This one has been dealt with at length. Eb*y won't allow it 'cos it's
agin the law in California, as some have said. They extend their
local law to their entire operation to protect themselves and I have
been bounced for transgressing.
The problem with Paypal is that the seller pays the charges while
with all other systems the buyer is charged (Bidpay for example). It
is my view that the buyer should be responsible for any costs
associated with getting payment to the seller and the seller
responsible for the listing charges - that seems like a fair division
but Paypal does erode this 'contract.' For international sellers like
myself, the charge is even heavier as an additional 1% is levied on
incoming payments, even if the money comes from and is respent in the
US. I have calculated Paypal's cut at as much as 8% of a transaction,
when all costs such as payments, cash transfer and currency
conversion margins were taken into account. On top of Eb*y's fees,
that's not negligible.
The whole thing makes it difficult for me as I cannot ask for a fair
5% premium as I once did on PP payments. If I load it on to shipping
costs, customers may assume I'm trying to gouge them as international
shipping already expensive. I cannot, as Eb*y ridiculously
recommends, factor it into the sale price as it's an auction, dummy!
Perhaps they haven't noticed that.
Auctions that charge $15 for an item that costs $4 to ship, George,
are not being unfair. They may be a business that HAS to factor in
all costs, such as the packaging and having someone schlep down to
the post office. The true cost of handling far exceeds the value of
the stamp. Direct mail operations like KEH or B&H who are reputable
have quite savage international mailing charges. Henry's - the
Canadian operation - list their charges on all listings and are quite
fair for a commercial seller.
AndrewF
(celebrating the Great Vowel Shift).
I do see what you are saying, but they will still benefit because they will
still collect that fee (3%) no matter who passes it on to whom. I think the
convenience of Paypal will keep the majority of people using it and they won't
worry about paying extra. Then again, you can estimate what paypal will charge
you as a fee and just make that amount part of shipping/handling! I see lots
of auctions that will charge $13 or $15 shipping when I know it
would only cost
them $4 to my address. I don't bid on those.
George S.
olymoose@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
Exactly, and they don't want their prefered payment method to cost more
than other alternatives, thus driving business away from their newly
purchased cash cow.
Moose
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