Help! Ebay parcel advice

perryade

Okay, I sold my first item on eBay today, it was a pair of socks

The problem is, I asked someone to take them to the post office for me and they were charged £3.20! On the Royal Mail website (and I was told on the phone) it says £1.24 for a "large letter" which according to Royal Mail's dimensions is what it was.

What I'm left wondering is whether this was a mistake or if there is some cheaper way of sending them out that I'm unaware of? I've seen people on eBay selling the same item with free delivery for LESS than the postage alone!

Can someone please help me with this? Thanks a lot.

It was one pair of socks and weighed 120 grams. The envelope is 245x170 mm and 16-17mm deep. Again thanks.

campdave

You could try writing to the Post Office Customer services to complain.

In the future, tell whoever you send the price it should be and tell them to walk away if they try to charge more.

perryade

Thanks for the quick reply. So do you know whether I was overcharged based on those dimensions or your own experience? That seems awfully expensive for a pair of socks! o_O

I've been told that the woman serving people in there was immensely rude so maybe she charges based on her mood? :P

campdave wrote: »

You could try writing to the Post Office Customer services to complain.

In the future, tell whoever you send the price it should be and tell them to walk away if they try to charge more.

mrcol1000

Have previously sold lot of socks including thick fluffy ones and these all went as large letters. Unfortunately some post officer clerks think they can tell if an item is a large letter or not just by looking rather than actually checking.

soolin

How were they packaged and how thick?

before pricing in proportion came in I carried several dance style items, including thin little ballet tights for little girls. The way they were packaged on a card meant they were too thick too go as a large letter.

Could it be the packaging that made them too thick to go through the gauge?

perryade

They were in a padded jiffy bag and the thickness was 20mm or 2 cm at the most. The other dimensions are in my other post. It just seems really expensive!

What do you mean by "on a card"? I'm new to all this :P

soolin wrote: »

How were they packaged and how thick?

before pricing in proportion came in I carried several dance style items, including thin little ballet tights for little girls. The way they were packaged on a card meant they were too thick too go as a large letter.

Could it be the packaging that made them too thick to go through the gauge?

perryade

Bump! Bump!

goodmorningsunshine

Going by my own experience, I would say that you have been overcharged as quite a few staff do not know what they are doing

My list is endless;

I once sold a couple of pairs of thin summer socks and was charged the same overpayment as yourself. I messaged the buyer told them their item was on the way and that the PO had made a mistake in the postage they charged.

Once the buyer received the item and saw the postage I paid, they messaged me and said they would pay the extra postage as I could not possibly have made anything out of the sale. I of course declined their generous offer. It was my/the PO's fault not the buyers. Kind gesture though.

but I now measure, weigh and calculate what the postage should be and tell the person who is taking my item to the PO how much it should be - if it's any more than that I tell them to bring the item back.

Pain I know as I then have to go to a different PO and try the example sizes which my item fits through no bother at all.

I just put it down to experience and learn from it.

perryade

Thanks so much for sharing your experience. It's really frustrating that this is even an issue as surely everyone should abide by the rules. I also lost money on this today which is a pain but I suppose it's best that it happened on my first sale so I can learn from it.

All I can say is that this is infuriating. Isn't it strange how so many companies not only do their job badly but it's like they go out of their way to do it in the most unhelpful way possible? If you underpaid on a parcel though they'd suddenly deliver the most efficient service on Earth in order to get that money back. It's seriously depressing.

Anyway thanks for the reply, I'll do as you did and just learn from the experience and move on. Hopefully I get buyers as nice as yours too

goodmorningsunshine wrote: »

Going by my own experience, I would say that you have been overcharged as quite a few staff do not know what they are doing

My list is endless;

I once sold a couple of pairs of thin summer socks and was charged the same overpayment as yourself. I messaged the buyer told them their item was on the way and that the PO had made a mistake in the postage they charged.

Once the buyer received the item and saw the postage I paid, they messaged me and said they would pay the extra postage as I could not possibly have made anything out of the sale. I of course declined their generous offer. It was my/the PO's fault not the buyers. Kind gesture though.

but I now measure, weigh and calculate what the postage should be and tell the person who is taking my item to the PO how much it should be - if it's any more than that I tell them to bring the item back.

Pain I know as I then have to go to a different PO and try the example sizes which my item fits through no bother at all.

I just put it down to experience and learn from it.

Horseunderwater

The most you should have paid LL was £1.24 1st or £1.17 2nd as that covers weight to 250g's. http://www.royalmail.com/sites/default/files/RM_UK_Stamps_Franking_Wallchart_Mar2014a.pdf

perryade

Thanks, I thought so. The receipt even says on it 0.120kg. I'll save that PDF for future use and printing. Unfortunately I think the woman in the PO took advantage of the person who helped me. Kind of disgusting but oh well, I've learned a lesson, I'll set time aside and go myself from now on. They try to overcharge me and I'll move on to another PO or at least have those prices printed and on my person so I can justify starting a RUCKUS. :eek::mad:

Horseunderwater wrote: »

The most you should have paid LL was £1.24 1st or £1.17 2nd as that covers weight to 250g's.