Items from China on Ebay

Now, I've always been suspiscious of the listings that are located in China on the old ePay.... but something caught my eye.
I thought I might give it a crack if the price was low enough to not lose sleep over, if I was ripped off.

I queried the postage and handling charges, and had to send 3 emails over a week to get a reply. My final email said that I would not bid if I did not know the postage/handling charges.... I finally got a reply, in the last few hours of the auction.

Item weight 3kg, a small urn.

Postage and handling cost AUS$160, 7 day delivery.
No other delivery method acceptable.

Ahhhhhhh.... now I understand. :D:rolleyes:

I'm sure there are honest traders, but....... perhaps there's a market opportunity for a new freight company? :U

Im sure ebay couldnt expect any buyer to pay such ridiculous postage costs.
Maybe you should report them?

If I bought an item and they told me the postage was $165 for a small item, I just wouldnt pay and I would issue a neg feedback.

Al :)

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Originally Posted by Clinton1

Now, I've always been suspiscious of the listings that are located in China on the old ePay.... but something caught my eye.
I thought I might give it a crack if the price was low enough to not lose sleep over, if I was ripped off.

I queried the postage and handling charges, and had to send 3 emails over a week to get a reply. My final email said that I would not bid if I did not know the postage/handling charges.... I finally got a reply, in the last few hours of the auction.

Item weight 3kg, a small urn.

Postage and handling cost AUS$160, 7 day delivery.
No other delivery method acceptable.

Ahhhhhhh.... now I understand. :D:rolleyes:

I'm sure there are honest traders, but....... perhaps there's a market opportunity for a new freight company? :U

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just curious. Clinton, what are you doing in East Timor? :)

I bought a LED torch from china for $0.99 and $9 postage. Arrived in a few days with chairman Mao on the postage stamp and all. Also had a chinese battery too.

Have a read here.

You can buy "handmade" in China, glazed terracotta pots sold retail* here for $140, and I'm talking pots 1.2m high and must weigh 40 kg at least.


* Those closing down- out of the container type retail.

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Originally Posted by Shedhand

just curious. Clinton, what are you doing in East Timor? :)

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Hes picking tea, what do you think hes doing?
All expenses paid for by the Australian taxpayer. :U

Good onya Clinton, and all ya mates over there.
Givem the 2 fumbs up from Uncle Al. :2tsup:

Al :2tsup:

It appears to be quite common to charge a little for the item and a lot for postage.
This makes the cost of listing on eBay very cheap as sellers pay based on price not including postage.
It would also make it easy for the seller to give a complete refund to an unsatisfied customer and still make a nice profit.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by snowyskiesau

It appears to be quite common to charge a little for the item and a lot for postage.
This makes the cost of listing on eBay very cheap as sellers pay based on price not including postage.
It would also make it easy for the seller to give a complete refund to an unsatisfied customer and still make a nice profit.

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Exactly right. Its actually a very clever way of trading.

This has been a problem on ebay for a while now, and one of the many things ebay just can't handle due to the sheer quantity of these sellers. Also, if they happen to sell a lot, hence ebay earns considerable listing and sale fees, they really couldn't care less about whats fair to buyers anyway - since we have the option of not buying in the first place.

Doesn't make it any nicer when you find a product you want then find out postage costs though!

It was a silver urn.... I collect stuff like that, a once yearly purchase if I'm lucky and if there's no unexpected repairs or hospital bills to cover.

I realise that they have to make a quid.... just interested in how they do it! :D

Now that the auction is over, maybe I should negotiate the postage? :rolleyes:

The out they have is handling charges.

These costs are packaging, completing customs documents and carriage to the shipper. The buyer and ebay can dispute these costs but the seller sets the fee for this. China and Hong Kong are not the only ones to use this tactic as I have see a fair share of them in USA do the same. The honest ones show the handling cost in the listing and you add the shipping to it.

You can check the cost of shipping from China through EMS on line but it is still the handling charge that gets you. Know the total cost before auction end and bid accordingly.

Whatever it is, just get it from Bunnings. :D

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Originally Posted by Wongo

Whatever it is, just get it from Bunnings. :D

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"Genuine antique Persian Silver Urn, made to your specifications in China" :D

Richard

Many merchants seem to have discovered "Shipping & Handling" as a separate profit center. Consider small machine screws and such. From someplace like "Fasteners R Us" a box of 100 pieces about $5; from the big box 30 cents each, including tiny plastic baggy, bar code, and other administrivia. Breakfast cereal: Oh boy! Box is cluttered with holographic cartoons and God knows what else. The box costs more than the food. And the box gets trashed. (Well, so does the food eventually, I guess.:rolleyes: )

Joe