selling post free

[quiltsandcrystals]

What do others think? I think if we sell our items as is and let the buyer know the postage, the buyer is better off.  Further there is more of a level playing field with similiar items when buyers are charged postage it makes your item more expensive . Yes I know it all pans out, but many buyers are in a hurry and sometimes do not read the  fine print.

I would really like to know what other sellers think, I think Aussie buyers would like to know the cost and then the postage cost.

For example for some of my fabric the postage is actually $1.20 but because I post in hard cardboard with plastic inserts to allow for rain , the actual cost to me  is is about $1.90 or more I would like the buyer to know this and  be able to decide on that factor.

For example I purchased from a shop on ebay recently, the fabric was wrapped in glad wrap, with no note, and in a paper envelope.

Excuse me? Yes this shop can keep cost down and so would I if I did this, but not appealing to the buyer at the other end. Further I would not buy again for this  'power' seller.  Thanks would like feedback

[thecatspjs]

yes your argument is not very strong.

maybe one day.

[davewil1964]

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@thecatspjs wrote:

well that doesn't seem like a very strong argument to me - and gosh don't take a leaf out of my book, I am no role model on these matters, nor ever professed to be

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Once again, taking things out of context. refer bolding.

[thecatspjs]

lol Dave .... never pretend to be ... just call it how I see it. 

Maybe one day you might wake up little susie (and several others) and have a visit around the boards and see for yourself the antics of the company you keep and the dresses it wears.  Can't take you seriously until you do ..... not that I did before I spose.

[li.vish]

Hello, everyone. This discussion is getting a little heated. Could we please communicate with a more civil tone. Thanks!

[phorum_junkie*]

It is up to individual sellers how they handle the postage on their listings and as long as nobody is contravening ebay policy by selling items worth $99 for $1 with $98 postage ebay should not have any input.

I choose to offer free postage on the majority of my BIN items because I know exactly what the total cost is going to be and can factor the extra fvf into the total, for my auction items I quote postage with a very reasonable packaging and handling charge and I have never had a buyer complain and my postage cost stars are at 5 or 4.9 on all my selling ids.

[nevillesdaughter]

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@quiltsandcrystals wrote:

so for you the buyer does not need to know the postage cost  is that whay your are saying. I disagree I think they do need to know.

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Several years ago in a previous life and occupation, I visited a factory that made fridges. While obseving the assembly line, the manager quietly pointed out that the actual manufacturing cost of a (large) fridge was around the $50 mark - the rest was taxes, transport, insurances, advertising....... Ever since, when I gaze at the baby I paid over $3000 for, I feel vaguely ripped off!

As a small, seasonal seller, I switched over to so-called free postage because even though I always post on the day of payment and had always charged slightly less than the stamp cost, I still was getting dinged from peope who thought it too much. I now pay commission on postage, get my 5 stars, and people can no longer tell how much postage cost. They same goes for the cost of signature on delivery - all of my customers automatically pay for it because when offered as an $3 optional extra, it always seemed that the ones who blamed me when an item went missing were the same ones that elected to save the $3.

I sell mainly clothing, and buy plastic zip lock bags, plastic posting satchels, bubble wrap, address labels etc - all of which are factored into the price. And this is before I consider eBay fees, Payal fees, business costs like insurance, and postage.

When buying online, if a buyer cannot accept that the true cost of an item is the total that it takes to get the goods safely to them, they shouldn't be buying. I wouldn't mind betting that if you spell out all the incidentals you include to pack your items well, you'll have somebody who wants you to leave out the extras and  just stick it in a paper envelope..... and then blasts you if it turns up damaged (or doesn't turn up at all!). 

Cheers,

Marina.

[nevillesdaughter]

Regarding my previous rant - I didn't mean to come across as a buyer-hater. A vast majority of buyers are intelligent, reasonable people - it's just that the one that isn't, is the one that damages your reputation and causes the grief.

Cheers,

Marina.

[nevillesdaughter]

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@quiltsandcrystals wrote:

so for you the buyer does not need to know the postage cost  is that whay your are saying. I disagree I think they do need to know.

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In the light of full disclosure, would you tell them the original cost of the goods (to you)?

Marina.

[digital*ghost]

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@quiltsandcrystals wrote:

so for you the buyer does not need to know the postage cost  is that whay your are saying. I disagree I think they do need to know.

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To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what you mean with your opening post, but in my opinion what buyers need to know, and what some may like to know is a little different. Some things can affect a purchase decision, but the cost of something to a seller and if/how that's passed on to the buyer is sometimes TMI. 

In some cases, items that can go as large letters for example, how something is being sent can be useful information. Take a DVD - one seller may send it as a large letter in a plain envelope, another may send it bubble wrapped and as a parcel. Both sellers might charge a comparable amount for postage - let's say an even $6.00. Leaving aside issues like the purchase price and which one works out to be cheaper overall, I might prefer the one being sent as a parcel - not because the postage price being charged is deemed better value for money, more because I can feel a little more assured that damage in the post is less likely, which might be important to me, especially if the purchase is a gift. 

In that kind of scenario, the cost (to the seller) of posting the item is still wholly irrelevant to me, what matters is how the item is being posted. I think sellers are better off highlighting the advantages of their particular service(s) than offering a cost breakdown. 

If you're more coming at the issue from the angle that some buyers don't understand that there are additional costs to packaging and posting an item, which are included in a P&H charge, then I think the same principle applies. I think that there is often more value in getting people to understand value than know cost, if that makes sense.