Just read on another thread about Ebay/Paypal holding funds dependant on positive feedback and it reminded me about another sharp practice I discovered recently.

Selling some VD box sets recently I discovered I'm now only allowed to charge £1 for postage – even though it cost £1.41 to post one of them second class.

I'm sure some people were abusing the postage thing, but they're basically gouging their customers. Outrageous!

If they were operating a public service I would agree with you. However ebay is a commercial enterprise and so they make the rules by which the users have to abide. If you do not like it you have to find another route to sell the stuff. I wonder if they are trying to shoulder out some of the dross that goes on the site.

But by doing this they are effectively charging sellers commission on their postage costs.

I'd say that goes beyond fair trading.

PS – I was actually selling DVD box sets, not VD ones as in my original post 😀

I have just been googling this, paypal are basically a bunch of crooks like many other banks. So you sell YOUR goods the buyer receives HIS goods yet paypal keep YOUR money, so they can a guess make money with it then they give it back to the buyer as he decides he wants his money and your goods.

Leaving you with the sole option of going round this crooks house with a baseball bat as the bigger crooks paypal are faceless.

The only way it will stop is if there is a viable alternative. Which begs the question how big could STW make the classifieds?

If they were operating a public service I would agree with you.

Or a monopoly?

Or a monopoly?

Are you suggesting that they operate a monopoly?

How about using one of the other auction sites, selling the DVDs to moneymagpie or even advertising them in the local newspaper? No. Because they won't sell, or if they do it'll be for pennies.

Whilst I don't hugely agree with the fees eBay charge I accept that I sell stuff for a lot more money than I would elsewhere and even taking their cut into the equation I get more bucks back.

Still, of course, you could send someone anonymous on STW a cheque (or bank transfer) and await your goods that may or may not arrive (with no form of comeback). Don't see us all calling it EvilTrackWorld….

IIRC, you can't charge anything for postage on sunglasses, which seems a bit daft when Oakleys, f'instance, could be worth +£100.

mtbfix – Member

Are you suggesting that they operate a monopoly?

Yes. Yes, I am.

IIRC, you can't charge anything for postage on sunglasses, which seems a bit daft when Oakleys, f'instance, could be worth +£100.

What's the price of the sunglasses got to do with anything? A £1.99 pair probably cost as much to send as a £100 pair. I accept that you may wish to insure said Oakleys but that's really for the sellers benefit. If you got £100 for some secondhand Oakleys then a quid for postage ain't exactly extortionate out of your earnings.

Are you suggesting that they operate a monopoly?

It's more like Cluedo trying to work out how the bloody site works, tbh.

I managed to charge £4.95 for postage on sun glasses recently.
As they were an expensive item I sent them special delivery. Fair enough to me, and I don't think a buyer would want to take a chance on cheap, slow, uninsured postage on a £100 item.

even though I got positive feedback they still held my money for the full 21 days…perhaps I could have got to it if I'd chased them up on it. Still the place to shift stuff I couldn't elsewhere.

hijacking the thread slightly, but on the ebay theme.

Bought some forks for £300 recently, discovered (after leaving positive feedback as the seller couldn't have the funds freed till this happened) that they were faulty.

Seller was a bit of an arse and despite numerous attempts to get his phone number to try and resolve the situation ignored me.

I opened a claim, escalated this for customer service support.

Claim went in my favour, now i have to send the fors back, with tracking number (fair enough) and then once this will happen ebay will REMIND the seller to remember to refund me.

So the seller essentially will have the forks back, and my £300. Until he decides/remembers to give me a refund.

All sounds like i have to be pretty trustworthy of a guy who was avoiding all contact with me

biscuit, thats a big chance your taking there.

thats what i thought. surely ebay should reclaim the funds, hold them, then release them to me when he receives the goods.

Seems wrong and i am reluctant to send the forks off. Time for some emails i think.