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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Anyone who sells on eBay – this one’s for you

221 replies

SuzieBishop · 02/12/2020 11:22

So selling something on eBay and postage is set at £3.40 - buyer buys and messaged me asking if I will refund the difference of the postage as it is small and might go as a large letter so would only be £1.10.
I initially found this a bit cheeky as postage is normally set around £3.10 to £3.40-50 on most items on eBay. Yes I set it up £3.40 to make a bit of a profit.
I’ve sold a good few things and some have gone just £1.10 but no one has ever messaged me to ask for the money back. The postage is the postage and it says in your terms that there are no refunds. Is this person being cheeky? I can’t decide.
So my AIBU is should I refund it as they have the balls to ask (YABU) or say no and keep the profit (YANBU). Thanks!

OP posts:
Original poster
SuzieBishop · 02/12/2020 14:03

@Veniemmanuel the example you gave is excessive yes, 30p is not.

OP posts:
AnxiousWeirdo · 02/12/2020 14:03

Sorry I cross posted with you 😁

Original poster
SuzieBishop · 02/12/2020 14:05

Anyway that’s it posted away, thanks for all the opinions!

OP posts:
FamilyOfAliens · 02/12/2020 14:05

Yes, you shouldn't profit, but the COST of posting isn't just the stamp. It's the packaging, the time to wrap it, the fuel to get to the post office (and maybe parking) and time to do so.

This always puzzles me - how do you work out what it costs for your time to wrap an item and take it to the post office? Is it by the hour, as if you’re asking the buyer to pay you a wage while you wrap?

And surely the sensible thing to do would be to schedule your auctions to end the evening before you knew you would be going to the shops and therefore do several tasks in one trip?

Do people actually drive to the post office with one parcel, pay for parking and then pass those costs on to the one buyer? Seems a very inefficient use of time to me.

caringcarer · 02/12/2020 14:12

I bought a pair of earrings. The postage said £3.40. After I received the item which came in an ordinary envelope with a first class stamp the vendor messaged me to tell me they had refunded £2 postage. I was very pleased. I did once give a person a 1 star after I had asked for combined postage for 2 buy it now items before I bought them and vendor agreed and said buy them and they would refund difference but they never did. Venders should not profiteer on postage and it should cover cost of postage and packaging.

Flackattack · 02/12/2020 14:12

I was going to say I bet it ended up costing small parcel! You get charged about 15% fees with eBay and PayPal so £3.50 only covers the cost of posting once fees are taken! Packaging is extra!
Smile

BLToutanowhere · 02/12/2020 14:13

Postage is £3.40. When have you ever known P&P from a company to be as low as this?

It's not just the stamp. OP's buyer bid knowing damn well what the postage was and bid anyway.

pessimistiquerealistique · 02/12/2020 14:14

Normally we forget to include the price for the packaging. We pay for it as well.

wherethewavesarehighest · 02/12/2020 14:18

I don't bid on stuff I think the postage is too high on. I would just tell them no.
I usually refund some postage if it's turns out a lot less than I charged, but I don't tell the seller until I've done it.

wherethewavesarehighest · 02/12/2020 14:18

*buyer

Divebar · 02/12/2020 14:19

I think you’re taking the piss if you’re charging for fuel or parking charges - that’s just ridiculous. I buy and sell on eBay and nothing says CF like a seller who overcharges and then the item comes poorly wrapped in scrappy recycled packaging - usually a used transit bag. By all means charge some more but then actually use proper packaging. Recycle your packaging ( which is a great idea ) but ensure your postage price is amended to reflect the fact you haven’t actually had to spend money on it.

ScatteredMama82 · 02/12/2020 14:21

I am put off buying things where the seller is clearly aiming to profit on postage. I have refunded postage overpayment twice this week as I overestimated how much it would be.

unmarkedbythat · 02/12/2020 14:23

@BLToutanowhere

Postage is £3.40. When have you ever known P&P from a company to be as low as this?

It's not just the stamp. OP's buyer bid knowing damn well what the postage was and bid anyway.

Many, many companies offer free p&p, or do deals such as 'pay £10 and enjoy free p&p on any orders you make all year', etc. So, loads and loads of times have I known p&p fro, a company to be as low as or lower than £3.40.
Donotlikemyname · 02/12/2020 14:28

You should work out how much it is going to cost to post the items and charge that. If you are a regular seller,
get some scales to weigh the item
make one of the post office guides to gauge the size of the envelope, parcel, or buy one. So you can work out if its is a small/ large envelope or parcel.
Find a price guide on royal mail.
Add up packaging costs and Ebay and payment processing fees, these are charged on postage too.
High postage is off putting for customers, so you may have actually got a better price for the item without slyly profiting from postage.
Instead of taking the customers comments as CF, use them constructively to improve the service you are offering

NotImpossible · 02/12/2020 14:31

Quite honestly I'd be tempted to block the buyer / cancel the sale. I've sold on eBay (as a job, not a hobby) for years and the buyers who quibble about prices before you send are often the ones who make a fuss and cause problems later. Personally I don't offer large letter at all as I use a courier. £3.40 Is not in any way excessive.

NoDramaMama14 · 02/12/2020 14:36

You set your prices its up to you

user1471447863 · 02/12/2020 14:36

When I buy something on ebay I look at the postage and factor that in to the total I am willing to bid/pay. It's not hard.
If I deem my limit is £50 for something & the postage is £5 then I'll only bid up to £45.
Any buyer asking for a discount is a CF and going to be trouble

tallduckandhandsome · 02/12/2020 14:39

Are you running a shop or a charity?! No refunds.

GlummyMcGlummerson · 02/12/2020 14:40

It's postage and packaging remember so if the post office only costs £2.10 for example you're perfectly entitled to charge more to cover the cost of the envelope, bubble wrap etc.

Donotlikemyname · 02/12/2020 14:53

@NotImpossible

Quite honestly I'd be tempted to block the buyer / cancel the sale. I've sold on eBay (as a job, not a hobby) for years and the buyers who quibble about prices before you send are often the ones who make a fuss and cause problems later. Personally I don't offer large letter at all as I use a courier. £3.40 Is not in any way excessive.
I sell online, I charge what it costs to post. Overcharging just pisses your customers off and/ or puts people off buying. Recently, I wanted to buy two items from the same online retailer, he wanted £3.50 for each item, bringing the cost of postage up to £7.00. Total cost of the order was £15.00. One item was small and would fit in large letter. Messaged to ask did he offer combined postage and got no response. My intention was to purchase at a reasonable price, not be a pain in the arse. I went somewhere else, so he has lost a sale from overcharging.
baubling · 02/12/2020 14:55

I think it is reasonable to charge the actual cost of postage or courier, plus the cost of the packaging (and I don't mean an old shoebox and some screwed-up newspaper). Anything more than that is taking the piss.

Aloethere · 02/12/2020 15:00

I don't sell on ebay but do elsewhere. I build the price of packaging and time into the cost of the product and then charge what postage actually costs.

museumum · 02/12/2020 15:03

Some post office tellers are more generous than others when it comes to putting soft puffy things through the slot that measures the thickness. I've had mine go up to 'small parcel' when it would easily have gone through with a bit of a squish (clothes) but the teller said it wasn't allowed - I basically had to pay the extra for posting a bit of air.
If I was selling something on the cusp between the two I'd always charge the higher in case.

HollyandIvyandallthingsYule · 02/12/2020 15:08

I sell on eBay. Mostly mid to high value-ish items, and I factor shipping into what I charge so I offer free signed for postage as standard.

The few times I sell lower value items where I do offer postage, I offer fair postage (in other words, what I’m pretty sure it will cost). I set my price to make the profit I want to make, rather than making up cheeky postage prices.

I’m your case I personally would refund, just as a goodwill gesture. But she really should have messaged you first instead of paying and then asking.

Backbee · 02/12/2020 15:11

Have they already paid, and have you posted? If it does turn out to only cost £1.10 I would refund in this case, buy then make it clear in future listings that the postage cost is fixed and to check you are content it's reasonable (most people have an idea of the size and weight of whatever they are buying!). If the buyer has not bought yet and is enquiring before doing so, up to you, I wouldn't refund before posting in case it turns out to be more.