First time seller- do I have to buy the paypal postage thingies?

[nowwearefour]

I have just sold a few items. I wa thinking o could pay for the postage at the post office and receive the money? It seems it might be more complicated than that? I have prob undercharged for postage so i am scared the postage things won't cover it an anyway o don't like the control this seems to bring. Think might use gumtree or something next time, it is too tricky.

pay at post office and receive the money?

You can pay for your parcels at the post office or you can print postage at home using paypal or royal mail - is up to you.

I wasnt sure that i would receive the money if i simply paid at the post office. but it seems that i can then- thank goodness! i am still not sure when tehy deicde to release the funds to me, but i hope i will find out!

what - the PayPal funds are on hold for 21 days? Once cleared you can transfer to your bank account.

ok- thanks. and do they take the paypal fees straight out of the money i made? and what do i do about a person who has yet to pay? how long before they are meant to have paid- ebay is not easy to find this information out from! i assume 3 days?

yes - the balance in your paypal is your money after fees - but you will still get an invoice from ebay for fees also

If someone hasn't paid in 4 days open a dispute, and if no payment after day 7 then close it to get your fees back.

Send items recorded, or with a signature, for your own protection if they are of any value.

DO NOT SEND ANY PACKAGES BEFORE THEY HAVE PAID!!! Just a little tip I learned the hard way many years ago. And its 5 days before you can open a non-payment dispute.

Here you are - this explains it. It is 4 days, so if item ends 8pm you have too wait until 8.01pm 4 days later to open it

pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/unpaid-item.html

Thanks everyone else paid almost within seconds! What is the value above which you would send recorded? £5 or maybe £10?

I would say a tenner, but it is up to you. Better to send 2nd class recorded than 1st class unrecorded then have a buyer claim not to receive and get their money back i reckon :)

If you get a certificate of posting you are covered up to a certain amount (think it was £28 although may be something completely different).

What postage rate did you state in your listing?

certificate of posting covers up to £48 but you need to get buyer to sign to say they didn't receive the item and it doesn't protect you from false claims

you can print postage with paypal but you need scales accurate enough to get weights right as if you underpay and buyer has to pay extra to get item they will be annoyed.
also you are supporting local post offcie by buying there as they get no money for receiving parcels with stickers on all ready ( depends whether your local PO is in danger of closing ) and what is more convienent for you I take all mine to PO

if you have just started paypal ebay they may not let you withdraw money immediately in case of chargeback so you may have to wait a bit to start with. I send recorded at about £20-25 but I think claims for non arrivals are higher in some categories than others, never post till paid