Just the postage is killing it especially on the smaller items that UK dealers don't have. A $5 promo becomes $12 with postage; until very recently I was paying $2 or $3. I know the many reasons why postage has gone up but it doesn't help. Some might say use UK dealers but their prices are higher (as the have already paid the Postage and Customs costs) so either way the cost is going up and we do now have a healthy number of UK dealers but not all even have web-sites to purchase cards from.

quote:

Originally posted by Hedgehog Witch:
Zero, it sounds like you bought an item which the seller used the "Immediate Payment Required" function. Some sellers use this for Buy-It-Now listings to avoid people 'buying' the card and then not paying up, or having to wait days for the payment. So until the buyer pays, the item could be sold to someone else who paid first.

Yep. I had a recent experience where I tried to select a number of "Buy It Now" items from the same seller. I couldn't get the shipping combined because of the "immediate payment required" option. After contacting the seller he agreed to refund part of the shipping back to me via Paypal (and he did), but I could see losing sales over this.

I can really see where this increase in postage, part for the PO and part to meet eBay requirements, and the VAT are ruining international card sales. In just doesn't make any sense on small purchases when it costs more to get the card to you than the card is worth.

Here's something that US buyers have to worry about down the road. Congress wants everyone to pay the State sales tax on internet purchases, including on eBay. As soon as they can figure out how to do it when all States have different percentages and it will all have to be tracked, they will.

Not surprising this is one of the few potential increases that eBay is trying to fight because once it goes through it gives nothing extra to eBay, but has a huge impact on sellers and buyers. Just add 7% - 9% to the cost of the sale for the buyer, plus require that the seller turn over the tax to the State, and see how much sales drop off.

Talk about decisions on collecting future.

quote:

Originally posted by chesspieceface:
The problem is that if we don't have some kind of tracking number, and the card is reported as not arrived (whether it actually did or didn't does not matter to Ebay at all) we are on the hook for not only the value of the card, but also the shipping, which having just nearly doubled, makes it even worse.

Unfortunately, the cheapest online method of tracking we can get in the US for international packages is Registered mail which adds $13 on to the $7 postage for a total of $20 shipping to send just one card without leaving ourselves, as sellers, completely exposed.

It has already had a chilling effect on sellers previously willing to not only ship internationally, but also inexpensively. It is essentially impossible to do so now without exposing yourself to heavy losses on every single item sent internationally without a tracking number.

I get a lot of parcel with 'tracking' that goes to the US border and stops. Complete waste of time. I've not been charged $20 postage though so i'm guessing what you are suggesting is something else.

There is still a well known eBay seller charging $2 international shipping on anything up to $75 so I guess while that is still happening everything else is going to appear expensive.

quote:

Originally posted by Hedgehog Witch:
Zero, it sounds like you bought an item which the seller used the "Immediate Payment Required" function. Some sellers use this for Buy-It-Now listings to avoid people 'buying' the card and then not paying up, or having to wait days for the payment. So until the buyer pays, the item could be sold to someone else who paid first.

That sounds more likely than my theory. Not come across it before though and i've bought a hell of a lot of stuff over the years.

It seems then that what you are both suggesting is that the real problem is dishonest buyers. Some claiming goods haven't arrived and others buying stuff and then just not paying for it. I've had parcels valued at hundred's of dollars, and a recent one in the thousands, sent at a cost less that those two $75 total cards above cost me with no trouble but then i've built up a decent relationship with a few sellers.

Australia Post has recently changed their arrangements so that all parcels are now tracked. This has doubled shipping costs and is really annoying for cheap items. Fortunately, since I am in the UK for two years, I am doing very little shipping from Australia, but I am seriously tempted to move more stuff to the UK each trip and then sell from here.

I recently had to get some extra clothes sent over - shipping for 4 pairs of pants was $150.

quote:

I posted on another link about my friend who pre-paid using the new system but still had to pay VAT when the post office got their hands on it. He tried to claim the money back but gave up trying.

Oh wow. I foolishly assumed that the ebay service included the Duty and VAT due on the item. Just read the small print. It doesn't. Ouch.