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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think this ebay seller is taking the p***?

38 replies

mosschops30 · 10/03/2012 09:55

I sent a message to a seller asking why their postage is so high?
The item they are selling starts at 99p but postage 2nd class is a ridiculous £7.50 and i know for a fact that even if they sent it recorded it would only be £3.

They mailed me bavk saying 'well item is very cheap dont you think?'

Well yes item is very cheap but i wont bid on it because postage is ridiculous (unless i get it for 99p).

Is this nirmal for People to completely take the piss over postage?

OP posts:

StuckUpTheFezziwigTree · 10/03/2012 09:56

Yes loads of people do it. I never bid in their items. It's a way of cheating to bump the price up.

OldGreyWiffleTest · 10/03/2012 09:57

It's a way of getting money without EBay deducting more on the sale price. Common practice.

CrazyChicken · 10/03/2012 09:59

you can report them for fee avoidence

olgaga · 10/03/2012 10:02

Well you're probably still getting the item pretty cheaply - but you can give them negative feedback on their postage rating. Ebay is a bit of a pain, to be honest - time consuming, and expensive to list items at anything more than 99p. If the ebay charges weren't so high, they would probably have listed it for £4.99.

Would you be any happier if that was the case?

Original poster

mosschops30 · 10/03/2012 10:03

If it was £10 with £3 postage id have bid.
She can stick it up her arse now.

OP posts:

goodtimesarecoming · 10/03/2012 10:06

You have to factor postage in to the overall price, what does it matter if it's £13 all together? I don't think its fait to leave negative feedback for high postage if you knew what it was before you bought. After all, if you order online from shops, the postage is often much higher than need be

susiedaisy · 10/03/2012 10:08

Unless they are from abroad, I work out the postage myself and if it's too expensive I don't even bother bidding on the item

olgaga · 10/03/2012 10:12

If it was £10 with £3 postage id have bid.
She can stick it up her arse now.

What a silly issue to get on your high horse about. I'm sure she'll breathe a sigh of relief when you don't bid!

The point of ebay is that you'll get items a lot cheaper than new from the shops. What does it matter, really? You're talking about a difference of a princely £4!

susiedaisy · 10/03/2012 10:15

The point is though the price of the item is what you make your profit on, the postage is supposed to be just that, the price to post the item, it's not supposed to be a way of making more profit, which is why I choose not to bid on those items! To me it's being greedy!

PingPongBallsRMoving · 10/03/2012 10:43

Sellers taking the pee have ruined Ebay. I've never sold items so the reasons to me are unknown, as to why.

takingiteasy · 10/03/2012 10:49

It happens all the time and it's pretty transparant and easy enough to work out the total cost so I don't see the problem.

diddl · 10/03/2012 10:52

Well if the item is worth a tenner to me I don´t really care if it´s a pound for the item & nine for the postage tbh.

If you think it makes the item too expensive/more than you want to pay, don´t bid!

fergoose · 10/03/2012 10:55

it is fee avoidance and is not permitted. the seller doesn't get charged a final value fee on the postage cost, just the item price. report it to eBay - they will take action as they are being cheated out of revenue by sellers who do this.

ragged · 10/03/2012 10:57

I rarely notice it, wouldn't say it's rife. That said, I'm currently bidding for something that has stupid high postage (like OP described). It's not quite bad enough for Ebay to care, I reckon.

kdiddy · 10/03/2012 10:57

People shouldn't take the piss, but it's postage and packing. So depending on the item the actual packaging can bump it up as well, particularly if it needs careful wrapping.

No excuse if it's a book or clothes for example. And when you sell something you can link to a postage calculator where you put in weight and size and it gives your options, so that part should be fairly easy to work out.

Bearcrumble · 10/03/2012 11:00

£7.50 postage is ridiculous and unreasonable.

I think ebay is what's ruined ebay - I can't believe they take 10% of your final fee plus a listing fee plus whatever percentage it is from your paypal (anyone know?) - they are greedy buggers, much more so than the sellers on the whole.

That said I wouldn't charge more than £2.50 - £3.00 for second class recorded on single items of clothing.

I would love it if everyone swapped over to ebid which does the same thing but doesn't charge but there are so few users at the moment it's just not worth it.

GinPalace · 10/03/2012 11:00

What a bizarre thing to get upset about.
Surely you care about total cost and if that is reasonable?
Maybe seller wouldn't have put it up for sale at all, due to high ebay fees, if it wasn't possible to tweak the revenue from it a little.
Do you really need to make a judgement that seller is being greedy? Maybe they aren't being greedy maybe just pragmatic.
Maybe you are being greedy expecting someone to go to all the hassle of advertising item and getting it posted it so you can own the thing for a measly 99p ffs.
Get a grip.

susiedaisy · 10/03/2012 11:09

fergoose makes an excellent point

lazydaisy2 · 10/03/2012 11:25

This winds me up also.
They are only doing it to avoid final valuation fees.
I too dont bother bidding on anything that has stupid postage irrespective of the item plus postage final figure.

lazydaisy2 · 10/03/2012 11:26

I also dont bid on anything where the desciption has lots of spelling mistakes or is in 'text speak'.

Original poster

mosschops30 · 10/03/2012 11:55

Lol at ginpalace steady on, its not like im losing any sleep over it. I just said it pissed me off.
Go and join the netters who answer every OP agressively and keep taking your medication!

OP posts:

GinPalace · 10/03/2012 14:22

OK, but it was you who was suggesting she stick it up her arse - you didn't sound that laid back about it to me. Hence the suggestion you get a grip. However, happy to leave you to it. :)

trixymalixy · 10/03/2012 14:25

I just don't bid if the postage is ridiculous. It's not as rife as it used to be thankfully.

bigpants103 · 10/03/2012 14:29

We've just paid £7.50 for p&P on a 14ft trampoline!!!!

Butkin · 10/03/2012 17:40

I think yabu. The only thing that matters to a purchaser is what the overall price is. If you're happy to pay the final price, including postage, then what does it matter? Surely you're just cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Don't forget that it isn't just the actual postage price. You have to factor in the cost of packaging (those large plastic postal bags are often a quid each) and the cost of dropping them off at the post office if you don't live close (10 miles to our nearest one!).

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