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EXCESSIVE POSTAGE WHAT EVERY SELLER SHOULD THINK ABOUT

by: chris6347( 1008Feedback score is 1000 to 4,999) Top 1000 Reviewer
8 out of 12 people found this guide helpful.
Guide viewed: 379 times Tags: BOOKS | RARE | SCARCE | TIPS | HINTS


SELLING A BOOK ?

It seems to me that more and more people are hiking up their postal charges when selling books.  I have to ask myself why they are doing this?

I SUPPOSE THEY THINK THEY ARE MAKING AN EXTRA BIT OF PROFIT....

Granted yes, they don't pay fees on the postage charges.

I take it however that it doesn't occur to them that most buyers work out how much a book is worth before they bid.

HERE IS WHAT I DO - SELLERS PLEASE NOTE........................

1) I add the postal charge to the current price on the item I want to bid on.

2) Then I find out how much the book will cost to buy from a normal book shop, taking into account their realistic postage, on one of the many internet book search websites.

3) I then compare prices to see if #1 is still cheaper than #2.

4) When placing a bid I don't go any higher than the value calculated in #2.

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Two examples : -

One

Current Price = £7 --------- Postage = £4 = Total is £11

Current Price = £7 --------- Postage = £2 = Total is £9

Cheapest Bookshop price = £12 -------- Postage = £2 = Total £14

I'm never going to put more than £9 in the bid box in the first instance, but would put £11 in the second case.

Two

I recently bought a set of two (very collectable) books for £1.20.  Checking up on the retail price of the books I found I would probably have to pay £40+ to buy them from a shop.  The seller had set his postage at £4.25 (it would only have cost £1.90 at the most to post them).  I had put £30 in the bid box to make sure I won - did the high postage price affect the final sale price?

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SELLERS SHOULD NOW ASK THEMSELVES ---- HOW MANY POTENTIAL BIDDERS AM I DISCOURAGING WITH THE HIGH POSTAGE ?

Even discouraging ONE potential buyer can seriously affect the final price of the book.  OK you might save a few pence on the fees, but what if the bidder you discourage was willing to put in a bid several pounds higher than the current highest bidder?

 

NEED I SAY MORE?

 

IF THIS GUIDE HAS BEEN HELPFUL OR HAS MADE YOU THINK

PLEASE VOTE YES - THANK YOU


Guide ID: 10000000001886689Guide created: 20/09/06 (updated 15/07/08)

 
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