Postage costs?

[Mummy2Noah]

How much is reasonable to charge for P&P? I usually add about 30p-40p on top of the actual postage cost to cover packaging.

However some sellers add over £1 to the postage cost. Are there other things that P&P has to cover that I am missing?

How much does the bag or box you send in cost?

I bulk buy bags but they still are up to 40 p each for big one. My boxes are 50p each. I bulk buy white tissue which has quadrupled in price in past 2 years

Et etc

The bags I use cost about 20p-30p. I add a few pence for sellotape, labels etc and a few pence for paypal.

I didn't realise petrol would be included in P&P cost. I walk to the post office.

I wrap in carrier bag, then brown parcel paper with brown tape. Costs next to nowt from Wilko.
Walk to Post Office. Therefore I only charge the true postage cost which I think is only fair.

I charge the actual postage cost plus about 50p. This covers the cost of the mailing bags I use, the paper and ink to print the postage at home (saves me waiting in the PO queue and getting unpopular) and goes a little bit towards to Paypal fee.

Bearing in mind that PP take a percentage of the ENTIRE payment inc the bit the buyer had paid for P and P, if you charged exactly the right amount you'd end up out of pocket.

Just charge 40p more than actual, add the cost of the packaging to the initial start price of the item. If you charge excessively for postage your DSR's will get knocked.

I charge actual postage and nothing for packaging.

I just bought something where I was charged £1.50 for postage and the sender used a second class stamp. And put it in an envelope. Was a bit miffed at that tbh

It's interesting that there are many different views on this.

MJ, you make a good point, if you're not happy don't bid.

However it is difficult to know how much is a reasonable price for P&P before you buy something. You don't know the weight of the item or what packaging the seller is going to use.

I was a bit disappointed recently when I was charged £3.50 for postage and it cost less than £2 to post. The packaging was recycled. I couldn't understand what the extra £1.50 was supposed to cover except a few pence for a label and for paypal.

A few days ago I saw a seller state in her listing that the high P&P was because of the low starting price. She openly admits to making money on P&P. Surely that is wrong?

My other problem was the fact that 2nd class stamp wasn't the right postage, as I got delivered a card for insufficient postage and had to pay £1.19 to get the item. Seller was mortified and refunded me the amount I had to pay but still feel they should have checked. She said she had meant to put a first class stamp on, but that would still have been insufficient.