I think this is the most ridiculous postage mark up I have seen this far.

[dillite]

Yes, I know that if I do not like the postage that I shouldn't be bidding and all that, but still. I won an item, a small childs top and postage stated 1st class recorded £5.95- high I know, but my daughter really loves the one that she's outgrown and that one was a bigger size one so I really wanted to get it. It arrived today with a first class stamp on it in a B5 size envelope. So that's more than £5 profit. I am both mad and laughing at the sellers audacity.

If the postage arrangements were first class recorded and it was just bog standard posted, ask for a refund.
I post most things second class with about 40p added to cover the bag and travelling to PO.
£5 above actual postage cost is taking the piss!

Oooh, thanks for that. I hadn't realised I could ask for a refund on postage, will be doing that tomorrow. Usually I am not bothered if something has been a pound or two more than it actually cost to post, but a fiver is a bit mad.

I'd ask for a refund too and if they do not give them 1 star for postage and screw up their ratings
This drives me nuts

I do think it is a pretty steep charge for postage, but equally, I don't think you can bid on an item, knowing full well what the postage is, and then give the seller a low rating for the postage. Nor would it be fair to threaten 1* to get them to refund the postage.

Look at it this way - is the item you have received good value for the total cost you have paid? When I am deciding whether to buy something (if it's Buy It Now) or whether to bid, and how much to bid, for something - I include the postage costs as part of the total cost of the item - and if I don't think the total cost represents good value for me, then I don't bid/buy.

If the listing said the postage price was for recorded, and they didn't send recorded, then you didn't get what you paid for. In that case you should be able to get a partial refund at least for the difference between the postage used and the postage that should have been used.

If you don't get that difference back then you should make that clear on feedback.

SDTG - bit it stated recorded first class postage and then wasn't recorded but normal first class

I don't think you can bid on an item, knowing full well what the postage is, and then give the seller a low rating for the postage.

You won't know how much they actually paid for the postage until it arrives though.

If it was not sent recorded (which I should have remembered from the OP - apologies for that), then you can give a negative for that, or ask for a refund on those grounds.

Owl - when I say 'You know the postage' - what I mean is 'You know what the seller is going to charge for postage' - I thought that was obvious, but clearly it was only obvious to me - apologies again.

The you shouldn't bid if you are not happy with postage is rubbish
EBay rules are that sellers should not profit from postage

If you think someone is overcharging for postage, report them to ebay. Don't buy the item and then throw your hands up in horror at having to pay the advertised postage.

Whilst I understand the "you know the postage charge before you buy" idea, you don't always know the weight of the item, so can't necessarily assess how reasonable the charges are.

I decided, long ago, hat I wouldn't buy things on ebay unless I thought that the combined price was a reasonable price for the item, so I have never find myself in a position where I've felt I was ripped off on postage, because I've always felt I was getting a reasonable bargain overall.

I can see why people complain about high postage, but honestly, my approach is less stressful, and that's all that matters to me.

Definitely ask for a refund. It puts me off when I see too high postage, there is something so grasping about it (and I have sometimes had other problems with sellers who do this like misleading descriptions etc.).

I paid £5 combined postage for two children's tops for ds. When they arrived they had cost £1.26 to post. However I had only paid 99p for each item and they were brand new from GAP so a great bargain and the seller was really friendly so I didn't grudge it.

Ask for a refund, and I'd be tempted to leave a neutral too. That's really cheeky.

I occasionally sell second hand stuff on ebay, but for a lot of things, it's just not worth it anymore.

If you start above 99p, you don't get any bids at all, and have to pay listing fees. If you start at 99p, you risk the item going for 99p.

Ebay, including paypal, take over 13% of the total sale price including postage. So if an item costs £1.50 to post, you have to charge a bit extra just to avoid giving ebay/paypal half your postage money.

You knew the price including postage when you bid, so you can't complain really. The lack of recorded could have been a mistake and a lot of people don't like recorded because if they're not in, they'll have to go to the Post Office to collect it.

I don't know how much you paid for your item, but presumably you factored in the admittedly high postage costs when you bid. If you paid a total of £8 for the item, how does it matter to you whether it is:

£8 incl free p+p
£2 item plus £6 postage
£6 item plus £2 postage

OnIlkley I only post of free listing weekends with a minimum I'm prepared to sell for. Sometimes things are hanging around longer than I'd like as it takes a few goes for them to sell but they all seem to sell, eventually.

5.95 : Ebay will have had 60p of that. Paypal charged another 20p. And 90p for large 1st class, I think. So assuming the seller paid nothing for envelope and they are expected to suck up their travel costs to PostOffice, that's an actual profit to them of 4.25 GBP and not a profit over 5 quid (4.25 = 5.95 -20p - 90p - 60p).

I mean, if you're going to get the umbrage, may as well get the facts right.

yes i think some sellers want a lot for post and i think ebay should have a look at some what they are chargeing for a small item i had a few items the other day i was charged 5 pounds fifty for them when irecived them the post was just 2 pounds 60 pence for them so i do think they are a bit to high .

Even £4.25 is a huge discrepancy between the actual postage cost though. OP does have a point.

I am in the mind that if I like the item very much then I bid up to the amount I am willing to pay for including postage but I still mark them down for postage if is significantly higher than the postage and packaging not including time, petrol, parking ticket, bus or air fare to the post office.

That said, Royal Mail has made it quite difficult to keep postage low given now that sending recorded small parcel under 1kg costs £3.90 or £2.80 standard. Anything bigger then it's closer to £6.

Even though I am of the "don't bid if you don't like the postage costs" persuasion (maybe that's because I remember back to the times when it was common for sellers to put an item on for £1 and then the postage as £50 to get it to the top of the cheapest< listings) this is a totally different issue IMO, she said it would be recorded, that isn't what she sent, so you didn't get what you expected or paid for and are entitled to grumble.

Not sure if I would be bothered enough to try and claim back a couple of quid but if you leave a bad review that will make them think twice in future.

I don' t fully agree with you you OP. I've recently sold a top, charged £4.50 for postage which seems high I know but today when I posted it second recorded it cost me £3.90 plus the mailing bag so I actually just broke even. I bet I'll get a low star rating because buyers don't look at how much you paid to post something, they go with what "feels" like too much.
Perhaps the seller thought that it would go as a packet and so it would, have cost much more to post.

Paypal post a max price they allow for an item to be posted under their postage section. Remember THEY take a cut of postage costs! As do paypal. Remarkably ebay say you cannot cite ebay and pay pals fees as part of your postage costs! In the past I have added together the p and p and the item to decide if I am prepared to buy. Same as I do for any other website.
Ebay should make it clear to buyers that they take a cut of postage fees.

tall- that's fine the item did cost you that much to post. The OP has an item that cost a lot less to post than charged for. I would feel aggrieved about it to.

Whilst the buyer might be fine to pay a seemingly high postage cost, this is on the principle that the cost bares some resemblance to what the post office charge. Its not for the seller to decide to use a much cheaper service and pocket the difference. If you want a higher price for your item, choose a higher start price, or set a reserve, do a buy it now with best offers etc.

I've had one today, charged £6.75 for postage, it arrived in a black bag with £3.90 on, even if they'd charged £5 I'd not have an issue but £2 excess is taking the piss, especially when the items didn't go cheaply at all.

I saw one the other day, a bundle of three girls summer dresses age 7 - postage £9!, I didn't bid, shame really I liked the dresses but the postage was just ridiculous. They went in the end for less than £4, I guess the high postage put a lot of people off.