ebay buyer is questioning postage price after i have sent the item, help!

jammiev

hi, i recently sold an item on ebay, the person paid the price (by paypal) stated on my advert to have the item posted. i posted it within the agreed time and this is when the buyer questioned the postage price. i replied by saying the price is correct.
the buyer has now recieved the item and has complained to ebay that the postage price was too high. the buyer has also said they will leave negative feedback if they don't recieve a refund of the difference from me.

so basically, i don't want to refund a penny to them, the price was clear at the time when they bought the item.
so, does the buyer have a case with ebay? do they have a leg to stand on?

thanks

soolin

Assuming you didn't get silly with the postage I would stand up to the buyer and just say 'go ahead'. One neg won't hurt you.

What would hurt you is if a future buyer sees the neg looks at the auction and considers that you are using inflated p and p as fee avoidance.

I don't like blackmail, even if you did refund a bit there would be nothing to stop your buyer negging you regardless.

jammiev

ok, thanks, but do they have a case with ebay?

soolin

jammiev wrote: »

ok, thanks, but do they have a case with ebay?

Not unless your postage was excessive. A bit extra for packing etc is perfectly acceptable.

Sunshine12

Am an new ebayer but surely if they have agreed to pay the postage shown then they have no right to complain. If they didnt like the postage costs they shouldnt have bought it!

jammiev

i charged £12 postage and it cost me £3, is that excessive?
packaging cost me 5p

jammiev

Sunshine12 wrote: »

Am an new ebayer but surely if they have agreed to pay the postage shown then they have no right to complain. If they didnt like the postage costs they shouldnt have bought it!

thanks, exactly, i just can't believe people don't look or read things properly before buying something!

Bowling_4_Gold

jammiev wrote: »

i charged £12 postage and it cost me £3, is that excessive?
packaging cost me 5p

Just a bit lol!

There is the point that yes, you charged well over what is reasonable, but there are the opposing points like, it was clear when the auction was live, the bidder was never forced to bid and it costs you £8.95 in petrol and lost wages to send the item etc etc.

You could come to a compromise, like say to the buyer, 'I will refund you £6 (or whatever) because I see your point that it was a bit excessive, but there are other costs involved, such as packaging and petrol to get to the Post Office etc etc'. Always remember to be polite though!

vangirl_2

jammiev wrote: »

i charged £12 postage and it cost me £3, is that excessive?
packaging cost me 5p

Are you joking?:eek:

soolin

jammiev wrote: »

i charged £12 postage and it cost me £3, is that excessive?
packaging cost me 5p

I would say yes, why did you charge so much?

However ebay probably won't get involved for this one issue, if however you make a habit of it then you may find it not cost effective in the long run as your stars will plummet and your visibility in the ranking become almost nil. If you stars for p and p hit 4-4 you run the risk of a suspension as well until you sort yourself out.

Get yourself some better scales and a PO leaflet about postal costs. Work it out more accurately and you won't get buyers moaning at you.

There is also the possibility that this buyer is a vigilante, buying just to 'teach you a lesson' about your costs..it happens.

jammiev

Bowling_4_Gold wrote: »

Just a bit lol!

There is the point that yes, you charged well over what is reasonable, but there are the opposing points like, it was clear when the auction was live, the bidder was never forced to bid and it costs you £8.95 in petrol and lost wages to send the item etc

You could come to a compromise, like say to the buyer, 'I will refund you £6 (or whatever) because I see your point that it was a bit excessive, but there are other costs involved, such as packaging and petrol to get to the Post Office etc etc'. Always remember to be polite though!

yeh, but i could still get a negative