topic Re: OVERPRICING OF POSTAGE in eBay Announcements and Seller Releases

OVERPRICING OF POSTAGE

shellyshelly40 — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:25:43 GMT

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.

Re: OVERPRICING OF POSTAGE

a-book-amore — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:37:47 GMT

Shelly, in the main, it is buyers that dictate how well an item sells.

In other words, if $11 (including delivery) is too much for you, then don't buy from this seller, just go elsewhere.

Booka

Re: OVERPRICING OF POSTAGE

tatt2_tom_123 — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 05:38:49 GMT

No No No,
the main issue here is when a seller places an item up for bids and there is no postage visable, ie " see postage rates " in the postage screen and you go look for them, and you can not find a rate , then you contact the seller who doesnt get back to you prior the auction end, then you get slugged a over rated postage rate or postage at a registered rate three times the aussy post going rate , for one envelope , is an out rage , Ebay must make the postage rate screen a must fillout field by the seller.
tatt2

Re: OVERPRICING OF POSTAGE

mbeaumont7 — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 13:48:44 GMT

tatt, I don't buy if I don't get a reply (to my questions). It shows poor customer service. I don't buy without postage quotes, nobody should.

Re: OVERPRICING OF POSTAGE

tatt2_tom_123 — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 22:41:49 GMT

mbeaumont7, i have now started to follow that direction tatt2

Re: OVERPRICING OF POSTAGE

a-book-amore — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 22:48:22 GMT

tatt2_tom_123

I fully agree with you. When a seller requests contact for postage costs, then I too hit the back button.

And yes, if the postage field was filled in correctly, it would make for interesting reading in the Best Match lists.

Booka

Re: OVERPRICING OF POSTAGE

margaretb5365 — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 08:06:12 GMT

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.

one of my byers told me they got stung with a $250.00 postage bill, its turning new buyers off ebay , I think its doing damage to good sellers

Re: OVERPRICING OF POSTAGE

superscanner4 — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:09:23 GMT

tatt, I don't buy if I don't get a reply (to my questions). It shows poor customer service. I don't buy without postage quotes, nobody should.

same here

Re: OVERPRICING OF POSTAGE

zac_02 — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 10:56:12 GMT

Well there is a seller with the same/&similar item on auction with 3 different postage rates. So which would I bid on? Follow bids & hope for the best? Lower postage? Or just not bother? So many people just don't make the effort to vote with their $, and so this practice continues. Have found same item elsewhere on 'net anyway.....guess I wont bother LoL

Re: OVERPRICING OF POSTAGE

mumandsons — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:57:46 GMT

It is easy for a buyer to say that the postage rate should be compulsory, it is not that easy....where an item can be posted in the same state the postage is cheaper than other states, and if posting to WA, NT or TAS from NSW postage rates are higher and different. So not that simple to quote postage rates.

However for DVD's which can be sent at letter rates it can. I thought that eBay sorted out the postage rates that can be charged for DVD's, CD's and Books or has this changed?

If you don't know the postage rate and the seller does not reply to your email about rates either do not bid or if the postage rate is too high try to negotiate the rate with the seller and if they won't budge then report them and refuse to complete the sale.

If you are using Paypal to pay for your purchase then the seller has the right to make you pay for registered mail, most don't but some do. It covers them in case of a buyer claiming that the item was not received and the automatic refund from Paypal to the buyer. It keeps the buyers honest as we all want to know that buyers and sellers are protected from fraud.

Currently buyers have the privilege with the "buyer protection" seller have to rely on registered mail although there is some sort of seller protection but it is very limited not like the buyer protection that is unlimited.

Re: OVERPRICING OF POSTAGE

misterforgetfulsbooks — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 11:24:32 GMT

I tried to list a few books over 500 gm the other day and it wouldn't let me put $9.80 in as the postage amount even though the red satchel was the cheapest postage, $8.30 was the maximum it would allow even though that's over $1 less than a satchel would cost me.

Re: OVERPRICING OF POSTAGE

purpuldream — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 22:25:37 GMT

I totally agree with you Shelly, the postage on here is outrageous, I study the postage on items to see if it fair before i start any bidding!!!!!!!:_|

Re: OVERPRICING OF POSTAGE

purpuldream — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 22:27:52 GMT

You can always put the remainder of the money into the package you are sending, its been done for me b4...:-)

Re: OVERPRICING OF POSTAGE

lozs.loot — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 02:56:52 GMT

Getting postage right is the most important thing for internet sellers & it isn't easy. Buyers do want to know up front what cost is but for multiple purchases it is difficult to guestimate and don't want to waste time asking unless it is a special/cheap item. Where possible I offer free postage on letter items to encourage multiple purchases & it does work, buyers know they won't get slugged an extra charge so happy to buy more & for other items I refund overpaid postage so they'll come back knowing I won't rip them off on postage. It creates very good will. If you refund via paypal they refund you the fee they charged for the refund amount too if you do it properly.

It amazes me that those sellers who do not charge the correct rate for postage can be power sellers, many buyers mustn't check cost prior to bidding/buying and it does give eBay sellers a bad reputation, but it is a difficult thing to make postage charges compulsory due to the complexity of charges.

Best policy is buyer beware I suppose & always check sellers feedback.

Re: OVERPRICING OF POSTAGE

glitter-buggs — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:54:45 GMT

This is a question I get asked a lot, in my case the buyer only sees the $1.10 stamp, but for me there is also the carding and zip lock bag or plastic box for fragile items, paper bag, bubble wrap, envelopes, printing costs (have you seen the price of printer cartridges lately), a cd box (they're cheaper than padded bags), and the $2.80 for registered post because if you don't and the parcel gets lost then Paypal just take it all out of your account again. On top of that, there are the overheads of driving to the post office, and what price can you put on standing in those queues for half an hour or more.
As a seller there are more and more hoops to jump through and unfortunately the costs of handling are usually far greater than the actual postage cost.
Cheer up, postage charges are due to go up again shortly, who knows what we'll have to pay then........at least you didn't get charged $34 per item as I did from Hong Kong. Explains why the items were so cheap, but we aren't allowed to play that game., wouldn't want to anyway

Re: OVERPRICING OF POSTAGE

pommylass — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:37:26 GMT

A few years ago now my daughters brother in law brought a sony playstation game from Brisbane and he was in Ayr nth Qld and he paid $65.00 postage all i can say is it would want to have been a good game.....lol:^O Some peoples postage costing are outrageous

Re: OVERPRICING OF POSTAGE

kath6847 — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 07:34:39 GMT

I put my postage on and yet when it comes to send a book over 500g it cost me $12.50 to send it to WA.People buyers and sellers should be be aware of these different zones. I recently wrote to Ebay about them trying to get the actual copy of zones and wights plus price to no avail.They have $8.30 and then tell you to put the higher charge on the invoice. I do not agree with that I think the fee structure should be fairer.On DVD's and Videos I notice they say $8.30 i refuse to charge that and only charge $6.50 that only just covers the bag not travelling back and forth or any of the wrapping you need.On other items I ask to be paid by Paypal and if the postage is considerably lower then quoted I refund part of the postage. I know that it is not the ideal situation but I hope that people will realise that I am trying my best to be fair all round.

Re: OVERPRICING OF POSTAGE

who_can_it_be_now — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:09:45 GMT

You just need to use the calculated postage option instead of the flat rate option & you can increase the amount to whatever you need to include costs & handling.

Under that option you are not restricted to $8.30 (or whatever it is).

Re: OVERPRICING OF POSTAGE

kath6847 — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:08:36 GMT

Thank you who-can-it-be-now, I have been listing for a few months and am still learning as I go.

Re: OVERPRICING OF POSTAGE

raggyqueen — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:52:21 GMT

Yes I agree that some sellers take advantage of postage costs. They should only charge what it cost them to post.

I think it would be a good idea if sellers are obligated to itemise the cost of postage in a special section on their description page or in the shipping/postage section.

E.g.
Bubble envelope $1, Stamps $1.10, Registered label $2.80, tissue paper 10c Total $5

One seller had a really nice Pandora bead I wanted but charged $10 for regular post (not even registered, that would be another $2.80 extra!!!).
As my total cost list above shows, it should not cost more than $5 for reg. post NOT $12.80!

I also questioned another seller about the high postage and was told that he added the eBay fees and the PayPal costs to the postage!
This should definitely be calculated into the selling price, NOT the postage cost!

I usually tell them that because their postage costs are too high, I 'm not interested in their item and won't be bidding on it. Such a shame... sometimes I'd have loved that specific bead or item, but the ridiculous charges for postage repel me!