Getting marked down for postage

[deliakate]

In the stars bit of feedback. All other stars are great. I'm pissed off because I only send items via recorded delivery to avoid missing packages.
With the new postal charges that is £3.15 for most small things (£2.20 small package plus the 95p for recorded). I charge the buyer £3.45, so 30p for everything else and I use new Jiffy bags etc, not just folded up bin bags or tesco carriers like I have received before.
AND of course I clearly state the p&p terms on the listing.
Still I am on about 4.2 for p&p. What gives?

[Boggler]

I think people see the amount charged at po on stamp and assume you've pocketed the rest, they don't really understand the other costs namely the packaging, fuel costs of driving to po and your precious time. I wouldn't worry about it.

[K8Middleton]

The 30p. You can buy much cheaper mail bags and sending new Jiffy bags is just a waste.

That said, recently I've marked people down as low as 2 stars when the postage paid is £4 and the amount paid is only £1.20.

[deliakate]

Just a bit worried boggler it will start to affect my seller account.... How much do you think is reasonable to charge on top of the face price of the stamps then, K8?

[RandallPinkFloyd]

IMO you can't add "fuel costs and time" onto p&p charges.

To me it should be purely postage and packaging, nothing else.

A lot of sellers sneakily add little bits onto their p&p charges to avoid paying fees. A few pence here and there isn't an issue but anymore than 20p difference and I PayPal it back to the buyer. It's only fair.

[deliakate]

I'm not adding time on. But actual packaging and a contribution towards the parking ticket..... Maybe I'll change it to 20p

[CreatureRetorts]

I sometimes undercharge for this reason. Or for free. I don't eBay much though.

[CreatureRetorts]

I do think it's off giving low feedback where the item is less than postage - that's not the sellers fault

[RandallPinkFloyd]

Yeah, you really can't expect buyers to pay for your parking ticket. I'd definitely be marking a seller down for that.

[GlaikitHasHerFizzBack]

Use myhermes, the collect from you or you can drop at a local shop. Up to one kilo is £3.30 if they collect and £3.00 if you drop!

[SprinkleLiberally]

I wouldn't want to pay extra for a new bag etc when any old one does the trick. Nor for parking or fuel. I do think keeping p and p as cheap as you can is best.

[deliakate]

So on top of the face value of the stamps, is it reasonable to charge anything do people think? Or should I just be asking £3.15 and chucking in a bag free (new one, old one, whatever)?

[SprinkleLiberally]

I'd just keep it as low as possible without being out of pocket.

[SprinkleLiberally]

I'd just keep it as low as possible without being out of pocket.

[RandallPinkFloyd]

It's not unreasonable to charge for the actual packaging itself, just try and do it as cheaply as possible. Best way is to bulk buy the plastic postage bags off eBay. They work out really cheap if you buy in bulk.

[CreatureRetorts]

As a buyer when leaving feedback, I only give 5 stars if it's free pa&p.m

Why? I give 5 unless I think it's too high or rubbish packaging.

[mercibucket]

I usually give 5 stars even when it's,say, 50p more, but anything more than that and I start to feel ripped off.

[mercibucket]

I usually give 5 stars even when it's,say, 50p more, but anything more than that and I start to feel ripped off.

[thishouseisashittip]

I don't mind paying up to a pound over actual postage for p&p. Would prefer not to obviously but I can understand packaging and travel, anything over I would expect refund on postage if over estimated. I myself only charge actual cost or add 10-20p depending on price/value of item, if it's not worth much need to keep postage right down. I always reuse packaging, got a cupboard full of saved boxes and bubble wrap and jiffy bags

[sarahtigh]

a business seller can charge for time/parking

a private seller can't only packaging

it is best to say in listing what you charge like

"I charge the actual cost of tracked postage plus 20p for packaging"

if you charge £1.10 extra for signed for on items that cost less than £10 that could be another reason you are marked down royal mail cover missing parcels upto £20 so why pay extra for signed for on low value items

only about 0.5% pf parcels go missing and most turn up eventually

[lljkk]

What gives?

Nothing. You're doing nothing wrong. I charge way more than your 30p & my stars are fine. It's pure dumb luck. You may as well charge more and get something back for your aggro. Lots of MNers mention getting terrible stars even when they charge well below actual postage cost; there isn't a lot to be gained by being scrupulous about it. You are allowed to charge a reasonable amount for handling (so say I, others disagree, but the Ebay T+C clearly say to me that a modest handling charge is allowed, even for private sellers).

And personally I think it's outrageous to pay FVF on Paypal fees and postage costs, or to expect sellers to give up their time for nothing extra.

I think recorded for items below £10-£20 in value is unnecessary, though.

This goes around & round & I should just ignore all threads. FWIW, if you ask the same questions on Ebay fora or Moneysaving expert you will get very different answers (from MN) about what acceptable charges are over actual RM/courier cost. MSE posters insist P+P is in the T+C when buyer bids so they should always suck it up and never whinge, Ebay fora is more mixed but still mostly on the side of "P+P is clearly stated before you bid so don't bid if you don't like."

[deliakate]

Interesting lljkk.

[MrsZoidberg]

I don't think buyers look at what it actually costs you. If they don't post items regularly (just cards and odd letter etc) then they don't realise that RM charge on size as well as weight. So if you charge more than about £1, they think it's a rip off.

I also think that they are penalising you for what is essntially RM's fault, certainly this is true of Dispatch time DSRs

[sarahtigh]

the reason private sellers can't charge for handling is about ebay rules but the inland revenue,

however small a handling charge (as opposed to packaging) it is charging for your time therefore it is income therefore it has to be declared as such and if applicable tax paid on it; if you charge for your time it is then not a private sale but a business one

if you charge for petrol or parking that makes your car at least in part a business vehicle and then it needs to be insured as such because your journey is then not a private seller dropping off parcels but a business seller using his/her vehicle for delivery to postal services

hence a business seller can charge for handling as it becomes part of their taxable profit if you are a private seller by definition this is not your work so the time involved is deemed to cost you nothing just like anything else you do that is not your employment

you do not pay FVF on postage costs unless you are offering "free" postage and so postage is incorporated into item cost

there are no FVF on paypal costs for anyone

however you do pay paypal fees on total cost not just the purchase price

[sarahtigh]

not about ebay rules