Why do sellers do it

[brassedoff]

When I want an item being a diligent (cheepscape) shopper I shop around. I found an item I was interested on eBid and thought that looks about right, P&P not over the top, but first check a few of the other places. Yep you guessed it found same item over there buy the same seller identical price except for the P&P, which was less!!

I understand that P&P may include Service & Handling and there may initially be a bit more work to do here, but surely once an auction is set up and listed for free and sold with comparatively less FV fees (Gallery etc.) to the seller, items should be marginally cheaper not dearer even if its only a couple of pence.

Is it not in the interest of all sellers to try and get more custom on this site as eventually all sellers will attain a better profit margin?

I saved my £0.31p and bought the item over there.

I have noticed the above a quite a few times and I am sure that I’m not the only one. People aren’t mugs and shopping online is extremely competitive, if a shopper finds something even a penny cheaper somewhere else often that’s where their money will go.

Online shopping it seems to me is not the same as high street shopping, by that I mean you can spend hours even days researching prices online, but how many would do that when going down the high street. If there was only 31p difference between shop A and shop B but a 30 min walk in the opposite direction to where your car or bus is would you really spend an hour to save that 31p?

Sorry…………….Rant over I’ll go back to sleep now.

[jarremachine]

What was the item concerned

and what was the postage for?

A DVD?

A Lawnmower?

Was the seller a newbie or well established?

[NorthernLights]

I just cannot believe that someone would moan about 31p. And even worse, tell everybody about it! If this is the mentality of ebid buyers: We are doomed. doomed I tell you!
I spilt more than 31p in the pub, sheesh

[thisnthatz]

I think the point was pretty constructive. It does not matter what the item is, the point was the disparity. What is being said is that competition is hard for sellers and that as a seller the prices should be researched. 31p in my pocket is 31p towards my next spend.

Nice wake-up call

[paintinglemonjane]

I just cannot believe that someone would moan about 31p. And even worse, tell everybody about it! If this is the mentality of ebid buyers: We are doomed. doomed I tell you!
I spilt more than 31p in the pub, sheesh

They are correct in their complaint. Whether it is 31p or £31. It is the principle, not the 31p. Put it this way if you are going to inflate your postage you will not get many sales. People are not stupid, they do shop around. It is after all their 31p at the end of the day and they can save it if they wish by buying elsewhere. It soon mounts up.

[paintinglemonjane]

I was just going to bid on something today and noticed the seller had doubled the postage because it was on 60 min. I don't know how many times I have said this. If they can't afford the 60 mins they shouldn't put their items on it. I am not prepare to pay £10 postage on a tiny 128 mb flash drive. Certainly the seller said if it did well they would reduce the postage. It isn't the point. That is not what the 60 min auctions are for. I have just put items on the 60 min auction and it only cost me 10p. Why would I add extra postage just because it would go cheaper. Personally I would rather have a sale, than no sale.
If my auctions sell then I have at least sold them and not completely out of pocket. Putting postage up only increases the chances of it no selling. Plus they have lost their 60 min auction money to boot. Seems pretty senceless to me.

[caz2020]

They obviously think that they can get away with it, im like you, id rather sell it than not sell it, i dont double my postage and if i think postage is too high i wont bother buying it from that person and will look for another

[CandyflossCat]

Being a Seller and a Buyer, I can see it from both sides and understand that P+P means Postage and Packing, but I can also see just by looking at items for similar items as I sell, that some sellers go way over the top with their charges for P+P. As a Buyer, I look at the overall price of an item. That is how much the item costs AND the P+P as a total. I think it's best to be honest, and make my profit on the item, not the P+P!

[nysablaze]

Got to agree there is no reason to increase P&P or price on here, in fact when I put my auctions on I just took all the info from the other place i.e. postage etc and copied it over. Didn't even cross my mind to increase it in fact most of the items are actually starting a few pence cheaper than over by, not much maybe but still.

[katieskosmetics]

yes i have got offers on my stuff here because its free to list
sorry just my 1p worth lol