PRICING

[ananthshenoy]

Dear E Bay team,

What surprises me most is that most of the products the sellers have put on sale are as expensive if not more then the market rates and then there is the additional cost of shipping which really makes buying useless. I purchase at least three new mobiles a month and find buying then at the DP close to home saves me so much more then what the sellers expect and that too for used products. The same applies for all products. I used to buy a lot of products thru e.bay but have almost stopped as I find the very same thing cheaper in the market and where I can pay cash/ccard and take it home from there rather then make a bank transfer etc. and then wait till the product arrives not even knowing what I will get. Here in my case, I actually get to see and feel what I am buying.

If you can manage to do something about this, I am sure that many more including myself will gladly buy online from e bay.

With warm regards,
Ananth Shenoy

[skyshopindia]

Dear Mr. Ananth

I completely agree with you that S&H charge in some cases are abnormally high.
To prevent this abnormal S&H charge eBay has recently implement a policy on that as below(in bold). Which will take some time to come in effect.
We believe high shipping charges mars the buyer experience. This results in significant Unpaid Items and loss of sales & goodwill among sellers. High shipping charges also exposes sellers to violation of the fee circumvention policy.

In the interest of the community, eBay will initiate action against sellers who conduct their business with unreasonably high shipping charges. We consider this as a violation of our Fee Circumvention Policy.

Violations of this policy may result in a range of actions, including:

Listing cancellation
Limits on account privileges
Account suspension
Forfeit of eBay fees on cancelled listings
Loss of PowerSeller status


Know more about Excessive Shipping and Handling Charges Policy click http://click4.ebay.com/105751291.43887.0.31882.
But at the same time, it is also true that this S&H charge is not a hidden parameter. It is clearly displayed with the product price separately, from where buyer can easily calculate the Take Home Price(THP) for any product. No seller can charge a single paisa which is not visible to buyer at the time of bidding or buying. In doing so, its a policy violation. Only Octroi amount (if any) is not in item page.
Regarding item state (used or new), a buyer can file SNAD dispute to get product as described in item page or in fail 'money back' from seller.

Hope as a valued and experienced buyer you are aware everything of these.

[krazy-deals-4-u]

Mr. shenoy. let me clarify on this query..on behalf of the sellers.. we are sorry that you find the products here more expensive than in the shop next door to you... however let me remind you that when u buy thru ebay, you get to shop from the comfort of your living room... as such room service would cost a little bit more than going out to the market to purchase your requirements....this is the premium you pay and benefit you derieve by purchasing online.

Now Coming to your question as to why these products are expensive here is an illustration:

Nokia N 70 - Dealer price ( Karnataka) 17731
Add: vat @4% 709
Add: dealer Margin 200
Total Cost to Buyer 18640

Now When you buy on ebay, The seller / dealer has to pay ebay a transaction fee of an approximately 5% of the value upto rs. 5000 and 2.5% of the balance value + service tax which amounts to 573+12.24% which is 643. Now NO seller can source the genuine product, at much below than that is offered by the Distributors to Offline dealers. so a seller is Bound to recover this sum from the buyer.

Further in case u make payment thru paisapay based on whether its a credit card or debit card or online bank transfer a flat rate of 3.5% or 2.5% is charged on the total amount inclusive of shipping and handling charges recovered by the seller.. that would be again say if shipping charges are taken at the higher rate of 500/- the paisapay charges would be 669 in case payment is made thru credit card. so the seller would incur rs 1312 Additional cost if he sells here on ebay.. plus add the listing charges - Highlighted / gallery etc about 60 total cost incurred by a seller would be rs. 1372. Now as u may know unless a seller sells a refurbished mobile at the price of a new one, he is in no position to make a profit of even 300 rs. which your neighbourhood seller can easily make on selling one unit to you at the price i mentioned above...

if you buy the same here it would cost you atleast Rs. 20512/-

[techchase]

YOU said it ... There are always going to be a few products which will be cheaper offline.

Brand New Mobiles are being sold at a nominal margin of Rs 200-400 in local markets. eBay sellers cant match that.

Still do search for products which are some what cheaper online

Regards

[ananthshenoy]

Dear E-Bay Team,
I am totally aware that the complete site is very transparent and have no doubts you take extra care to ensure that. The point about shopping from the comfort of my home would be a great idea if the prices were competetive. I have seen products on the site that are priced higher then the market price and the new mobiles for example as priced at the box price - so where is the question of getting a better and cheaper deal? I could mark of a number of mobiles etc. for you to see. Shiping costs too are unreasonable. If I have a bought a product in Delhi and am willing to pick it up - I will still be charged the same amount as for any other place. Prices fluctuate everyday and I understand its almost impossible to keep track of it but the very thought that I am going to pay the price of a new phone even though its been used is a bit unwise ( look at this from if you were the buyer). In fact krazy deals 4 u have already illustrated why the price is higher. Even if its a refurbished phone, I have the advantage of holding the phone in my hands to ensure there is no problem with it which becomes a problem at E Bay as if there is a problem- I have to send the piece back and then wait for a replacement. Regarding the payments - I feel if you are living in the vicity of the place from where you have bid - option of COD should be an option and once again stress no exhorbitant shipping charges whould come into play. Its strange if a product is being sold three houses away from my mine - I still have to pay shipping charges which are always quite a bit - making the product more expensive.
To give you an example I was interested in the Spice D80 as I could use both my GSM and CDMA sims in one phone. I have never used the Spice earlier and its obvious I would not shell out ten thousand for the phone and especially since it has no bluetooth or IR. I wrote to them regarding my assesment and they are kind enough to send me a phone on a trial basis.I will at least get a first hand feel of the phone, see its performance and then decide.
I however thank you you for the initiative you have taken and trsut me it will go a long way to increase your sales.
Warm regards,
Ananth Shenoy

[ananthshenoy]

Dear eBay Team,
I apologise for dragging this issue till date. I am well aware that its not always viable for a seller not to charge shipping. I also realise that the entire monetery part of all deals are clearly defined and I have no problems with that.

I am sure a lot of people (sellers) could increase their sales if they gave three choices to the buyer - so that the buyer is well aware what he is going to pay and in which mode he would like to receive the product. The first option could be as it is at the moment ( which I feel is not very condusive ), the second could be do not charge handling and shipping if you buying from the same territory or even if you do charge , make it a reasonable amount ( and not something like I live in Delhi and I pay high HS costs to the seller compared to another buying from another buyer, say from Chennai). The third option could be pick up the product but only after it has been bought and the terms are agreed upon - just as it has been normally done.

I am sure giving three various options to the buyers will firstly build up a larger buyer base as a lot more people from the products point of origin will prefer to buy from the particular seller (in the pick up way - the client should not be charged for the courier- and if the client still opts for the courier a 'reasonable'amount could be charged.)The last option I have no qualms about saying will have to remain the same.

I am aware of the taxes, octroi, your fees etc. but would I buy a particular product that I need and cannot see it anywhere around where I live but see it of the site if the price is great but the shipping charges far exceed the cost of the product?