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.

[putney32]

ferris as it has been many years since you last sold anything, perhaps you have not noticed that aust. post reduced slightly the dimensions of the 500gr satchels, and I would NEVER send 3 barbie dolls, correctly packaged in a 500gr satchel for example, they just would NOT FIT.

[the3coopers]

HI Ferris

I think that we understand your point about sellers being stupid to overprice postage. We agree that generally this will result in lower profits because buyers do NOT like "postage piracy".

In the olden days I used to round up my postage a few bucks, and pick a bit of profit off that... it made up for the occasional stuff up or mistake. Now days, buyers have become increasingly against postage piracy, probably because of being stung so much.

However... there is a growing band of people who are getting hung up on this alleged "offence" and are issuing Negative feedback to sellers re: postage. This is unfair because teh postage was stated up front and bymaking payment the buyer is agreeing to the quoted cost.

It's a bit like getting your car serviced... you accept the quoted total, but afterwards you get an itemised invoice. You can't go back and say "I won't pay that for the oil, I can buy it at Kmart for $10 less". The total is the total... how the seller breaks it down is pretty much irrelevant.

Anyway, the reactions you are seeing here aren't against your original point - it is a very valid one! But these comments are in addition to your comments, some other stuff for readers to consider.

And MY point is that, because ferris is absolutely correct, that there are excellent bargains to be had on items where postage is over-quoted. So my suggestion to others reading this is, as a Buyer, don't get hung up on the postage quote... always consider the total price alone. Reduce your item bid to compensate.

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[phorum_junkie*]

As a buyer I don't care if they list for 99c with $50 postage or $50.99 with free postage.

If I think the item is worth $51 then I will bid 99c on the first one and $51 on the other and as long as they both arrive in good condition why does the distribution of costs make any difference to me, it is stuffing ebay of some fees but that is ebay's problem.

As a seller I am happy for my rival sellers to quote ridiculously high postage amounts, for one thing it will put those buyer's anal about stamp cost of buying or if they do buy they will trash the postage value star thus giving me an advantage.

So every way and from every angle I am happy for sellers to go on charging way over the odds for delivery, and I don't mean two or three dollars as a packaging and handling charge.

[ferris43]

Putney..do you know what eg means..it means for example maybe I used the wrong example but in saying that -3 second hand barbie dolls in a 10 buck bag is too much postage I think and could be sent cheaper..maybe Australia post need to bring in another bag in the middle.

And to the3coopers I agree that it is totally unfair if a buyer then gives a seller bad feedback because of the postage fee when the postage fee had been stated up front...

[phorum_junkie*]

Ferris I think you are getting jumped on because you are letting the cat out of the bag so to speak!

Those of us who buy by total price and sell with reasonable delivery costs don't want to inform the buyers and sellers who do it the other way as them we won't get the bargains or the higher DSRs 😉

[ferris43]

Yes phorum_junkie seriously jumped on but for a lot things that I didnt even bring up in my posts or didnt even state..it seems that a lot of ebayers have greviences or concerns that they want to voice..they should start a new post and stop putting (as the saying goes) words in my mouth. Ive been accused of criticising sellers for charging for postage and handling and I never even said anything like that..pointed it out too but never got an apology LOL
Some people need to make sure they read posts properly.

Apart from this what amazes me also is the people that cannot just have a grown up discussion/debate without being nasty, sarcastic and suggesting that ebayers that are not power sellers or have feedback in the hundreds instead of the thousands wouldnt know anything..or suggesting that because they have not sold anything for a long time they wouldnt know about bag sizes...(people do send items through Aus Post that arent ebay related)

All I have ever wanted to point out from a buyers side of things is that if I see over priced postage it will stop me bidding on an item or my bids will not be that high...You do see people quoting the more expensive pre paid bags for items that could either fit in a small pre paid bag or in another type of bag that could be cheaper- maybe they quote the bigger bags cause its easier and of course they know that the items will definitely fit in one..they don't have to measure or weigh etc.

But anyways thanks for the replies but like that judge says 'stick a fork in my Im done'

[ferris43]

That was suppose to be ' fork in me" LOL

[the3coopers]

You needn't go - it's a good discussion.

One thing you may not know is that there is heaps of discussion about postage - it's a sore point and many sellers are very "tender" and precious about it!

So, they feel that any comments about high postage are "anti seller", where in fact you are just pointing out how silly they are to overcharge postage... and offereing insight and advice from a buyer's perspective.

It doesn't help that buyers are marking down the Postage DSR stars in a really unfair way - some buyers are using the DSRs to rate Australia Post's costs - in other words, even when the seller posts at cost or below (or even free), they are not getting the full 5 stars! This has become so bad that eBay have made 5-stars automatic where postage is free...

So, you just touched a nerve - don't worry!

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[ferris43]

Its all cool 'the3scoopers'- buyers that are being unfair by using DRS stars to rate aus post actual costs that have nothing to do with the seller are, well lets just say you wonder how they think sometimes.

Yeah its a good discussion but I get a bit frustrated when others do not read properly and then have a go at me for things I never stated..usually by reading another topic or greivence a ebayer has brought into a reply post, and then presuming that the grevience brought in had something to do with what i had stated at some point..when it had just been a general grevience for everyone to read.

[cactusmike71070]

it also comes down to what you are selling.I prefer to send everything in a box with protection,as most of my items are under 500 gms its cheap postage anyway usually under 6 dollars,see many sellers selling same sort of stuff that i do yet charge up to 10 dollars,buyers should be aware of actual costs,all i do is cover my postage costs,another great tip for sellers to save on postage is to buy mint aussie stamps for sticking on parcels,many sellers on ebay selling em sometimes in bulk lots as the oversupply of new aussie stamps you can sometimes buy em for about a third of face value,it all adds up when your a seller like me who usually sells stuff everyday