sellers are no different on line and should be able to add a handling fee to cover their expenses in regards to postal costs.BTW state to state postage is entierly different so if the item I sold costs less I pop the difference in with the item when it's posted.

[mbeaumont7]

I would love to sell my items with cheaper post but I must add $2-80 onto every item. I can fully understand why some sellers charge more for postage, while others run the risk of not being covered if a buyer chargesback.

Umm...no you don't, if the item is valued at OVER $50 you'd send it that, otherwise you'd just make a claim at Aus Post for a lost parcel (who give you back up to $50).

[bedevilled62]

kanookandchook why don't you buy registered post labels in bulk and then it would only be $2.05 to register. That is another $0.75 cents back in the buyers pocket.....

.....unless you have to add GST because you are a legit business and the buyers who complain about postage wouldn't want you to break the law. Would they? :-x

[authentic_ancients]

I would just like to address that the postage fee is not only the fee Australia post charges, but it's actually the fee which the seller should charge from their perspective which includes various packing costs and service to their customers. When an honest seller clearly communicates the postage fee in their listings it's up to the buyer to agree and proceed on with the transaction. The term "Overcharging on postage" should only be applied when a seller charges at severe unreasonable magnitudes.

A perfect example of overcharging on postage are from some of the sellers from china who charges $100+ USD for postage on a 99c starting price where the actual postage for those items are approx $20 USD in addition the items they sell are fakes (see ancient artifacts section). Now that's circumvention of ebay fees + fraud. However by having said all that, I found out that ebay doesn't actually take any action on those sellers!

[authentic_ancients]

I really hate when sellers use excuses like i had to pay for the box, Sticky tape, petrol for my car to get down to the post office etc etc. And what really gets under my skin is that they don't even take the time to place this sorta info in their descriptions.

Sorry i will not pay for you petrol, padded bags, boxs, sticky tape, bubble wrap. If you belive in good customer service you should be supplying these within the postage for free, so you know that your products will arrive safely to your customers.

Obviously every service comes with a cost (unless stated otherwise), when the cost is listed in a listing at a reasonable magnitude it is up to you to agree to it before bidding/buying. The overall postage and handling price on ebay is up to the seller not Australia post. I beleive in good customer service however it doesn't mean that I give my services out for free.

At the end of the day it's the buyers who receive the services.

[authentic_ancients]

If the seller doesn't tell you the postage costs untill after the buyer makes the purchase/s, only then the buyer can legally withdraw from the transaction.

[bandcamp86]

kfczombie, Obviously you don't get out much because if you did you would notice that even huge corporations like woolworths, coles and even target charge for plastic bags even if you buy a whole trolley full of their products. Also places like Lingerie shops charge for boxes etc.

When you recieve an invoice from a plumber or electrician it will have a breakdown : call out fee, Inspection, How many hours of labour, Parts needed etc. People are happy to pay for their services. Why should Ebay sellers be treated any differently?

In my opinion, If you don't like it, then don't buy it.

[1062johnk]

Hi recently i bid on some cheap body fat testing computer medical equipment that was being auctioned in california. I didnt care for the computer or the electronics it was the case they were housed in that i wanted. I asked for a postage price to me in greece yes i will post to Greece i will get back to you with the cost, i didn't hear back. I won the auction with a bid of 99 Cents. I asked the seller if he could remove the computer and electronics a two minute job, he replied no i cant remove it you will have to do it yoursely and the postage cost is $204 US for first class mail.
Now i have had several cases sent to me from the US and the cost is $50 to $60 US each for Priority mail.
I then replied to him told him his postage was way too expensive and asked for the dimensions so i could get a postage price i did this and the price is $115 US a big difference. what can you do in these situations where the Seller thinks he was hard done bye and tries to make money on the postage?

[jamimishke]

Report it to eBay. There are too many overseas sellers trying to avoid fees by increasing postage. I would ask the seller to cancel the transaction. If the seller won't once again contact eBay explaining why you want it cancelled. They would be very interested in this story.
Fair enough to add a bit on to cover costs of handling but that amount is ridiculous

[lily-was-here]

If the seller doesn't tell you the postage costs until after the buyer makes the purchase/s, only then the buyer can legally withdraw from the transaction.

Nope. if the seller doesn't tell you the postage cost prior to auction end then the buyer should NOT bid at all. The seller can charge whatever they like if the buyer does not check before bidding and the seller is within their rights to do so, whether the amount is fair or not.

I then replied to him told him his postage was way too expensive and asked for the dimensions so i could get a postage price i did this and the price is $115 US a big difference. what can you do in these situations where the Seller thinks he was hard done bye and tries to make money on the postage?

There is no point in reporting it to ebay. You agreed to whatever cost was charged by bidding on the item without knowing if the seller was going to agree to the amount that you thought was fair and that is what ebay will tell you.

Why would the seller agree to a mutual cancellation? You bid before you heard back from the seller so it is your obligation to pay. The seller will probably issue you with a non payment dispute and you will get a strike from ebay.

Next time, be sure to get postage quotes before you bid.