I bought an HDMI cable from a UK seller on Monday.
It was sent yesterday on Royal Mail 48 hour tracked delivery, and I got email notifications from RM when they received it, that it was being delivered today and that it had been delivered.
The cable only cost me 99p with free postage.
How do the sellers make any money? And how low is their postage compared to ours? It is a printed postage label so obviously similar to old style franking machines but still...
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Yes I have wondered the same.
I don’t know the answer for sure but I guess it’s partly a decision they take to be competitive on eBay as many people will only search on “free” postage items. As long as most items they sell are more expensive than the 99p in this example then they will cover their costs and make a profit on the majority of their sales. If instead they charged postage they will cut out a large proportion of their market and lower their overall sales volume and profit.
I don’t know why they don’t set a minimum order value to qualify for free postage but again it might just be an attempt not to be filtered out of searches.
It might also be a cheap way of building targeted mailing lists and email addresses?
Finally there was a TV documentary a year or two back when they visited Chinese suppliers for stuff like this and when you are buying in by the container-load the unit prices were very low indeed. Just maybe resellers do turn a very small profit on the 99p connector type items, but only a few pence if that.
Last edited by: martin aston on Thu 14 Apr 22 at 23:08
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maybe the chinese state subsidise the postage cost
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Possible I suppose, the outer wrapping contained a cable in retail packaging but printed in Chinese. Though as it arrived with me within 2 days of ordering it can't have posted from China.
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I recall buying a silicone mobile phone cover from China two or three years ago - it cost £1.99 including delivery and arrived after about seven or eight days.
A week or so later I got a message from the seller who asked if I was pleased with the item and, if so, would I post suitable feedback? If I was and did so, he would send another cover free of charge as a thank you.
As I was very pleased with the cover - it's still in use today - I was quite happy to do so. A second cover arrived in the post about a month later....
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China is still considered a ’transitional’ country, so benefits from cheap international rates to developed countries. It is thought that postage charge from China to UK is cheaper than domestic charges within the UK.
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I tend to select 'UK only' under 'item location' if I want it soon. Stuff usually turns up immediately, although often with a Chinese origin. I assume they've agents here. Although the times I've had a problem with the item, I end up (trying to) deal with someone in China.
Last edited by: bathtub tom on Fri 15 Apr 22 at 19:20
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>> A week or so later I got a message from the seller who asked if
>> I was pleased with the item and, if so, would I post suitable feedback? If
>> I was and did so, he would send another cover free of charge as a
>> thank you.
Similar happened to me with a seller on Amazon. Last year I purchased an indoor wi-fi security camera, and a couple of weeks later I received an email from the seller asking if I'd like a free gift if I gave a review on it.
I thought it might be a scam at first as I had buy the product, then leave a review, then I would get a refund. The free gifts were an outdoor security camera, auto focus webcam, or solar fairy lights (2 pack).
The seller was Amazon Certified, so decided to take a chance and opted for the outdoor security camera. True to the sellers word, once I sent a screenshot of my review, I got a full refund.
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>> I thought it might be a scam at first as I had buy the product,
>> then leave a review, then I would get a refund. The free gifts were an
>> outdoor security camera, auto focus webcam, or solar fairy lights (2 pack).
Did you get a whole load of lovely fairy lights?
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;o)
No, I opted for the £40 outdoor camera, which was the best deal of the 3 choices.
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I returned some goods to Amazon last week. The first time I have ever needed to do so. What an amazingly simple process. My money was returned to me within hours of leaving the item at a local corner shop. Very impressive.
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Mon 18 Apr 22 at 09:19
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Same here, very handy not having to use a printer. QR code on my phone and all sorted.
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eBay free postage - martin aston
