The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 223

The eBay UK Bulletin: Issue 223, 5th July 2011

Topics in this issue:

1. eBay news – e-mail alerts

2. Customs & VAT – be warned

3. How did you handle the load? – your thoughts

4. Ask Molly – What about pop?

Hello and welcome to this week's edition of The eBay UK Bulletin.

It has been a great week at HQ – holiday time. It should have just been me but Mrs Mollybol wanted to come and then suddenly all the Elves were available! They did look cute though outside McDonalds (using free Wi-Fi) with a bottle of Coke & a straw in one hand, bubble bag in the other and notebook on their laps. OK, so a Molly holiday is never completely without a little eBay. I was running a few mid-season sales so had an inkling of what might sell. A box of selected make-up, a few bubble bags, the stamps and we were back in business; there is no such thing as a free holiday!

I had loads of responses to Bulletin 222 so this week is pretty much dedicated to your thoughts on the various issues; ideal for me as I don’t have to type very much.

One final thing before I start and it concerns the stamp-related pun in Bulletin 222. I have had words and am assured that this kind of thing will not happen again [Ed - the pun was first class and you know it.]!

[For details of this newsletter, please scroll down to the end.]

-------------------------------------
1. EBAY NEWS – EMAIL ALERTS

-------------------------------------


A slightly different eBay news story this week; a FREE tool which might just help you pick up that illusive bargain or valuable stock at the right price.

“Hi Molly,

You kindly featured my website for mapping eBay items a while back and I thought you might like to know about a new feature that's becoming quite popular: an email alerts feature for receiving notifications when newly listed items match a search.

You may know eBay already provide this via the "Save search" link but this has a few deficiencies. There's no way of specifying a maximum ‘total’ price (inc. p&p), making it impossible to filter out where the price is low but postage costs are high.

The emails don't include item photos and can take up to two days to arrive from the date an item is listed - so the hottest bargain ‘buy it now’s’ have often already gone when the email gets through.

The tool I mentioned doesn't have any of these issues (it sends emails every hour). An alert can be set up by pasting the link from an eBay search here: http://www.auctionsearchkit.co.uk/alerts

An alternative method puts links directly on the web page using the ‘Greasemonkey’ script mentioned on the home page.

Hope this helps your readers. Keep up the good work with the bulletin.”

------------------------------------------------
2. CUSTOMS AND VAT – BE WARNED!

-------------------------------------------------


“Hi Mollybol

I bought about £2000-worth of cosmetic items from a wholesaler in the US (my plan is to sell the items on eBay). At the time of paying the invoice (through PayPal of course) the wholesaler implied that any costs relating to delivery (tax, customs charges, etc., were all covered in the final invoice that was sent to me) which included their delivery charges and a 2.5% PayPal charge, etc.

Since then UPS has tried to deliver the items to my address in the UK while I was at work and then left a card to say that they had tried to deliver. To my shock, when I saw the card, the UPS delivery person had written

'£494.50 in customs charges, please have the cash or cheque available for next time we try to deliver'.

When I called UPS they said that it was customs charges that they had paid on my behalf (which obviously must have been an agreement set up between the wholesaler in the US and UPS - UPS obviously didn’t pay it for me out of the goodness of their heart!)

My first thought was 'the wholesaler was obviously aware that there are big customs charges involved and hadn’t informed me' and secondly had implied that those customs charges were included in the invoice that I paid. Nowhere in any of their paperwork/emails or website does it mention extra charges.

I was told by PayPal not to accept the items (and therefore not have to pay nearly another £500 in custom charges!) and that the items would automatically be sent back to the wholesale address (and UPS confirmed that they would be tracked if this happens) and that then I would be eligible for a refund through PayPal as I hadn’t received my items and I could prove that they had been sent back to the US.

However, after speaking to UPS, they said before sending the items back they would phone the wholesaler and ask them if they agree to the shipping costs of getting the items returned and that if the wholesaler doesn’t agree to pay the costs, the items will automatically be abandoned or gotten rid of in some way. This means I have paid £2000 plus lots of extra charges for delivery/customs, etc., for items I didn’t even receive.

If any of your readers have any experience of this and can offer advice, it would be most welcome.”


The official word:

Most goods arriving in the UK from outside the EU are liable to any or all of the following taxes:

-- customs duty
-- excise duty
-- import VAT

and must be paid whether:

-- you purchase the goods or receive them as a gift.
-- the goods are new or used (including antiques).
-- the goods are for your private use or for re-sale.


Commercial consignments of £18 or less are free from customs duty and import VAT (as of 1 November 2011 the £18 threshold will be reduced to £15). For example, goods purchased over the internet with an intrinsic value not exceeding £18, will not be charged any duty or VAT (excluding alcohol, tobacco products, perfume or toilet waters).

If you are sent a gift with a value of £40 or less, and which complies with the rules, it will be free from customs duty and import VAT (excluding alcohol, tobacco products, perfume or toilet waters).

Customs duty becomes payable if the value of the goods is over £135 (duty is waived if the amount of duty calculated is less than £9).

Full details - http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageTravel_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000014&propertyType=document#P21_2350


Any suggestions – Mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk


-------------------------------------------------
3. HOW DID YOU HANDLE THE LOAD? – YOUR THOUGHTS

------------------------------------------------


Why can’t I help thinking about the TV show ‘The Apprentice’ when I write this title?

This article you may recall was all about queuing to post your parcels at the Post Office.

----------------------------------------------------

“Hi Molly

I think it's a real shame, but sadly is very common, that so many Post Offices do not seem to want eBayer's business. I am very lucky; I am two-minute walk from a sub-Post Office that is building a strong eBayer trade, attracting business customers from branches two or three miles away, who spend £100+ several times a week. She is friendly, helpful, and happy to have our business.

To cause as little disruption as possible to the other customers in this one-counter branch I:

a) try to avoid the busy times;

b) let the little old lady behind me buy her stamp before I start; and

c) pre-weigh everything so that all the items falling in the same band (e.g. 2nd class 251-500 grams) can be done in one transaction rather doing them all individually.

We're yet to train the rest of her customers to do the same, but it really does speed things up. On occasions I will even leave my parcels there, she'll process them during quiet spots through the day as cash sales. I pay the next day or leave a kitty.

Keep up the good work, after eBaying for more than five years I picked up your book whilst on maternity leave and have learnt lots of new things. Was trimming flaps on boxes one of yours? Genius! Thank you!

Pinkfizzzz - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Pink-Fizz-Handmade-Beaded-Jewellery

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[M – I forgot to mention that anybody who raves about my book is bound to get a link to their listings.]

--------------------------------------------------------


“Hi Mollybol,

If I'm the millionth person to suggest this then apologies - but wouldn't the seller be better off buying postage from Royal Mail on the internet (using the combination of Royal Mail Price Finder and Buy Postage Online), so his parcels are ready just to be handed over and posted off?

To keep the PO sweet, he then just keeps one for them to process there and then - much less time spent keeping people waiting.

Otherwise a massive thanks to you. Your tip on changing from ‘macropayments’ to PayPal ‘micropayments’ has already saved me a lot of money. No other ‘eBay expert’ has ever mentioned this one. Your eBay Business Handbook has already paid for itself - so cheers.

Juno2424 - http://shop.ebay.co.uk/juno2424/m.html?

-----------------------------------------------------------


M – I know I said that I wouldn’t type much, but just can’t help myself. Don’t forget that if you use micro-payments but also have a traditional PayPal account you can alter the receiving account when sending an invoice for multiple purchases. Two low-value items plus postage could well send the deal over the break-even amount; just over-type the PayPal account e-mail address.


-------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Molly,

In response to Oceans003 asking about how you dealt with an increasing number of parcels and queues at the post office, I would like to tell you how we deal with this.

We have a lovely postmaster at our local PO and he suggested that if we have a few parcels to send that we leave them with him, along with sufficient money to cover postage, and he will sort them out for us in his quieter moments. We collect the change and receipts from the previous day when we take parcels the next day.

He does this for a lot of his eBay customers and he gets to know how we like things done. So we use a grip seal bag with a label which has our name and the amount of money we are leaving with him on it. He then does a certificate of posting for each item and also puts the receipts in the bag.

This way, there are no people left having to stand behind us in the queue tutting while our parcels are sorted out, and Mark, our postmaster, can spread his workload throughout the day between customers. We have done this now for a couple of years and it works really well.

I realise that a lot of postmasters might not like to do it but if you put the benefits to them they might agree to give it a try!

londoner1525 - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Crafting-Angels
---------------------------------------------------

That’s it, no more on this subject.


-------------------------------------------------
4. ASK MOLLY – WHAT ABOUT POP?
------------------------------------------------

Well, just this last thought on posting items from Oceans003 - http://shop.ebay.co.uk/Oceans003/m.html? who started the whole thing.

"Thanks for the reply Molly and the mention in your bulletin! It certainly has given me food for thought. I do have a very local postal depot so that is a definitely an option for me but am a little concerned if they do not give receipts of postings - in your experience do you believe that the amount of parcels lost is so small in comparison to the extra time taken to trudge to the Post Office for a large number of parcels, it's worth doing?

Thanks again and by the way, I have really enjoyed your books! It is so refreshing to read a book that is a great read for everyone of all levels.


M - I must admit that I very seldom fill out the 'Proof of Posting' forms, it just takes so long and I don't really lose very many parcels, my item value is quite low so any loss is not dire. Although sorting offices do not provide POP they will stamp a certificate already written. Pick up a pad of forms P326 and fill them in at home, ten items per form.

If you have a question about eBay or home working in general, please send it to: mollybol@ebaybulletin.co.uk - I will reply personally to every e-mail I receive and remember, there are FREE copies of my book available for the best questions, tips, or stories.


-- END NOTE --

That's all for this week. Check out www.ebaybulletin.co.uk for the latest news from Molly HQ.

Just a quick question to ponder:

Item – ‘ELEMIS - Pure Zest Cleansing Soap 150gm (6 x 25g bars)’

Question: “hi, are these soaps for the face or body? thank you”


A little good news for the Elves concerning their fashion listings; existing items without the new ‘specifics’ requirements will not be affected by the new ruling. If they re-list, then the required item specific detail will be required.

The changes come into force on 20th July

Full details - http://sellerupdate.ebay.co.uk/may2011/item-specifics-fashion.html#faq5

Best wishes and happy eBaying

Mollybol

Author of the bestselling title, 'The eBay Business Handbook' - available direct from the publishers: www.harriman-house.com/ebaybusiness