Do all sellers add the fees onto the price of postage. I’ve just had a seller argue with me

[sandypebbles]

I don't no (on my seller id) I charge what the actual postage costs, plus the cost of whatever I need to pack the item in

However, when I am looking to buy something, if I think the postage price is not reasonable, I do not buy it

Not sure where this seller gets their information that ALL sellers do it, if I were you, I would not be giving them my business at all

[lyndal1838]

Any seller who does not build their fees into the cost of the item or the postage is not maximising their income.

At the end of the day it is the buyer who should be paying the fees, mot the seller.

[davewil1964]

Did you ask why the postage was higher than you thought it should be?

The fees have to come from somewhere. If the postage is inflated to cover them, that's one way. If the item price is inflated to cover them, that's the other.

The bottom line is whether or not the TOTAL price (item cost plus postage) is what you're prepared to pay. How the costs are apportioned is irrelevant.

[shoppingbag*]

I don't think it is good form to argue with a Seller over postage before you buy the item. Most Sellers will put you on their blocked list for doing that. If you don't like the postage cost, then buy from someone else. If however, you have paid and then the Seller asks for more money for postage, then I would refuse, as I have done a couple of times, and even had them cancel the sale on one occasion, as the postage was way to high to begin with ( I accepted that without question) but wasn't prepared to send them more after the fact. It became apparent that the Seller was under the impression that fees were not charged on postage, and I suspect there are still some who are unaware that fees are indeed charged on postage. It used to be a habit of some Sellers in the past to have a low cost item with ridiculously high postage to try to minimize their fees, (this was when postage costs did not incur fees) and I suspect that is the reason that eBay now charges fees on both the item and also the postage. In those days, it was not unusual to see a $2 item with a postage cost of $100.

[11dustyattic]

Postage and fees do not go into the seller's pocket. I'll either build fees into the purchase price or the postage, usually a bit on each. You might be shocked to know there are a lot of sellers, particularly new sellers but not limited to, who aren't actually making any real profit. I noticed a seller a few days ago who was listing some stuff with free tracked parcel post. I did the sums and worked out they'd be making about a 40c profit. And worse, volume of sales wasn't there either, just a few sales per month. Not even enough to cover fuel to get to the PO. Others appear to be making a loss. I struggle to make sales on here but refuse to give stuff away, and my time. If they don't sell here, I sell them on other platforms. You just need to be reasonable with your expectation of sellers. Just out of interest, how much is the postage you refer to and letter or parcel?

[springyzone]

I'm not sure what you are actually asking.

It could be one of these scenarios.

1. You buy something & the seller messages you to say the postage or overall price is higher than listed in the ad because the fees have to be added on.

If it is something like that, it's not on, the price is as advertised and as a buyer, you don't have to pay a cent more. 

Some sellers though will ask for more if they suddenly find the postage is dearer than they thought or maybe in this case, that they are being charged fees on postage and hadn't realised that. Basically, you aren't under any obligation to pay more.

2. You buy something & notice the postage is dearer than the Australia Post charge. Seller tells you it is to cover fees.

A seller is allowed to add a bit on to the base postage rate to cover extras-packing & handling. The fees (or so I think I have read somewhere) are technically not meant to be added on here, though I'd guess some sellers pop a little bit extra on to go towards covering them. Pretty stupid to tell you that though, better not to break down the postage costs at all for buyers.

You ask, Do ALL sellers do this. Sellers don't all do anything, they are all different.

But when it comes down to it, the fees have to be covered somewhere, the seller needs to cover costs and make a small profit or it isn't worth their while selling. Some will add it to the price of the item.

Sometimes some sellers have 'free postage'. You can bet though that they have built postage & fees into the actual item cost.

If you're looking at an item and think the postage is a bit over the top, just move on, there will probably be others selling similar things. But the main thing to look for (in my opinion) is overall total price.

[crikey*mate]

Fees are not a postage cost, packaging or handling. If you choose to pass on any of your fees/costs of doing business to the buyer, it has to be included in the cost of the item. This is also where you show this particular business expense for taxation purposes. It is not a postage expense.

[11dustyattic]

but surely overall cost is what you're looking at when buying? As for tax, I doubt the taxation department would care if a few dollars extra was allocated to postage which could be simply for packaging cost for all they know. They have bigger fish to fry 😉

Sellers who badly inflate the postage cost will ultimately get less for the item. I saw one seller, while researching sold prices for some books I was going to list, who had $25 postage, the books would easily fit in a medium prepaid satchel for $12.45.  I initially felt sorry for them for acheiving such a low sale price then noticed the postage. But either way, they pay the same fees now as a seller who sells for more and has lower postage. When searching, I think the dropdown filter now only has prices including postage or you can select that. But no need to be worried about it. My only concern is how much it will cost me to land on my doorstep (so to speak)

[chameleon54]

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@crikey*mate wrote:
Fees are not a postage cost, packaging or handling. If you choose to pass on any of your fees/costs of doing business to the buyer, it has to be included in the cost of the item. This is also where you show this particular business expense for taxation purposes. It is not a postage expense.

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As a seller I can charge what ever I like for postage ( or offer it " free " ) . thats my perogative. Its the buyers perogative as to whether they think my postage fee is more expensive than they consider fair and whether they choose to buy my items. Yes I regularly build ebays 10% commission fee on postage into my postage charges and yes the buyer ends up paying the charge. ( the buyer ends up paying all of my ebay selling fees and charges, exactly as they should ) I just dont advertise the breakdown of my postage fee to buyers.

As for tax, I deduct actual postage costs as one expenditure line, packing costs as another expenditure line and ebay fees as another expenditure line . On the income side, I declare sale price, plus my total postage fee ( including the bit I add to cover ebay commissions ) as income. Thats the correct way it should be done ( or my highly experienced accountant has got it all wrong ...  )