@springyzone wrote:I don't see why the buyer should have the say as they aren't the one having to arrange the postage. I am often surprised on these boards how much extra people expect of ebay that they don't demand from other online sites.
My theory is that it's a legacy of when eBay was largely a place where many aspects of a sale was negotiable, from price to postage methods - eg when I first started on eBay, eBay store listings didn't come up in normal search results, most listings were auctions, people did have businesses here but a lot were hobby / casual sellers, and they weren't required to list a domestic postage cost, many still did but often you had to message and ask, or sort it out after the sale. This is part of what drove the social / community aspect of eBay, with buyers and sellers on equal ground and footing - in some ways they still are, but the psychology has changed, IMO, after many years of online saftey being pushed (i.e. you need to protect yourself from X") and the shift from a community of buyers / sellers to a site of businesses / consumers.
But there's still the fact that anyone can list an item on eBay, so there's a lot of sellers who apply their standards to others when they buy (eg the "I never charge a cent over actual postage costs, therefore I expect this from every other seller I buy from" type of person).
That being said, I don't think this kind of attitude is exclusive to eBay - it's not far removed from the "I pay your salary" type of person who's saying that to a teacher or cop, or the "I've hired you to do X job, so now I'm your boss and get to dictate how you do your job, even though I have no idea how to do it myself" type. 
@11dustyattic wrote:
And there you go. My example above highlights you've maybe come to the wrong place to ask. The motivation behind replies can skew them. In this example, that seller got angry about the comments a few of us were posting re couriers and how we wouldn't buy from a seller if they used one.
Any seller who does choose to use a courier would more than likely be well aware when they make that choice that they will be eliminating a percentage of customers who do not like couriers, or can't receive courier deliveries. It's a conscious choice, so if there are any sellers in this thread who only use courier services, they would have nothing to be angry and defensive about because they already know there's a bunch of buyers who won't or can't buy from them, so this angry "don't buy from us then" that you're interpreting from padi seems a little odd to me, TBH, because the mere act of choosing to use a courier service as a seller is itself an act of "don't buy from me, then". (Not that I believe this mini conspiracy theory, which you have to be aware that it is, otherwise you could provide supporting evidence and not just accusations).
For what it's worth, I use Aus Post for all domestic deliveries, and DHL for 99% of international deliveries, I have a PO box and prefer my (easy to carry) orders be sent by Aus Post to that PO box, I would make a personal recommendation to sellers considering using couriers that they also consider they'll be limiting their buyer-base, if they have not done so already, but I will also defend any seller who has made the choice to use couriers because it's a business decision, and those are 100% the domain of the person who owns and runs a business.
Also, no male ego here.
Ego, sure, maybe occasionally it's a little masculine, yin / yang and all that.
@digital*ghost wrote:
@11dustyattic wrote:And there you go. My example above highlights you've maybe come to the wrong place to ask. The motivation behind replies can skew them. In this example, that seller got angry about the comments a few of us were posting re couriers and how we wouldn't buy from a seller if they used one.
Any seller who does choose to use a courier would more than likely be well aware when they make that choice that they will be eliminating a percentage of customers who do not like couriers, or can't receive courier deliveries. It's a conscious choice, so if there are any sellers in this thread who only use courier services, they would have nothing to be angry and defensive about because they already know there's a bunch of buyers who won't or can't buy from them, so this angry "don't buy from us then" that you're interpreting from padi seems a little odd to me, TBH, because the mere act of choosing to use a courier service as a seller is itself an act of "don't buy from me, then". (Not that I believe this mini conspiracy theory, which you have to be aware that it is, otherwise you could provide supporting evidence and not just accusations).
For what it's worth, I use Aus Post for all domestic deliveries, and DHL for 99% of international deliveries, I have a PO box and prefer my (easy to carry) orders be sent by Aus Post to that PO box, I would make a personal recommendation to sellers considering using couriers that they also consider they'll be limiting their buyer-base, if they have not done so already, but I will also defend any seller who has made the choice to use couriers because it's a business decision, and those are 100% the domain of the person who owns and runs a business.
Also, no male ego here.
Ego, sure, maybe occasionally it's a little masculine, yin / yang and all that.
Yes and that's fine. I don't have an issue with a well laid out honest comment like yours and agree the decision to use couriers is a personal choice. It's equally the buyer's choice to either proceed or find a seller who suits their requirements. No need to tell them to go buy from a bricks and mortar, not in this case anyway
