Long time buyers may have noticed a sharp increase in item prices. For the sakes of transparency, let me explain:
I obtain most of my goods from overseas, Europe mostly. Due to the inexorable devaluation of the rand, goods whose price has remained relatively static overseas have near doubled in terms of cost to land here. This is not just a direct per item cost, but includes postage (which has greatly increased in cost), customs and even bank charges. All are affected as they get charge on a rand value. i.e. Because the model cost me more in rand terms, I get charged more in terms of customs.
Then there is BobShop who have changed their shipping policy. Where in the past you bought an item and then postage was added, now BobShop has included a portion of postage in the listing value. What this means is that they deduct a portion of postage from the seller. Example:
I sell a model for R85. BobShop charges the buyer R145, being R85 item value + their shipping charge. But behind the scenes, they don't give me R145. I get R85, less their ~10% fee (R8,55), then on top of that they charge ME R60 for shipping. If i leave a skid mark to get the parcel sent I may get a R30 rebate. So in effect BobShop has collected R90 from buyer and seller to cover courier cost of their chosen courier (buyer and seller don't have much say in this). But doing the maths, I end up with R46,45. For an item which may have cost me around R40 to land. So unfortunately, I and other sellers no doubt, am obliged to add ~ R30 to each item to defray the hidden mandatory courier costs.
