Real Life MMD: Should I refund the postage cost?

joehoover

Why are people saying it is not fair and he has been overcharged for a service. He got a better servcie than royal mail would ever give.

What the seller should have done is stipulated the location of the item as I do and buyers have the option to collect from me free of charge, that can be the only complaint that the buyer was denied the chance to collect it themselves. I can see it is misleading if you selected royal mail delivery but you can select delivery as 'other' and still be entitled to charge if you sent it yourself.

There is no way the buyer should feel ripped off though, he paid for a delivery and the goods were delivered. Does it matter that someone took the time to do this personally and hand it to them rather thna royal mail cuck it about for a week and cram it through your letterbox, ruining the item.

GreedoReedo

I'm an eBay seller and it always surprises me when other sellers stipulate all these conditions. For example: "no refunds". Wrong. Buyers can always get a refund via PayPal.

For the most part, eBay buyers are wonderful: they leave great feedback and understand there's a sense of community. They're often willing to overlook small discrepancies. And they're also patient.

But the old addage of "the buyer's always right" still applies. Any eBay seller worth their salt should always reply to any communication - you'll see this as the major frustration for buyers. "I sent several messages and heard nothing!"

In this instance, I'd say that the buyer has been unreasonable. But a partial refund of a couple of quid is way better for a seller than negative feedback. Sometimes, as a seller, you just have to take it on the chin?

petfrog

If the buyer lived so close, why didn't he/she apply to pick it up?
I would ignore the feedback, keep a note of the buyer, and make sure never to sell to them again.

luckster28

I agree with a couple of posters above - I'd be happy to have an item hand delivered. I think it's quite a nice thing - personal service etc...
When I commit to buy an item, I also accept the charge of getting the item to me as part of the cost. If I wasn't happy with that cost then I should not bid on the item.
How the seller gets the item to you is his/her perogative as long as it arrives to you within the specified time-frame. You cannot complain about this in my opinion.
As neg feedback has been left for you - leave a response to the feedback stating "item hand delivered - can't please everyone!" and do not refund any money.

linedancer123

Yes, you should.
Did you know the buyer lived close by, you could have offered to deliver it. The problem with ebay is people add too much on for delivery, to try and make an extra few £.

trigirl1979

I am on the buyers side with this, I am getting fed up with sellers over inflating the postage cost to bump up their price. In the last week I was charged £5 for items which actually only cost £2.50, if it had been new packaging I would have let it go but it wasn't.

When I buy the item although I agree to the P&P cost I don't know how much the item weighs so feel duped when it rocks up costing half of the price paid. I leave positive fb but 1 star for P&P.

qwertykeys92

I personally don't think you should refund the buyer - being an eBayer myself I understand how some buyers are inconsiderate of what you do to get their parcel to them.

Like others have said, the fee you charged was for postage AND packaging, plus petrol money. The buyer got their item quicker and more efficiently than Royal Mail could have delivered it for that price (cheapest courier I know is Parcel Monkey and that's about £7 not including packaging).

If you want to meet them halfway, I'd say refund them £2 at most, and like someone else said earlier, explain in a reply to their feedback why you only gave a partial refund on their order. Don't leave them feedback, because being a seller you can only leave positive, which is a bit unfair when you've received a negative affecting your positives percentage.

Also, giving them a refund protects you more if they happen to open an eBay/PayPal Buyer Protection case against you.

stmartinsdiver

If "Free local collection" was offered then the buyer could have picked it up at no cost. If the buyer accepted £5 was a fair P&P charge when bidding then as long as you deliver within the stated timescale then it's up to you how you get it there as long as it is delivered in good condition. Although a 5 mile round trip won't have cost you that much in fuel if you factor your time in then I don't think you are being unreasonable . As the buyer made it clear he was unhappy with the charges it was fairly predicatable that he would post negative feedback if you did not give him a refund but as the deed is now done and you honoured your side of the agreement just leave as is.

Pmarmalade

Sorry to hear you received negative feedback for this; (lack of) communication is so often the problem on ebay - for both sellers and buyers. If the buyer wanted to pay £0 shipping (s)he should have contacted you in advance over the possibility of arranging collection.

If (s)he wanted a partial shipping refund (s)he should have just dropped you an email and I'm sure most sellers would have been happy to oblige rather than receive negative/neutral. On the other hand you could have been more pro-active to offer a partial refund as a 4 mile round trip doesn't cost £5. Using what employers have to pay you for using your own car for business use (40p per mile), £1.60 would be considered fair for petrol + wear & tear. As for time, all sellers posting are expected absorb this with a usual packing of the item, writing the address, going down to the post office and often waiting in lengthy queues so I don't think the time taken to drive 4 or 5 miles really works as an argument to justify the full £5. But I also think the buyer is picking at threads. I'd have accepted it or emailed in advance to arrange collection personally.

The resolution is clear and straightforward IMO, although the buyer might not see it this way. Offer a partial refund of shipping costs in return for the removal of the negative feedback. Though they really should have contacted you first. Before leaving negative they have more collateral... I don't get why many don't understand this.

*~400 ebay feedback, 60% from buying, 40% from selling so I'm coming from a neutral perspective

fizzking

Certainly not.
You have completed your obligation to deliver it. The buyer accepted that this would cost him £5, when he placed a bid.
You should report it to eBay.