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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be fed up of CFs on eBay?!

61 replies

Ninoo25 · 15/11/2018 10:59

I’m fed up of buyers on eBay thinking they can demand the earth for such a small sum of money.
I’ve been selling our old clothes etc to try and make a bit of money before Christmas. I am an individual and not a business. My postage charges are high and I explain this on my listings - I only send recorded delivery, due to people claiming not to have received items in the past and include the cost of postage, the wrapping and the bus fare to the post office. I set my starting price at 99p as otherwise I don’t get bids given the higher than usual postage charge and have had people leave snotty feedback about the postage being far too expensive, despite me having explained that it only covers my costs (I explain this on the listing as have had people see the cost of posting on the parcel and then query why they have paid more).
Example - a Radley handbag with some small scuffs on it (shown in photos and detailed in the item description) bidder paid 99p + £5.95 postage. Left negative feedback about the postage and put in a claim to PayPal for excess postage. I posted the day after delivery and what they paid me only just covered my costs and with eBay fees I will have received around 50p for all the effort. In return I left negative feedback, saying that the buyer has been unreasonable and now they have complained to eBay.
AIBU ago be peeved at these CFs who expect something for nothing?! 😡

OP posts:
Nannyplumbrocks · 15/11/2018 11:01

Why go to all that trouble for 50p!!

KeysHairbandNotepad · 15/11/2018 11:02

YANBU op. I have pretty much stopped selling on ebay as it's hard to actually make any money from it after fees , postage and cfs. It's very much a buyers' market.

Have you tried shpock? I've had some success on there with some items.

Original poster
Ninoo25 · 15/11/2018 11:03

Because normally bidding starts at 99p and then with other bidders it increases, so I’d normally receive £5+ for an item. The odd one or two sell at the starting price. It is always these ones that I seem to have a problem with!

OP posts:
KeysHairbandNotepad · 15/11/2018 11:06

I'd try a bin with postage included. And make sure if it's a bag that you post a detailed description and photos of all faults. You probably already did this though and were unlucky.

It's increasingly pointless , I agree.

Original poster
Ninoo25 · 15/11/2018 11:08

Thanks I might give shpok a try! I’ve always been put off Facebook selling etc as I don’t like the idea of people coming to my home to collect and pay for the items

OP posts:
FurForksSake · 15/11/2018 11:09

Set the minimum price at 5.95 and free postage? At least then you have covered your costs and people will feel they are getting a bargain as it is free delivery!

KeysHairbandNotepad · 15/11/2018 11:10

You can arrange to meet them anywhere. At a local train station for example.

BarbaraofSevillle · 15/11/2018 11:14

This is why I don't bother with eBay for this sort of stuff unless I can do a BIN with a higher starting price that will cover postage and leave a profit. It simply isn't worth it and I would rather send the item to charity or put it in the bin.

But the trouble is that you are up against non rational herd behaviour, that will have several bidders upping the price of an auction item while leaving an identical BIN item unsold even though it is cheaper than the auction item.

Original poster
Ninoo25 · 15/11/2018 11:16

Furforkssake thanks I might give that a try. I just can’t believe how cheeky some people are. All the things I’m selling are expensive brands - Radley, Boden, Modalu etc and they pay so little for them and then complain it’s too much, or complain about a fault that has been shown in photos and detailed in the description. It’s crazy!

OP posts:
CandyCreeper · 15/11/2018 11:23

just arrange to meet elsewhere. plently of people
do that.

Sindragosan · 15/11/2018 11:23

I'd have a problem with you including your bus fare in the p&p charge, how you get to the post office isn't my problem and presumably you're not just going with one parcel? Someone tried this ages ago, charged £4 for what turned out to be a stamp on an envelope and then argued that petrol to the post office was expensive!

As a seller, I charge the cost of the postage e.g. £2.95 for a small parcel and add other costs into the listing. I generally do buy it now or best offer to get reasonable prices, too much messing around with auctions in the past.

MrMeSeeks · 15/11/2018 11:26

I don't agree with you including busfare either and i didn't think it was allowed

GU24Mum · 15/11/2018 11:35

Ditto re the bus fare. I'd make sure that the starting price is enough to cover 10% of the postage so you aren't literally out of pocket but otherwise I think you should charge actual postage only.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 15/11/2018 11:39

YANBU - as I've said on several similar threads, it just doesn't seem fit for purpose any more unless you're a huge volume seller and can absorb the endless CFs, scammers and so on

It also seems that the big sellers are all ebay's interested in now. Understandable I guess since they produce the most commission, but it's a bit hard to see them get away with things which a little guy would be banned for

LewisMam · 15/11/2018 11:49

Even when you set a reserve people message you incessantly asking if you’ll accept less. I sold my old fridge a few weeks ago with a reserve of £50 and I had loads of messages asking if I’d accept £5 or £10. There was even one CF who said if it didn’t sell could he pick it up for free as the scrap man doesn’t take fridges and at least it would save me the cost of disposing of it!

The eventual buyer messaged me at 2pm on a weekday saying can I collect at 3pm? Then turned up at my house despite me not replying (because I was at work) and obviously I wasn’t in. So he left negative feedback and asked for petrol money to cover his wasted 30 mile round trip!

recklessruby · 15/11/2018 11:58

Lewismam the council take white goods free if you're on housing benefit. Otherwise there is a small charge and they take up 6 items

AlmostAJillSandwich · 15/11/2018 12:07

If you read all the rules and policies you'd know that actually, P+P is supposed to cover only the cost of postage and packaging, private sellers aren't supposed to charge their bus fare/petrol costs to post, time/labour etc, so your buyers do indeed have cause to complain if you're hiking prices up for your bus fare etc and they're paying over the odds.

Also, negative feedback for buyers isn't allowed, that will get you a policy violation against your account if they quite rightly report it.

LewisMam · 15/11/2018 12:10

The council charges £15 to remove up to 6 items. Which is why the CF asked if he could take the fridge for free if it didn’t sell, because it would save me paying the council £15!

recklessruby · 15/11/2018 12:21

I think I d rather pay the £15. I hate this I want it free attitude. If you were giving it away free you would have said in the post.
Cheeky fucker to be sure

LewisMam · 15/11/2018 12:21

I haven’t even mentioned the other CF who messaged me a sob story about being a single parent whose fridge had broken down, and saying could she please have my fridge for nothing?

I said no, sorry but I’m selling it.

She replied saying if I could afford a new fridge I could afford a bit of charity for a poor mother right before Christmas, and could she please have the fridge for free?

I said no sorry, I also have DC and I need the money.

Her final message was “But I really need it?”

Ignored Confused

Puzzledandpissedoff · 15/11/2018 12:30

Also, negative feedback for buyers isn't allowed

And for many, that's when it all started to go very badly wrong

Obviously genuine buyers should be able to leave honest opinions without worrying about "retaliation", but the policy brought with it a tsunami of CFs who know they're teflon ... and IME ebay showed no intention whatsoever of dealing with them

Aeroflotgirl · 15/11/2018 12:31

That is why I do not put items that will not fetch much on e bay, it is not worth the time, hassle and money. I charity them, or if you want to sell them, your local Facebook selling site.

recklessruby · 15/11/2018 12:34

lewismam bloody hell I was a single mum too but would have had more pride than to beg!
She could get a budgeting loan if not working or look for a free one.

eniledam · 15/11/2018 12:34

Too many idiots on eBay these days. Sold a skirt last week with the "buy it now" option for a quick sale. The buyer then messaged me asking for the measurements a day AFTER she'd bought it and then decided she didn't want it and could I cancel her purchase?! Timewasters!

BobbinThreadbare123 · 15/11/2018 12:39

Ebay destroyed its original intention when they let shops flood it with stuff. I deleted my account after the utter lies and abuse I had to put up with from selling some items earlier this year. I ended up losing about half my profit refunding people who clearly had a scam going, were unable to wait for Royal Mail to deliver (I am not amazon prime ffs) or lied and said the item was duff when I had pics to prove it wasn't. EBay sided with the buyers every bloody time. My complaints fell on patronising ears. Everything now goes to charity or the tip.

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