the $6.95 small parcel rate is a pain

[beryl_green]

How can I expect buyers to pay $6.95 postage for a $7 brooch that is just too fat to send safely at the large letter rate 😐

[kayedonproducts]

I don't offer free postage - tried it for a while but didn't add cost of postage in.

Would rather my buyers benefit from combined postage where they can,  keep my prices reasonable and not give ebay any more fees.

My postage DSR has gone up so must be doing something right.

[kayedonproducts]

That would be "Postage & Handling Costs"!!

[nonny_muss]

Hi:)

I am a regular buyer and just popped in to give my 2 cents worth. I understand that postage rates/charges are out of sellers' control. I get suspicious if a seller is offering 'free postage' on items- there is no such thing as 'free....'!! as this usually means that the post charge is in-built in the selling price. I much prefer charges to be TRANSPARENT.(I99% of the time I check post charges before placing a bid and will not place a bid if the post charge is 'hiked' above what would be an acceptable charge from item location to me plus a couple of dollars handling and packaging costs-I don't mind paying a little extra for this if seller has mentioned in their item/post details)

I get buyer satisfaction from purchasing multiple items from sellers- COMBINED POSTAGE gives me greatest value.  

I didn't interpret this as a whinge at all, in fact I find paintsew007's comments rather helpful.  eBay has told me as a seller that my sales increase if I offer 'free post', and seeing that means that unless I want to run at a loss, I would have to factor post prices into the item price, thus putting them higher  (and pay FVFs for the total) so I wonder if it's worth my while, especially because many customers prefer a lower starting price and are happy to pay reasonable postage on top of this.  When I buy, I prefer sellers to be transparent also, so it's nice to know that others are the same. 

And back to the small parcels, SO frustrated the up to 250g option isn't around anymore.  Don't care what they say, the only reason they removed it is because we have no choice but to pay more.  And yes, THAT may be a whinge but its still true!!

[beryl_green]

thank you all for your replies, I do offer combined postage plus I have some 19mm cardboard boxes but some items just won't slip through the Australia Post template. I would imagine AP have lost a certain amount of revenue since they dumped the under 250gm small parcel rate.

[chezzy]

Not sure how thick the AP mailers (CD) are but there are other products/flat boxes around that are 16mm, could make a difference. I know I will probably be investing in some.

I am thinking rather than offering combined postage, actually 'bundling' items into listings to make the most of the postage cost. And so people know up front what they are paying.

I am another that doesn't particularly like the "free postage". It would actually be more accurate/truthful if the wording was "postage paid" or "postage included".

[extra-keen]

How about post cost included

"no more to pay"

Would be much morehonest of eBay instead of this crazy "free post" it doesn't exist.

For jewellery items which I sell very occasionally I sandwich between two pieces of card whith a bit of that skinny packing foam then into an envelope which I then tape thecontinents to so they can't move around. So far so good

[kustomizer99]

I was very excited when I first saw that some sellers on eBay were offering 'Free Post'. So I went down to the local PO to see how I could get a piece of that action, but they told me there was no such thing!

Darn.....

[purplespoilz_au*]

There's not much you cab do about it although I agree it is a pain if your item is just that bit too tight to fit through the slot.

On the other hand, I like it better than the old $6.60 because it comes with tracking.  You can also do the label through click and send and generate your own barcode, and pay for it at the post office to save time.

I always tell buyers if there is anything else they want to buy, we can combine the postage costs, sometimes that helps too

[purplespoilz_au*]

Forgot to add, I don't like the idea of free postage either - we have tried it on some of our listings and find that we end up paying too much on the final value fee - better for ebay, not for you.  THe only time I would do it is if you only need one or two stanps to post your item, not for a $6.95 parcel.

I know myself when I am looking for stuff to buy on ebay, I sort the result from lowest price to highest - if you have your postage costs built in to the actual price, your listing will come up at the bottom and may not even get looked at