Simple observation. I sold my old phone on ebay two weeks ago. It cost me approximately £6 to send it first class - special delivery.
So why does every ebay seller seem to charge £8 for sending a small lead by normal first class post that will easily fit in to a bubble wrap envelope ? One seller ever wanted to charge £20 for sending it special delivery !
Basically, ebay sellers are using postage as a way of scamming people out of cash.
Why doesn't an MP take this issue up with ebay ? Any offers ?
12 comments:
It's got nothing to do with MPs - or, for that matter, with eBay, unless the seller springs an excessive cost on a buyer after the sale. As long as the postage is advertised, you can simply choose not to bid if you're not happy with it.
Why should an MP take this up. If you believe a seller is avoiding eBay fees then it's eBay problem to deal with. It's a market place, you don't have to buy anything from these people.
Have you checked to see if the item is being shipped from abroad? Lots of electrical goods come from the Far East where it will cost £8 to post something.
When you sent your phone, how much did it cost to package it? How much did it cost to get to the post office? How much time did you spend queuing? These are all validly covered in the Postage and Packaging costs.
Finally whenever buying anything off eBay, ALWAYS add the postage cost into the price you have for the item. I don't mind paying £10 postage for an item if the total cost to me is £5 less than all the other sellers.
Aside from the fact that its none of their business?
MPs should not be getting involved in that, its a private transaction between two consenting people. If you don't like the postage price, look for someone who has it cheaper and don't buy it.
We should resist calling for MPs to 'do something'. They do too much already, we should be encouraging them not to stick their noses into everything.
(this is aside from the fact that postage includes packing and the time it takes to go to the post office and to queue up in the post office - its postage, packing and handling)
Tristan, it takes five minutes to wrap something, a padded envelope costs 55 pence.
Its a question of people being ripped off ? Since when has it been right for MP's to overlook this ?
As for "cheaper prices", its a cartel that is setting the price. I think ebay "could" set some minimum standards of what people could expect to pay depending on the item.
Agree with Tristan. if you don't want to pay high postage costs, don't buy from that seller, and tell them why not. Don't bleat for more laws about it - that's hardly Liberal!
I ask buyers to pay for special delivery to protect my position if they claim the parcel never arrived - with the ropey state of the post, I need to know if the parcel is genuinely lost or if the buyer is trying a scam.
My wife uses eBay a lot and she tells me a lot of people include their eBay and Paypal charges in with the postage cost and apparently eBay suggest this as a good idea.
So when you look at postage see it as
cost to send + packaging + handling + ebay charge + paypal charge = postage charge.
Ryan, that might make some sense were it not the difference charged for different levels of postage.
For example, first class, costs £8.00, sprecial delivery £20. I am sure the packaging, the ebay costs, the paypal costs and the other costs do not add up to £7 extra as the extra cost of special delivery is only £5 more. But I take your point and thank you for this information.
Again, I amke one simple point. All things being equal, ebay costs, paypal costs, packaging costs, time in queue, etc. It costs £5 extra to special delivery rather than 1st class post. So how can people, and this happens time and again, charge £12 extra ?
As for "find another seller", it is a cartel and they are all doing it. Is it posted from abroad ? was another question. No.
It's not a cartel - it's a marketplace. I sell on ebay and I charge actual postage cost(Special or Recorded) plus the envelope if I haven't got one I can recycle. If you don't like it, you don't have to use ebay.
If you charge a fair price then why so defensive ? Do you honestly feel everyone charges a fair price ? If so, can I recommend buying some normal glasses because the rose tinted ones don't suit you.
I defend ebay because I think it gets flak from people who don't understand it and want it to be a 100% safe place to buy and sell.
Like the web as a whole, it requires a modicum of "caveat emptor."
So we could look out for our own interests by refusing to deal with rip-off merchants - or I suppose we could throw all sense of adult, personal responsibilty out of the window and bleat for MPs to regulate all the rough edges off the world.
I know which I prefer.
You state "bleat for MPs to regulate"
Many MP's achieve great things and massive change can occur as a result of their actions without ever needing to regulate. I never called for regulation, you are attempting to put words in to my mouth.
Don't try to overstate your case by misrepresenting other peoples views that you don't agree with.
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