eBay's Stupid Free Postage Gimmick Rant

spychiatrist on 13/03/2015 - 15:38

Does anyone who's in his right mind will believe that feebay items are being sold with free postage? This gimmick is stupid and is definitely a con. No seller will post his item for free - he will allow for that in his offer price. Or how will a seller ship free? Con Aus Post or send the item using pigeons?

And those sellers who start at 1c auction with free shipping will get what they deserve when their item sells for less than a dollar then ebay fees (10%) + paypal fees (30c + 2.6%) + postage costs, kick in - selling at a loss. Not much of a loss for sure, but not worth the hassle.

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Comments

  • carwashhair on 13/03/2015 - 15:46
    +11

    Cool snory bro

  • RockyRaccoon on 13/03/2015 - 16:03
    +4

    如果它不是来自澳大利亚，你可以做到这一点

    If you need help click here

    • Forfiet on 16/03/2015 - 18:23

      Item location China, Australia……..What? you've never been?

  • northerly on 13/03/2015 - 17:56

    were you born yesterday?

  • wonderboy on 13/03/2015 - 18:43

    I always offer free postage. 9/10 times it gets sold by the end of the day.

  • Davo1111 on 13/03/2015 - 18:56
    +2

    No seller will post his item for free - he will allow for that in his offer price.

    http://i.imgur.com/3IaBXRa.gif

  • Bonsaichop on 13/03/2015 - 20:08

    As someone who has an eBay store free postage is factored into the price. It's what I have to do to survive. I'd rather not have free postage, but anything I can send at a flat rate I factor it in so I can have a better search rank.

    Because of how eBay now ranks 'best match' the default search result, you need to be a premium seller for your items to be ranked higher. One of these requirements is to offer free standard postage with an express postage option.

  • stevednj48 on 13/03/2015 - 21:14

    if you don't offer free postage ebay also charge 10% for postage fees thats why so many are free post

    • whodidthat on 13/03/2015 - 21:20
      +1

      That's still charged even if you include it as "free postage".

  • whodidthat on 13/03/2015 - 21:24
    +1

    The initial push for "free postage" was so ebay could reap in extra fees.

    When that didn't work, ebay decided to take fees from postage as well.

    Really annoys me that ACCC did not block it as ebay should not be making money from a third party.
    It also put costs up - passed on to customers. If something cost $10 to post, sellers had to factor in the additional fees otherwise they would lose money on postage cost.

  • woz on 14/03/2015 - 07:28

    From a buyer's perspective, it's awesome. If the item doesn't arrive, you effectively get refunded the item cost AND the postage cost. Certainly beats the old "no item cost, all-postage cost" bullshit some vendors used to eliminate refunds.

    From a seller's perspective, I gave up on eBay years ago. If I have anything of value nowadays that I don't need, I either give it away or throw it away.

  • Orgazmo on 14/03/2015 - 10:24

    Buyers complain about 'paying' for postage anyway. Free post gets sellers 5 star ratings automatically

    • whodidthat on 14/03/2015 - 11:07

      Buyers should complain even more if they buy more than one item from a seller - no combined postage discounts. Full postage charged for each "free postage" item.

      • momov3 on 14/03/2015 - 16:05

        Very clever point, I have been often lured by FREE POSTAGE and never thought about the fact seller has included separate postage cost for each free item bought. I am amazed how China sellers can sell so cheap with free postage and make a profit. It could be that our currency is 5 times theirs so they actuality make a lot from one sale anyway. I buy so much from China because it's unbelievably cheap and free postage.

        • [Deactivated] on 25/03/2015 - 16:02

          It's because Australia post charges locals much much more for postage.
          International postage/shipping companies pay a fraction of what we pay & pass the savings onto their customers.

          I remember a few years ago travelling in place like Fiji, China, Malaysia, Thailand and being amazed that it cost <40c to send a letter to Australia.

  • mustkill on 15/03/2015 - 09:57

    Good read on how they make money on $0.99 items:
    http://thydzik.com/how-do-chinesehong-kong-sellers-make-mone…

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