I tip my hat is off too all the sellers out there.

[feliz_da_kat]

I have to say I’m so GLAD I have sold everything I need to for the time being on eBay. I seriously don't know how the regular sellers do it.

Postage costs. I undercharged $70 for shipping on the last lost of items I sold and I still had buyers complain about my postage costs, and rating me down for it. I've even had buyers accuse me of overcharging even after I've sent them receipts as proof.

Sellers not understanding PayPal. Sometimes I need to wait for the buyers payment before shipping. I explain this to the customer and still cop attitude. Yes, you may be paying instantly, but this doesn't mean 'instant' payment for me.

Double whammy on fees: sellers will know what I mean by this.

Nearly every auction people contacting me to ask me to end the auction early for them. This in itself I don't mind, but then the attitude filled replys I receive when I refuse.

Ratings and communication. Buyers that can't be bothered to rate you even after you have rated them, or taking a week to pay and not bothering to contact you. When I purchased something if I'm going to take more than a day I always contact the seller to let them know when they can expect my payment, and if I need more than 5 days I always contact the seller before placing a bid and ask is this will be an issue, and if they respond with a yes, I don' bid.

All being said and done, I've had some greater buyers.

So yes, I don't envy the good sellers out there and I am in no rush to be a seller again any time soon.

P.S Sorry for the rant.

[syrupsmummy]

Syrups with the 500gm tracking satchel is this price of $7.85 with bulk buying?

So its increased from $7.20 to $7.85, i dont know cause i havent needed to purchase any for a while?

It's for single purchase. I checked the price this morning. So it should be current.

http://auspost.com.au/personal/prepaid-parcel-post-satchels.html

I use click and send satchels except 5kg one. So I was a bit surprised how expensive the 500g satchel price is too.

[onekiwi0]

Sellers not understanding PayPal. Sometimes I need to wait for the buyers payment before shipping. I explain this to the customer and still cop attitude. Yes, you may be paying instantly, but this doesn't mean 'instant' payment for me.

PJ your comment about posting before the buyers payment clears confuses me...........I always wait as often they "bounce". Or were you referring to something else.

had to laugh ebays current advertising...."feel the thrill of the sell"  !!!

[phorum_junkie*]

No confusion, the seller was saying they sometimes waited until they had withdrawn their payment to the bank before posting, totally unacceptable in the opinion of most buyers. If a seller cannot afford to keep a big enough float to cover postage then they shouldn't list or they should just accept that they are going to get carp feedback and DSRs. I am also an aged, disabled old age pensioner for TB's information!

I see offering free postage as an advantage not only in terms of perception but in economic terms too, when a buyer purchases more than one item they expect a reduced delivery cost and of course any sensible seller gives them one but if it is free post then no discount is expected or given so this offsets the few extra cents in fees for single free post items.

[viewmont1071]

PJ

No confusion, the seller was saying they sometimes waited until they had withdrawn their payment to the bank before posting, totally unacceptable in the opinion of most buyers.

As an example

if Australia post was the seller ( or any other sellers of a unique item) and they refused to your post click and send satchels until the paypal payment was in their bank account....

What could the buyer do about it even though they find it unacceptable?

As larger retailers of unique or especially new designer items start to trade on ebay they will be able to dictate not only the terms of the sale but also that other sellers do not onsell their products on ebay.

If a seller states that they will not post items in their terms and conditions until the PP payment reaches their bank account

Regardless of that anecdotally negative feedback is becoming easier to remove and I opine that any negative feedback  including phrases referring to waiting (ie. "did not post until pp money reached bank account") would be removed when the seller pointed out that it was

a term of the sale and that the buyer agreed to the terms of the sale  upon acceptance.

As australia posts feedback graphically points out  for sellers of unique items dsrs and feedback is irrelevant.. the buyers are over a barrel

[viewmont1071]

If a seller cannot afford to keep a big enough float to cover postage then they shouldn't list or they should just accept that they are going to get carp feedback and DSRs.

It may not be a matter of money it may be a matter of principle and if the seller has a monopoly on the market then they will not give a rats re dsr or feedback.

[tall_bearded]

PJ I know exactly who you are and what you are.

As for “If a seller cannot afford to keep a big enough float to cover postage then they shouldn't list or they should just accept that they are going to get carp feedback and DSRs”, thank you for proving the point of this thread.

As for being a pensioner to justify your stance, there is a fundamental difference between holding a few dollars in reserve so you can send the item vide a click and send pack, to holding over $200 in reserve for 10 days or more, just in case a customer in Finland decides to buy you item.

As for “I see offering free postage as an advantage not only in terms of perception but in economic terms too, when a buyer purchases more than one item they expect a reduced delivery cost and of course any sensible seller gives them one but if it is free post then no discount is expected or given so this offsets the few extra cents in fees for single free post items”.

You sell clothing which has a fixed postage price irrespective of where it is to be posted in Australia.  This means you can accurately determine both what you are prepared to sell the item for and how much it would cost to post it Australia wide. 

Unfortunately, a lot of sellers are not so lucky.  They sell things which when packed are subject to cubing, which means postage cost are variable.  That is cost is now determined by not only by size but also the location to which it is to be sent, which can mean a $20 difference in postage cost. 

So how do you suggest these sellers estimates the actual postage cost so they can include it in their listing price.  Do they take the lowest amount and run the risk that actual cost it may be $20s more, or do they take the higher estimate and risk pricing themselves out of the market.

Then of course there’s always the option of taking the middle ground (split the difference).  However, our experience has been, the cheaper the postage, the more likely the item will be sold to to someone in a high postage cost area, which mean an increased risk of underestimating the actual postage costs.

The point, when it comes to business models, one size doesn’t fit all, which translates into, just because it works for you doesn't mean it will work for everyone else.

[tall_bearded]

Must be getting old, as I missed these two little gems.

“but if it is free post then no discount is expected or given”

To all you buyers out there this translates into the end of combined postage discounts.

And

“this offsets the few extra cents in fees for single free post items”.

The increase is fee’s is a bit over 7 cents for every $1 postage paid.

Therefore for a 3 kg post pack the increase is about $1 which is $1 in excess of the FVF paid for the item, an extra cost which will be passed on to the buyer because it is built into the listing price. 

As to the combined effect of “but if it is free post then no discount is expected or given so this offsets the few extra cents in fees for single free post”.

If you buy from a seller offering “Postage Free” and you buy a single item, that item will cost you $1 (or more) more than if you had purchased it from a seller who lists postage separately.

On the other hand if you buy two items, each of which, if sent separately, would need to be sent in separate 3 KG post packs, but if purchased together can be sent in a single pack, then you will be paying about $15 more when compared to what it would have cost you if you had purchased the same items from a seller who charges for postage separately and provides a combined postage discount.

[digital*ghost]

Free post was a disaster for my items - you wouldn't think so, most of the items in the category I tried it have less than $2 P&H each, and I'm not really selling things where people can compare prices to other sellers, so you'd think switching to free post would be barely noticeable and have little effect of whether or not someone bought multiple items, but sales stopped when I tried it, and started back up with a bit of a rush when I switched back. (I had free post for about three weeks).

Now I just have it set up so that P&H is charged on the first item, and everything after is free post.

On a different note, in regards to the OP and somewhat interestingly, I've had more NPBs in the last month than I had in my previous 4 years of selling put together. 😮 There goes all my 'theories', as I'm now guessing it really was just dumb luck that I had such a good run. :^O

[flashback_deals]

If a buyer pays with PayPal, most buyers don't mind waiting a few working days before it is posted, they are usually happy if you let them know the reason

[feliz_da_kat]

I never undercharge for postage and my rating is fine, never had a buyer email and complain about the cost which is always over actual stamp cost.

The items I have been selling are bulky items. Most I have to send via courier. Couriers always seem to over quote so in turn I usually end up over charging. I usually like to knock $10 or so dollars off the cost as a courtesy. For example one of my recent sales the postage come to $80 - I only charged $60. I did probably make it sound worse that it has been. Out of the 40 or so items I have sold I have only had about 4 or 5 buyers have issues with postage. One issue I have found it they look at the sticker Aus post attaches to the box and not take into considerate the cost of the box, registered post and insurance which is not reflected in that price.

I would never expect a buyer to wait while I withdrew their money to my bank account and would expect my ratings to drop and probably cop some red if I did.

I actually have no issue when buying for sellers if they ask for the Paypal transaction to complete when buying – I've had it happen a few times. Once again because of the high postage costs I've had to wait for the funds to clear. I made this clear on my auction page. So if the buyer has an issue with this they need not bid or they can pay with direct deposit. The last lost of postage come to over $300, so no, I didn't have the spare cash up front. I'm selling because I needed the money, not for the fun of it. But yes, if I can, I will send once they pay.

I rarely get requests like that and have certainly never had any nasty replies when I have declined, very politely.

I've had this requested on nearly ever auction I've listed. I think this is due to the kind of items I have been selling. IGood for you if you never do.

This is my pet hate as a buyer too when a seller can't be bothered to rate you back.

I a sure ebay won't mind if you give up selling

What does this even mean? I don't have issue with eBay.

On a final note maybe I came off a little too negative and I have defiantly had more positive sales than negative.