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Original poster

Just had this reply from seller.

10 replies

jaylensmummy · 03/10/2007 21:59

I paid £2.75 for an item and £8.99 postage for it to be posted 1st class, and it was sent for £1.52 second class, wrapped in a bag.

I messaged the seller saying i thought this was a little unfair - expecting him to offer a refund.

He sent this:

i'm so sorry that you are unhappy about the postage. i was just going on what everyone else was posting the dalek at on ebay at the time. the product is going on ebay at £29.99 + postage, which alot more than you piad for a fantastic brand new item. i have now been informed that it is better to send items free, but put your prices as high as possible, and build in the price of the postage as a starting bid. i personally think that this is unfair and that is why i place the postage price clear for everyone to see. allowing everyone to decide on their final bid price overall. i was offered over £20 + postage by another Ebay for this item, so if you want to make your money back on the item you could ebay it and take the best offer.
sorry again that you feel that the postage was high but i have not found this item anywhere else for the price you paid

What do you think?

OP posts:
Wolfgirl · 03/10/2007 22:01

Report him, and forward his reply to eBay.

Boredveryverybored · 03/10/2007 22:02

I think it's fair enough to accept the postage as it was stated on the bidding page. When you bid you knew what the postage was. But you bid on an item with postag advertised as first class, I think I would take issue with that if it's then been sent second class instead.

FrannyandZombie · 03/10/2007 22:02

Postage charged on ebay doesn't have to be the actual postage charge at the post office

you take it into account when you make your bid. Were you happy with the price you paid for it or not? If you didn't like the postage charge why did you bid?

FrannyandZombie · 03/10/2007 22:03

Oh beg your pardon, I missed the 2nd class bit

no, he should refund part of postage for that IMO, that is shoddy. if he had posted 1st class he would be quite justified, but that's not on, is it?

daisyandbabybootoo · 03/10/2007 22:04

if you paid for 1st class, it should have been sent 1st class regardless of the price you paid for it.

Some sellers factor in packaging and their time in the postage costs and as long as these costs are up there at the start of the auction, then there is no cause for complaint.

However he said it would be sent first class and it wasn't so at the very least I would expect a refund of the difference between the actual first and second class postage cost for the item.

I would contact ebay about it.

ScaryMonsterStories · 03/10/2007 22:04

I would be annoyed without a doubt but the arguments would be

  1. You knewpostage charges up front and agreed to pay them (against you)
  2. The item was advertised 1st class but sent 2nd class (for you)
  3. ebay policy states postage should be fair and is to cover postage and packaging and 'getting to PO'. Overchaging postage is fee avoidance

I would consider replying stating that you are not happy that you got 2nd class when advertised as 1st (just cos they didn't make as much money on bidding), and you could consider threatening to reort to ebay for fee avoidance.

Be careful though as you presumably want to protect your feedback so you need to think about this.

Brangelina · 03/10/2007 22:05

Also postage charge includes packing materials.

It is unpleasant though, I once bought something that had to sent out to Italy and the seller charged me nearly £20. When it arrived the stamps amounted to £3.80

sixlostmonkeys · 04/10/2007 08:39

I'd reply with something along the lines of

Thank you for taking the time to explain your methods of selling on ebay. Whilst I appreciate I had the opportunity to decide on the final price prior to bidding, as I was without the actual weight of the item I had no idea that I would be paying £7 over the odds for the P&P. I myself abide by the ebay guidelines of P&P to to include a reasonable amount for packaging, and in real terms the packaging should not exceed £1 or so - anything more is classed as fee avoidance.
A point that can't be argued in this transaction is the fact that i paid for a service I didn't receive. I paid for first class service and received only 2nd. I would appreciate a refund for the difference in cost here, and a partial refund for the excess as a gesture of goodwill

Bouncingturtle · 04/10/2007 08:48

Yep - at the end of the day if he wanted to get more for the item, he should have put in a higher starting price. And if someone offered him £20+ p&p, why didn't they bid??
Unfortunately when you bid you accept the P&P charges as stated, though you have a case over the fact it was only sent 2nd class.
Lesson learned here is always checked the postage costs and arrangements before bidding.

kimberlyjess3 · 04/10/2007 16:57

trouble is people don't complain to ebay because everyone is trying to keep their 100% feedback. sellers arn't supposed to make a profit on p&p

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