Can someone explain ebay postage charges/ refunds etc please?

[NormaSnorks]

Long time eBay user, but only came back to it recently to sell a whole load of stuff and so much has changed I feel as if I no longer know if I'm even making any money!

I sold some vintage maps recently and listed the postage as the cost for a small parcel. They sold and buyer paid.
When I came to package them up I realised that I could package them in an old Amazon sleeve and send them for the Large Envelope price, so I printed label and did this.

I later got feedback from the buyer saying thanks they were great, and the postage refund was a 'nice touch'!
I hadn't refunded any postage as the maps sold very cheaply anyway.
When I tried to find my eBay statement for the sale it was hard to decipher, but it looked as if they charged a fee on my estimated, higher postage!

The buyer is probably mistaken about the refund. eBay do charge you a fee on the postage as well as the sale price.

Don't ever use Ebay's postage suggestions. Use the Post Office charges leaflet and price accordingly.

That's weird, I agree with previous poster that they may have been mistaken? I've refunded postage a few times but always had to enter the amount refunded manually etc, definitely not done automatically by ebay!

I don't think eBay would refund postage without your knowledge. You normally have to go into your sold items and manually make any refund yourself. They do charge a fee on postage now unfortunately so it's worth adding a bit more onto your starting bid. I tend to sell items locally on Facebook now and save the more niche items or things that might sell for more online for eBay.