eBay - disputes!

[hayfield]

On 22/04/2023 at 14:31, petethemole said:

I recently sold a fairly cheap vintage magazine to a US buyer who requested tracked postage.  After fees I was out of pocket on the transaction; only about 20p but not good.  If I had it listed with GSP I would have paid UK postage and made my expected proceeds

 

On 22/04/2023 at 14:41, Michael Hodgson said:

To be fair to ebay, you can specify different rates for postage to different countries, and different rates according to whether you're sending it recorded or not.  It's up to you to decide whether it's worth the hassle of working all that out when you're listing something will probably bought by a UK customer anyway.  That's probably why most private sellers now say UK only.  So much for our export drive.

 

On 22/04/2023 at 15:31, petethemole said:

I didn't do the sums until after I'd paid the postage, and I know it was my fault, but if I had originally listed it with GSP, the buyer would have had tracked postage at no cost to me. 

 

I have sent a few items abroad and after unwittingly sending a couple of items via GSP I have turned this off simply because its so expensive

 

As for charging for postage, its up to the seller to set the service to be used and cost, simply do your homework. If the buyer requests a different service its at both their own cost and risk (if an inferior service is chosen). That is not to say as a seller I always get it right, I don't like most others.

 

If something sells for a higher amount than I expected and needs the next service up, well I have made more anyway !! so happy to absorb the additional cost. I charge for post and packing, so I have a little leeway, every now and then I get it wrong, however this is compensated by the ones I get right .

 

As a buyer I look at the postage costs and service used, if acceptable I factor in the cost of postage in to my maximum bid (last night I won an auction at £41 my maximum bid was £46. I had factored in the £4.45 postage) It was for an unbuilt kit which when available sell for £100 + postage. My rational was I was happy to buy it for half price, especially as its unavailable at this moment.

 

I have found buyers are happy to pay a reasonable price providing your service is commensurate. I try and send it 1st class the next working day well packed, I state this in the description. Not economy class service