Why are sellers within Australia over charging buyers for postage?

[iry921]

Hi I am new on ebay and i really need help understanding postage

Postage within Australia can be expensive so how do sellers offer free postage to their customers

i am planning to sell and send baby rompers which is really light in weight probably way below 500 grams

please advise and provide me some tips

[enigmabear]

It would be silly for a seller to over charge on postrage as eBay also charge sellers a % of fees on postage (as well as fees on the item)

Can you give an example of an item where the seller is over charging on postage ? (taking into account how much Australia post charge for postage) plus the packing needed

The other question you ask. eBay very very strongly encourage sellers to offer 'free' postage, some build it in to the item cost

Baby rompers would be too thick to send as a large letter (I would imagine, unless you are talking about those very thin cotton ones that are almost like a singlet) and if it is too thick for a large letter, the cheapest parcel rate is still likely to be the $8.30 regardless of weight 

[enigmabear]

*That is regardless of the *minimum* weight up to a point

[imastawka]

Have you done your math on an $11 item with free postage?

$8.30 to post + cost of satchel + ebay and papal fees.

That's skin of the teeth listing IMO

And as a new seller, you'll be subject to the 21 day hold on funds.

[curraone]

Assuming you are going to use ebay 500g satchels - buy 20 at a time at .15c and use ebay postage $7.55

So minimum postage is $7.70 not counting ebay final value fees.

So the sellers who offer "free postage"  just add the cost of postage to their starting price - $18 plus say $8 = $26

Some sellers say buyers are more attracted to items that say "free postage"  even though any reasoned thinking will show that the price of postage has been built in.

[purplemon18]

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@enigmabear wrote:

It would be silly for a seller to over charge on postrage as eBay also charge sellers a % of fees on postage (as well as fees on the item)

Can you give an example of an item where the seller is over charging on postage ? (taking into account how much Australia post charge for postage) plus the packing needed

The other question you ask. eBay very very strongly encourage sellers to offer 'free' postage, some build it in to the item cost

Baby rompers would be too thick to send as a large letter (I would imagine, unless you are talking about those very thin cotton ones that are almost like a singlet) and if it is too thick for a large letter, the cheapest parcel rate is still likely to be the $8.30 regardless of weight 

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That is the real question.

OP, get your hands on an A4 envelope and see how thick it is, 2cm is your limit. Don't actually ship clothing using A4 envelopes-the paper is not strong enough. If it fits, I suggest these:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/eBay-Branded-Bubble-Mailer-M40-240X340mm-Padded-Bag-Envelope-04/16235637...

Although they do add to the size because they are bubble wrap lined.

If you are going to ship with large letters, make sure you weigh them, the smaller sizes might be under 250g in weight which would mean $3 postage instead of $5.

Also, be prepared to take some losses because you don't have tracking. Or just increase your price by a few dollars and do what curraone said.