Buyers don't appreciate excessive postage charges - and will walk

[NowAndThen]

Reading all the posts and previous threads regarding postage charges ... whatever the reasons used to ensure a profit is obtained from a sale, it is imperative that eBid sellers do NOT fall into the 'trap' of inflating their postage charges to compensate for fees, etc. whatever they are are to whomever they are due.
Why a 'trap'? - because Buyers are not fools, and inflated postage charges WILL drive them away. There are few enough buyers on eBid at present as we know, but if we list with inordinately high postage charges, we stand no chance of luring them to this site.
I have seen many, many instances of excessive postage on eBid listings - we moaned about it on eB*y didn't we? - now we must strive to stop this practise here on eBid.
I know we must stick together etc. - but those that are overcharging for postage are potentially affecting the prospects for sales for all of us - and so I feel that the worst offenders should be reported, so that there can be a fairer playing ground for all of us.
No names here - but I have seen a pair of gloves with P&P of £5.00; CDs with a P&P of £2.50, etc, etc.. Items that are heavy such as books for instance, you would expect to pay for the weight and the buyers realise that.
My policy is to set a starting bid (or BIN) price at the lowest that I would be happy with. Then I calculate postage at the actual cost + 20p-30p to cover packaging materials etc. You have to accept that fees must be paid, but at our own (sellers) cost - if you advertised in a newspaper you'd have to pay advertising costs, if you advertised on TV you'll pay extraordinary costs, if you sold via your own website you'll have website costs. So why worry about the less than consequential fees we pay from selling on eBid (virtually nothing to eBid, and a modest amount to P*yP*l or PPPay where you are actually paying for a degree of security for your monies).
So, before we continue to complain about lack of buyers, let us all look to our listings to assess whether perhaps we have been a little hasty in setting the postage charges we have.
Remember, you can make a lot more profit in the long run with selling many items at a lower margin than you can with selling a few items at a higher margin.
With profuse apologies to the majority of sellers on eBid who adhere to all the eBid recommendations and T&Cs and keep their postage charges reasonable.

[JudesNiceThings]

Er.. Thanks for that!


Basically - if P & P is too high, people won't buy.

(Where are 'all the ebid recommendations and T & C's' on P & P then?)

[bykimbo]

So, before we continue to complain about lack of buyers,

Not so much of the "we" Kemosabe.

[TiasTreasures]

I'm not sure how postage rates in the UK compare to ours here in the US, but after reading your post I checked the CD's we have for sale. We use Priority Mail, and the minimum charge by our Postal Service for domestic delivery is $4.80. I think that's approximately the same as £2.50. We use calculated shipping whenever possible, so the buyers can see that we don't charge a handling fee for Priority Mail (the Postal Service furnishes the boxes free).

I'm astounded by how much it costs to send anything out of the country. I hope buyers understand this.

[NowAndThen]

Er.. Thanks for that!


Basically - if P & P is too high, people won't buy.

(Where are 'all the ebid recommendations and T & C's' on P & P then?)

Hi Jude, Perhaps I should have been more generalised and said 'all the eBid forum recommendations' as that is where we find all the references to excessive postage, and the eBId Help and FAQ pages do suggest that if an answer isn't found there we should look in the forums. (Yes, a lame excuse - I should have worded it better).

[NowAndThen]

Not so much of the "we" Kemosabe.

Hi Bykimbo, Kemosabe was using 'we' to include himself (he of many faults ) and not to be seen talking down to others. The message is in the post as a whole and not in the odd word or phrase within it. Sorry, I'm not perfect.

[bykimbo]

Hi Bykimbo, Kemosabe was using 'we' to include himself (he of many faults ) and not to be seen talking down to others. The message is in the post as a whole and not in the odd word or phrase within it. Sorry, I'm not perfect.

Keep trying, there's a few here have made it... or so they say.

Yeah, I knew all that really, just pointing out that some of us can't keep complaining, or complain "again" if we've never started.

[NowAndThen]

I'm not sure how postage rates in the UK compare to ours here in the US, but after reading your post I checked the CD's we have for sale. We use Priority Mail, and the minimum charge by our Postal Service for domestic delivery is $4.80. I think that's approximately the same as £2.50. We use calculated shipping whenever possible, so the buyers can see that we don't charge a handling fee for Priority Mail (the Postal Service furnishes the boxes free).

I'm astounded by how much it costs to send anything out of the country. I hope buyers understand this.

In the UK, to send a CD in a jewel case, in a jiffy bag, costs 78p 1st class or 66p 2nd class - adding the cost of the jiffy bag itself, that's less than a UK pound in total. Your postage costs in the US seem to be a lot higher - I thought ours were bad enough.

[JanetB]

I'm not sure how postage rates in the UK compare to ours here in the US, but after reading your post I checked the CD's we have for sale. We use Priority Mail, and the minimum charge by our Postal Service for domestic delivery is $4.80. I think that's approximately the same as £2.50. We use calculated shipping whenever possible, so the buyers can see that we don't charge a handling fee for Priority Mail (the Postal Service furnishes the boxes free).

I'm astounded by how much it costs to send anything out of the country. I hope buyers understand this.

Priority mail for a CD ??
Media mail or First class mail is much much cheaper

~Jan~

[TexasAda]

I agree completely, Nowandthen. When i go looking at things to buy, I get a really bad taste at listings that have a pitifully low purchase price and inflated shipping charges. It's almost insulting to a potential bidder's intelligence: does the seller think we won't stop to calculate the total outlay?

Also I'm sure some sellers set low Buy prices with high shipping in an attempt to avoid paying fees to eBid (or eBoy as the case may be). That itself is another sign to me of the seller's bad ethics.