Postage costs

[ferris43]

To certain sellers out there...do you realise that more people will bid on your auctions if your postage costs are reasonable??

I see so many auctions listed where I know that postage could be cheaper...I see items that could easily and safely fit into a cheaper pre paid satchel. To me in the long run you are just doing yourself out of making more money. What money you do gain by buyers paying more for the postage, Im sure would be far less then the amount you could make by more people bidding on your items.

I know for a fact that postage is one of the first things that determines if I will bid on something so Im sure it is the same with other buyers.

And then you get the seller who puts a really low starting bid but then a huge postage price..of course we all know the reasons for this.

I sell and buy on Ebay..When selling I always try and find the cheapest (taking into account the items safety) way to send the item to the buyer.

[lane-ends]

If a seller quotes me $30 for postage and I see it only cost $10..you dont think I should ask any questions??

That is the reason it sells for $10 rather than $30

Years ago I ran an experiment for a while doing extreme cases both high postage and subsidised postage.Without a doubt it showed me that any fee avoidence gained by loading postage was totally lost by lack of sales due to high postage, not to mention dealing with grumpy buyers,and buyers were less picky then.

[ferris43]

Hi lane-ends thanks for your comments....with that quote you referred to..when I said $10 what I actually meant was $10 postage..so I was saying that if I paid 50 and saw that the postage only cost 10 I would definitely been asking questions..

I think most people realise what sellers are doing when the item is listed at a very low start and yet postage is high...fee avoidence of course..but good luck to anyone that wants to do it.

I just can't seem to get across my point (or aren't believed) that buyers do take note of postage costs.. and postage costs can determine if an item is bid for or how many bids it gets. Also the pre paid satchel thing that ive mentioned too...

But anyways what would I know Im just a seller/buyer with 100% feedback LOL

[arb_games]

To Ferris43,

Perhaps you should learn a little about running a business before you start criticising sellers for charging postage & handling costs that are higher than the actual Australia Post charges.

I charge postage & handling charges to cover all my costs, not just the postage costs. There are other costs involved apart from the actual postage costs, for instance, any packaging, boxes or envelopes purchased, who pays for me to stand at the Australia Post counter for anything up to 2 hours every time I do a postal run?

But of course, what do I know. I have only been running my business sucessfully for 8 years, I must be a crook!

But you are such an experienced business person with your 100% feedback score of 375.

[straybooksoz]

To Ferris43,

Perhaps you should learn a little about running a business before you start criticising sellers for charging postage & handling costs that are higher than the actual Australia Post charges.

I charge postage & handling charges to cover all my costs, not just the postage costs. There are other costs involved apart from the actual postage costs, for instance, any packaging, boxes or envelopes purchased, who pays for me to stand at the Australia Post counter for anything up to 2 hours every time I do a postal run?

But of course, what do I know. I have only been running my business sucessfully for 8 years, I must be a crook!

But you are such an experienced business person with your 100% feedback score of 375.

Ouch. All pay homage to the Powerseller.

We all have the same costs, regardless of volume. In fact, I would hazard a guess that for a low volume seller it would be a lot more relevant.

If I had to wait more than 5 minutes at MY PO, I would be peeved.

2 hours? Pfft.

[ferris43]

My god...IM NOT.. I have not said anywhere that i do not think sellers should charge for postage and handling..read my posts again please.

Thats the problem with posting on here people do not read posts properly and then accuse others of stating something that they have not.

I actually agreed with annies post a bit further up that there are added costs for packaging etc on top of what Aus post charge to send the item. I did say that a seller should state they charge handling fees and thats all, as others have also.

My actual posts have not even been about added costs or zip bags or string or petrol or time taken waiting in line etc etc others have brought that topic into the posts...

All I have ever wanted to get across is the fact that some sellers state high postage costs for items that could be sent cheaper and it is mainly sellers that use pre paid satchels and post items that could fit in a cheaper pre paid satchel then in the more expensive ones..I just wanted to get across that this can cause buyers not to bid or less bids.

So please don't accuse me of criticising sellers for charging postage and handling fees because that is completely untrue.. and i dont care if ive only got a feedback score of 375 with 100% I value my 100% feedback..thanks

[straybooksoz]

My god...IM NOT.. I have not said anywhere that i do not think sellers should charge for postage and handling..read my posts again please.

Thats the problem with posting on here people do not read posts properly and then accuse others of stating something that they have not.

I actually agreed with annies post a bit further up that there are added costs for packaging etc on top of what Aus post charge to send the item. I did say that a seller should state they charge handling fees and thats all, as others have also.

My actual posts have not even been about added costs or zip bags or string or petrol or time taken waiting in line etc etc others have brought that topic into the posts...

All I have ever wanted to get across is the fact that some sellers state high postage costs for items that could be sent cheaper and it is mainly sellers that use pre paid satchels and post items that could fit in a cheaper pre paid satchel then in the more expensive ones..I just wanted to get across that this can cause buyers not to bid or less bids.

So please don't accuse me of criticising sellers for charging postage and handling fees because that is completely untrue.. and i dont care if ive only got a feedback score of 375 with 100% I value my 100% feedback..thanks

I think arb has got bored and lowered themself down to the pleb boards.

Arb is a pertinent example as to why I would not want to be a powerseller

[straybooksoz]

And arb's feedback is only juist acceptable for a powerseller, and DSRs are embarrassing. At least, I would be embarrassed if my DSRs were that low.

[ferris43]

Cheers piratepete..

With some peoples replies they bring up stuff or defend things that didn't even have anything to do with what I was trying to get across, or that I didn't even state in my posts.

[jensmanchester-australia]

Ferris,

Sellers may have different reasons for choosing not to post items by using what you consider a cheaper posting method.

As a WA based seller I choose to use the express post service prepaid satchels in preference to regular post satchels.

The main reason for this is that regular post from WA to the Eastern States can be very slow, particularly when going to country areas. In addition the express post service is partially trackable which gives some peace of mind to the buyers.

I have found over the years that the majority of my buyers are more than happy to pay the extra dollar or two as they appreciate the speedier service. They are thrilled to receive their parcel within a few days rather than having to wait up to two weeks for it to go by camel train across the Nullabour.

Another thing is that unless you know the size and weight of an item sometimes it is easy to assume it may go into a smaller size satchel or could be posted cheaper but in reality it isn't.

For example - recently I had a buyer purchase three items and they asked if they could be sent regular post as it would be the cheapest option. In actual fact the cheapest option in this case was a 5kg express post satchel which cost around $19.00 whereas a regular post parcel was going to cost around $23.00. This just shows how it is easy to assume one thing but that assumption may not be correct.

[ferris43]

jensmanchester

I have no dispute to anyone sending their items with pre paid satchels or even with express ones as you say you do...Im sure you probably state that you use express post on your listings so your buyers can see why postage may be a bit more expensive..maybe you list why you prefer to use them like you stated above too

With me referring to some sellers quoting more expensive pre paid satchels when they could have used a cheaper one- it has been where it is quite obvious that what they have been selling would definitely be ok in a cheaper satchel. eg 3 barbie dolls.

I do understand that sometimes it can be cheaper using pre paid satchels then regular post as you stated..I have seen this for myself as well.

I have not sold in a long time but when I have I have always used pre paid satchels myself...