How shall I word my e-mail re: incorrect listing and steep p & p charge?

[Simply]

I want to write to the seller to say that the brand new trainers I bought from him aren't leather as the listing says and also to ask him to justify the £6.50 p & p charge when it actually cost £2.13 to post. I fully accept that the seller adds a bit in there for packaging (one sheet of brown paper and some packing tape) and time but I think he is taking the mick. What should I say? I'm happy to keep the trainers although of course I'd have liked them to be leather as listed. I got them for the starting price of £4.99 btw and he has sold trainers he'd bought in a job lot several times before so knows the real postage cost. I'd like to have some money back as I feel I've paid too much for postage. I've re-read his feedback and no-one has mentioned p & p though it was £4.50 for some pairs and £6.50 for others with no apparent link between size or weight for the difference. How shall I word it? Any ideas, please?

I don't think you can ask for some of the money back. He must have listed the p&p price when you were bidding. I don't see how you can ask for any of that back, you wouldn't go into a shop and say'Oh I've just paid £20 for this dress. I'd actually like to pay £15 now please, where's my fiver?'

But I think you can put neutral feedback/neg for bad listing and let him know he's listed them wrongly.

Yes, I saw that the p&p charge was £6.50 when I looked at the listing. I also checked his feedback to see if others thought it was appropriate. As there weren't any negative or neutral comments about excessive postage cost so I went ahead and bid thinking it was fair i.e. cost £5 or so to post. To then receive it and see that it actually only cost £2.13 plus some paper, packing tape and time giving him a profit of about £3 doesn't seem right. I thought sellers weren't supposed to aim to make a profit on postage charges?

I want to e-mail him as I give very good feedback to good sellers and I want to give him the chance to explain the charge, maybe offer a refund (someone in the past has sent me an e-mail after posting the item saying it cost a lot less than she thought and so she was giving me £2 back or something and that's before I'd received it) and perhaps just say sorry, I made a mistake for the incorrect listing.

Well, you could try but I don't think your chances are high. You accepted the £6.50 until you saw what it actually cost.

If you knew what shops actually pay for the their stock, you would never buy anything again!

at your last comment! I see what you're saying.

I think I'll e-mail and ask if he's made an error with the postage and point out the error with the item description and see how he replies.

I would be more pissed off that the trainers were described as leather and they aren't rather than the postage!

Personally i think you should have checked if they had made an error on P&P prior to buying the item tbh.

I would certainly ask them why they had listed the item as leather when it not? your entitiled to a refund for this reason, but not for the high P&P charges. After all for all we know there nearest post office might be 30 miles away.

I would ask for a part refund as the item is not as discribed, but i wouldnt say anything about the postage.

HTH

I don't think it's fair to ask for anything back re P&P as you knew what the P&P was before you bid & so therefor excepted that price IYKWIM.

Yes it's annoying that he charged you more then what it cost him to post but I don't think it's fair to wangle on that when it was clearly stated.

But I would ask for a refund due to the fact that the trainers aren't as described as they're not leather so I would email on that basis

Xx

Thanks for the posts and advice which I'll follow.