Refunding postage

[DreadfulSpiller]

Hi, I'm a novice ebayer and have just sent off my first batch of sales however I charged small parcel 2nd class for everything and a few came in under that ie qualified for large letter. I'd like to refund the difference as i feel like i conned them (inadvertently) c. £2 - is this standard practice and how do I so it!? Many thanks

[ThedementedPenguin]

It's not standard practice but it is lovely to do. Go into PayPal and find the payments, you can then partially refund, send the buyers messages so they know what's happening.
Really nice thing to do

[Leviticus]

I always refund excess, not the odd pence but in cases such as yours. It's a good thing to do.

[DreadfulSpiller]

Many thanks both. I figured out how to do it. Am shocked at how many people charge 2.80 for something like a t shirt or child's dress, when you can easily send it via large letter for £1-£1.50!

[sayerville]

I always refund the difference and still can't figure why I have less than 5 stars.....

[KatharineClifton]

'you are allowed to charge a small amount for your time in taking the item to post office.'

Seriously? I never do. Cost of postage, plus packaging, plus the 10% ebay take from the P&P, and perhaps the paypal charge. It's actually easier to do an all in one price with freepost.

[RedandYellow24]

I usually refund if it's more than 20p it's easy to do in PayPal. I already take out packaging but tend to recycle a lot so no big cost.
I use the post office estimator but find it still varys especially if it's close to the package sizes. Plus my scales can be different from theirs s d theirs is what we go on.
I put postage down as higher estimate as you can't ask people for more but you can easily refund after.
Also helps if you are selling heavy items that they can see they are paying the stamp price. There is an option to hide the parcel costs but o think it causes bad feeling if you suspect people are making money on it.

[twistletonsmythe]

no you are not allowed to charge a small amount for you time - unless you are a business of course. Katharine you are wrong.

[twistletonsmythe]

Sorry not Katharine - I meant Theselittle.

[robin64]

I just had a rude abrupt message asking why I had refunded a buyer after refunding them £1 postage when the item went large letter instead of parcel. Honestly ebay never ceases to amaze me. Some people FFS!

[SistersofPercy]

TBH I prefer to list free postage and factor it into the start price. As your fees are calculated with postage costs as well it saves on fees, nothing other than 5 stars can be left for Free P&P so it helps your account and it avoids the hassles of weird buyers who get het up over postage