Feebay again :(

That's pretty standard for international bank transfers. First Direct charge me £20 for transferring money to Portugal. OTOH, bank transfers within the UK or within the Euro-zone (provided you use IBAN and BIC numbers) should be free.

Michael.

 

Absolutely. I always wait till the last 45 seconds to bid up something I really want.

 

matt,
most hi-fi dealers are working on huge margins anyway. at least 30%+ so they've already added the 1.5% card charge on even if you are paying cash!
if i'm paying cash then i'll always ask for a discount when buying hi-fi - don't think i've payed asking price for any bit of kit i've bought.

if i was to list something on e-pay i'd add the pay-pal fees into the postage fees, simple as that. or will they stop you asking for those next?

the single thing i've bought on e-pay was a hi-cap. i used a sniper site and got the thing for 10 quid more than it had been for the previous 3 days. i have no qualms about this as it was a no reserve item. i collected it and paid cash.
cheers


julian

 

About ebay fees.

If you feel they are too high then just don't do business with them. It is as easy as that.
Until there aren't valid alternatives they can ask what they like and it is still 'fair'.
You pay for the exclusive service!

 

I for one have no problem with ebay charging for their service. They have effectively created a market for secondhand goods on an international level (one that really only existed on a local level before), and as a business not a charity the people who did so have every right to make a reasonable return.

As customers (and in this case the sellers are the customers), if we feel the charges are too high then we should stop using the service. I suspect that the average net selling price (after all costs to the 'business') of items sold on ebay will be higher than if we were to rely on traditional second hand markets, or at least the increased turnover would be sufficient to cover any lost profit on a single item. If the preceding statement is true their charges could be described as 'fair' IMHO, if not then we should be selling stuff by other means........ (at least until the inevitable competition gets going - ebay may be almost a monopoly at the moment but its a market that many could enter for not much cost on the grand scheme of things)

 

I'm just a bit lost on one point,and that is,when you have sold your goods are you charged a final comission price? I was under the impression you was.

 

Well said titian. Totally agree.

Michael.

 

I aint got any complaints with ebay myself. It has certainly made my hifi hobby a bit cheaper than it could have done in the long run, due to getting pretty good prices on things I've sold there.

Having said that, its also like a carrot to a donkey - I often browse their pages looking for things I cant really afford

 

would this be deemed illegal if i were to write it on my auction:
'if paying via paypal please add 3.4% to cover postage charges. any other froms of payment will have delivery charged at cost. any queries please email me before bidding'

?

 

Yes it would be deemed illegal as you are not allowed to state the postage costs as a percentage AND you are not allowed to add a surcharge to cover your Paypal fees which is clearly what the above wording shows you would be doing. So - guilty on two counts I'm afraid.

Postage costs should also be 'reasonable' i.e. you are not supposed to make a profit on the postage/packaging.

In practice, most people are aware of the Royal Mail 'signed for' and 'special delivery' service costs so it's not difficult to see those who are taking the pee a bit e.g. if it's a CD then it costs about £1.25 to send by recorded post in a jiffy bag.

Matt.