Estimating weight of item - ebay Royal Mail postage

Buster_Danog

Hi guys, when I print postage labels on ebay there are two tabs. Shutl with some Royal Mail options, and then another tab for Royal Mail. If I estimate the weight of an item at less than 1KG and click on the Royal Mail tab what happens if I am wrong about the weight?

As I understand it I have to pay through Paypal straight away. Does this mean the Royal Mail payment on ebay leaves no room for error with weight, or could I get a refund and print another label if I did get it wrong?

d123

Buster_Danog wrote: »

Hi guys, when I print postage labels on ebay there are two tabs. Shutl with some Royal Mail options, and then another tab for Royal Mail. If I estimate the weight of an item at less than 1KG and click on the Royal Mail tab what happens if I am wrong about the weight?

As I understand it I have to pay through Paypal straight away. Does this mean the Royal Mail payment on ebay leaves no room for error with weight, or could I get a refund and print another label if I did get it wrong?

I think the easy answer here is to get a scale and weigh your parcels, even a standard kitchen scale should be accurate enough for Royal Mail.

soolin

Buster_Danog wrote: »

Hi guys, when I print postage labels on ebay there are two tabs. Shutl with some Royal Mail options, and then another tab for Royal Mail. If I estimate the weight of an item at less than 1KG and click on the Royal Mail tab what happens if I am wrong about the weight?

As I understand it I have to pay through Paypal straight away. Does this mean the Royal Mail payment on ebay leaves no room for error with weight, or could I get a refund and print another label if I did get it wrong?

There is no room for mistakes.

If you under pay buyer will be charged an additional cost before they are allowed to collect the item, that cost is based on the size of the item and on a sliding cost but can go up to a couple of pounds.

If you over pay your money is lost and there is no way of reclaiming anything.

As above, a set of scales is imperative , you should not be buying postage online if you don't know the exact weight (and size of course).

soolin

Just an additional thought as well, you add the postal charge when you list on eBay either as a seperate charge or included in your item cost. So you would need scales even at that point as once you state a price you can't then change it if you are wrong once item sells.

lindens

I weigh and measure everything i list as i offer GSP. I then enter the dimensions in the listing as it helps the GSP postage price be more accurate. And more obviously I know I am charging the UK buyers the correct postage!

jwil

Agree with the other comments about weighing and measuring it first.

But if you do print the wrong postage, you can cancel the label and print another one. You will get a refund but not until RM have determined that the label hasn't been used - it takes a week or two if I remember correctly.

ballisticbrian

I thought this question was going to be can you guess the weight as long as it's in the right weight category, to which I say yes, because there is no difference in price. I'm sure some may disagree.

StumpyPumpy

Most kitchen scales are accurate enough for this, but for peace of mind, when I first started I made a note of the exact (packed) weight of the things I was selling and when I went down to the Post Office I weighed them all again on their "official" scales and compared notes. This gave me a margin of error for several weight ranges to work to for the future.

SP

d123

ballisticbrian wrote: »

I thought this question was going to be can you guess the weight as long as it's in the right weight category, to which I say yes, because there is no difference in price. I'm sure some may disagree.

I’m sure very few people can correctly estimate whether something is 980grams or 1020grams, or 1.9kg or 2.1kg. Both mistakes could mean higher or lower postage rates.

ballisticbrian

I’m sure very few people can correctly estimate whether something is 980grams or 1020grams, or 1.9kg or 2.1kg. Both mistakes could mean higher or lower postage rates.

I'm talking about a business account where you use a Royal Mail account that lets you put all the parcels through together if the weights are the same. You *know* they are all under 1kg for sure. But do you bung them all through as 0.5kg being it's the right band, or go through the laborious task of processing each parcel individually.

Brynsam

ballisticbrian wrote: »

I'm talking about a business account where you use a Royal Mail account that lets you put all the parcels through together if the weights are the same. You *know* they are all under 1kg for sure. But do you bung them all through as 0.5kg being it's the right band, or go through the laborious task of processing each parcel individually.

If they are all under 1kg, put them all through as 0.95kg - if you are entirely sure they are under 1kg. The weight band is what matters, and overstating the weight within that band doesn't matter.