Charge for each additional item...????

[jaydon01 10]

Hi guys,

 

I just won a few bids from a seller. The seller charges me R60 postal fees and R10 for each additional item.

I bought from another seller recentley, who also charges R5 for each additional item and R35 for postal fees. For the 5 items i paid R35+ R10 postage. (each Additional item)

 

The new seller send me the amount that i owe him, and it looks like he charged me R60+ R10 for each and every item.

 

Say all the bids together is R76. What would the total be?

[lilythepink 11]

When selling jewellery, I charge the extra R5.00 per item up to 1 kg to cover bubble wrap, sticky tape and a pretty bag. However, when more than 3 or 4 items are bought at the same time, I do not charge for them. I always liaise with my buyers BEFORE they make a payment so they know what they have to pay. Once someone paid me before they got my email about postage so I refunded them - put their refund in an envelope with their items. Most decent Sellers will not rip the ring out of it with postage costs! (Just read ads very carefully before bidding and if you're not happy with the postage set up then don't bid. And ask questions of Sellers. That's the best advice I can give you.)

[jaydon01 10]

Thanx Lily.

I read the description etc, saw that the seller charges R10 for every additional item... can someone explain if it is per item or every second item?

[mellowred 10]

I would read that as the postage amount (R60) plus R10 for the 2nd item plus R10 for the 3rd item etc.

 

For example - 5 items would be R60 plus R40 = R100.

[lilythepink 11]

I agree with mellowred but always (and I mean always) check with the Seller first before bidding. In my early buying days I had the dreadful experience of bidding on three items in one advert which, technically to my mind, should have meant I would only pay one lot of postage (if I recall, it was R60). However, the Seller insisted that I pay the R60 plus R15 per each of the other two items - making the postage R90.00. Now, on items bought for R40.00 that was absolutely ridiculous. But, I burnt my fingers and after that I am careful to check postage rates thoroughly before I place a bid. (Just remember that most Sellers on BoB do NOT want to overcharge on postage!)

[jaydon01 10]

Thanx guys. That's how i understood it too... Now i have to pay R170 postage for R76 items!!!

:-(

[mellowred 10]

Hi Jaydon, sorry to hear that.

 

Do the items require very careful individual packaging? For instance very fine china may require plenty of polystyrene, bubble wrap and time to ensure that the individual items don't get broken.

 

If not, then you may have a seller who makes a bit of a profit on P&P.

[lilythepink 11]

Hi Jaydon, sorry to hear that.

If not, then you may have a seller who makes a bit of a profit on P&P.

 

This is actually illegal (I think there is a law preventing people making a profit out of postage) and it is definitely not in the spirit of things on BoB!

[mellowred 10]

I believe it's one of those vague "each case on merit" rules. But it really is against the spirit of BoB so hope the administrators are not soft on this law.

[lilythepink 11]

When I said a law against it, I should have elaborated and said "read the South African Post Office Act" which governs postage costs, etc.

[Kit W 10]

Hi lilythe pink

Great to see you back again!! Most of the philatelic fraternity allow a person to combine items, within reason. To send an extra couple of items costs nothing more to ship & I often wonder why a person would charge extra per item that require no extra material (bubble wrap etc)

 

Regards

 

Kit W

[lilythepink 11]

Yes, Kit, I agree with you whole-heartedly. As a buyer, I refuse to even consider placing a bid on a Seller's item when it is clear they are trying to recover costs of low bidding by making up on postage. It's just not fair on buyers at all.

 

Thanks for the hearty welcome back. Am glad to see you're on the Forum again. Have missed you!

[jaydon01 10]

12Paie of earrings...

 

Actually, it's 12 pairs of earrings. Which i don't think requires a lot of wrapping since she will put them all in a flat envelope????

 

Even so, if she were to bubble wrap each and every item... charge R10 extra per pair????!!!

[Asha Craft 34]

My opinion.... Report it to community watch. This is blatant disregard for BOB rules and action should be taken against the seller.

[lilythepink 11]

I agree with Asha Craft. This Seller (whoever he/she is) is definitely trying to rip you off.

[alloway65 10]

I think a lot of BoB sellers would go out of business if they did not charge extra for accumulative shipping. Especially for the "starting at R1 auctions"!

 

As a buyer the individual makes a decision whether the purchase is still worth it when allowing for the additional, sometimes very high, shipping costs.:rolleyes:

[Asha Craft 34]

Then why sell your products on R1 no reserve auctions? Just list the product at the price you are willing to accept, and stop ripping off clients. If you really want to, then charge R1 per extra item to cover additional bubblewrap, larger envelope, etc. But R10, R20 or R30 PER item extra is ridiculous!

 

Think about it... when you buy something for R1 and pay R30 per item extra for postage then it might still be a bargain for you as the buyer, depending on the item... BUT if you as a seller allow combining at no extra charge, then you will be selling more items with higher bids to more clients! Surely it's not that difficult to understand?

 

This is my general opinion and not directed at anyone specific.

[alloway65 10]

I fully agree AC, but as you will be well aware some of BoB's major sellers get the largest bulk of their sales from R1 auctions. Hence, this in my view, is why the practice of excessive accumulative shipping charges basically goes unchecked by BoB Management. BoB would loose too much commission if they banned this bad practice.:mad:

[Cali Craft and Gems 14]

As a seller myself, I cannot understand why some sellers charge for combining into parcels. For me it is a pleasure to combine for my buyers - no bother at all!

 

The only time I would request additional postage is when the parcel falls into the higher price category (example parcel in excess of 1kg, or large parcel for which the SAPO charges you the higher rate based on volume).

 

Some parcels take very little protective wrapping (ie. gems in plastic bags within a brown envelope within the main bubble envelope), and some require excessive protection (ie. fragile gems with lots of padding / bubbles / bubblewrap within a brown box). You win some, you lose some...

 

I got an interesting snippet from an international gem dealer once explaining how they get to their shipping cost and to me it makes sense! Perhaps I should look for it and put it online sometime...

 

But ultimately, if the seller is simply trying to get more money for the item due to a low selling price through additional shipping fees, this should simply NOT be allowed! It is unethical and poor business practice!

[Kit W 10]

Hi David & AC

 

I often have buyers with 6 or 7 items so paying shipping of R25 total for all items is VERY reasonable and is no extra effort on my part - this same scenario applies to bulk coin sales (less than 1kg)

 

Thanks

 

Kit W

[qball 12]

Hi All

 

We do take action on seller's who charge excessive shipping, unless the seller can justify within reason, the amounts charged. However, bear in mind, if this is stated on the listing upfront, no one forces you to purchase from the seller and you agree to these charges when you bid and buy the item.

 

Kind regards

Cuan

[Asha Craft 34]

Hi Cuan,

 

I agree that we 'know what we are getting into' when placing our bids, which is why I don't bid on those sellers' items. I'd rather pay more for an item and pay a reasonable shipping fee, instead of winning the item at R1 and paying R100 for shipping. I think it's the principle of the whole story.

 

 

It's a dead subject anyway and has been mauled over many many times on the Forum. Some like it, some don't.

 

 

 

Kr,

Amanda

[jaydon01 10]

Talked to the seller today and apparently it is how she makes money (overcharging on postal fees), she says BOB does not have a problem with that and that all het buyers did not have a problem with that.

 

I would not have bid on her items if she had stated that it was R10 for each and every item. She tells me that i can sell the items for 3 times what i bought it from her, but that's just my point. The items are not for my shop, they are for my friend. (i don't stock those type of earrings)

If i were to sell them, then i must admit, even with the extra R10 they are still a bargain.

 

But ja, guess in future i should not assume that all sellers are decent...

[admin 11]

Talked to the seller today and apparently it is how she makes money (overcharging on postal fees), she says BOB does not have a problem with that and that all het buyers did not have a problem with that.

 

 

BOB might not have, but bidorbuy sure does.

 

1. The following policies apply to all listings and are strictly prohibited:

 

1.1. Misrepresentation of items including:

 

1.10. Including unreasonably high shipping costs in item listings.

 

http://www.bidorbuy.co.za/article/444/bidorbuy_Listing_Policy

[mellowred 10]

Then why sell your products on R1 no reserve auctions? Just list the product at the price you are willing to accept, and stop ripping off clients. If you really want to, then charge R1 per extra item to cover additional bubblewrap, larger envelope, etc. But R10, R20 or R30 PER item extra is ridiculous!

 

Think about it... when you buy something for R1 and pay R30 per item extra for postage then it might still be a bargain for you as the buyer, depending on the item... BUT if you as a seller allow combining at no extra charge, then you will be selling more items with higher bids to more clients! Surely it's not that difficult to understand?

 

This is my general opinion and not directed at anyone specific.

 

100% agree with you Asha Craft.

 

I would only use the R1 auction as an advertising promotion Doesn't matter what you put up there, if only one person is looking the day the item is auctioned it is going to sell for R1. DON'T do the R1 auction if you can't afford to lose the item at that price and write the value off towards advertising.

 

I know someone was selling fine china and clearly stipulated on the listing that items could not be combined due to the risk of breakage. This made perfect sense to me.

 

However, sending non delicate items (Tshirts as an example) and charging extra per item is a blatant rip off.

 

Still at the end of the day if they advertise as they charge it is up to the individual to READ the listing and decide whether to move on to another seller or not.