If you offer free postage, do you have to refund postage cost?

[diamondvintage]

Basically i offer free postage for an item that costs $55. Buyer has purchased item and it doesnt fit, out of good will i've offered a refund. Question is can i give a partial refund of $47 since it cost me $8 to post? (they have posted item back to me at their own cost)

[pennyforum14]

I would say NO you can't give a partial refund because the item was listed as Free Post.  You can't combine postage on free post items because the system only allows discounts on an actual postage component, so likewise I wouldn't think you would be permitted to withold postage if refunding.  If your buyer is happy to agree to it, it might be another story.

[babylonfuture]

No.

That is one downside of free shipping.

However you could apply  a restocking fee (if you told them that before the return) of say 20%. This will cover the postage costs and associated ebay fees.

If you have already told them they would get a refund for item (@ the price the item sold for) - then you should honour that.

[harley_babes_hoard]

that's one of the big pitfalls with offering free post on larger items and why I won't do it. mine is still price + postage

[diamondvintage]

Thanks for all your input. will change my policy. cheers