topic Re: Postage discrepancies in Selling

Postage discrepancies

chebran_9401 — Fri, 18 Aug 2023 22:54:20 GMT

Even when a buyer has paid for the postage, eBay still charges me as the seller for postage labels. Why are they doing this? I have now changed all my listings to local pick-up only as I’m tired of being ripped off.

Re: Postage discrepancies

*sons_n_daughters* — Fri, 18 Aug 2023 23:25:41 GMT

You are NOT being ripped off. The buyer is paying for the postage, not you. If you sell an item for $20 and you charge $10 for postage, that $10 isn't yours. That is what you use to pay the postage. You don't get to keep the $30. You only get the keep the $20. Did you think you didn't have to pay anything for postage? It's not free you know!

I went and looked at your sold listings and most of the items had inflated postage costs, so you are making profit from the postage. So I repeat, you are NOT being ripped off.

What do you think the postage cost the buyer paid is for?

Re: Postage discrepancies

sandypebbles — Fri, 18 Aug 2023 23:35:06 GMT

As said, you are not being ripped off

You DO need to learn the basics of how things work though

Re: Postage discrepancies

domino-710 — Fri, 18 Aug 2023 23:56:24 GMT

Should have taken the items to Aust Post - they'd do it for free. lol

Re: Postage discrepancies

papermoon.lady — Sat, 19 Aug 2023 00:24:05 GMT

@chebran_9401 wrote:
Even when a buyer has paid for the postage, eBay still charges me as the seller for postage labels. Why are they doing this?

They are doing this because the buyer paid you for postage, as you said yourself, and with that money the buyer gave you, you are supposed to pay for postage labels.

Re: Postage discrepancies

imastawka — Sat, 19 Aug 2023 01:23:39 GMT

Dear oh dear.

If you are so naive about selling. then you'd better learn about QR codes for pick-up sales

before someone claims an INR.

Re: Postage discrepancies

chebran_9401 — Sat, 19 Aug 2023 05:49:12 GMT

I may be as naive as you rather sarcastically claim, but eBay is not exactly helpful or clear in their instructions. What does “learn about QR codes for pick-up sales before claims an INR” even mean? Thanks for lowering my already shaky self-esteem.

Re: Postage discrepancies

chebran_9401 — Sat, 19 Aug 2023 05:54:28 GMT

Sorry. I didn’t explain the situation very well. EBay had already taken the cost of the postage from the buyer. This wasn’t passed onto me, instead eBay billed me AS WELL for the postage - effectively making both buyer and seller pay postage. The amounts I received on sold items were sometimes my asking price, minus eBay’s commission (fair enough) but then the postage cost as well.

Re: Postage discrepancies

twyngwyn — Sat, 19 Aug 2023 05:54:46 GMT

Buying with local pickup | eBay

Re: Postage discrepancies

papermoon.lady — Sat, 19 Aug 2023 05:55:54 GMT

If you don't have a proof that an item has been picked up (through the scanning of the QR code), the buyer could open an INR case if they didn't pay in cash but used PayPal. INR means "item not received". They could just claim you didn't send the item.

Re: Postage discrepancies

chebran_9401 — Sat, 19 Aug 2023 05:59:18 GMT

No I don’t expect the cost of the postage on top of my asking price. I expect my asking price minus eBay’s commission. Instead eBay has billed both myself and the buyer for the postage. My postage rates are averages that are adjusted according to the destination once the buyer has sent their postcode. I resent deeply your accusation. If you can’t be civilised, polite and helpful then don’t bother replying in the first place. I’m not trying to profiteer. I’m disabled, broke and having to sell my personal possessions to keep my head above water. I don’t need your attitude to make my life even worse than it already is. Thanks for ruining my day.

Re: Postage discrepancies

twyngwyn — Sat, 19 Aug 2023 06:00:43 GMT

EBay had already taken the cost of the postage from the buyer. This wasn’t passed onto me, instead eBay billed me AS WELL for the postage

Can you take a screenshot of that, please?

Re: Postage discrepancies

papermoon.lady — Sat, 19 Aug 2023 06:08:24 GMT

When I buy something, I always pay the seller for postage. Can you please post a screenshot of what you mean, as another member has asked?

Maybe you mean you haven't been paid yet because of Managed Payments?

Re: Postage discrepancies

papermoon.lady — Sat, 19 Aug 2023 06:11:54 GMT

I cannot edit my post any more. I just wanted to add a couple of lines.

Maybe you mean you haven't been paid yet because of Managed Payments? If this is the case, yes, technically eBay still has the money, but it is just on hold and will reach your account when payment is due, including postage.

Re: Postage discrepancies

countessalmirena — Sat, 19 Aug 2023 06:16:05 GMT

@chebran_9401,

This may seem brutal, but if you haven’t read through eBay’s extensive policy/help pages before going ahead with selling, you are simply unprepared. It’s nothing to do with how self-confident you are; it’s about making sure you know your onions.

eBay has changed a great deal over the years. Anything you’ve heard from family or friends about selling on eBay a few years ago is likely to have altered. You really do need to do the background reading - very carefully - and then organise your own seller policies (i.e. behaviours and responses) based on that.

I could post the link for selling pickup items, but that’s a drop in the ocean. I’ll post it anyway as I think you might welcome a bit of encouragement to explore the wealth of information available.

https://www.ebay.com.au/help/selling/shipping-items/setting-shipping-options/local-pickup?id=4181

Take special note of what that page says about using the eBay app to scan the QR code presented by the buyer to prove they’ve collected the item if you are selling a pickup item.

Make sure you’ve set up your Buyer Requirements in your settings.

You need to offer at least one “safe” payment method. If you’re mostly offering pickup items, you may prefer to accept cash on pickup but you can’t specify it as the only payment method.

That’s only the start… but you should start reading through the eBay help pages / policy pages asap, before you inadvertently make a mistake that will set your seller reputation / feedback on its back.

Post on these boards for help; the community here will always explain or suggest as needed but it shouldn’t be in lieu of having done your reading because the amount of information you need is substantial!

Good luck.

Re: Postage discrepancies

arctoph_49 — Sat, 19 Aug 2023 06:26:44 GMT

If you understand how postage works, you probably can start posting again and forget about pickup.

I think papermoon is right. You don't have the money yet because of Managed Payment, but you will get it. Ebay is just temporarily holding it.

Maybe you can print out help pages about Managed Payments and also pickup, if you wish, and read them when you have some free time. It should take less than an hour to get familiar with the rules, and you will feel more confident.

Re: Postage discrepancies

gutterpunkz05 — Sat, 19 Aug 2023 06:48:09 GMT

@chebran_9401 wrote:
No I don’t expect the cost of the postage on top of my asking price. I expect my asking price minus eBay’s commission. Instead eBay has billed both myself and the buyer for the postage. My postage rates are averages that are adjusted according to the destination once the buyer has sent their postcode. I resent deeply your accusation. If you can’t be civilised, polite and helpful then don’t bother replying in the first place. I’m not trying to profiteer. I’m disabled, broke and having to sell my personal possessions to keep my head above water. I don’t need your attitude to make my life even worse than it already is. Thanks for ruining my day.

If you charge postage in your listing,then you receive the full invoice minus ebay fees, IE: you are paid the price of the item + the postage charge you set, minus ebays FVF, so you have been paid for postage.

How you decide to then pay for postage is up to you, you can purchase a label from ebay, you can purchase from an online AP account, or you can pay over the counter at AP, no matter how you choose, you will be required to pay the postage charges.

You are only paying for postage once and not being ripped of by ebay.

Re: Postage discrepancies

domino-710 — Sat, 19 Aug 2023 07:09:12 GMT

Actually the buyer has only paid for postage - once.

Re: Postage discrepancies

*sons_n_daughters* — Sat, 19 Aug 2023 15:34:44 GMT

The buyer doesn't pay postage to ebay. That's not how it works. The buyer pays the seller when they pay for the item. I suspect the issue is as others have mentioned, your funds are on hold for 30 days. Yes, you will get paid, but you will need to pay the postage upfront. Once your funds clear, you'll be reimbursed the postage you paid.

If you're going to become a regular seller, plenty here would recommend not using ebay labels. As you have been using them, I assume you have a printer. Instead, go to the Australia Post site and create a My Post Business account. It's very easy to set up and best of all, it's free! As in no charges to use it, you still obviously need to pay for the postage.

Most of the time you can link your ebay account, so most of the buyer details are populated already. If it doesn't happen, it doesn't take long to add the buyer details into the form. If you start to sell a lot of items, you will actually get postage discounts, which can really start to add up if you're busy. It's very well worth it.

As an aside, please don't play the disability card. There are quite a few disabled people in these forums, who are broke and also old. We come together as a community to help each other out, whether it be buying or selling. I'm sorry you have to sell off your possessions. I do hope things improve for you soon. There are plenty of us doing it tough. Hopefully we'll see some sunshine soon!

I noticed most of your sold items, you've accepted best offer. I hope they weren't really lowball offers. Don't ever accept low offers. For the items you've sold, I'd accept a few dollars off. Personally, I'd be removing best offer, because they are items that people would want and probably be happy to pay the asking price.

Re: Postage discrepancies

imastawka — Sun, 20 Aug 2023 00:17:56 GMT

OP has removed all listings.