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Can i ask for refund of postage?

  • 24-10-2008 12:24pm
    #1
    LolaDub
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,181 ✭✭✭


    Just wondering if people ask for postage refunds when they've overpaid or is the inflated postage price considered a part of the sellers income? I paid $30 dollars postage for a light clothing item that fit into an a4 envelope and took two weeks to deliver. On the envelope the postage paid was about $9. If it had arrived immediately i wouldn't have been so bothered but it took long enough for $30!


Comments

  • #2
    Nody
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 18,375 CMod ✭✭✭✭Nody


    No, what you pay for is postage and HANDLING which means the seller can charge close to anything they feel like (and usually do because that part is not included in the % Ebay takes in fee).


  • #3
    Gauge
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,818 ✭✭✭Gauge


    I don't think there's much you can do about it after buying the item, but if you spot a listing where you believe the seller is trying to evade Ebay fees by overcharging for postage (say, $30 on a 99c item) you can report them to ebay for it.


  • #4
    jaycen
    Closed Accounts Posts: 178 ✭✭jaycen


    It's a way for a seller to increase profit, once saw a AGV helmet (biker) for sale at €99 (reatil around €400) sounded like a great deal until I saw they wanted postage of $250.

    Wasa still cheaper than here but after seeing the catch I didn't trust the buyer any further.


  • #5
    rubadub
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 32,386 ✭✭✭✭rubadub


    Did you know the shipping AND handling fee before you bid? If so I presume you were happy with it. If not you will learn to NEVER bid without them telling you the postage, always find out before bidding, saves your time and theirs.

    you can report them to ebay for it.
    Yes, and ruin it for the rest of us who know how ebay really works.

    I actively look for items with high postage since sellers working on the exact same profit margins can offer them cheaper to me. Only ebay lose out on some of their cut, and my heart bleeds for the poor destitute owner of ebay & paypal...

    ebay.com now has a search function to sort by price, but it is the combined price including posatage, this should always have been the case, it is what you have to pay after all.

    jaycen wrote: »
    It's a way for a seller to increase profit, once saw a AGV helmet (biker) for sale at €99 (reatil around €400) sounded like a great deal until I saw they wanted postage of $250.

    Wasa still cheaper than here but after seeing the catch I didn't trust the buyer any further.
    I have less confidence in sellers who do not know how ebay works TBH!



    If people can still not get their head around it then take this example.

    Seller A & Seller B. They both buy an item for €100. They want to make €50 profit on the sale. Postage of the item costs €50. Ebay take around 4% of the sale value

    Seller A lists his item as buyitnow for 1cent, postage €200. This means he will make €50 profit (and the 1cent of which ebay take 4%).

    Seller B lists his item with the real postage €50, now to still get his €50 profit he has to charge €156.25. Ebay take 4% of his 156.25 leaving him with €150.

    So for sellers working on the same margin you can see how the ones charging high postage can afford to offer you an item at a lower cost. I have seen the same seller with 2 auctions for the same product, one with high post the other with low, which were working on this principle.

    So if you want the pay the extra €6.25 to ebay so you feel you are not being ripped off, then go right ahead.


  • #6
    ChickCool
    Closed Accounts Posts: 208 ✭✭ChickCool


    actually i had thought the same question. i thought the shipping fee should be slightly more than the postage fee for handling and packaging etc.i didn't know they could charge what they wanted.thanks for letting us know


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  • #7
    jor el
    Closed Accounts Posts: 16,713 ✭✭✭✭jor el


    High postage costs can sometimes be a good thing. If you're buying on eBay, the postage costs can be used to increase profit for the seller, because they are not charged a fee on this. That can reduce the overall cost to the buyer. For a normal business though, overcharging on postage is pretty much just a way to increase profits by screwing the buyer. Of course, handling is also included in that price, though it's hard to justify an extra $20 for handling on something that costs $9 to deliver.

    I just bought a game on eBay last week, after the seller posted it, he mailed me to let me know that the postage was 35p below what I had paid, and if I wanted the refund. I wasn't too pushed about 35p, so I told him it would be fine. I've never seen a seller offer to refund the over paid amount before, which was very nice of him.


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