EBay recommended courier charges

[juliabarke-0]

I recently listed 4 bikes and 3 sold. Woohoo I though, however the recommended courier charges listed by eBay £17 was so far away from reality I have had to spend an additional £60 on courier charges and £20 in petrol charges to satisfy the buyers. 

is there anything I can do about this? 

[john1297576]

Of course not, it is up to sellers to do their own research, rather than rely on anything ebay suggests. 

Ebay does not deliver, you ask Couriers who do the job.

Far better if in doubt to use collection in person only, limits the market, but does not waste your money.

[fargvs]

FFI :- For larger items;   Listing with Cash on collection (or Cleared Bank Transfer) is safest and  best payment option to avoid these added carrier cost complications ... a signed copy of the order details is useful if you need to prove delivery/collection at any time.   The QR code is not essential for Cash on collection items ...

for COC reference see >> 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/posting-items/setting-postage-options/local-collection?id=4181%3...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/buying/postage-delivery/changing-delivery-address-method/local-pickup?id...

[tommystrezures]

There is sadly nothing you can do. Apart from the fact next time ignore ebay's suggestions.

They are not the carrier, they just earn a commission from the carrier for their service being booked and used. As a seller its your job to ensure correct postage etc is used.

I would suggest one of the best for things like bikes is Parcelforce, over the post office counter. Their size restrictions are a lot less demanding of others, with parcels up to 1.5m length and a total of 3m length and girth combined, with a generous weight limit of 30kg. Many other couriers once you hit the 1 metre mark put you into the oversize bracket which is where they start charging hefty premiums.

I suspect if you had used parcelforce at your post office on a 48 hour service (within the measurements above which many bikes are once folded down) Postage would have been £17.95 for an item up to 20Kg.