grrr postage costs

[overthemill]

having just listed zillions of things I'm pretty pleased to see the bids coming in! But I've just packed up and posted the first two things and the postage costs are way over what the postage estimator made it! And that means before paypal fees I have only 'made' 49p!!!!

I am so mad - so i have just been through and revised everything that hasn't yet got a bid on it to reflect these higher costs. Do you think that's ok?

what are you selling and what price have you got listed for them?

kids clothes mainly. had listed at £1.50 but now put some up to £2.50 - not all - and the 'heavier things' up to £3

Did you weigh things before listing? I did some for the first time yesterday and I weighed them then added a bit for packing and then used the Royal Mail website. Heavier things are usually charged at £3 or £4 I've noticed. I've bought quite a few things and postage is nearly always £2 as a minimum. I plan to send my stuff second class recorded so it will be slightly more.

its just that the postal costs seem high - i guess people judge it though dont they - and yet ebay only lets you charge £4 max - wonder when this was updated last?!

if small value things are sent recorded it kind of puts me off bidding tbh...

i hate harging much, it seems massively out of proportion to what they've paid but i need to end up in pocket, not being too kind!

I am sorry to correct you mjinhiding but with Royal mail the cheapest option for 2kg parcel is £4.41 (and it has been for quite some time) with Standard Parcels, therefore above the maximum postage allowed by ebay which I think is ridiculous. I wonder who came out with the £4 maximum postage, as some items of clothing like coats can be quite heavy and bulky. Most normal retailers charge at least £4.95 for standard delivery! I was really annoyed when they introduced the limit, as I tend to sell the kids clothes in bundles and can no longer do that! I refuse to finance ebay more than I have to.

that's what i thought - i'd been guided by the max amount thinking it was reasonable but now feel i need to have a higher starting price - or shd i just send everything parcel post? is that cheaper?

I am sorry to the bearer of bad news mjinhiding!
You either start the price higher so that at least postage is covered, putting people off bidding and risking selling something just for postage or you send items by courier. Of course that only works if you have the time to wait at home for items to be collected which I don't. What I have done sometimes is to choose postage for heavy items and than specify on the listing what P&P was charging, the method used. You have to be really clear why you charging that, and I also say that they should not bid if they don't agree with postage quoted. I always offer collection on most items. It saves time packing and usually PP fees as people pay cash. The items have sold with no problems.

I usually make up smaller bundles, then state that I can combine postage for more than one bundle after the auction ends. I'm selling from Italy so it's a 'mare with these new postage limits. I never made any money on postage anyway, and now I invariably lose, but I need to get rid of stuff or I'll suffocate in clothes!

thanks for these tips - i dont want to 'make' money on postage but i don't want to be spending my own money on it! I have so much to get rid of that I've kind of hoped we might end up using but now we are so broke (me no work) and also want to move house so have years worth of clutter to get rid of.

minimalism, here we come

I dont make money on postage - max 20p. There is a simple solution here - You can easily weigh clothing with the kitchen scales. Go on Royal mail website. Many people dont understand the thickness of a parcel. Keeping it flat as possible within A4 size is best. Allow for thicker packages - More than 2.5cm its moves up a grade to large parcel.

Second class is fine just post next day. Ive stopped recorded delivery as its too dear.

Ive started knocking sellers down for well over estimating the P&P especially if they have the cheek to make over 50p if its packaged in a second hand bag. People who charge £4 p&p on a 99p item as taking the micky! If your going to sell and now we are all bungled in with the rules of a business seller we all have to get this right.

You can use the courier method first class only(over £4) and still take to postoffice (tracked)- cant see the problem here at all.

I hate the limit on books and magazines so I don't sell them on e-bay anymore . Most hefty books cost more to post than e-bay allows.

And paypal won't let me post things second class. I lost out big time on a couple of things that only sold for 99p .

I always weigh before I put things on e-bay but there are so many restrictions that I can't be arsed with it much these days.

what has made me fed up is i actually used the estimator provided by ebay to work out postage costs and yet still spending more than that at the post office - can't quite understand it. have sent a few things second class today as otherwise i'd have been losing money!

and for books i am using abebooks buyback scheme, reasonable offers on some hardbacks and others and the rest of our books i have asked a local second hand seller to come and look. he may buy all our books just before we move.