Help Please! I'm selling used baby clothes on ebay and a buyer keeps winning...

[DebbieF]

Honestly, I tried to sell baby clothes on Ebay (although I did sell in lots) and after all is said and done (Ebay fees, PayPal fees, shipping etc) it's just not worth it. Now I just try to sell things on FB Marketplace and FB yard sale sites. You would probably be better off doing that.

 

[bbbbbbb811]

If I purchased a couple of items from the same seller I would not expect them to combine postage unless it was stated. I would message the seller beforehand and ask if they would and the bid accordingly once I have their reply whether they would or not and whether I'd still be happy to buy the items without combined postage. If you're not happy combining postage them message the buyer and say you do not plan to combine postage, it was not stated in the listing and if they would still like to proceed. If not relist and state in the description you will not combine postage if multiple items are purchased! It doesn't matter if I agree or not because you've just bumped up the price of your listing in a different way, if the postage was lower/you would combine postage then the you would price the item at a higher starting bid

 

[HSDR2017]

Thank God some people understand!!
To those of you who think I am wrong by "keeping more in shipping and handling" would I still be wrong if I priced the items higher and I included the additional 3.50-7 in the price? Would you still expect me as a seller to go ahead and cut the price in half just because you chose to continue to bid on my items at the prices I listed them at?

 

[LoraLoo]

Yes she definitely should have contacted you first rather than assume. Really hope you manage to get sonething sorted, I'm not aware that you can block people on ebay but it's worth looking into. I definitely think setting your starting bid higher would help.

 

[KatBar]

I definitely appreciate what you’re saying about her not paying in a timely manner. I certainly expect people to pay for things within 2-3 days maximum when selling stuff on eBay. I myself, always pay straight away for anything I win/buy, as I would never bid on anything I didn’t actually have the money in my account for.

It is a bit rude of her (in my opinion) to be bidding on your items when she doesn’t currently have the money, as it’s not a charity. And if she wanted to do that ahead of getting paid, then she should have at least contacted you before bidding, asking you if it is okay for there to be a considerable lag in payment.

I do hope she comes through in the end and you get the appropriate money for the items.

 

[misspriss]

You need to be upfront and honest about the prices of your items as well. I honestly hate it when people (sellers, stores, etc) price their items lower than they are worth and try to "hide" their markup in the shipping and handling.

Just message her back and say that you ship each item it it's own envelope with it's own postage, and you cannot combine the items. It's the only logical response if you don't want to tell her you can't because you inflated your shipping prices to hide your profit.

Either you are willing to put them in a box together, then you really should not charge 8 shipping charges, or you want to charge all 8 shipping charges so you need to ship 8 packages.

 

[misspriss]

Also though if she isn't paying for a week....not cool with that either!

 

[HSDR2017]

Thank you! It is irritating tthe hell out of me when I read the message she sent 5 or 6 DAYS AFTER she had already won TWO auctions and bid on and won another 8 items that have ended! I just read the message she sent 3 days after I sent her the invoice for the items... here it goes:

"Hi there! I won this and a couple of your other auctions. I’ll be paying as soon as the other auctions I’ve bid on end, so you don’t have to ship twice. I get paid on Friday as well."

This was NOT in response to any messages from me as she has NEVER messaged me prior to sending this and she sent this one 2/10/18 meanwhile she won both auctions (only 2 at the time of the invoice I sent her) on 2/6/18!!!

I just get irritated when I read it - how rude and ignorant some people are is BEYOND me!!!

 

[HSDR2017]

48 hours after the end of the 1st 2 items she won, I sent her an invoice for them. I never received any messages or messaged her prior to the message she sent me 2 or 3 days AFTER the invoice I sent and 4 or 5 days after she won both of the auctions!!

"Hi there! I won this and a couple of your other auctions. I’ll be paying as soon as the other auctions I’ve bid on end, so you don’t have to ship twice. I get paid on Friday as well."

She has bid on almost every auction I have posted and so far to date she has won 8 auctions and she is still bidding but she has not even paid for the first 2 which were ended on 2/6/18.

She sent me the above quoted message Saturday, 2/10/18, at night!!

 

[HSDR2017]

Also, combined shipping is entirely different from combined shipping DISCOUNT. I never said in any post or listings that I even offer combined shipping.. let alone a combined shipping DISCOUNT!!

 

[misspriss]

I do not know how eBay works, but I would cancel the transaction after a period of non payment (should be outlined in listing if not ebay policy?).

 

[misspriss]

I sell local resale/consignment, have you looked into anything like that?

 

[HSDR2017]

After 48 hours, as a seller I can file an unpaid item claim. if the buyer does not pay within 4 days, I can close the request and relist my items at last. My biggest issue though..?! SHE IS STILL BIDDING AND WON 8 AUCTIONS SO I AM GOING to possibly have to honor the auctions she is able to pay for in 6 days time from the end of the auction or i can cancel as "item not paid" but apparently that is frowned upon!?

 

[HSDR2017]

misspriss, my understanding is they dont pay jack shit. I have very nice and some new without tags and some brand new clothes. None of my "used" (maybe 24 hours of total wear for a few of my favorites for her) were worn more than once or twice for a few hours at a time! I purchased most brand new at full price less than 1-3 months ago max! :/

 

[Natasha2605]

I just think that if you wanted more money for the item then you should have started wth a higher start bid.

I do think she’s in the wrong for not paying in a timely manner but I’d just message her Nd ask her to pay now for what she’s already won as there’s obviously no guarantee she’ll win all your listings

 

[_Meep_]

Thank God some people understand!!
To those of you who think I am wrong by "keeping more in shipping and handling" would I still be wrong if I priced the items higher and I included the additional 3.50-7 in the price? Would you still expect me as a seller to go ahead and cut the price in half just because you chose to continue to bid on my items at the prices I listed them at?

No, nobody would expect a winning bid value to be reduced. But pricing the items higher to start with would be the better thing to do in my opinion. People don't have to bid. Someone who was willing to buy the item for a higher price would, presumably, bid on it. The only issue is that most buyers are funny about postage and do expect things to be combined for a fair postage price if several items are won from the same seller.

That being said, I do agree she should have checked in advance. I always do this, as it is both rude and entitled to just assume it will be done.

 

[misspriss]

misspriss, my understanding is they dont pay jack shit. I have very nice and some new without tags and some brand new clothes. None of my "used" (maybe 24 hours of total wear for a few of my favorites for her) were worn more than once or twice for a few hours at a time! I purchased most brand new at full price less than 1-3 months ago max! :/

Well they have to make money somewhere. The one I go to tells me the price they will list the item for, and I get 50% of that, or 60% store credit.

Just face it, there isn't a lot of market for secondhand baby and children's clothing. The market is saturated and there are tons of stores with just as cheap new stuff. But please stop trying to hide your profits in "shipping" costs. "Shipping" costs should be what it costs to pack and ship, no more.

 

[jessmke]

Thank God some people understand!!
To those of you who think I am wrong by "keeping more in shipping and handling" would I still be wrong if I priced the items higher and I included the additional 3.50-7 in the price? Would you still expect me as a seller to go ahead and cut the price in half just because you chose to continue to bid on my items at the prices I listed them at?

No, nobody would expect a winning bid value to be reduced. But pricing the items higher to start with would be the better thing to do in my opinion. People don't have to bid. Someone who was willing to buy the item for a higher price would, presumably, bid on it. The only issue is that most buyers are funny about postage and do expect things to be combined for a fair postage price if several items are won from the same seller.

That being said, I do agree she should have checked in advance. I always do this, as it is both rude and entitled to just assume it will be done.

I agree with this, it's the optics of it rather than the actual price paid that is a bit of an issue. For me as a buyer, it would appear as though you priced the items low to draw me in, but then are trying to make up for the low price by overcharging on postage. Seems a little sneaky. You would be better off to charge more for the items and then just charge the actual cost of postage, even if it all works out to be the same price in the end it will save you the hassle of potentially upsetting people who purchase multiple items from you. However, I would never assume that anyone would give me a deal, as a buyer I would have contacted you prior to bidding to ask if you would combine the postage at a lower price, and if you said no then I just wouldn't bid on your items. Simple as that. I would also pay immediately, it would drive me mad if someone won my items and then kept delaying payment.

 

[c1403]

The postage you charge should not be a way of making more money on your items and should be what it actually costs to send the items (as a single item)

However I don't think you have to combine postage if you so not agree or put in your listing but hardly fair to expect her to pay £3.75 per item as that isn't what it will cost you to post...
You can end items early too if you're not happy with what they are selling for.

eBay is very tricky for selling and I wouldnt use it for baby things. I'd use a local Facebook selling group. We use eBay for sought after collectables mostly.

Hope you manage to make some cash though x

 

[OICC]

LOL I never buy anything not expecting to pay the shipping for each item i want. People are dummmmb.
Shipping and cost are always in black and white.

But you should definitely have a higher starting bid, and a lower shipping cost.. If the clothes are even worth that. And nobody really cares about emotional value. Just if it's cute and clean looking.