This an email reply which I sent to a loyal repeat buyer recently:
"Yes, you are absolutely correct. Selling on eBay is a nightmare, with the myriad of 'policies' / inflexible rules, getting ever more complicated each time they introduce new policies or make existing policies more detailed & proscriptive.
Recently eBay introduced its most disastrous new policy to date, on May 15th. The previous disaster was a few years ago, when they tried to force all sellers & buyers to use PayPal (which they own and from which skim off fees from sellers). Fortunately that was 'squashed' by the ACCC. On May 15th eBay started to charge a final value fee / FVF on Australia Post's postage charge (9.9% for non-store owners selling collectable items), as well as on the sale price of the item. This fee on postage is impossible to recoup for sellers who use the Australia Post inbuilt postage calculator within the eBay listing, which calculates the exact postage to the potential buyer's / bidder's postcode. The only solutions are for sellers to either (1) cease using the postage calculator altogether, which means that all potential buyers / bidders have to email the seller for a postage quote (& the seller can then add 10% to the actual postage cost when sending the postage quote), or (2) to 'build in' / add the estimated postage cost to the auction starting price or fixed price and offer "free postage" (LOL). This is OK for items which can be sent as letters, large letters or small parcels < 500g (where the postage cost is 'fixed' regardless of postcode). It does however mean that local pick up buyers will be paying the "postage" built in to the item price (no discounts can be offered by the seller where the postage is 0.00). For all items requiring parcels > 500g, it means that if postage is to be incorporated into the selling price, the "worst case scenario" domestic postcode postage must be used (e.g. from W.A. to outback QLD for example), which of course means that an intrastate buyer cops the 'unnecessarily' higher selling price. It also means the end of selling to international buyers, due to Australia Post's very expensive (by international standards) international postage charges. For example,$20 depending on postcode, just in case an overseas buyer purchases the item?? I have now removed international shipping from my eBay sites, and restricted sales to domestic buyers only. I am currently "wearing" the FVF on domestic postage, as I cannot incorporate it into the starting/fixed price, because it varies so widely depending upon the buyer's postcode. Postage of a parcel to a buyer in W.A. (where I am) is significantly lower than to the Eastern states or to Tasmania, so I would need to add on 10% of "worst case scenario postage" (e.g. postage to outback/remote QLD) to the auction starting or fixed price, which would kill off sales to W.A. buyers, particularly those who want local pick up/
The other "unintended consequence" of this new FVF on postage policy is that buyer of multiple items for which the postage is incorporated into the selling price cannot get a combined postage discount (because no "seller discount" is allowed on the invvoice where postage is 0.00). If a seller attempts to offer partial postage refund (for combined postage of multiple items) or full postage refunds (for local pick up buyers) via PayPal on a regular basis, PayPal will restrict the seller's PayPal account.
So there you have it! Best to remain a buyer only - don't even contemplate selling on eBay!"
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