eBay

extra-keen · ‎30-10-2012

For those buyers who don't know, ebay soon will require sellers to offer "free post" or in real terms, post cost included in the price of the item being sold/listed.

Sellers who choose not to offer "free post" on all their listings will loose their "Top Rated Seller Status" and be lower in searches.

So what I would like to know - do sellers prefer listings with "free post" or would you rather see the cost of postage and handling listed separately.

Love to know what sellers and buyers think!:-)

davewil1964 · ‎01-11-2012

The bottom line is that free post is not only a misnomer, but ultimately (and on average) means buyers pay more than necessary from anyone who takes a remotely business-like approach to their sales.

I honestly don't understand the attraction it has for some buyers, and I would say that I wish more buyers would understand that anything that increases the cost of selling, as does the whole free post thing, then increases the cost of buying, but I have heard of people paying more for the same item because it has 'free post'. It's madness! 😮

All I can say is that as a frequent buyer of small items with generally inexpensive, initial post, the sellers that get the most business and more items per order from me are those that have a slightly higher than average P&H cost, with a negligible cost per additional item. I'm always looking for a lot of different things in the same category though - beads, findings etc.

One seller I buy from (non-eBay) has a flat $5 charge. The more I buy, the more insignificant that $5 gets. Same thing with a minimal additional charge, as in my mind I share the total P&H charge across all items purchased, so the larger the order, the better value we both get, and I will always prefer to purchase that way, though many of the sellers who stock the items I need have gone the free-post route, so in that case I just look for the best value overall (usually I look for higher quantity listings - I'd rather pay $10 for 5 than $5 for 2).

The items I list with 'free' post are thin books, and I wear the extra 15c FVF. Given I usually can't get more than 3 of them inside the 500g weight limit, it is cheaper to NOT combine unless somebody buys at least 8 in one hit. And that is unusual. If they buy multiples that include quoted and 'free' postage, I work out the actual postage cost and charge them the cheapest way - refunding if they overpay because they don't wait for an invoice.

Horses for courses.

cq_tech · ‎01-11-2012

"The point being that as long as both you and your client live in an express post zone, you can safely offer express postage without running the risk of being scammed.

A seller can safely offer express post whether or not both the buyer and seller live in an express zone or not. There is no higher risk to being scammed just because one or both of the buyer and seller don't live in an express post zone."

You've misunderstood the point I was trying to make. If you reread my original post, you'll see that I'm stating that if she wishes, the OP can safely offer Express Post without the fear of being scammed because Paypal covers Express Post parcels, packages, and the 5kg satchel, so buyers can't lodge false claims for INR. 🙂

digital*ghost · ‎01-11-2012

Horses for courses.

That would be why I didn't say "this will work for all sellers", 😛 and why I also qualified my preference with the fact that the items I buy are small. I mentioned it, though, because it's worth considering for sellers of inexpensive items where people usually buy multiple quantities and it doesn't vary the postage price much - though I think it may be a model that works best off-ebay, where buyers can't neg you because they decided to only buy one item and didn't like the $5 P&H (I personally don't care, if I'm only going to buy one $2 item, the seller can have the extra to make virtually the same work as a large order worthwhile 😉 ).

Within Australia, I know full well one such item can be sent <1.50, including packaging. I also know full well that, with the items I buy, often many more can be sent <$2 P&H. So when I come across a seller who has 1 item with say $2 postage, I'll maybe buy one or a few, but not go out of my way to see if they have other items I'm interested in. When I come across a seller who has a flat rate that's $5 or more, I'll make sure my order is worth it.

The seller I mentioned sometimes sends my order as a large letter, other times they have to use a pre-paid 500gm satchel, so per transaction they win some / lose some, but overall they make a higher profit because even if I only need one thing, I buy lots of things I wouldn't have otherwise. (I'll use it eventually - I always do 😄 ).