How much are sellers allowed to charge for ‘packaging’

marliepanda · 6 January 2018 at 2:37PM

I am the buyer here. I bought a few items (small items which from my own experience would have gone for £2.80) postage listed as £5 each.

I bought about 5 of these items and the revised postage was given as £12.00. When I got the items today £6.50 is the postage cost.

I have asked the seller to refund some of the difference however she has said that the postage cost includes postage and packaging. I don’t feel very happy to pay £5.50 for a reused BeautyBay box and a few bits of bubble wrap, and her ebay fee also. What are eBays rules on this?

In my opinion I’d have expected £4 back.

mrcol1000 · 6 January 2018 at 3:34PM

Sellers could add £1000000 postage and packaging for a 99p hair comb if they wanted. Its up to buyers to decide if they are willing to pay this.

You should have checked postage cost for 5 items were before purchasing. If you were unhappy with the price you should have shopped with someone else. No-one is going to force them to return £4. The best you can do is leave feedback stating that you feel you were overcharged on postage and packaging.

Next time check you are happy with postage/packaging costs before buying.

Tom99 · 6 January 2018 at 3:54PM

If the total price you paid had been quoted with 'Free Postage' you would not be complaining.

marliepanda · 6 January 2018 at 4:01PM

Tom99 wrote: »

If the total price you paid had been quoted with 'Free Postage' you would not be complaining.

Well they were bid items, and I certainly wasn’t going to pay £25 to ship five £5 each items.

I understand sellers have costs and I understand the final value fee on postage costs. I also understand buying packaging has a cost.

What I don’t accept is paying double the postage cost for the seller to pocket. I’ve sold on eBay and I charge exact postage costs plus a small round up for the fee as I’m not going to charge people for my time and petrol to the post office and my garage is full of old packaging from others.

If the seller chooses not to refund some postage I will be returning the items. The description is not accurate but for the sale price, I’m happy. For the sale price plus hiked postage, they’re not worth it.

marliepanda · 6 January 2018 at 4:03PM

mrcol1000 wrote: »

Sellers could add £1000000 postage and packaging for a 99p hair comb if they wanted. Its up to buyers to decide if they are willing to pay this.

You should have checked postage cost for 5 items were before purchasing. If you were unhappy with the price you should have shopped with someone else. No-one is going to force them to return £4. The best you can do is leave feedback stating that you feel you were overcharged on postage and packaging.

Next time check you are happy with postage/packaging costs before buying.

I checked with the seller and she said she’d need to purchase a larger box to ship them in, and quoted the £12.

She them shipped them in a reused box.

usefulmale · 6 January 2018 at 4:10PM

marliepanda wrote: »

If the seller chooses not to refund some postage I will be returning the items. The description is not accurate but for the sale price, I’m happy. For the sale price plus hiked postage, they’re not worth it.

So you are going to pay £6.50 just because you didn't get £4 back?

Or are you planning on falsely claiming SNAD seeing as you have dropped the 'description is not accurate' get-out in?

See, by your own admission, you are happy with the items, so the 'S' in SNAD does not apply.

elsien · 6 January 2018 at 4:10PM

Doesn't matter what she shipped them in. She quoted you the combined postage costs and you accepted it. So you obviously thought the items were worth it at that point.
I get why you're a bit miffed, but you agreed the postage costs before she sent them so you can't really complain now.

marliepanda · 6 January 2018 at 4:24PM

usefulmale wrote: »

So you are going to pay £6.50 just because you didn't get £4 back?

Or are you planning on falsely claiming SNAD seeing as you have dropped the 'description is not accurate' get-out in?

See, by your own admission, you are happy with the items, so the 'S' in SNAD does not apply.

I’m not lying, but if the seller wants to inaccurately describe AND overinflate postage then she can’t do both sorry. If you think that’s all okay, the fair play to you, but you can’t try have your cake and eat it.

The items condition on arrival is absolutely worth my bid price plus the actual postage cost.

They are not worth the bid price plus inflated postage.

pinkshoes · 6 January 2018 at 4:30PM

I'm with Marlie on this one.

When you buy several items, you trust the seller to adjust the postage to a sensible amount to reflect the actual cost of posting several items at once.

It is natural instinct to feel annoyed when this amount turns out to be far more than it actually cost them.

I personally would leave a 1* for packaging and postage when leaving FB.

Pun · 6 January 2018 at 5:06PM

Completely sympathise with your feeling miffed, but your logic doesn't really add up. You seem to be saying that the items were worth the price you paid plus the postage quoted - but then when you saw you'd been charged more than the actual cost of postage, suddenly they weren't worth the total you'd paid! Doesn't make a lot of sense.

Also a bit puzzled by your comment that you bought 'about 5' - don't you know how many you bought...?

'Fine. If you says it’s unfair for me to ask for a postage refund I’ll just send them back.' Ever heard the phrase 'cutting off my nose to spite my face'?

ssparks2003 · 6 January 2018 at 5:16PM

Postage and packing is made up of material (packing materials) postage costs, labour (packing up the items, taking them to the post office), sundry costs (printing etc) fuel costs (most people do not live above a post office) .

It is fairly realistic that the cost of delivery is going to be greater than the cost of the stamps on the outside to cover these costs.

How much are sellers allowed to charge for ‘packaging’

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