Buyer asking for postage refund

RHemmings

In this case the OP admits that they mistook the postage. Hence his/her profit is £2.20 more than they expected it to be. Some people on this thread are saying that the buyer was prepared to pay the total cost, so why should they quibble? Well, in this case the seller was prepared to sell for the sale price, not expecting to make a few quid on the postage. So, if that's the case, why wouldn't they refund?

If I was the buyer in this case, I'd feel that the p&p charge was unreasonable. I probably wouldn't ask for a refund, but I certainly would give low stars for p&p being reasonable. Having read this thread, then I probably will consider asking for a refund first next time. And before anyone comments, I know that I am very far from being a 'scammer'.

The bottom line here is that sellers should make sure that their p&p charges are reasonable and accurate. Failing to do so can cause financial loss if the charges are underestimated, or bad buyer feeling if they're overestimated.

appleblossom

techspec wrote: »

I would't ask anything, as i have a brain - and i know that had postage been lower - the price would have gone higher. People bid on the TOTAL they are willing to pay, and don't give a crap how much is postage, VAT, staff wages, blah blah blah.

FACT is - scammers see cheap item with higher postage. Buy it ON PURPOSE with the intention of scamming the seller via feedback extorsion.

And if i am not mistaken - its highly likely the scam started on MSE, or similar forum.

Some of you are turning it into Money Scamming Expert - and robbing small sellers who probably made a loss in the first place.

I have a brain thank you very much - I also have over 2000 ebay feedback, pretty much a 50/50 split of buying and selling. When my scales broke and I had one batch of items that I overcharged post on, I didn't need to be asked for the buyer for a refund I sent it when I came back from the post office. I live 4 miles away from the nearest post office - I have driven there and back to post something I have sold for 99p, so you could add me into one of those who have made a loss. I don't actually charge for packing,time,petrol etc., I just charge the post amount but understand that packaging can be added - I just choose not to. I have approached sellers when I have been overcharged for post - not silly pence but what I consider a considerable amount - whilst I might agree to the price, I assume that that is what it will cost - when I was overcharged by £10.00 the seller was mortified as his wife had listed the item, stated the postage, took the item to the post office and pocketed the difference! - needless to say it was back in my paypal account in minutes.

I was simply saying in my original post - sometimes we don't need advice on what to do, we can just put the shoe on the other foot and consider what we would personally do - anyway, time to put my brain to other uses now!!

Brooker_Dave

RHemmings wrote: »

In this case the OP admits that they mistook the postage. Hence his/her profit is £2.20 more than they expected it to be.

Ebay brainwashes its users into thinking that sellers making a profit is akin to greed.

Meanwhile ebay charges a listing fee, a final value fee, commission on the payment and commission on the postage.

Guess who the greedy one is?

RHemmings

Brooker_Dave wrote: »

Ebay brainwashes its users into thinking that sellers making a profit is akin to greed.

Meanwhile ebay charges a listing fee, a final value fee, commission on the payment and commission on the postage.

Guess who the greedy one is?

I was just pointing out that the seller, through overestimating the postage costs, has made more profit than s/he expected. Hence if they refunded the £2.20, the seller would still be making as much profit on the sale as they originally expected.

I pointed this out as some posters are saying that the buyer was 'happy' to pay the original costs + p&p. I'm just pointing out that the seller was also happy to sell the item assuming that it would cost £3.50 to post. That argument works both ways.

I made no reference, neither explicit or implicit, to seller greed. Nor did I say that it was wrong for the seller to make a profit. Hence, I don't think your followup, which quoted my post, actually addresses the point I was making.

plumface

RHemmings wrote: »

I was just pointing out that the seller, through overestimating the postage costs, has made more profit than s/he expected. Hence if they refunded the £2.20, the seller would still be making as much profit on the sale as they originally expected.

So, if the item was sold in an auction and reached a price far in excess of that expected, would you refund any money because you made more profit than you originally thought?

RHemmings

plumface wrote: »

So, if the item was sold in an auction and reached a price far in excess of that expected, would you refund any money because you made more profit than you originally thought?

You're comparing apples and oranges. Postage costs are expected to pay for the costs involved in posting the item. An auction price is an entirely different thing, and there is no expectation that it will end at any particular fixed value. Nor that it be justifiable by, e.g., matching the actual p&p costs incurred by the seller in selling the item.

Your analogy doesn't match the situation. A much better analogy would be if someone paid for a BIN auction, but for some reason, they accidentally overpaid (*). In that case, yes I would refund the excess. Whether or not it was the buyer's fault, or ebay/paypal/who-ever's fault.

(*) a genuine overpayment, not the well known overvalued cheque scam.

plumface

RHemmings wrote: »

You're comparing apples and oranges. Postage costs are expected to pay for the costs involved in posting the item. An auction price is an entirely different thing, and there is no expectation that it will end at any particular fixed value. Nor that it be justifiable by, e.g., matching the actual p&p costs incurred by the seller in selling the item.

Your analogy doesn't match the situation. A much better analogy would be if someone paid for a BIN auction, but for some reason, they accidentally overpaid (*). In that case, yes I would refund the excess. Whether or not it was the buyer's fault, or ebay/paypal/who-ever's fault.
(*) a genuine overpayment, not the well known overvalued cheque scam.

Who says "Postage costs are expected to pay for the costs involved in posting the item"?
Its back to the old chestnut again, if the total price is what you thought was a good deal, what does it matter what the postage actually cost.

thunder65

No-one has factored in that PAYPAL take a percentage of the postage costs and from last month EBay are also taking a percentage as well for the postage. My Ebay fees have rocketed in the last month as a result. Quite simply the amount quoted for postage in your auction rightly or wrongly should be adhered to. Any potential buyer at the outset should factor this in when making the bid and if they disagree with the postage simply should not bid. Finally if a £2 refund is given via PAYPAL they again would take a commision leaving the buyer with less than £1.70. Only one winner here dare I say.

RHemmings

plumface wrote: »

Who says "Postage costs are expected to pay for the costs involved in posting the item"?
Its back to the old chestnut again, if the total price is what you thought was a good deal, what does it matter what the postage actually cost.

I think you'll find that most people think that "postage costs are expected to pay for the costs involved in posting the item." What do you think postage costs are?

plumface

RHemmings wrote: »

I think you'll find that most people think that "postage costs are expected to pay for the costs involved in posting the item." What do you think postage costs are?

How do you know what the sellers TOTAL postage costs were? (and no, i'm not talking about the cost of the coffee being included )

How do you know what the postage costs are when an item is "free p&p"

I am not out for an argument, i just find it befuddling!
A buyer will complain about being ripped off if the stamp price shows a lower amount than what they had paid for the p&p element.
A buyer will buy the same item with free p&p, for the same total cost and will not complain.
I have yet to see a buyer on any forum complain they have been ripped off by the postage costs on a free p&p sale.
Item £4, p&p charge £1 (actual stamp price £1) total to buyer £5 = 5 stars
Item £5, p&p charge £0 (actual stamp price £1) total to buyer £5 = 5 stars
Item £1, p&p charge £4 (actual stamp price £1) total to buyer £5 = RIP OFF

Why oh why?