Would you ask for postage refund?

[SaltySeaBird]

I recently brought an item of clothing for DD that had £5.60 postage. I thought that was a bit high at the time of bidding and won the item for £6.00 (plus the postage).

When it arrived it had only cost £2.60 and was in an old, reused, very tatty Jiffy bag. Although I knew the postage cost before bidding I'm a bit annoyed at the huge disparity, especially as I paid a very good price for the item (Joules cardigan, a little more worn than the description had led me to believe as well).

If it had been sent first class, in brand new packaging I wouldn't have minded.

Would you ask the seller for a partial postage refund?

Absolutely not! The postage price quoted is the price you pay, it's not an estimate to be rejigged once actual cost is known. As a buyer, you make your choice as to whether to bud on the item or not, knowing the quoted postage costs. As a seller, sometimes you underestimate and have to suck up extra postage costs, sometimes you over estimate and end up making a few extra pence. But remember that the seller not only pays for postage and packaging, but has to go to the post office, stand in the queue, etc.

You chose to bid on the item, provided its as described, you have nothing to complain about.

Oh, and eBay now take a cut of the postage fees from the seller!

I would. A few pence profit is one thing but £3?? The whole going to the post office/standing in the queue thing means nothing really as it's part of the process that enables you sell your items. If you don't want that hassle offer collection only.

YANBU.I would request a £2.00 refund of the postage.

The problem with saying that you bid at a certain price for postage is that you don't know how much it will be or how it will be packed.

I'd say up to about £1 over the price of postage is ok but over that takes the piss a bit. Ask for a partial refund but accept you may well not get it.

I recently bought a bundle of clothes with a postage price I felt was over high. However I made sure I didn't bid more than I was prepared to pay in total. My item did come first class in new packaging but they still charged double what they spent (if I was being generous). I still got my items at a decent overall price and they were nice so I left the positive feedback the items deserved but gave them a low star for p&p costs.

Always low star in situations like that (for the appropriate thing).

I would contact seller and say that the postage was much higher than actual postage and you just thought you would check if it was a mistake before leaving feedback for P&P. This way you give them a chance to offer a refund in case they were just unclear on postage and overestimated. If the postage was £2.60 I would expect to pay no more than £3 - £3.20 max If no luck then leave very low P&P stars. I don't bid on items with excessive postage full stop.

Sellers are not supposed to over charge on P&P. It isn't down to the buyer to be responsible for ebay fees.

Hmm tricky as yes I knew the price of postage when I bid, but I feel that £3 is a big difference, especially as the seller took no care and went with the cheapest option possible (second class, tatty old packaging).

Thanks nickstmoritz that is exactly what I will do!

I would send the suggested message but don't mention anything about feedback. Could sound like you are blackmailing them. Give them a chance to respond and see what they say.

I posted something yesterday that I had charged £3 for but I managed to pack it as a large letter so it only cost £1.20. I refunded the buyer £1.50 postage (polishes halo....)

yes I would definitely ask for a partial refund - complete and utter greed. The rubbish that you knew the price when you bid does not wash with me, if it was sent in brand new packaging first class recorded or via courier then it may have cost more, plus you don't know the weight of the items you are buying. But tatty packaging with a cheap 2nd class stamp - not acceptable.

Are the sellers star ratings pretty poor?

yes, I would, and have done in the past. I appreciate it might be a quid or so over estimated, but when something is charged at double the cost and yet arrives second class in a tatty mailer then I'm bloody well going to complain.

For £6 I'd expect it to arrive as you said in new packaging sent First, or even recorded. I'd be very annoyed to receive in the condition you described.

I had a similar situation recently where I was charged £7.00 and received my item (also clothing) screwed up in a bin liner with £2.60 second class on it. I politely emailed the seller and requested a partial refund of P+P, especially given the item wasn't as described anyway (but fixable). She had the cheek to tell me she made her profit through P+P and what did I expect from a 99p item.
She got a neg, and one star across the board. Last time I looked her P+P Stars were down to 4.3 so I'm not the only one she's pissed off and I suspect her eBay career will be short.

I would not ask. I would not even notice what seller charged vs. what Royal Mail charged. I am only interested in being charged what I agreed to pay.

I would and have done so. If postage is significantly higher than quoted, why not? Buyers need to use accurate postage costs (yes, including packing materials, etc.) Tbh, most sellers do get in touch and refund excess postage promptly.

Of course, you can always reflect ridiculous postage in your feedback.

How did you get on Salty? I have recently had the same situation, asked if it was an oversight but seller said tough cheese. It's really cheeky.

If I had won a nice item for 99p then I wouldn't contact the seller.

If I had paid a good price for a meh item, I would possibly contact them or at least mention it in the feedback and grade the stars as such.

No item of clothing is ever going to cost more than about £3 to post unless it's a coat or heavy jacket and even then, you can courier it for less than a fiver.
.

The problem is, is that if you start bidding price at 99p, you risk selling it for 99p.

If you charge £3.50 for postage, the actual stamp is £2.60 plus around 30p for basic packaging.

Ebay will charge 50p for fees and paypal will charge around 40p.

You are left with literally pennies.

I can see why sellers are trying to factor in a little extra profit. There's no point otherwise.

Well the answer is to start items at a price higher than 99p then isn't it, and if it doesn't sell at that price then it probably won't sell for an amount which is worthwhile.

I agree with Sandy. Factor those things into starting price not as postage or you will leave yourself open to poor feedback and DSR stars for postage. Most buyers want to pay the actual postage plus no more than 50p tops. Only start at 99p if you don't really mind selling it for that (it might happen for different reasons) or if you are positive it is an item that is sure to get a good price then 99p start can pull in more bidders. In that case it's not risky. The lower listing fee bands are (I think) up to £5 then £15 which is why lots of people list at £4.99 or £14.99 to stay within the fee bands.

Salty I hope you got a refund. If not reflect this in seller ratings for P&P. I do look at p&p when considering bidding and have a fairly good idea what it might cost so I rarely feel peeved about postage costs. I know I have considered them and agreed to them before buying.