I’ve over charged on postage - wwyd?

[AngryCrispLady]

Not by much. Something I thought would be £2.90 as second class small parcel went add £1.22 second class large letter. Would you refund the difference to the buyer?

Thanks

No, it's p+p so to account for materials/packing time as well. Don't worry about it.

I would, because it seems like the right thing to do. As a buyer, I wouldn't kick up a fuss about it, but as a seller, I wouldn't feel OK about it.

I think I am correct in thinking that eBay charges a selling fee on the full price plus postage, so I usually refund a partial amount, rather than the full difference, so maybe £1.25. I know you don't need to buy I would really appreciate it if someone did it for me.

Yeah, it doesn’t rest easy with me not to refund it, at least partly. Good point about packaging and eBay fees though
There are cheeky sellers who’ll charge £4.50 for postage for a t shirt so know it goes on. Just want to be a good seller 😇

I've had it happen to me and I didn't refund it.
I've had the reverse happen too and didn't ask for more money.
And I had the post office charge me for a large parcel when it was a small parcel.
Factor in the cost of packing material and travel and queueing time, and it's probably costing you more than you thought.

I wouldn't because it's a pretty stupid ebayer who doesn't view an Ebay transaction as a complete price, including p&p.

Yeah, I’ve had it happen each way to me too. And on occasion when I’m over charged I think “you cheeky bastard” but give ok feedback anyway.
I’m overthinking this, aren’t I? Damn my catholic upbringing and feeling huge guilt for the slightest indiscretion 😂

I always refund if I’ve over charged. I get annoyed when it happens to me as a buyer so am happy to do it.

50p for the packaging
50p for your time to wrap it
68p for your time to go to the post office, queue up and send it

You're overthinking. I tend not to bid on items that have a P+P that seems too expensive.

they've agreed to a fixed price

I usually do a partial refund if I've over estimated postage. I try and account for the fact that Ebay charge a % of the postal now too

I wouldn't refund. The buyer happily paid what you charged and accepted that as the whole price. I always expect people to bump up p&p anyway to cover time etc.

I think they can mark you down on the stars for fair postage charges can't they? Not sure whether this is a major issue though. They might give snotty feedback. I just try and be fair, hopefully off set Ebay's % cut.

Didn’t know eBay also took a cut of the postage
Still not sure what to do here BUT will definitely be charging more for shipping than just the actual postage cost in future....

I refund it

Ebay fee is 10% - That's taking into account the item selling price and p&p. So it's a combined 10% overall. They don't then take a cut of the postage on top of that as well. PayPal fee is 3% of total price (that's including postage) + 0.20p.
I wouldn't refund that slight extra. You have to think about petrol if you drive there and your time too.

I always offer "postage inclusive" ("free") so it wouldn't happen to me.

ive had ebay sellers refund me excess postage when they realised theyve overcharged, without me having to even ask, which tbh, has been appreciated and certainly motivates me to write a good review

I recently had this issue, I sold an item with a £5.50 P&P price, 1st class signed for postage.
i sent DP to post said item when it sold as he was going past the post office, unbeknown to me he posted it second class normal post which turned out to be around £2 or so cheaper, I found this out when the said buyer angrily emailed me to tell me how I'd ripped her off with postage and I'd better give her a refund! she was quite rude and even though I was annoyed with DP for not doing it right in the first place her rudeness was enough to forget that and for me to explain that the P&P price on eBay includes postage and PACKING and eBay fees and such like. I apologised for the mistake and refunded her £1, I would've refunded the difference completely had she not been so rude.
I think a lot of people don't realise all the other associated costs with selling on eBay, charges for listing, charges for selling, PayPal charges for receiving a payment they all add up, I wouldn't stress to much about it OP.

Thanks for all your replies! @Honkyzeke - that’s crap .... I suppose eBay can be a demanding place sometimes, another reason for my overthinking ...

youre not supposed to cover price of ebay fees in postage charges

I sold something recently where eBay suggested postage would be £5.00. Turned out to £3.90. I refunded it although dh thought I was mad .
I’d been charged a lower fee due to an eBay offer so felt I would share the wealth a bit

As a PP said, it's my understanding that you cannot charge the buyer for packaging, fuel to the post office or your time etc unless you are a business seller. The price you ask for postage is simply the cost of postage.

Ebay has changed its policy over the years, which confuses everything. 15 yrs ago it was normal & every seller openly said their P+P charge covered things liked parking, fuel, time, etc. Not many sellers used 2nd hand packaging then, either.

Now Ebay encourage buyers to punish sellers with low ratings if they don't offer free packaging materials & what looks like free postage. But the actual stated Ebay policy is not at all specific or clear. AFAIK, it's Inland Revenue that you watch out for. The IR take a dim view on that £1.20 excess a seller charged as undeclared income, Ebay doesn't have a rule disallowing it at all.