OVERPRICING OF POSTAGE

[shellyshelly40]

DOES ANYONE HAVE THIS PROBLEM. I WAS CHECKING OUT DVDS AND FOUND ONE SELLING FOR $3.00 AND THEN $8.00 POSTAGE. BOTH SELLER AND BUYER ARE IN BRISBANE. WHY CAN'T EBAY DO SOMETHING ABOUT REGULATING POSTAGE AS THERE ARE SELLERS OUT THERE THAT SELL THEIR GOODS FOR A SMALL PRICE AND THEN HIT YOU WITH UNBELIEVEABLE POSTAGE. THEY SHOULD BE AWARE THAT IT ONLY DRIVES A BUYER AWAY AND IT IS NO LONGER CLASSED AS A BARGAIN.

[09labrat]

My problem was buying an item on ebay Australia, and the seller insisted on listing the item in US dollars. The item description stated that the item was in South Australia, yet the seller quoted the Australian postage in US dollars also. What's the go there why is it allowable for a seller to sell within Australia in a foreign currency. This means that on any given day the item cost and associated postage would be greater or lesser depending on the exchange rate that day.

[jamimishke]

My problem was buying an item on ebay Australia, and the seller insisted on listing the item in US dollars. The item description stated that the item was in South Australia, yet the seller quoted the Australian postage in US dollars also. What's the go there why is it allowable for a seller to sell within Australia in a foreign currency. This means that on any given day the item cost and associated postage would be greater or lesser depending on the exchange rate that day.

Yes that is exactly why they do it. So you must check what $'s the items are listed in. It is wrong I feel but that's just my opinion. I helped a group start up another auction site 2 years ago and even though there are sellers all over the world the ones in Australia listed in US dollars I didn't and wouldn't as they explained it was worth more money due to the exchange rate. I could not do it as I think that is stealing as you are deliberately misleading the cost as if you are on eBay.com.au you assume it is in AU$. Allot of people don't relise the item is in US$ so they bid away and before they relise they have completed a sale in US$ even though the seller is in Australia and selling on eBay.com.au Unfortunatley this happens everyday so you need to be vigilant and read all off the sellers description, feedback etc.
I do understand why Aussie sellers do this though as eBay have let down allot of sellers with this paypal business and the changes they have made which do effect the seller and allot have gone out of business because of eBay and their fees.

[rach.n.greg]

Before you read this post, note that as a seller I send everything in pre-paid post and charge exactly what it cost me, no more, no less (even though I often use extra packaging to ensure it arrives safely), but I don't have an issue with other sellers charging a little extra to cover any additional costs including their fees.

As a buyer, I will look at how much I am buying the item for plus the postage total as a whole and say "am I happy to pay that much for this item" if the answer is yes, why complain about the postage cost, if the seller makes a little more and ebay doesn't get more of a comission on it, that's a win in my opinion.

I list an item at .99cents, start the auction at a time when I know it will finish for last minute bidders, have a picture as a gallery listing.. ebay charges me an insertion fee of $1.29. On average, to list an item properly, fully detailed, to cover myself description wise, it probably takes me about half an hour of my time.
If my item has one bid on it when auction closes, it sells for .99cents. I make no money from postage. Buyer then pays with paypal, who take a percentage, which means i get even less (and this percentage is even taken out of the postage amount, which means actually I don't even cover my shipping costs either).

If this is going to be the case, then why bother selling at all, I might as well pay someone $2.50 plus a good quality item for free, because I'd be in the same position, except half an hour of my time better off for not having to list it properly.

You complain because items don't have a decent description, complain because sellers don't leave feedback until you do, complain because maybe the seller made a little bit extra on their postage, when essentially, you got a bargain for yourself, that even with the small increase in postage, cost you far less than if you had bought it in a shop. AND THEN you call that seller shameful and put in feedback that effects their rating. Sorry, but things aren't that black and white, it's no wonder why sellers are running as fast as they can from ebay in droves.

[jim4jewelry]

I agree with glitter buggs i am subsidizing the postage just to build my business using flat rate $5.95 registered for my jewelry
items bit or a worry not to register the items so it costing around
$8.30 not sure what the answer is!!

[sparboo]

I tried to list a few books over 500 gm the other day and it wouldn't let me put $9.80 in as the postage amount even though the red satchel was the cheapest postage, $8.30 was the maximum it would allow even though that's over $1 less than a satchel would cost me.

I had the same problem, I knew how much the postage was for the item I was listing but ebay kept telling me it was higher than the option selected - I ended up out of pocket.

So how come some buyers get away with this? I paid over the top for postage then seller explained were handling charges and they had to send them to a clearing house, at the time I accepted it and paid up, then I got the item and it was all bulls* there was no special handling and I could tell by the postal details they were not in a remote area and could have posted it themselves and probably did. I left positive feedback tick (negative is only left for the really bad bad sellers) then left 1 star on the postage, didn't make the bad taste go away tho. They were listing in GBP as well which seems a bit dodgy as they are on the gold coast, their explanation was that they were trying to get the UK market - well then list on bay uk only then!!! I have crossed them off my list.

[straybooksoz]

I had the same problem, I knew how much the postage was for the item I was listing but ebay kept telling me it was higher than the option selected - I ended up out of pocket.


Just found out the trick to this, if you're using a satchel.

When selecting postage,select 'flat postage', then select 'small parcels' from the dropdown, the click the dropdown again and select the satchel size.

This will allow you to pick 3kg satchel @ $10.30, which is cheaper for most items over 500g when you take the cost of an envelope or bag into account.

I wear the cost of gladwrap, bubblewrap, sticky tape and my time, but that's built into my prices anyway. Sorta.

As a buyer I ALWAYS sort by lowest price + postage and make my decision from there.

None of this 'best match' BS for me.

[jamimishke]

For those of you above who are having problems with postage costs, there is a section in the discussion boards that is related to this just type in postage costs and a few different forums will pop up and your answers will be there from more experienced eBayers.
I also found that the eBay postage center was not for me as I sell so many different items, shapes, sizes and weight so I prefer to use the brochures from the post office. There are 3. Blue for International, Yellow for express post and pink for Australia wide. I also bought a pair of scales for $79 last year so I can weigh as I list. I know this may not suit some sellers but I find it works for me.
Another tip I will list an item and if it is not in my state I put in the description (Please add to postage $? for these 3 states $/ for the rest of Australia etc.
On the odd occassion that I do overcharge from what it should be I put an envelope in the parcel and send the buyer the difference in postage with a note attached explaining what the money is for.
As I said this works for me but may not be for everyone, as we all run our little hobby of selling differently.

[lateralcanvasstore]

I think there should be two sections included actual postage costs, handling costs which include costs incurred because of general business.

What general buyers don't understand is that sellers do need to cover their costs otherwise they will no longer be in business.

Every business whether on ebay or those who run out of a shop front are entitled to cover their costs.

I hope that ebay give us more options to make postage and handling more transparent. I for one would welcome it, so I can explain why some postage is more because of variations in items we sell.

For example there are end of sales costs, final value fees, listing fees, and paypal fees all that add up to take away from the bottom line. I would be happy to have ways to point this out to potential buyers so that it is clear and there is no confusion.

[sterlingshowcase-com]

If you are a seller trying to write down your point-of-view of how the buyer doesn't understand  , then may I say you are most likely wasting your time trying to explain to someone who has never been on the other side of business .

 

As a seller I could easily write a 10,000 word essay on what is wrong with both sellers and consumers today . However I would not waste my time  unless the person I was talking to had also been a seller  . Therefore they would already know how out-of-control the costs are today , including enormous competition from China who pay less for freight / fees / labour and of course pay ( no ) GST or company tax .

 I find it very unfair that the companies who impose great costs on the seller seem to walk free when it comes time for judgement to be handed down on the seller . Feedback is brutally unfair as the companies who enforce feedback are never drawn into the debate that they created . In all fair-ness there should be four more ( 5 star ) categories added to feedback.

 
1) Were you happy with the sellers fees imposed on him , ultimately passed onto you  ?

2) Were you happy with Australia post freight costs and hidden extras that don't get included on the postage ' print out '  that you see on your box when you receive it , this is the sticker stuck on your package by them showing a lover price than ( we the seller )  paid across the counter . The lower price naturally make Australia post look good and the sender look bad if  they have pre-quoted a  higher ( true ) price to the buyer   .  Those extras like insurance also in-turn automatically attract an extra ' Signature on Delivery ' fee ( even if you didn't want it  ) .   If the buyer sees a postage sticker price lower than they paid  , naturally this may prompt the buyer to possibly down rate the sellers feedback on the '' Postage and packaging charges ''   . I have contacted Australia post many times about this great deception  , however no correction to their misleading receipts have been made   . We all need to stick together  and contact Australia post individually with our concerns relating to this clear deception , or at least stop the person at the post office from putting a receipt sticker on the package that is lower than the true cost paid across the counter   .

3) When paying were you happy with a ' third party financial company ' who took a fee off the seller  , which ultimately has to be built into the sale cost that you pay  ?  This includes  ' in most cases '  a very unfair fee across the full amount including postage ( which the financial company has nothing to do with but still make the  seller / buyer pay an overall fee for the entire transaction ) .

4)  Were you happy with ( in most cases ) how much the ATO took off the seller in tax ( naturally again that amount must be build into the sale and passed on to you )  , even though  other items bought overseas from people like Chinese sellers will  not be required to pay any tax in Australia .

 
I don't expect to win any praise from buyers reading my post and I do accept there are always a hand-full of Aussie seller who do the wrong thing ,  however please have some consideration for the vast majority of your fellow Aussies  , who are sellers doing it very tough  regarding all the unfair things mentioned above .

[lynnie3024]

This thread is almost THREE YEARS OLD.....why did you not just start a new thread.