So, once again Royal Mail are adjusting their rates, raising prices to:

• A First Class stamp for a standard packet weighing 101g to 250g will cost £1.45, an increase of 7p.
• A Second Class stamp for a standard packet weighing 101g to 250g will cost £1.24, an increase of 4p
• Special Delivery guaranteed next day service for items weighing between 100g and 500g will cost £5.05, a rise of 30p.

Increases aren’t exactly suprising, after all, Royal Mail like all other businesses need to adapt with inflation, but I am pleased to see some good pricing incentives put in place for large volume traders….

This plays hand-in-hand in conjunction with eBay’s latest updates on Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs). As a business seller on eBay, you have to be competative in various areas in order to survive. Sellers from every corner of the globe had clocked onto this and decide to almost ‘cheat’ buyers (and of course the marketplace software providers like eBay & ChannelAdvisor for example), by charging very low item prices, with extortionate P&P charges.

A prime example would be an item with say an RRP of £12, a BIN price of 0.95p, and a P&P price of £9.95 for Royal Mail Shipping.

This selling strategy saves on listing fees and order processing fees for various service providers (which means a happy seller), but most buyers frown on this activity and believe it is a dishonest way to trade. A high percentage of these items result in UPI disputes, as buyers simply don’t see the postage cost until after they have purchased, leaving the seller without payment, and the prospect of angry buyers just waiting to leave negative feedback.

Sellers who do exploit this loop-hole, will now begin to be punished for their actions, by having their listings blessed with “reduced search visibility”, and as a result reduced sales, reduced success, and - eBay hope - an increasingly buyer-happy marketplace.

You can find more information on Postal Prices here: Royal Mail Website
You can fond more information on eBays DSR updates here: eBay Announcement on DSR