topic Re: 10 item free postage in Selling

10 item free postage

wilmajames123 — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 00:44:04 GMT

Yesterday I sold 14 items to a US buyer who has bought from me in the past. I always give her a generous part refund on postage. This time, she said she'd received a notice saying that postage of purchases of 10 or more items is free. I've not been able to find anything about this. Does anyone know? Thank you.

Re: 10 item free postage

*sparklz* — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 01:20:41 GMT

Ask for a sceen shot and tell her that you have not offered free post on 10 items so not sure where it says this or why it is showing.

Re: 10 item free postage

lyndal1838 — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 05:08:11 GMT

All your current and completed listings are showing with free postage within Australia.

If you click on a sold item from yesterday it shows as free postage until you click on the postage tab and change the country to the USA when postage comes up as $5.

I would say the buyer has not looked further than the listing page....she has not changed to her country to check the postage.

Re: 10 item free postage

wilmajames123 — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 05:58:45 GMT

This buyer has purchased from me quite a few times before and there has never been a question about postage. She says she received "a notice" that says postage for 10 or more items is free. Doesn't make sense. The seller sets the postage, not the buyer. Anyway, I've asked for a screen shot.

Re: 10 item free postage

lyndal1838 — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 06:19:31 GMT

Is she perhaps confusing an ebay promotion message about free postage?

Many members read what they want to read when it comes to getting freebies.

Re: 10 item free postage

wilmajames123 — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 09:49:47 GMT

That could be the misunderstanding. It will be interesting to see if she sends me the page shot.

Re: 10 item free postage

wilmajames123 — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 02:29:38 GMT

The buyer copied and pasted the page. Here is the relevant section;

Free shipping. Your order contained more than 10 items. Thank you! Please view order details in My eBay for a complete summary.

I'll call eB about this.

Re: 10 item free postage

lyndal1838 — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 03:46:41 GMT

It sounds very much like an ebay promotion on the US site. It may be that when the buyer pays your invoice ebay will pick up the postage component and you will get the full amount.

In Australia the promotions will not cover postage so the trick is to buy Free postage items so ebay does actually cover it.

In the USA there is a far bigger takeup of Free postage I believe so this sort of promotion will not cost them as much but makes the buyer feel good.

It will be interesting to see what the answer is when you contact them.

Re: 10 item free postage

wilmajames123 — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 03:50:13 GMT

Thank you and I will post the eBay explanation.

Re: 10 item free postage

wilmajames123 — Fri, 22 Sep 2017 00:24:04 GMT

Just called eBay and was put through to ebay.com. They checked and said this was not a legitimate eBay communication and must have gone to the seller's email and not to her ebay address. In that case, it might be a phishing scam.. They suggested I contact the buyer and ask her to call them. Will do that.

Re: 10 item free postage

wilmajames123 — Fri, 22 Sep 2017 05:20:05 GMT

Just heard from buyer who said the notice came from eBay itself. What she sent me certainly looks genuine but ebay.com insists there has been no such offer. I've exhausted the available avenues and am just as puzzled as when I received the first communication about this matter.

Re: 10 item free postage

wilmajames123 — Fri, 22 Sep 2017 05:57:51 GMT

Problem solved. Buyer just emailed again, this time after speaking to ebay. Turns out it was a spook email. It certainly looked genuine and contained all the order details, down to the photographs. Just shows we have to be ultra careful and question anything we feel is untoward.