P&P charges on Ebay etc.

[flobadob]

Why don't Ebay promote cheaper carriers for goods sold there. I'm from Ireland and every time I buy something the P&P is usually as much if not more than the item I'm buying. It's almost always Royal Mail that is used. Surely there are cheaper options people could use. I think it would encourage more use of Ebay as the P&P prices frequently put me off even bidding for an item?

[alavahalf]

More often than not ...included in my item description is .. FREE P&P.. I'm sure it draws more interest and you are more likely to get an auction going.

[boxtops]

I'm sure it is a draw, but if I have a number of small items and I know the postage & packing on each is going to cost me £2, I would have to list the item as £2.99. People tend to buy from the item price, IMO, but it would be interesting to do a test case - but then of course if you have a £2.99 item you are paying a listing fee, for 99p you're not.

[alavahalf]

.. selling something for £2.99 and having to list it, package it and post it. It all sounds like hard work to me. I'm sure if you do this on a regular basis it all adds up.
Dont call me lazy, but I prefer to sell something for £25 with free P&P... that has cost me no more than no more than £10 in the first place.

I have just been looking at a listing, where a guy is selling drill bits at £1.50 each with p&p at 99p . That equals £24.90 when he sells 10 of them. Minus his fees, a first class stamp and an envelope.
When I check back to see how many he has sold. it appears that he has managed to sell 520 in the past four months (turnover of nearly £1300) All of a sudden pennies make pounds.

When I google the specific drill bit, I find I could buy 10 of them for £3.50
You can do the figures ...
eBay is full of opportunities if you are willing to do the hard work though ...

Good luck..!

[flobadob]

alavahalf, do you need to set up an account to get items sent to those retailers or can you just contact them directly and give their address without the need?

[boxtops]

Cheers alavahalf - it's not a business for me, I have a job so the listing etc is done in my spare time, to sell things I no longer need and which others will buy. It's not a lot of work in the scheme of things, a few hours a week at most. Yes, I do sell higher value items, certainly, but lots of a little soon adds up. It makes enough for our holiday spending money, but I couldn't live off it!

[alavahalf]

You will need to create an account to use this service. It's just a matter of putting in
e-mail address and password.
There are terms and conditions, but they are in place to protect both parties.
It's just a cheaper alternative to the post office. The best bit ... is no long queues.
So your corner shop becomes your.. 'drop off and delivery point'.. for your packages.
They use the same system as most distribution companies... using a midlands base as the hub. So the parcels are taken there first .. sorted and then re-routed.

[flobadob]

alavahalf, If I was to give the address of a shop close to me for collect+, does the seller then just send the item to the shop's address? Is there a charge then for me to collect my item?

All this Ebay talk reminds me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKtlK7sn0JQ