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

[Twag]

I sold a lot of my baby items on ebay and lost so much money because I only charges exactly what it was for postage and like you started bidding low as ebay suggested and then damn they sold low and once you took out ebay fee's and paypal fee's I actually made a loss - so I no longer sell clothing unless it is really sort after (Boden etc) as it isn't worth the hassle!

You can put in your description that you do not combine postage or offer discounts as then it is there in black & white!

She should not assume but people do sadly

Also after lots of people not paying me I set mine up for after 4 days of no payment it automatically opens a dispute for non payment

Good luck

 

[HSDR2017]

THANK GOD SOMEONE ELSE KNOWS WHAT I AM GOING THROUGH!!


I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW MANY PEOPLE THINK I'M THE ONE WHOSE WRONG FOR PUTTING AN HONEST ESTIMATE OF SHIPPING EACH ITEM!!


I AM literally making like $2 or worse yet LOSING MONEY because my pricing and shipping EVEN COMBINED is NOT enough to do anything more than ship the damn items!!! I FEEL SO CHEATED DUDE!

 

[misspriss]

This person has bid on atleast 10 of my auctions which are mostly clothing lots from my baby girl. I have alot of nice clothing and I listed most like new or new sleepers for $1.50 or so with a $3.75 shipping charge so that I could ensure I would make a profit even if I didn't start my items at $5 or more with "free shipping" but the single item auctions are worth atleast $5/$10 each not including any shipping and handling.

I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW MANY PEOPLE THINK I'M THE ONE WHOSE WRONG FOR PUTTING AN HONEST ESTIMATE OF SHIPPING EACH ITEM!!... I FEEL SO CHEATED DUDE!

Not how it reads

 

[R_x]

If it’s an honest estimate on shipping why are you bothered about combining it?

 

[Eleanor ace]

Are you planning to send them as separate packages? Or sending them combined postage but charging for separate posting? I would feel cheated if the latter is the case, as it's making a profit where you're not supposed to (shipping charges should be for just that). If you're annoyed because you'll have to do multiple trips to the post office it's OK to tell her that you will post on x date and send whatever she's paid for by then, and anything she wins later has to be sent separately.

 

[george83]

If she’s bidding on items she should be prepared to pay the full item cost and full shipping cost. I’d never assume anybody was going to combine shopping unless it had been discussed first. So many things that I look at bidding on are cheaper with one seller but have higher postage as that’s how they make money - rightly or wrongly it doesn’t matter we’re all grown ups and know it’s a money making website

 

[R_x]

But surely $30 for postage is just ridiculous for 8 items of baby clothing?

 

[george83]

But surely $30 for postage is just ridiculous for 8 items of baby clothing?

Yes it is which is why I wouldn’t bid on it, nobody is making the buyer do it. She should consider all of this before bidding

 

[c1403]

If you refuse to combine the shipping which you can do you should pack each item individually and send them separately as you would different sellers.

Buyer can't assume you will combine postage if you haven't agreed but at same time you can't charge excessive postage like £5 when it only costs £2, but you should take into account packaging, I know eBay sets limits on some items for postage as we have been stung before and lost money.

 

[happycupcake]

I think firstly you have to list your items for how much you actually want for them instead of bumping up the postage. It always annoys me when people charge a ridiculous amount for postage on something I know for a fact (having sold many items on eBay myself) don't cost that much to post. As someone else said, I'd rather the seller listed an item with an appropriate price tag and the realistic shipping cost.

I think this person is also wrong to assume you will combine postage so she saves money. Many sellers will state whether they are happy to do this, and if you haven't then that's your right to do so and it isn't up to the buyer to dictate to you whether you combine postage. She should have asked you, not made assumptions. Her mistake, not yours.
If she hasn't paid up (I haven't read everything) then do what you have to do in order to relist the items. I had a buyer do this once, I gave her ample time to pay up and I messaged her a few times without reply so I let eBay know and relisted the item. I think I also blocked her too, which I would do if you don't want her bidding on your items anymore.

Be clear about things to avoid anyone else assuming you will combine postage, charge what you believe the items are worth and don't go with what eBay recommend as sometimes they are way off. And, charge a reasonable amount for postage. If you're unsure how much it will be then have them weighed at the post office or go to their website and do an estimate, weighing from home (this is what I do) and charge that. Otherwise people tend to get put off when they see a hefty postage charge for something as light as a feather. You won't lose out this way, providing you charge what the items are actually worth.
You could also do bundles which a lot of people are attracted to and will happily get into bidding wars over

 

[maryp0ppins]

If you aren't making a profit on postage then why won't you combine the items and ship all at once and charge her that?
You aren't allowed to make a profit on shipping charges, it is against the TOS of ebay.
Its much easier to just send 1 big parcel to 1 person.

 

[AP]

Duplicate threads merged

HSDR2017 please note the forum rules with regards to duplicate posting

Thank you

 

[smileyfaces]

Not read all the replies so dont know what the general consensus is but my opinion is that you should not be making money on postage? If you wanted more money you should have asked for more.

If i bought 10 items from one seller i would 100% expect the postage to be combined. Why would i pay individually for each item to be packaged up and posted at the same time when they can all be put into a larger parcel to keep costs down

Postage isnt a way of making money? Its literally to cover the cost of posting your stuff.

Would you shop online and buy 10 items of clothes from a retailer and pay for each one to be sent individually? Would you be happy at the costs of paying individual postage on all the items?

I understand that you think she is ASSUMING postage is gonna be combined....but then again so would i!

 

[HSDR2017]

As far as making a profit on shipping and handling.. I am not making ANY profit on it! Each item or bundle I sell is shipped USPS priority flat rate at a minimum of $6.75!! I AM LOSING MONEY which is why I am now charging $8.00 for shipping and pricing my items higher. The shipping cost of each item I had listed was $3.00-5.00 max and I lost money already. This is my fault no doubt.

I opened an unpaid item claim and closed it after 4 days now I have to repost everything she bid on and won so this is really pushing my buttons, lol. People expect so much for nothing nowadays.

I wish ebay was honest with sellers in regards to the cost of starting bids. They lie to sellers and expect auctions to be started at $.99 or $1.17 blah blah because they want buyers to come on and like buying on ebay but it is a total disservice to the sellers.

I have learned my lesson!! Lol

Thank you all for the honest feedback. Ebay is much more difficult to profit on than it was back in the day. People literally buy stuff and expect you to wait til they are done "shopping" and expect you to wait until they are done bidding no matter how many days have passed with nonpayment. I have one lady who is obviously flipping and I messaged her and let her know I needed payment for the items she has already won in the 7 day time period. She messaged me back she should be able to pay some time tomorrow... seriously?! What is wrong with buyers nowadays? They think we have warehouses in our homes full of inventory or something!

 

[jessmke]

Have you considered selling on local Facebook buy and sell groups, or something like Craigslist/Kijiji? You wouldn't have to pay shipping that way, so people would be more likely to pay more for an item. On EBay by the time you pay for an item and then pay for the shipping you may as well spend an extra few dollars and just go to the store and buy the item directly.

 

[happycupcake]

I'm not trying to argue with you here, but just wondering why you think eBay are lying to sellers and have expectations on the starting bid for items? They only suggest a starting price, they don't force anyone to start their price at that? For instance I had a pair of DMs which were in excellent condition only worn three times. eBay suggested a starting bid lower than I had seen on the website for the same item, so I put my own starting bid in and I had loads of bids on them and made more than I expected to. I used the Post Office website to estimate the cost of shipping after weighing them at home, and charged the estimate which wasn't huge. I also made sure to pack them in the lightest way possible to keep it as close to that estimate. So I started the bid off on what I thought was reasonable, rather than what eBay automatically suggested and charged the realistic shipping price. I made close to what the boots had originally cost me brand new because people obviously REALLY wanted them, lol, and I was happy with that. I don't really understand why you're under the impression they lie to you? Again not having a go, just genuinely wondering why you think that when you have choice?

 

[Twag]

Sadly baby & childrens clothes do not sell for vast amounts of money as there are so many of them and you can buy them brand new cheaply now a days!

Special items do sell well but again you have to be realistic in what you expect for a second hand item of clothing

I find selling on FB groups is a better way of doing it as less fee's and no bidding just a fixed price.

Good luck I hope your items sell

 

[lau86]

Agree if I ever do sell anything now I always use buy it now! Much better knowing what you're going to get and also they can end the auction at any time

 

[SmartieMeUp]

People charge more on postage because that's how they get out of paying fees while making profit. If you want to make money, sell as bundles, not individually. Ebay recommend lower starting bids to draw people in, at the end of the day they will only bid up to and pay what they think it's worth. I recently sold a huge bundle of 60 items for £32, the person lived in Romania and the shipping was almost double that - she booked it!

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I do not believe people should profit from p&p.