Sellers High Postage

[thehoneyant]

all this being said is ok but
as a seller here and on the dark side i pay fees

some of the people with high postage charges, lower the starting price to save on fees this IS A SCAM .. but like you say you dont have to bid as that is your choice

It's a loophole, that some sellers take advantage of, and some buyers fall for.

[mfkirke]

any buyer who is not considering the whole cost of the item before bidding is not safe out alone.

[thehoneyant]

any buyer who is not considering the whole cost of the item before bidding is not safe out alone.

[johnwash1]

any buyer who is not considering the whole cost of the item before bidding is not safe out alone.

True enough! But any buyer who hangs around an auction site that forces you to check each auction listing individually, instead of displaying p+p in searches and category listings also needs L plates.

I mailed support, but didn't get any response. And you can tell from how long it's taken me to return and follow up on this thread how frequently I visit eBid these days... NOT!

I still want eBid to succeed, but I no longer have much faith. I still can't find what I want quickly enough and when I do it's overpriced, and whereas I used to make regular sales I can't remember when I last had a buyer, even though I list things at lower prices than I've had on feebay.

Is there any hope? I visit so rarely, I'm not in touch with future plans -- do G&M realise the situation, or is everyone at eBid complacent?

John

[gazlannathai]

The way to deal with sellers who's listings are unclear and ambigious- is do not bid on their auctions. The responsibility (and choice) lies with the buyer- not with EBID admin

There is a better way, depending onhow brave you are, and how willing to have potential wrecking happen on your own auctions .......

If the item is of the type where the weight is reasonably obvious, or by grabbing a similar item from your own house and dashing to the kitchen scales - you can .....

Ask seller a question stating (for example)
"www.thaipost.co.th shows that postage for an item of this type weighing approx 200g when packed should be XYZ pounds worldwide by Airmail - could you please explain why you are charging 2 / 3 / 5 / 10 times this amount?"

Because of how eBid works, that question will then show on the auction and any relists of it.

If that does't wake up both bidders and sellers, then what else would?

Gaz

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[lookb4upassby]

I agree on the fact that the post cost should be at the front of the auction and we should not have to click to find out.
The trouble with Post cost is that we all want to keep our items very cheap so people will buy them.
We also have to think about how much effort we have put into getting these items. the time spent getting them. the money spent out getting them, Post and packing materials, The real cost of post. The real cost of the item plus any fee's
What are we left with?
We are like gamblers really. Some you win some you lose.
Why cant we all have an understanding for each other about how hard we work to do all this. the prices are far lower than retail.
maybe if we call the cost, Admin or something else and have three costs to total up. Save people moaning about post cost. We should be happy not grumbling. I think Ebid would be great if more people were here.

[gazlannathai]

Again it all comes back to eBid's lack of resources

We all know that postage varies between countries (for the same type of service) and that's an open door for the scammers and CYABUP (Cover Your Ass By Using Postage) brigade.

So a simple solution would be as follows -

G&M can easily run a report from the membership list to see which countries have members located in them (or at least they could if they would allow input of item location as well as member's bank account location).

They could also add a field to display the packed weight (for mailing) of the item.

They could then locate the Post Office websites for those countries and using an item location field, they could automatically insert a link (to that country's post office website) immediately below the postage prices (with a warning that the PO prices do not include cost of packaging and handling by the seller).

Browsers could then get a real idea of the cost of postage for the item.

Additionally, at the same time as adding the above, they could add the following features, which have been requested so often it's not funny anymore -
- P&P price if buying more than one item from the same seller at the same time
- P&P service (and transit time) definable by the seller

The whole P&P function on eBid needs a thorough overhaul to meet the demands of eBid's paying customers (the sellers) and the eBid's non-paying customers (the buyers).

I sometimes wonder if G&M are doing only just enough to appear to be a viable alternative to FeeBay, rather than stealing a march on them and getting ahead in the game.

Gaz

[landissales]

I think the ideal solution would be the use of the postage calculator links. I'm still trying to figure out how to link the postage calculator to my listings without having to jump through endless hoops to do so for each listing. Another site includes them in the initial settings and they are automatically inserted in each listing. This is a WONDERFUL feature as it allows you to enter the shipping weight of the item listed. You choose which shipping options you prefer for the item and the calculator automatically figures the ACTUAL postage for the item. If you have several postage options chosen, i.e., USPS Priority Mail, USPS Global Priority Mail, Media Mail, etc., the calculator will display the actual postage for each option so the buyer and seller knows the actual cost immediately BEFORE purchasing the item . . and all of this right on the item info page the buyer is viewing!! It is a simple underlined that says CALCULATE POSTGE link to click on. In the meantime, I go to the postage calculator at the various online postal services and get the best rate I can afford to offer and post for the item weight OR I will let the buyer know he/she will pay the actual postage as soon as we know their destination. I will do this for the heavier items.

Just my 2 cents worth!

Karie Landis

[gazlannathai]

Hi Landis - it would be great but I think USPS are unique in having that service - I haven't seen it on UK Royal Mail's site, and I know Thailand and Australia don't have it - not sure about Canada

Gaz

[Karrobo]

Hi everyone! I've been reading through this thread and am a little surprised at all the fuss about postage. The idea of creating "Postage Police" or setting up a page and listing everyone who has high postage is a waste of time and energy. We aren't here to control others. All we can do is control ourselves. If other sellers insist on unreasonable postage costs, that's their choice (and loss). All that means is that buyers will look for something else and hopefully come to those who have reasonable prices. (ME?!) If we give ALL the pertinent information for the items we want to sell, the buyers will be able to choose. Buyers aren't dumb. They know what they want and how much they want to spend. And they will continue to look until they find what they want. The tools ARE here for us to use. We ,as seller, just have to use them wisely.<P>That's my two cents! Have a Great Day! Karen