I should get a refund on postage shouldn't i?

[LaurieFairyCake]

I bought something which the seller charged£6.95 to post and it cost 74p in a plain envelope (actually it was just a folded bit of brown paper)

I've asked very politely for a refund and said that I understood it wasn't possible to know previous to posting how much it cost to post. They could have sent it in a box and they could have added recorded delivery and it would have cost £3.80 second class to do so - but they didn't do any of that.

And I'm very honest and there's no way I would have pretended it didn't arrive.

yes they should refund - but they probably won't.

p&p is just that, not fees, petrol or profit, but many won't agree with that. And they could prob have sent it for £2.80 via Hermes tracked.

If they don't i am going to contact/report to EBay as its too much of a difference. I will negative too.

there isn't any way you can report them for it - but you can neg and leave low stars if you want them to count as such.

Remember P&P means postage and packaging. I charge for packaging. But I agree, the sums quoted are a bit steep. I have occasionally seriously overcharged (i always struggle with shoes and coat fees) so I make a point of refunding the difference and sending a msg. That said, you didn't have to bid...

"yes they should refund"

I disagree.

You knew the P&P costs before buying. Most/many large online retailers over charge set-price postage costs but it is only on ebay where these are queried.

It is your prerogative to complain to the seller that postage charges are too high and unfair.

It is equally the sellers prerogative to consider if they will refund you from a customer service point of view.

But you have absolutely no right to demand a refund. Use the feedback and detailed seller rating system to show your dissatisfaction after telling the seller of your disappointment.

That is a massive overcharge and yes they should refund you. If they don't, leave a negative. Sellers aren't meant to profit from p&p.

People always say 'you knew the cost of postage when you bid' but it's a different story when they charge you the cost of sending it insured or signed for and then just bung it in an envelope.

FATE - do you think it is ethical to make that amount of profit on postage?? P&P is just that, not for making profit and or course it is also against eBay rules to overcharge in that way.

Overcharging by that amount is just pure greed - there is no justification whatsoever. You knew the cost when you bid is utter nonsense and just an excuse to rip people off.

I've had an email from the seller saying they didn't know that it would be so cheap to post so they're going to refund me. She said she just took the EBay recommended postage box.

I have said to her that there's lots of dishonest people about and the reason EBay made the postage so high is because they expected her to post recorded delivery.

And Fate clearly didn't read my opening post, there's no way of knowing how much this cost to post if the seller had sent it correctly ie. Properly packaged, recorded delivery.

It is NOT ok to overcharge by £6 and expect the buyer to magically know that it could be packaged into a square of brown paper and posted for 74p rather than sent 'properly'.

I agree it is overcharged, unethical, unfair, deserves the sellers rating and feedback to be hammered, and so on. However:

"I should get a refund on postage shouldn't i?"

The short answer is no.

You can be disappointed, that is what feedback and DSRs are there for. Butt you cannot expect to be refunded.

She said she just took the EBay recommended postage box.

This seems to catch a lot of sellers out.

Personally I think it's inexplicable that you're happy if Royal Mail got £6.95 of your money but not if Seller gets all that. But oh well.

If it cost that to post then I'd be perfectly happy. But it didn't, it cost 74p.

The seller didn't send it by the method EBay recommended in the cost - recorded delivery in the box it came in. Instead she decanted it and sent it in a bit of paper.