Why are people charging so much for postage?

[crazymama]

Crazymama doesn't charge if you buy 10 or more items. Each dealer makes their own rules.

That's the great thing about this wonderful world.

[onlinegifts]

I base my postage on item weight, basically go by RM web site then add a little for packaging costs which I try to keep as low as possible and always combine postage by weight, not by eg 50p of P&P per extra item, so the buyers only pay the actual costs for P&P. wish other did the same as a few charge loads, was going to buy a few tops for my son on her the other day but sellers postage was high, £2.50 for a little baby tshirt so I ended up buying from a diffrent seller,this happends alot as I do buy alot off Ebid but will not pay silly P&P prices even with both costs added together, as Ebid has low FVF so sellers should not add loads of proffit it to postage!!!! and some sellers wonder why they get no sales...lol.

[raindropsies]

I base my postage on item weight, basically go by RM web site then add a little for packaging costs which I try to keep as low as possible and always combine postage by weight, not by eg 50p of P&P per extra item, so the buyers only pay the actual costs for P&P. wish other did the same as a few charge loads, was going to buy a few tops for my son on her the other day but sellers postage was high, £2.50 for a little baby tshirt so I ended up buying from a diffrent seller,this happends alot as I do buy alot off Ebid but will not pay silly P&P prices even with both costs added together, as Ebid has low FVF so sellers should not add loads of proffit it to postage!!!! and some sellers wonder why they get no sales...lol.

Just be aware that some of your items have postage that is too low to cover you as a seller.

Take this auction for example BK3822-59E(CITIZEN) Gents Quartz Watch

Postage at £3.02 for 1st class recorded, but this will only cover you for £36.00 not £59.99 which is the starting bid. Can you afford to lose the extra?

[starlady22]

I base my postage on item weight, basically go by RM web site then add a little for packaging costs which I try to keep as low as possible and always combine postage by weight, not by eg 50p of P&P per extra item, so the buyers only pay the actual costs for P&P. wish other did the same as a few charge loads, was going to buy a few tops for my son on her the other day but sellers postage was high, £2.50 for a little baby tshirt so I ended up buying from a diffrent seller,this happends alot as I do buy alot off Ebid but will not pay silly P&P prices even with both costs added together, as Ebid has low FVF so sellers should not add loads of proffit it to postage!!!! and some sellers wonder why they get no sales...lol.

I also do the same as you.

Jane

[cldiva]

Part of the problem here on eBid is that in the U.S we have 8 different zones with 8 different shipping costs. Shipping costs to each country is also different for each one. Because there is no shipping calculator within our listings for potential customers to know EXACTLY what it would cost to ship, we lose sales. Many people just find a site that provides their costs upfront because they don't want to take time to email the seller & wait for a response. We NEED a shipping calculator within our listings like the "other" site, if we are going to compete. I haven't even listed but a few of my heavier items for that very reason.
Linda

[ClassicCollectables]

Just be aware that some of your items have postage that is too low to cover you as a seller.
Take this auction for example BK3822-59E(CITIZEN) Gents Quartz Watch

Postage at £3.02 for 1st class recorded, but this will only cover you for £36.00 not £59.99 which is the starting bid. Can you afford to lose the extra?

I find this is a problem sometimes. I can't afford to lose the extra, but I find that buyers don't like paying the high prices for Royal Mail Special Delivery when items cost more than £40.

I always start my postage calculations based on the actual weight of the item, so that I can judge whether I can package it for the weight bands that are used by Royal Mail.

So for Special Delivery I always know if I can package something for up to 1kg or over 1kg but less than 2kg. If it might be tight I use polystyrene peanuts to ensure I make the lower weight, and I always use poly peanuts for International shipping where the weight bands change every 20grams.

Also, I always use extra packaging to make my parcels as close to the weight band as I can.

When I buy I sometimes find it hard to believe that the seller has paid for a 100gram package but didn't bother to use a bit of bubble wrap, tissue paper or even a piece of newspaper to give some protection to the item rather than just shoving it in a jiffy bag and sending it at 50grams weight when it wouldn't have cost any more to send it properly protected.

[SandysGifts]

#75 I agree ...im in the US also and every time i tried to guess a shipping cost i was almost always coming up way to short ........so started listing with please email me for your shipping costs.....so that could be my problem also as for all the visitors i get one would think one would have more sales...

[youmeus]

I weigh the items, add a pound and include the price for the zip code that is in CA since I am in the middle of the USA. Then I state in the listing and in my About Me page that if I have over "guessed" I will round up to the next 50 cents and refund the balance. I have refunded a few times and also came up short 51 cents last week but it all balances out.

If it is an international shippment they have to email for quote but I make the same guarantee. I hope this will help to build confidence in bidders and I will be able to make more sales.

[heatemyfather]

I just sent a very small and light item to Canada from the UK, my charge to the buyer using Royal Mail Airmail came to 2.40, when I actually posted it the postage was 1.64, which I suppose leaves 0.80 for packing and my time which isn't too bad for an international parcel I think.

It can be very difficult to gauge international shipping with just a small and uncalibrated home weigh scale so I tend to over-estimate to be on the safe side. Every time I have offered to give a partial refund on the postage the buyer has said they weren't bothered because they were very happy with the item sale price, so now I tend not to offer refunds on postage over-estimations, if I am unhappy I will just do the refund myself.

[cldiva]

All of these postings show eBid that we do need that shipping calculator, if we are to help the company grow & produce more sales!
Linda