Passing on Fees charged on Postage

redfragglebiker

Hi Guys,

Recently won an auction and thought the post was a bit high but the item was nice enough so I thought I would give the seller the benefit of the doubt before it arrived. When it arrived it did seem a bit on the high side compared to what the postage actually cost so I reflected this in my feedback. Just got a message from the seller stating that I have now ruined her DSRs and I am being really unfair to her as eBay now charge fees on the postage too so she adds in those fees when listing the postage costs. (Hope that makes sense)

What are other peoples thoughts on this? Personally I keep the postage charge to whatever it will cost me to post plus a few pence for the polybag. Any fees etc are reflected in the selling price of the items and I don't bump up the postage to reflect fees that way. I'm now wondering how other sellers handle this?

redfragglebiker

Just to add, I've just noticed this text at the bottom of the listing... hope this clarifies


***EBAY TAKE A VERYGREEDY 10% OF THE P&P WHICH IS OUTWITH MY CONTROL AND THIS IS INCLUDEDIN THE UK TOTAL OF £4.40 (GREEDY EBAY BEGAN TAKING THIS 10% OF THE P&PIN SEPT.2013) TOTAL = EXACT POSTAGE CHARGED BY ROYAL MAIL =£3.90, PLUSJUST 6PENCE! FOR MY PACKAGING MATERIALS WHICH ARE ALL BRAND NEW AND I BUYMYSELF:MY PACKAGING COSTS ME MUCH MORE TO BUY THAN THE VERY,VERYREASONABLE,VERY MODEST JUST 6PENCE I ACTUALLY CHARGE AND ALSO + THEGREEDY,UNJUSTIFIED 10%/44PENCE! TAKEN BY EBAY.-EBAY PROFIT FROM THE P&P, IDO NOT!*** :IDO NOT PROFIT FROM CHARGING EXCESSIVE,OTT FOR P&P NOR DO I CHARGE HANDLINGNOR ANY OTHER FEES:MANY,MANY,MANY SELLERS CHARGE FROM £5.65! UP TO ANDINCLUDING THE FULL £7.00 ALLOWED BY EBAY FOR P&P WITH MANYONLY POSTING BY 2ND CLASS ECONOMY UK POSTAGE NOT EVEN RECORDED!! YETTHEY STILL CHARGE FROM £5.65 UP TO THE FULL £7.00! MANY ALSOCHARGE FOR "THEIR TIME",WAITING TIME IN POST OFFICE QUEUES,FUELTO THE POST OFFICE,HANDLING FEES,ETC...ETC .. I DON,T!!** PLEASE CHECKMY FEEDBACK FOR HOW QUICKLY I DISPATCH MY ITEMS,ETC .

mrcol1000

I think its very difficult situation. There are far more factors involved than just the price of the stamp. Everyones extra costs are different and unique. Not everyone charges for these extra costs and some people charge a little bit or all the costs.

Personally for things I buy, I allow a couple of quid for costs on top of the postage cost (assuming they have used new packaging) and then start reducing stars. For selling, I do "free postage" on as many items as possible to avoid this kind of thing as everyone's perception of fair postage costs are different.

In your situation I'd ignore them and move on with your life. You giving low stars is not going to ruin their account. If other people are giving low stars as well then that will ruin their account but they need to think what they could do differently to resolve this. Cheaper packaging or using my Hermes comes to mind. However, Its not your problem.

rach_k

If she only added 50p to the actual postage cost, I think that is perfectly reasonable and I wouldn't have knocked her stars for it.

Somebody charged me £9 for a parcel that cost £2.80 to post. I thought that was cheeky and way over the top, but 50p is neither here nor there.

redfragglebiker

For that I would have let it slide too but the postage was nowhere near the £3.90 she's claiming it cost?

RFW

Anyone who writes that kind of nonsense at the bottom of a listing shouldn't be selling anything anywhere.

If you feel postage was too high, that's what the DSRs are for. You don't need to consult anyone or check anything. Whether the system is fair or not is not the buyer's problem. The seller is not the buyer's responsibility.

soolin

redfragglebiker wrote: »

For that I would have let it slide too but the postage was nowhere near the £3.90 she's claiming it cost?

How as it sent then, as a large letter or unsigned? £3.90 is a small packet 2nd class signed for.

redfragglebiker

unsigned parcel.

Also a bit concerned as the second message I got claimed she looked at my feedback and I have a "terrible track record" (I have had ONE neg in the last year despite trying to resolve the buyer issues) I've also just had an email from eBay stating that she's made a contact information request which concerns me a little as she should have no reason to need to contact me further?

soolin

redfragglebiker wrote: »

unsigned parcel.

Also a bit concerned as the second message I got claimed she looked at my feedback and I have a "terrible track record" (I have had ONE neg in the last year despite trying to resolve the buyer issues) I've also just had an email from eBay stating that she's made a contact information request which concerns me a little as she should have no reason to need to contact me further?

Sellers are often actively encouraged to deal with issues and eBay often suggest they call a buyer who has left a defect star.

fishybusiness

For that I would have let it slide too but the postage was nowhere near the £3.90 she's claiming it cost?

There's not much room for lowering it on a parcel. If it is a letter rather than parcel, sure it could be lower.

How much was seller charged for posting?

RFW

redfragglebiker wrote: »

unsigned parcel.

Also a bit concerned as the second message I got claimed she looked at my feedback and I have a "terrible track record" (I have had ONE neg in the last year despite trying to resolve the buyer issues) I've also just had an email from eBay stating that she's made a contact information request which concerns me a little as she should have no reason to need to contact me further?

You could always send a message apologising and agree to have the DSR removed/changed if she wants to contact Ebay. The only time I tried to do that when the buyer had left low DSRs in error along with positive feedback, I was told by Ebay it wasn't possible. So you would shut her up and leave her contacting Ebay instead of driving you mad.