Seller seriously undercharged postage, WWYD

[MiaFarrowsWheelbarrow]

I'm in a bit of a dilemma here but my conscience is prickling.

I bought a heavy item from eBay a couple of weeks ago, it was very dusty and dirty in the photos and still had the sellers personal items within it but I presumed it would be cleaned when the items were removed so I didn't even give that much consideration tbh.

My budget was £25, I won the item for £22 plus postage of £6. The starting price was £20.

I did think the postage was cheap but presumed it would be coming via courier and maybe the seller has a discount or something with the company or they were taking a bit of a hit for postage within the item price.

I've collected the item this morning from the Royal Mail delivery office and noticed on the label the seller paid £26.90 to send the item to me. I wasn't in a rush to receive it. They sent it by next day delivery probably due to its weight/PayPal rules for tracked delivery and it's been sat in the delivery office for over a week!

The problem is, I feel awful about the postage cost and I really want to reimburse the seller but I cannot afford to take a £26 hit in my bank account this week. And the item was in a dreadful state when it arrived, it hadn't been cleaned at all and still has bits of rubbish in the drawers which are velvet lined and thick with dust and hair. There is also some cosmetic damage that wasn't mentioned. TBH if I had known it would arrive like this I wouldn't have bid on it as I'm really squeamish about dust mites etc and it's making me feel itchy just to look at it.

I actually started messaging the seller to say I'd noticed the postage charge and I will send you some extra money next week but a little bit of me (about 10%!) is feeling that even then I probably won't be able to afford it. Effectively I will be paying double for something I had to scrape the money together for in the first place and would never have bid on it at double the price.

The seller has low feedback so I presume they are new to selling.

WWYD? Would you offer some extra money towards postage or just accept you got a "bargain"?

[Russell19]

Things on Ebay are sold as seen in pictures or description so the dust etc is up to you to sort. That would have been reflected in the price.

The postage issue is not yours. It is their error, they obviously didnt check. Seems odd though....

[LeekMunchingSheepShagger]

No I wouldn't offer any more money. It's entirely the sellers fault for not checking how much it would cost to send!

[Danni91]

I think it's lovely that you want to do that.

Maybe just pay half? £13.50 So they make at least a small profit.

[Figgygal]

Not your problem particularly if item arrived in such a state and with undisclosed damage

[Fortheloveofscience]

Don’t offer anything else - it was their mistake and they could have organised a cheaper courier rather than Royal Mail.

[BuffaloCauliflower]

You’re very sweet but they made their choice, this is on them not you. Plus it sounds like it’s a state and will likely cost you money to get right so don’t send them anything

[MiaFarrowsWheelbarrow]

Thanks for your opinions, much appreciated.

[JugzyMalone]

I had the same thing, I thought postage seemed cheap and even offered to meet them in town with it, but they didn't want to (smallish item just heavy).

Postage was way more than they expected, would literally have been cheaper to send it in a taxi.

If they had said before paying that it was more for postage then I would have made other plans but I didn't offer to pay a share of the postage as I felt there had been cheaper alternatives.

[fluorescentorange]

Stop worrying, whenever i sell on Ebay i post it through work so I personally don't pay it, the seller may have done that!

[jellybeanteaparty]

Don't feel guilty it wasn't described well and you still paid more in total than the postage was for them so the person hasn't lost money. It sounds like it wasn't a great deal for either of you but you learn and move on both as a buyer or seller.

[bobstersmum]

Don't pay it! And @fluorescentorange isn't that theft?

[fluorescentorange]

No its my our own business! i don't steal from an emloyer.

[Hatemadeupwords]

Well is tax evasion and you are still paying for it.

[juneybean]

tax evasion jesus christ

[fluorescentorange]

Hatemadeupwords

you are off your trolley 😂😂

[Changingagain]

I've weighed something wrongly before when selling on eBay and ended up paying more than I got for it. It was my mistake and I now make extra sure before listing anything. You shouldn't offer to pay it.

[MyFamilyAndOtherAnimals1]

This is such a lovely, sweet post OP

[MiaFarrowsWheelbarrow]

Thanks everyone. Now I've looked again on the labels on the box i don't think it was posted from a post office as the price label/stamp isn't a black and white sticker but a blue ink on white paper one like on a franking machine. Feel a bit better now

[RedWineAllMine]

I recently sold 3 items, in one transaction to the same buyer. She didn't ask me to combine postage etc, she happily paid £10 postage for something which I knew I could send for £3 in a oner.
I messaged her and refunded her £7 and explained that she paid way too much and that postage would only be £3. She was very grateful, and I didn't have to do that but i just couldn't justify someone paying so much postage when I knew it would cost much less.
It's great to see that you thought about the seller, and was considering giving her the postage.
We're not all meanies on eBay! Of course there are the minority who are tho.
I'm glad that it was you who bought it from the seller, as you are a lovely and considerate buyer!

[DontCallMeShitley]

It may have been sent via their work, but they may still have had to pay for it.

I have won things for 99p with free postage or similar a few times, and if I see that the seller is a private seller that looks as if they are having a clear out I usually send them a bit more to cover their postage, getting a thank you message makes it worth while.

If something looks grubby in the photos I assume that is how it will arrive, otherwise it would have been cleaned first. There have been things I have put in the garage or garden until I can give them a good clean.