How to KILL the AU used book sales and cost Aust Post $

[fuggsy]

I have posted this on the PS forum but as many bookies dont seem to go there I will post here as well

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 I knew they would arrive on the AU eBay site eventuatly.

This company worldofbooks-australia they are part of the UK giant and they are bulk flooding the book section

They state that they are in Wahroonga, New South Wales but thats not correct from the emails I have received from them, they are shipping from the UK and eBay is allowing them to LIE about their stock location. What they have in Australia is a PO box only and all their contact details including phone numbers are all in the UK

Now most of us the used book sellers can compete on price all be it bare bones and near go out the door pricing BUT what costs us $11.20 (standard AP 3KG bag price) to post interstate they are shipping to Australia for $2.99 and AP are delivering it for FREE.

So how much will AP lose this year that they will pass onto us ($22 million last year) if there is any of us bookies left to sell and post on here that is.

So a question for AP, how do we in Australia compete with you delivering these items for FREE and compete with the super low UK postage prices compared to our prices.

Answer is .. we cant.

PS their address in Wahroonga that they claim they are shipping from, is actually to a PO box of a lawyers office

[straybooksoz]

straybooksoz: jeez I see that the latest ebay store fee rise is probably going to wipe out your ebay business .. maybe a few of you book guys who know each other well enough to trust each other should join forces and set up a ebay store together otherwise it appears to me that many of you will be outa the game unless you have a plan b .. anyway best of luck with it all .. 😞

Jeez I think I am quite able to manage my business without your uninformed opinions.

It remains to be seen whether or not the fee increases will wipe out my business.

[misterforgetfulsbooks]

Reminds me of the other place Pete when everyone complained about the fee hikes there yadah yadah yadah...

We'll see what happens and how many little people leave to be taken up by the bigger o/seas sellers.

[straybooksoz]

I suppose the difference there, rama, was that the fees could be avoided if one chose. Though a few didn't seem to understand that.

It's a bit hard to avoid an upfront fee.

I'm gradually increasing my listings, so I'll see whether that translates into enough sales to cover the increase over the next few months.

[loveabookstore-australia]

Hi all. I am so glad someone posted about World Of Books as I've been noticing over the last week just how much they have flooded the book market. Take for example, Lark Rise To Candleford - they have over 22 copies listed!

I am a full-time bookseller with an eBay store and a b&m store and know full well how hard it has been for all of us Australian new and used dealers since 2009/10. Call me naive but I think we can weather the likes of WOB because as eBay insist - at the end of the day eBay buyers want THE BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE and FAST SERVICE, & CLEAR ITEM DESCRIPTIONS. WOB will be proven to be totally insufficient in all these areas within no time.

[straybooksoz]

It hasn't hurt the other big dropshippers who use stock pics and descriptions. Or the UK parent.

Mind you, the others are selling new books.

[happyinoz]

 Take for example, Lark Rise To Candleford - they have over 22 copies listed!

So much for ebay's duplicate listing policy!!!

[fuggsy]

Australia Post losing $70 million a year on international pricing structure

(We are all paying for this, every one in Australia as you will see in the story)

http://www.smartcompany.com.au/transport-and-logistics/049878-auspost-losing-70-million-a-year-on-in...

Australia Post is losing $70 million every year because of the huge number of parcels it has to process thanks to the rise in online retailing, the head of the postal service said yesterday.

But it's not entirely Australia Post's fault, chief executive Ahmed Fahour said – and experts agree.

"I don't think this is something Australia Post can necessarily change under the Universal Postal Union structure," Parcel Express chief executive Jason Picknell told SmartCompany this morning.

"Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be another way around it all."

Fahour told a Senate inquiry last night the organisation is losing up to $70 million a year, which has forced it to drive up prices for sending parcels.

The hikes were revealed by SmartCompany earlier this year, when small businesses complained they had received price increases in new contract terms.

At the time, Australia Post said in letters sent to businesses that it was "operating in a challenging business environment with increasing external costs".

Fahour has now said the huge number of parcels weighing less than two kilograms cost the organisation more due to international pricing structures.

These pricing structures are set by the Universal Postal Union. It determines the rates its member countries pay for international mail distribution.

"The only way we can minimise our losses is if the domestic price goes up," he said. It's a complaint Australia Post has made before, especially during Christmas when it was swamped by a huge number of parcels creating a backlog.

While the organisation has invested in new ways to deal with the rush, including 24/7 postage lockers and new delivery services, Fahour says the UPU structure is putting pressure on domestic prices.

The UPU was set up when letters were the primary form of correspondence, he said, adding that plenty of other economies are in the same situation.

"All of us are suffering because we're net importers from a lot of these other developing countries," he said.

Fahour added that Australia Post welcomes the rise of domestic online retail: "The more Australian retailers go online, the happier we are, because we actually make a buck on that."

Picknell says the situation necessitates an increase to the offshore mailing rate structure.

"I think he's right in lobbying to get that UPU structure right, because essentially we're, as consumers, offsetting the price through the domestic pricing structure," Picknell says.

"If postage is set at a certain cost through the UPU, they've got to make that up through domestic pricing."

[dazzledayz]

We've noticed the appearance of world of books with some concern as well.

It would appear that they are in breach of two areas under common law.

1. Misrepresentation - item location - Def: "Misrepresentation is the giving of false information by one party (or her or his agent) to the other before the contract is made, which induces them to make the contract."

Here it could be well argued that a buyer would probably not choose to buy a book shipped from the UK if informed of it's correct location.

I did notice one of WoB's customers get shirty when he found a foreign exchange fee in his Paypal statement - presumably not many people read theirs!

2. Dumping - although not an offence under international trade law there is a condition which could apply in this instance and that is the subsidy provision:

Def : "A subsidy is any financial assistance (or income or price support) paid by a foreign government that benefits an exporter of the goods to Australia, either directly or indirectly. If the effect of the subsidy causes (or threatens to cause) material injury to an Australian industry, remedial action may be taken.

Here it could be argued that UK Royal Mail is in fact subsidising the dumping activity through a subsidised postal rate. Action is via Customs and consists of a penalty import duty.

Our local MP happens to be the trade minister. He's a pretty approachable bloke (and a terrible singer). I may drop him a line.

Probably ASIC would be the logical choice for point 1 as eBay could be viewed as the "agent" by its provision of the service.

[straybooksoz]

I posted a comment on their Facebook page about their dropshipping and they replied (on their Facebook page) that they do indeed get their books from mummy in the UK. Yet they give the impression their books are in stock. Here, there, their website.

They seem to think it's okay to misrepresent location. I also wonder if they're paying tax and GST since they're a registered Australian company.

[misterforgetfulsbooks]

unfortunately Australia Post chooses to cut their own throats because when they subsidise o/seas postal services, they have the complete opposite effect on Australian customers with their postage prices as they are pricing their most lucrative customers (Australians) out of the equation.

ie: if a UK bookseller was able to pay the exact same postage fee an Australian has to pay to post a book within Aus. they would be paying $6 - $11.

However postage is subsidised so much that it means you can post a book from the UK to anywhere within Aus. for a fraction of what a local etailer is expected to pay.