topic Re: Australian eBay Sellers Subsidizing Chinese Sellers in Selling

Australian eBay Sellers Subsidizing Chinese Sellers

waddingtonfirstaid — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 04:59:34 GMT

It's about time Chinese sellers pay the proper cost of delivering their items throughout Australia. It's totally ridiculous for Chinese items of less than $5 to be sent free of postage to any destination in Australia, yet this is happening thousands of times over every week, if not every day! I can't send a package under 500g for less than $5, so how can a Chinese seller? ANSWER - Australia Post makes it's profits from Australian sellers like me whilst it makes a loss delivering Chinese imported parcels. It's about time the imported parcels pay their proper postage cost! When Australia Post lists a fall in profits or even a loss, they need look no further than all those millions of Chinese parcels being delivered for next to nothing!

Re: Australian eBay Sellers Subsidizing Chinese Sellers

trishreid88 — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 05:14:06 GMT

I totally get what you are saying. Of late I have bought a number of items from OS, very cheap and $0 postage.
Good for me a s a buyer but not good for local sellers. Especially now buyers are getting used to having long delivery times.

Unfortunately I think the biggest issue all round is that buyers simply don't have as much money to spare as they once did and would rather wait a few weeks for an item rather than spend $5 on postage.
Also some local sellers haven't helped the situation by flooding the site with items they themselves have bought cheap from OS and now selling for more plus postage. Once upon a time buying from a local seller meant you would get a better quality item than from OS.
Sometimes I think the old days of the OS postage pirates at least kept it a level playing field if buyers were smart enough to see what was going on. So whilst postage pirates were bad for buyers, they were in some ways good for the honest sellers.

Re: Australian eBay Sellers Subsidizing Chinese Sellers

2106greencat — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 06:04:50 GMT

Never going to happen.....

this is not a deal that has been decided through eBay or AP, but a Government agreement, as per the import/export arrangements whithin the two country's.

eBay sellers (in China) benefit from it, but they didn't make it happen.

Re: Australian eBay Sellers Subsidizing Chinese Sellers

justcruising48 — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 06:16:53 GMT

Agree, but what can we do?

Re: Australian eBay Sellers Subsidizing Chinese Sellers

phorum_junkie* — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 06:39:54 GMT

We can do nothing, how could international postage work any other way? You pay what the cost is in the country you are posting from and if your government chooses to subsidise the cost then that is your good luck. There are countries where international postage is more expensive than it is here in Australia, if things didn't work the way they do then presumably you would be perfectly happy to pay more so the cost was as much as in the sending country?

Re: Australian eBay Sellers Subsidizing Chinese Sellers

cmcoins2000 — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 06:44:37 GMT

@trishreid88 wrote:
I totally get what you are saying. Of late I have bought a number of items from OS, very cheap and $0 postage.
Good for me a s a buyer but not good for local sellers. Especially now buyers are getting used to having long delivery times.

Unfortunately I think the biggest issue all round is that buyers simply don't have as much money to spare as they once did and would rather wait a few weeks for an item rather than spend $5 on postage.
Also some local sellers haven't helped the situation by flooding the site with items they themselves have bought cheap from OS and now selling for more plus postage. Once upon a time buying from a local seller meant you would get a better quality item than from OS.
Sometimes I think the old days of the OS postage pirates at least kept it a level playing field if buyers were smart enough to see what was going on. So whilst postage pirates were bad for buyers, they were in some ways good for the honest sellers.

Now you 'bibbled a babful' - AND I totally agree.

At least in the 'good old' days we could give the $4,000 postage sellers a wide berth.

Re: Australian eBay Sellers Subsidizing Chinese Sellers

mydiyau — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 14:48:53 GMT

Economy of scale.

Not just postage, now a coffee cost around $4 in melbourne and properties prices have gone through the roof...

Re: Australian eBay Sellers Subsidizing Chinese Sellers

1930.penny — Sat, 15 Nov 2014 00:24:42 GMT

Ever wondered why it takes so long to get a parcel from China?

Its because they wait until all orders are complete so they can send all the orders at once using shipment containers.

This is why they can afford to post free, well its not exactly free but close enough when they share the shipping expense of the container among all the items.

Re: Australian eBay Sellers Subsidizing Chinese Sellers

cq_tech — Sat, 15 Nov 2014 00:31:14 GMT

That's correct, but they still all eventually come via air mail. It also explains why one seller's item may take almost 30 days to arrive while another's can be here in 10.

Re: Australian eBay Sellers Subsidizing Chinese Sellers

norm2500 — Sat, 15 Nov 2014 02:14:33 GMT

One bright spot is that Australia Post seems to be trying to reduce costs by moving towards greater use of Australia Post box numbers to handle letter and parcel delivery. This would weed out those Chinese and other overseas sellers that won't post to a box number.

Re: Australian eBay Sellers Subsidizing Chinese Sellers

ajarnjenny — Sat, 15 Nov 2014 07:01:08 GMT

This comes up all the time on the US boards and most of them are absolutely convinced that their government has a special deal with Chinese sellers and allow them not to pay to have their mail delivered by USPS.

It matters not that US postage is cheaper than ours, so the same could be said of them, but they are adamant that their liberal government is to blame.

Re: Australian eBay Sellers Subsidizing Chinese Sellers

fishingsavertackle — Sat, 15 Nov 2014 13:41:16 GMT

IT NOT THAT PEOPLE HAVE NOT THE MONEY IT BECAUSE THERE IS NO FAIR PLAYING FIELD ON EBAY AT ALL

CHINA CAN SEND ANY THING TO PEOPLE DOOR CHEAPER THAN WE CAN WITH AUSTRALIA POST I GOT A CONTACT WITH THE POST AND IT STILL WILL NO COME CLOSE TOO CHINA POSTAGE WHAT SO EVER.

EBAY IS JUST KILLING AUSTRALIA SELLERS

CHINA SELLING PRODUCT THAT CHEAPER AUSTRALIA SELLER THAT GET THERE PRODUCT MADE UP OS STILL CANNOT KEEP UP THEM BECAUSE THEY COME STRAIGHT FROM THE FACTORY FLOOR

THAT WHY PEOPLE ARE SMART BUYER IF YOU CAN GET IT CHEAP WHY NOT

THERE WILL ONLY BE LARGE COMPANIES AND CHINA COMPANIES SELLING ON EBAY VERY SOON NO SMALL SELLER

FROM AUSTRALIA

Re: Australian eBay Sellers Subsidizing Chinese Sellers

waddingtonfirstaid — Fri, 21 Nov 2014 15:15:51 GMT

The problem would be solved if parcels were automatically sent back if they did not show a postage paid amount clearly printed on the outside that reflected the true cost of delivery in Australia. Only then would the overseas people have to pay the true cost of delivery no matter where it came from. Sometimes I think Australians can be very stupid literally bending over backwards and taking it without doing one thing about being totally screwed. The bottom line is, it is totally unacceptable to be delivering items for less than a realistic cost across the country without something done about it - government needs a proper agreement or automatically SEND IT BACK ! What happens when we don't pay enough? The receiver is charged more. Then maybe that has to happen then people won't buy again!

Re: Australian eBay Sellers Subsidizing Chinese Sellers

clarry100 — Fri, 21 Nov 2014 20:57:15 GMT

I think every article sent to Australia from any foreign country should also have the same postage displayed on it as tho it were posted in Australia. If it arrives here without that then it should be treated as having been mailed without postage and the recipient has to pay up before collection. That would slow down imports and AP would be getting the correct revenue.

Re: Australian eBay Sellers Subsidizing Chinese Sellers

iamanark — Fri, 21 Nov 2014 22:27:05 GMT

It is not just China

Look at the booksellers in the UK who can send a book here for $8-10, yet for us to send the same book to the UK would cost $35-40

So not only are Australia Post losing money delivering UK mail, but so is the Australian economy with people buying from OS as opposed to keeping the money here

Re: Australian eBay Sellers Subsidizing Chinese Sellers

dylan11235813 — Fri, 21 Nov 2014 22:37:25 GMT

all that is required is a reduction in the tax free threshold and a token payment for all imports.

Re: Australian eBay Sellers Subsidizing Chinese Sellers

mydiyau — Sun, 23 Nov 2014 01:45:28 GMT

Find something that is not made in China and sell it on ebay australia.

Re: Australian eBay Sellers Subsidizing Chinese Sellers

i-love-my-sheep — Sun, 23 Nov 2014 03:02:33 GMT

@transoceania wrote:
Find something that is not made in China and sell it on ebay australia.

Good luck with that!!

Re: Australian eBay Sellers Subsidizing Chinese Sellers

ironiton — Sun, 17 May 2015 14:49:48 GMT

It takes 30-45 days for a standard letter from Australia to arrive in China,I don't think Aust Post are stuffing a container,just the usual inefficiant sub service on both sides.

Re: Australian eBay Sellers Subsidizing Chinese Sellers

ironiton — Tue, 19 May 2015 00:03:52 GMT

Too bad Ebay couldn't cut the mustard in China,we'd all be flogging milk powder and baby formular to them, Try getting a Taobao account,no way if you're not living in China,yet the Chinese can flood our Australian Ebay,