silly postage costs

[pamplem0usse]

Received an item today I was charged £3.50 postage for. They sent it for a £0.69 stamp in a reused carrier bag they are claiming cost £1.25. They say they'll refund me £1 which I still think is daylight robbery.
I've pointed out this is against ebay policy but they won't budge.
Wwyd? I'm inclined to just decline and leave negative feedback.

[sarahtigh]

if not a business an expense according to HMRC has to be exclusively necessarily and only for that purpose, ( and some other things too) ie it is impossible to use for something else as you could easily use you parking ticket/ bus fare/petrol to accomplish other things in same journey it is not claimable

in fact a business can only claim petrol/ parking if it is entirely business ( ie not dropped off on way to or from work however they can charge for their time

other examples are you are expected to wear white shirt and black trousers for work not claimable as not an item which could be determined as exclusively for that purpose while a t shirt emblazoned with company name could

so because parking bus tickets etc would not be deemed exclusive tey can not be claimed it is part of everyday life just like if you had to make special trip because you forgot to get milk, selling your unwanted stuff is considered an everyday activity like shopping, medical appointments etc

a padded envelope could be seen as exclusively and necessary for that parcel whenever it is posted or if it is picked up from door by courier or you take it in your car, your trip to post office may be only to post the parcel but you can not necessarily say that as it would be assumed you would post on your way to do shopping collect your pension school run etc

[Gingefringe]

I generally send most items 2nd class recorded (£3.70 for small parcel) and charge postage of £3.95.
I have found recently that some sellers seem to be bumping up their prices because of the RM increases (ie charging for small parcels when the item is posted as a large letter as happened to the OP)
When you bid for an item you've really no idea how it's going to be packaged and assume that the seller isn't making a massive profit on the postage.
OP should leave low stars in feedback but leave a positive with a comment such as 'nice item but postage rather excessive' or such like - this is what I normally do.

[bemybebe]

not "they" ... "then I should start..."

[bemybebe]

is there a link to hmrc site then? do they really say that someone privately selling an item cannot charge for parking/bus ticket as part of the postage cost? hmm, they i should start listing things with decent reserve and not at 99p

[sarahtigh]

while ebay can have rules and policies that go beyond the law ( like 14 day return when law is 7though that is changing but not until much later than ebay is changing)

it can not have policies that are not according to law so if HRMC says something is not allowable unless a business it is not allowable regardless of what ebay or anyone else says so although you do not charge anything other than stamp I would suggest that charging for petrol / parking is not permissable for private sellers

[bemybebe]

thank you very much sarahtigh, as I said I don't charge over the stamp price myself, but just wanted to clarify that it is not against the ebay rules to do so... which it looks like it is ok

[sarahtigh]

it is perhaps more business/ HMRC rules any charge relating to a car whether petrol, ware and tear or parking makes your car use business rather than personal use and therefore you would have to insure it as a business use because normally insurance states personal social pleasure and travel to and from a place of work ( because even as a business you can't claim business mileage on your commute therefore it is not business mileage)

I tend to stick with what is the law rather than ebay policy, most of the time they agree but not always

ebay policies do not always make it quite plain what is their policy and what is the law especially regarding distance selling regulations they do not make it plain that they do not apply to any item sold in auction format whether the seller is a business or not; so legally if an auction the sellers terms apply

DSR only apply to BIN and second chance offers

[bemybebe]

A link to a proper source would be very helpful.

[bemybebe]

I am talking about parking charges and where does it say that my quote refers to businesses? I am not trying to be awkward, just not sure on what basis you think parking cost isn't allowed.

Charging for time/skill is income so have no problem with that.

[sarahtigh]

if you charge for your time whether it is wrapping ebay parcels babysitting cardmaking dog walking it is income and therefore you will have to fill in a tax return even if it is only £100 a year all income is declarable unless declared by your employer under PAYE and as such maybe taxable

a private seller is deemed to be selling their own unwanted goods therefore their time has no cost not to wrap, post travel etc, so the only thing they can add is things that must of necessity be purchased ie new packing materials,

travel can not be claimed unless and even for a business the travel would have to be solely business related not part of a shopping trip/ doctors appointment school run etc

bemybebe your quote refers to businesses

[bemybebe]

fergoose, but where is it stated?

[fergoose]

yes - they can if they are a business, but as Sarahtigh stated, not if they are a private seller.

[bemybebe]

Sorry for a late follow up posting but still nobody linked to a ebay requirement that I must not include the cost of parking into my p&p charge. What I found though is this guideline to rating 'How reasonable were the postage and packaging charges?':

"Remember that sellers may charge for the cost of the actual packaging materials, along with a reasonable dispatch fee to cover the seller's time and direct costs associated with postage"

[Flibbertyjibbet]

Order a template. Put item on kitchen scales. Go to royal mail website and see how much it will cost to post. I really can't understand why so many people find it hard to work out the postage.

[piprabbit]

I was especially impressed by the ebay seller who sent a laptop via Royal Mail wrapped in nothing but a black bin bag.
It was smashed in transit. The seller seemed surprised, but I reckon he was just a lazy bugger.

[DiscoDonkey]

If you go on the Royal Mail website you can order a free sizing template so you can use it to see if your letters fit into the standard, large letter slot or small parcel slot. If you use that and weigh your items there's no reason to lose out on postage costs.

[Emilythornesbff]

Oh, thank you.

[sarahtigh]

it is called signed for or confirmed signature on delivery tracking insured upto £50

guaranteed is what used to be special delivery and is the only suitable service for coins notes tickets or vouches or more than £50 in value

[sarahtigh]

if you choose to send recorded it must only be the £1.10 extra ebay expressly forbid adding any surcharge to insurance signed for so if your regular second class charge is £3 ( ie £2.60 for postage and 40p for packing ) your 2nd class signed for must be £4.10 you can not charge 4.20 to allow for extra fees

if you have a problem with postal staff saying it is not a small parcel when it is ( like another thread when some work said it must go through with space all round ) just say oh if its too big for small parcel i'll just take it home and send by courier there is no benefit to PO to charge medium parcel as they are paid per parcel, it just needs to go through slot without being forced

if selling clothes make sure you squeeze air out of bags so they are flat

[Emilythornesbff]

P&P

[Emilythornesbff]

I find it very confusing.
Just listed my first few items.
Are the eBay postage cost estimates any good?
I couldn't see an option for "recorded delivery" on the drop down list.
Is it called something else?

I offered free p&c and hope that the price covers my expenses.

[Flibbertyjibbet]

If someone sends recorded I don't mind paying for that, as long as they are charging the rate for recorded postage and not banging an extra £3.50 on top.

I still use royal mail as the post office is a 10 min walk away, or I drive past it anywhere I go anywhere. I don't want to wait in for a collection and I don't want to leave my parcel at one of the 'pick up posts' at some corner shop across town.

WHen I'm buying I'd rather sellers used royal mail and I will pay the extra for a heavy item for it to just be taken back to the sorting office at the town centre 2 miles away with tons of free parking, and I can go and pick it up on a Saturday morning or up till 9 on a Wednesday evening. If you miss a courier its a FAFF having to ring those automated lines to get a new day for them to deliver and wait in, or drive 15 miles (yes 15 miles for the furthest yet and about 5 miles for the closest) to get to where they took the parcel back to.

Royal mail is not perfect, and sometimes not the cheapest, but for me its really really convenient.

[Tryharder]

The official advice is to send recorded. I personally don't bother for cheaper items (I.e. most of my items). But obviously if you don't, you have to suck up the loss and refund if the buyer claims non receipt. In 4 years of selling, it's happened to me about 4 times.

[EasterHoliday]

ah. Now I'm a rookie seller here, and I've been charging £3.50 to send recorded (registered? signed for at any rate) because that's what it costs just for the stamps. I would rather send recorded so that I can't get anyone mucking about saying they didn't receive something. Do you think it's better to send 2nd class not recorded and just go for cheapest postage?

[Tryharder]

Plus people are still insisting on using fucking Royal Mail for heavier items. Just bought a cost which cost £9 to post (which I paid). Why don't people use Collect Plus or Hermes?