Overcharge. On post

legionare64

I purchased an eBay item. Post was listed at £20 1st class Royal Mail. It has been sent by Hermes one of the cheapest couriers costing about £6 - £7 should I complain and ask for a partial refund on post cost ?

RainbowDrops

Ah, the age old debate!
I'll sum up the types replies you'll get (note these aren't my opinions!) in no particular order

1) Contact the buyer and ask them for a refund
2) You aggreed to the postage price when you bid, so you shouldn't complain or ask for a refund
3) Leave factual feedback & low stars for P&P

These points will be repeated, with the arguments
Shoud sellers add whatever they want to P&P
Should buyers be allowed to mark down for P&P if they aggreed to pay in the first place
Don't buy if you're not happy with the price
All sellers should be offering "free" P&P
etc etc etc

legionare64

I wouldn't mind the cost if it was sent in the way advertised ie 1st class. I would have had it ages before the 5 days taken by Hermes. Also with 1st class I could have collected from my local post office if not at home.

RainbowDrops

legionare64 wrote: »

I wouldn't mind the cost if it was sent in the way advertised ie 1st class. I would have had it ages before the 5 days taken by Hermes. Also with 1st class I could have collected from my local post office if not at home.

Well it's certainly an argument you can use.
Contact the seller & see what they say.

soolin

Personally despite all the other debates about charges, I would always suggest contacting the seller first. In this instance they may well have been told about MyHermes after listing the item and may well just refund the difference in cost.

tracy_36

This is interesting for me, I've just begun to sell on ebay, and I guessed through the weight and size of the item that it would be about £20 to post - It only came to about £8, so I feel quite guilty - on the other hand, the item only sold for £2, what would you do?

campdave

tracy_36 wrote: »

This is interesting for me, I've just begun to sell on ebay, and I guessed through the weight and size of the item that it would be about £20 to post - It only came to about £8, so I feel quite guilty - on the other hand, the item only sold for £2, what would you do?

There's no excuse for guessing how much postage costs.

You'll end up getting low stars for postage and could have your account restricted, or you could guess the wrong way and not charge enough to cover the actual cost of the postage.

19lottie82

tracy_36 wrote: »

This is interesting for me, I've just begun to sell on ebay, and I guessed through the weight and size of the item that it would be about £20 to post - It only came to about £8, so I feel quite guilty - on the other hand, the item only sold for £2, what would you do?

Morally, many will say you should refund it. You don't have to, but if not you run the risk of negative feedback.

The point of the item only selling for £2 is irrelevant. You should make your starting price the minimum amount that you are willing to accept for the item. The postage price is not supposed to be there to bump up your profit.

tracy_36

Thanks for your advice - I now have scales and a tape measure!

And I've just refunded £10, don't think I would have slept tonight otherwise!

Aquamania

legionare64 wrote: »

I wouldn't mind the cost if it was sent in the way advertised ie 1st class. I would have had it ages before the 5 days taken by Hermes. Also with 1st class I could have collected from my local post office if not at home.

Then leave appropriate feedback

Aquamania

soolin wrote: »

Personally despite all the other debates about charges, I would always suggest contacting the seller first. In this instance they may well have been told about MyHermes after listing the item and may well just refund the difference in cost.

Personally, as an ebay seller, I would always contact the buyer first and get their agreement if I was to change anything away from the details as listed.
If a partial refund was to be made, that would be when I offered it (subject to the buyers approval of the change)