Postage

[TwistedMetal]

Hey guys I recently bought a nice figure on eBay off someone by the ne of 'millionsoftoys'
I have bought something before from them and I've been happy with both items but I couldn't help but think £3.95 was alot for postage, since the figure was in a Jiffy bag and not signed for postage, I was going to leave feedback but before I did so I asked the seller why the postage was so much, this is the reply and does it sound about right?

Hello
Thank you for your email
Our postage charges are clearly stated on the auction listing
Please feel free to send the item back for a full refund including your postage if you are unhappy with any aspect of the transaction
As a business we get a standard rate from Royal Mail for the average weight of a 2nd class parcel up to 2kg of £2.90 plus VAT so we use the small packet parcels of SW and other action figures to help lower the average parcel weight of our larger items to help retain the low rate of £2.90 + vat
We don't send Star Wars figures as Large letter we send them as a parcel as they are just sightly too big to be a LL and we have been pulled up by RM before for trying to send them in history
The £2.90 + vat + 10% eBay fees = £3.48 cost to us + price of a Jiffy at 30p = £3.78
We employ 2 members of staff to pack all our parcels so the 17p difference of the £3.95 helps towards their wage
Many of our customers buy multiple SW figures at a time and when we combine we still only charge £3.95 for up to 10 figures
Hope this helps explain
Regards
Jim
Reply

 

[Richard_H]

You may want to read this.

http://www.starwarsforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=25141


Now a jiffy bag is not a small parcel. It goes as a large letter. I can send a small parcel for £2.80 inc VAT. So why a regular business would pay more is beyond me.

 

[TwistedMetal]

Cheers Rich

 

[TwistedMetal]

What a bucket of shite millionsoftoys are, I've just tried to bid on another hoth trooper and they've banned me from bidding! For what? Cause I asked them why there postage was high, idiots

 

[Cazza]

There are only a handful of figures that won't go as a large letter- R2, R5, Gam Guard and a couple of the more portly Ewoks.

Their explanation is complete bullshit. Should be £3 tops if it's recorded. They're making a nice extra £3 for each figure through their postage.

 

[TwistedMetal]

Indeed mate, tbh I'm rather pissed at millionsoftoys not so much for the postage but from banning me from bidding on there auctions, this was the post I sent them before them banning me,


Hi,

I am just about to leave feedback but wanted to ask why was the postage so much for a single figure since it's not even signed for? The figure is great which I am very happy with but the postage is very heavy.

Thanks


I'm not one for leavening neg feedback but because they banned me I felt that they deserved it for been total bums, and then after leaving it this is what I got from eBay,


After reviewing your eBay account, it appears that you have violated eBay's policy.
-The following Feedback comment you left has been removed:
Rip off postage and banned from bidding on there auction for asking a question!





To help you have successful experiences on eBay, we encourage you to become familiar with eBay Feedback policy by visiting the link above.

 

[weasel]

Can you not claim your postage costs back from Ebay? Whatever the postage cost on the envelope is Ebay should give you the dofference between it and what they charged you. Pretty sure Ebay don't let them add the fees into postage (which is a bit harsh but that's ebay).

 

[itfciain]

Millions of toys is on here (although their customer services do leave a lot to be desired)

The whole postage debate is always a tough one and is not helped by eBay to snaffle 10% of it away - doesn't sound like much but when you take off the PayPal fees as well you basically lose 14% - so if the Post Office charge you 2.80 and you charge your customer that then you lose nearly 40p each transaction - and that is obviously before the cost of the packing materials

How eBay are allowed to get away with that I really don't know

 

[theforceuk]

First of all blocking you from bidding and then having your feedback removed is stupid.

The only thing I would say is you new what the postage charges were when you brought the item. So if you had a problem with it you should have asked before paying in my opinion. It's like filling your car up with fuel and then asking the garage why their more expensive than the garage down the road.

Don't get me wrong the way they and eBay have handled it is out of order and another of many bad stories involving eBay. :roll:

 

[TwistedMetal]

Tbh mate I wanted the figure so yes I paid the postage, the reason I posted on here was to see what other people's opinions were before I left feedback as the postage did bug me abit and I didn't want to leave neutral feedback until I had some feedback from you guys, however I decided to leave neg feedback due to them banning me from bidding for simply asking a question about there postage as shown above.

 

[theforceuk]

Tbh mate I wanted the figure so yes I paid the postage, the reason I posted on here was to see what other people's opinions were before I left feedback as the postage did bug me abit and I didn't want to leave neutral feedback until I had some feedback from you guys, however I decided to leave neg feedback due to them banning me from bidding for simply asking a question about there postage as shown above.

Yeah I agree with you on that, you ask a genuine question and they get their backs up like that. It's out of order. At least you got the figure you wanted.

 

[Mr-shifter]

I miss Pete Gowdy

 

[theforceuk]

I miss Pete Gowdy

Think we all do, this thread would go on for another 8 pages if he was still posting. :lol:

 

[Palifan]

This sucks but you can still leave feedback but just word it differently. I had one seller who tried it on, got caught out and then tried to blame me. There was no way I was going to let them get away without negative feedback even though they had my first comment removed.

What do you have to say for yourself Lucy?

Ian

 

[poncho]

when i bid on something i look at the postage charge if its taking the piss i dont bid

but in most cases i really want it so i glance over that fact. at least you can rate them 0/5 stars on postage

 

[naughtyjedi]

You may want to read this.

http://www.starwarsforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=25141


Now a jiffy bag is not a small parcel. It goes as a large letter. I can send a small parcel for £2.80 inc VAT. So why a regular business would pay more is beyond me.

If any mail doesn't drop through their middle rung in their plastic mail guide then it becomes a small parcel. Some PO staff get uppity that if the item doesnt drop without assistance through that rung, then they classify up. I often have to argue the toss with them "Surely if it goes through... ". If i submit drop and go (which I don't do anymore) then they tend to lazily shove any borderline LL as SP. Really annoying as the cost difference is huge for small items I sell.

As for some loose figures, quite a few of them wont go through as a large letter. especially within a protective layer within a jiffy. I can see what the seller is trying to say. BUT you are supposed to absorb those areas into your item sale price. As a business as large as they appear to be, they should be offering postage deals and royal mail would have contacted them on a business level to offer them reductions on mass mail outs.

No idea though where the jiffy bag cost is? 30p? Are they buying jiffys individually? Has this guy heard of buying wholesale? How many staff do you need to drop figure in jiffy?

However, their feedback is good. 4 negs, 3 comments removed (so ebay agreed the comments were unnecessary - complaining about postage fees after completing the transaction, ebay will remove those comments but the neg remains).

But them banning you? Petty...

 

[naughtyjedi]

Just did a quick google search...

http://www.millionsoftoys.co.uk/about-us/

:roll:

 

[weasel]

I miss Pete Gowdy

Seconded

 

[TwistedMetal]

She's not a bad looking bit of crumpet our Lucy.

 

[millionsoftoys]

Hello
We have taken some time to read through this new thread about us
We have answered the thread in order so please don't get bored and only read the first few lines... read it all! (it is not too boring and we want to make peace with you guys we don't want to fight any more...about petty ****...so please do read it so we can at least be virtual friends!)
It seams that the only time we get to write on this forum is when we are being hated on or having to defend ourselves!
As a business selling Vintage and Retro toys we sell via several sales channels, eBay being one of them, and ship out over 1250 parcels a month!
We have set postage rates for all our items which are CLEARLY show on all our listings onlone with 100% accurate listing details to help our buyers
We don't use any kind of perception filter or employ the Hypno-Toad to force customers to buy our items or "rip them off"?
Nearly all our items are loaded at 99p on auction allowing the buyer to pay what they want or feel the item is worth - how fair can a listing be?
Yes we are a business and yes we are out to make a profit - no different to anyone selling SW toys through this forum - After all does anyone on this board sell an item of any kind and make a loss or sell it below price as a favour? NO; it is a rhetorical question... we all need some profit
Please bear in mind we don't just sell SW items, we sell a vast amount of diverse Vintage and Retro Toys from Action Man to ZOIDS (A to Z... just a small joke for anyone with a mild sense of humour...) and genuinely none of the GI Joe collectors or the Pippa Doll collectors or He-Man and Thundercat buyers complain about the postage price or indeed the items? We have 1000's of happy customers most of whom are return buyers and many who visit our showroom offices to buy direct
Think about how many items you have to sell and indeed how many HAPPY customers you need to have to get over 106000 ratings on eBay!?
TwistedMetal - if the postage was too high why did you not email us or ring our office? If you planned to buy more items you should have let us know and we would be more than happy to hold your purchases until you have finished and then shipped all your items together! We ship up to 10 SW figures for £3.95 (UK Mainland) for any customer
TwistedMetal - When a customer sends and email saying "...before I leave feedback..." we know immediately (many years of experience) that bad feedback is coming or something else no matter what we do or say...
I am sure that many of you members on SWFUK are aware that selling on eBay is very difficult and that the rules are fully loaded to benefit the buyer and that bad ratings and bad feedback can seriously affect a sellers account
Sadly this leaves sellers in a very difficult position and the only tool they have is the "block buyer" list to prevent issues in the future
TwistedMetal - If you were not happy with the postage price and did not communicate with us to discuss a rate that suits your budget why did you just not sent us an email or phoned the office my team would be more than happy to discuss your concerns or thoughts
We genuinely enjoy selling Vintage and Retro Toys to collectors such as you guys and we do get access to a lot of cool stuff all the time. We really don't want to have any bad press or conflict with any buyers or forums - we just want to sell this stuff to collectors who actually want it!
Richard_H - We send most of our Large Letter items as a parcel to keep the price of our heavier parcels down (we have an average weight price for 2nd class items from RM so we use the LL items to keep the weight low so we can offer better rates on heavier parcels)
Cazza - We are not making any profit from postage - You are quoting Post office prices for sellers who are not a business but sell bits and bobs as a hobby – We are a business
itfciain - Thank you for you support regarding postage costs - Our customer Service is very good - Seriously we are NOT the bad Guys on eBay! give my customer service a call 01283 240010 see what you think! (ask for Jim!)
theforceuk - thank you for your comments on the thread - we agree anyone should ask before they pay if they are not happy - BUT we already got a negative from a buyer - so if we let them bid and win we are looking at potentially more negatives which we don't need nor do we deserve
Mr-shifter - I don't know who Pete Gowdy is BUT I do remember some previous hate we got on SWFUK and his name rings a bell - more than happy to debate with him (I guess he is a Jedi Master Debator... small joke)
Palifan - have we done business before on eBay? Negative feedback is not the solution - we didn't do anything wrong! If we sent out a piece of **** beat up figure that had been shoved up my arse and was nothing like the images or description then YES this would deserve a comment but the postage was binary - clearly stated - no tricks no deception and NOT a rip off
poncho - thank you for your comments - I agree if I am looking for something on eBay and the postage is too high I don't buy it BUT rating a seller 0/5 for postage when it clearly states it on the listing? seems a bit harsh to sellers - I would be unhappy with this
naughtyjedi - Thank you for your comments and support regarding LL and all that stuff... BUT if a buyer left you negative feedback or questioned your postage with a comment that you felt was likely to end in a negative feedback would you let them bid or buy from your listings in the future? NO I don't think anyone on this board would allow someone who left a negative on their eBay account buy again - As you all know the only tool you have as a seller to protect your account is the block list - Every other protection for seller has gone on eBay - Its a jungle out there!!!
naughtyjedi - Thanks for looking up our website
TwistedMetal - Thank you for your comments about my wife!
TwistedMetal - we are happy for your to bid again if you kindly remove the negative we are happy to offer you free postage on your next order
SWFUK Forum members - we don't want to fall out with you guys at all! Seriously... Selling Vintage and Retro toys is how we make a living! Our company has been selling Vintage and Retro toys for over 15 years and we are going to continue way into the future...
We really want all you guys on board buying and recommending out items - WE DONT want to fight over petty ****!
There are some absolute ****ing shitty sellers out there on ALL platforms looking to **** collectors over and I swear 100% we are NOT one of them – We are not the bad guys – We want to sell the best stuff to collectors and ship it to them as fast as **** with no damage and ensure that what they get is what they ****ing saw on the listing!
Genuinely we are happy for comments, constructive criticism and help if we have ****ed up and listed a figure wrong or described an item incorrectly or you fell you have some valid knowledge that can help us with our items (after all you guys are specialist collectors in SW items) but can you all please stop hating on our business - Pretty please! Seriously we are not the bad guys...
We are more than happy to offer items through this forum BUT the first time we joined was because a good friend and customer (member of SWFUK and other forums) told us of some hate being discussed on SWFUK - this made us a little unsure if selling items on here was a good idea - No feedback is a great thing BUT the hate we got on here made eBay feel like ****ing paradise!
So can we please ALL get on? It would be beneficial to ALL of us and a lot more fun... We are not too concerned about previous posts or threads and the content... it history
HOWEVER I did not read ANY positive threads about the POCH Bespin Blaster (eBay ID 371369580178) we found in an attic clearance that we loaded on eBay for 99p! 99p for ****s sake..!! We saw a listing from a seller taking an offer on this blaster at £499!!! and read some pretty harsh **** about his listing etcetera... We put ours out at ****ing 99p with free ****ing postage! (after the hate we got from our 12a Chewbacca we decided 99p was best! LOL)
As a matter of interest to ANY members on the forum our office is only 8 miles from the site of the original PALITOY factory in Coalville! We know several of the original staff personally who actually worked there (those who are still alive) including the technical director and the technical manager from 1968 to 1985 (closure day when Hasbro shut nearly everything down...) - These guys know more than you can imagine about the production of toys at Palitoy including SW items! We have learned a lot from them and are planning to set up a Q&A event with some of these people for real fans to attend to try to understand more about SW manufacturing at Palitoy - We will put a post up soon when we have organised a date and venue if any of you are interested in attending
We are also engaged in writing a book on the PALITOY factory with a large bias towards Star Wars which we hope to have ready in the next 5 months if any one would be interested in reading a book with prototype toy images and photos of the production lines and interviews with actual workers on the SW lines and much more...
Just to let you all know as well, seeing as we are hopefully all friends now, we are in the process of setting up a brand new auction house (as part of our company growth) to rival Vectis and any other 2 bit toy auction companies out there which will have conference room facilities to allow for private SW events - We wont be charging the ridiculous 25 - 28% fees that other Auctions Houses do but will be considerably lower to help buyers get access to the items they want both SW and many other toy lines
Please feel fee to comment on this post (not too much hate if possible!)
Also please feel free to visit our show rooms and offices in Woodville DE117EH any of you are welcome to meet us and see our business and how we operate and have a chat about Star Wars and any other vintage toys - This may help to breaks some ice...
We will post further details of up and coming additions to our business in the near future
Best Regards
Jim Wells
Director TMG UK Ltd