Buyer wants postage refund- how much?

juicygirl

Hi,

I'm really new to Ebay. Recently sold an item and charged £4.99 for P&P. Actual cost of postage was £2.80. The buyer has messaged me requesting a refund of the difference.

So do I refund the entire difference and keep her happy, or part of the difference taking into account the packaging and risk the negative feedback? ( given that I prob used a second hand envelope anyway?).

I just found the message a bit cheeky, esp when the item was a heck of bargain, but I know I should think of the long term!

What should I do?

Thanks!

FrillyTilly

No don't refund. Some will tell you to refund but personally I would not. She bought the item and should have clearly checked the P&P costs before buying, by buying she agreed to pay - she can't complain now!

paulc333

FrillyTilly wrote: »

No don't refund. Some will tell you to refund but personally I would not. She bought the item and should have clearly checked the P&P costs before buying, by buying she agreed to pay - she can't complain now!

she can however leave a neg if she likes and low stars, depending how much the OP wants to sell things that can easily hurt.

bxboards

Reply with:

'Dear buyer - thanks for your purchase and I'm glad to see it's arrived. The delivery charge was clearly listed at the time of your bid, and you agreed to this when you placed the bid. Therefore I regret that I will not be able to refund you. You are welcome to return the item for a full refund if you are unhappy, but no partial refunds will be issued.

Thanks, and I hope you enjoy your item'

Or be less polite, and block and ignore.

Do not under any circumstances refund any of the delivery charge would be my advice. I have no time for cheapskates - they lack class and pride in themselves.

King_Nothing

This is exactly the reason why all the things I currently have for sale at BIN are listed as free postage, and just set the price at something I think I could sell it for and without making too much of a loss when posting. Can't be arsed with arguing the toss with someone who thinks I've done them over to the tune of a couple of quid, when they knew how much it was to get the item from my house to theirs, before they decide to buy the item.

At least a few others here can get the concept, look at how much to bid, or how much it costs to BIN, plus the cost of postage to get it to your house = an agreeable sum you're willing to pay to get the item you wish. I couldn't care less if somethings listed at £10 postage, but actually cost £5 to post it, I saw that the item and the cost of postage came to a total I was willing to pay for that item, so I did. Had I not agreed, I wouldn't have bought it.

I wouldn't refund them anything.

charlies_mum

Yes, the buyer saw the cost before bidding but may have thought that was the actual cost. They now know they were overcharged by £2.


I would refund them the difference as I value my Ebay account. A refusal to refund could result in a negative and low stars, and under the new defect rules, that's bad news.

SpammyTheSpammer

If you do not refund, you are almost certain to get a Negative and probably 1 star across the board from this stroppy buyer.

So, is it worth refunding £2 to prevent a Neg and poor stars ?

Frankly, I agree with King_Nothing, offering P&P instead of "FREE POST AND PACKAGING" is now a choice of fools:-

• The P&P portion is assessed in the FVF
• "FREE" P&P gets you automatic 5*
• It's one less thing for the buyer to moan about

Frankly, you gambled & lost on the buyer not challenging your inflated P&P in an effort to get another £2 - I fail to understand why people persist with this.....

janb5

I am sorry but you do need to calculate your postage more carefully when you are starting out on Ebay as otherwise it will bite you on the bum! I always notice what postage is on the envelope and I am a seller as well as a buyer. I have also made mistakes and miscalculated postage so the customer paid less than the actual cost but I put it down to an oversight and ignore.


It is frankly irrelevant whether the customer ` got a bargain anyway`. They need to feel you are an honest seller or they will vote with their feet and buy elsewhere.


Apologize, refund their postage on Paypal and move on.

soolin

I'm also in the 'refund' camp here, you can either have an eBay account, or you stick to your overcharging and lose it. Under the new defect system a small seller can lose their account with as few as 5 defects a year, and even a neutral here would count as a defect.

Also, if your p and p stars drop too much you will have less visibility In Best Match , less buyers and a lower overall sale price.

As for the amount I personally would refund around the £1.50-£1.70 mark with apologies that you miscalculated the postage.

For future reference weigh your items properly and use the Royal Mail prices, clearly available on line to work out postage. Also remember that eBay charge you 10% on top as fees.

NBLondon

Depends on the item - it's Postage and Packing remember. If it's a fragile item and you've paid out for a box and decent cushioning material then that's what the rest was for. You could try explaining that. If you then get a negative, you have some ammo to challenge it as malicious (though success may depend on which eBay drone responds).

I agree with King_Nothing - the buyer should look at the total cost and judge if they are willing to buy at that price. If they think the seller is wildly inflating the P&P they shouldn't bid - I'd take that as a warning to avoid that seller.

soolin

NBLondon wrote: »

Depends on the item - it's Postage and Packing remember. If it's a fragile item and you've paid out for a box and decent cushioning material then that's what the rest was for. You could try explaining that. If you then get a negative, you have some ammo to challenge it as malicious (though success may depend on which eBay drone responds).

I agree with King_Nothing - the buyer should look at the total cost and judge if they are willing to buy at that price. If they think the seller is wildly inflating the P&P they shouldn't bid - I'd take that as a warning to avoid that seller.

Defend overcharging if you will, eBay will not remove a neg in those circumstances and if you actually read the OP it clearly states a second hand envelope was probably used.

I sell in the china and glass categories, I am aware of packaging costs. If I can get a free box I will, but actually keep brand new boxes in stock, flat packed, which cost me less than 50p a go. Sellers can charge whA they like, and we can all justify it on here and give
Hugs and sympathy but that will be no use when sellers lose their account.