Appropriate feedback

[grevilleas4me]

I bought an item which had $50 postage.   I expected it to be quite heavy so thought seller had found out $50 would be the postage.   When it arrived, the box net was 7.2 kilos and the actual postage was $35.65.    Also the buyer used a very thick heavy box much too big for the item, and packed it with heaps more cardboard.    When I weighed the actual item (4.1 kg - not fragile) I see it could have easily fit in a 5kg extra large flat rate satchel for about $24.    I wrote to the seller saying at the very least I overpaid $13.35 postage and could I have a bit back?    Seller did not reply.   I do realise it is buyer beware with postage but I thought it was over the top.    Do I leave any feedback?

[*casey*]

"used a very thick heavy box much too big for the item, and packed it with heaps more cardboard"   

You're a seller and you  choose how to post your  items.

If  the seller had used a 5kg satchel  with no protection  for the item , which could have arrived broken,  I'd consider $50 over the top.

BUT the seller packed it well in a box with extra cardboard to prevent damage.

I'd leave the seller positive feedback.

I recommend you do the same or if you're not happy, no feedback at all.

[goldenblack440]

You have written a well described post and I know exactly how you feel.  I definitely feel the seller has overcharged you on postage.  Maybe deliberately, which is often irritating.  At least he/she tried to justify the overcharge by overpacking.  Overpacking is also very annoying, as you have indicated that the item was not fragile and could have happily been posted in a large satchel.  On the flip side, at least the packaging used was degradable and hopefully they reused (recycled) old packaging, whereas a satchel is new plastic and will take hundreds of years to break down, if ever.  For me, that's the only positive from this scenario.

If you have politely asked the seller for a refund on overcharged postage, and they have ignored you (I'd suggest trying it for a second time) then you are perfectly justified to leave negative feedback, or at least neutral feedback.  Don't even consider leaving positive feedback if the seller is too rude to answer your messages.  As that is basically an admission of their recalcitrance. 

Justified Negative Feedback really sends a message to sellers when they do things like this.  Overcharging on postage is VERY common on ebay and is a way for sellers to help compensate for fees.

$50 postage on an item barely over 4 kg, is way too much, especially if it's not fragile and didn't require special protection.

[repentatleisure1952]

I no longer sell.

However if I did I would say thank you for posting.

BTW the OP agreed to the shipping cost on the listing & has no reason to complain.

[domino-710]

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@goldenblack440 wrote:

You have written a well described post and I know exactly how you feel.  I definitely feel the seller has overcharged you on postage.  Maybe deliberately, which is often irritating.  At least he/she tried to justify the overcharge by overpacking.  Overpacking is also very annoying, as you have indicated that the item was not fragile and could have happily been posted in a large satchel.  On the flip side, at least the packaging used was degradable and hopefully they reused (recycled) old packaging, whereas a satchel is new plastic and will take hundreds of years to break down, if ever.  For me, that's the only positive from this scenario.

If you have politely asked the seller for a refund on overcharged postage, and they have ignored you (I'd suggest trying it for a second time) then you are perfectly justified to leave negative feedback, or at least neutral feedback.  Don't even consider leaving positive feedback if the seller is too rude to answer your messages.  As that is basically an admission of their recalcitrance. 

Justified Negative Feedback really sends a message to sellers when they do things like this.  Overcharging on postage is VERY common on ebay and is a way for sellers to help compensate for fees.

$50 postage on an item barely over 4 kg, is way too much, especially if it's not fragile and didn't require special protection.

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Given - your ' well written post ' - the buyer in the first instance agreed to the postage offered.

Feedback is for the item received - the condition in which it is received - only.

One does not leave negative feedback for something they have already agreed to.

[gutterpunkz05]

The time to quibble over the postage and handling, is before you purchase,  the charge does not correspond to stamp cost only and in all likelyhood was set at a flat cost Australia wide.

FVF on the postage would be  $6.70 to start with

[springyzone · Accepted solution]

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@grevilleas4me wrote:

I bought an item which had $50 postage.   I expected it to be quite heavy so thought seller had found out $50 would be the postage.   When it arrived, the box net was 7.2 kilos and the actual postage was $35.65.    Also the buyer used a very thick heavy box much too big for the item, and packed it with heaps more cardboard.    When I weighed the actual item (4.1 kg - not fragile) I see it could have easily fit in a 5kg extra large flat rate satchel for about $24.    I wrote to the seller saying at the very least I overpaid $13.35 postage and could I have a bit back?    Seller did not reply.   I do realise it is buyer beware with postage but I thought it was over the top.    Do I leave any feedback?

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No, you didn't necessarily overpay, even if you meant $14.35.

I know so many buyers feel they should only owe the exact postage charge but do you think the box was necessarily free? Or the wrapping or masking tape? The printing of the address label etc?

Sellers are allowed to charge a handling fee for a reason.

The seller pays ebay commission on the postage too.

It's not that I don't sympathise to some extent. I once received a flimsy piece of chiffon in a large prepaid satchel when a small satchel would have been big enough for a dozen of them. It's annoying when you know something could have been sent a bit cheaper.

But you don't say what it was that was sent. Maybe not fragile as such, but could it have been damaged in transit? Lots of bulky items are packed in boxes way bigger, with padding.

It is not as if the seller charged $50 then sent it off in a flimsy little box. He used a solid box with lots of padding so he's spent the best part of $50 on the postage and packaging. At the most, he has made a few dollars. Of course the seller is ignoring you. Why should he refund almost $15 when he had extra expenses on top of postage?

As for feedback, even though you feel disgruntled, this does not deserve a negative.

You have 3 other options.

1. Positive, mention the good bits (satisfied with item? fast postage?) but also mention you felt postage cost was excessive.

2. Neutral. As above.

3. No feedback at all.

[grevilleas4me]

Thank you springyzone, and all the other replies.   I see I made several mistakes in buying the item:  in mitigation I plead that it was an auction item and I only saw it at the last minute 

I really do know better.   I should have asked questions before buying.   I should have queried the postage.    

When I got the item (no need to say what it was, but in the end it was not so big, and in its own box already, so not fragile)   I was surprised in fact how small it was.    The description was no help because the seller had obviously used AI which had a lot of words but didn't really tell you anything useful like dimensions or weight etc.

And the huge box was obviously recycled because I think it was from packing a cistern!!!!!    And when the postage label said $35.65 I admit I was a bit peeved because I paid so much.   

I will chalk it up as my silly buy for 2025.

[springyzone]

As gutterpukz pointed out, the seller had to pay fees of $6.70 on that postage so at least that pushes it up to just over $42 in out of pocket expenses.  By the time you add in tape, label, time to post it etc, they probably have not come out of it with a huge profit, so you can rest a bit easier.

I'm not one to say never complain about postage because you agreed to it etc. Had this seller sent it for $24 in a recycled box etc I'd probably be saying the opposite, that it was a bit of a rip off.

As buyers, we can't always know what is a fair thing till we see costs and what was involved in the packing.

Take comfort though in at least you were only a few dollars out. I once bought some light ceramic (totally flat) little Xmas tree decorations (not on ebay). Came in envelope, flat postage $10. Maybe okay for people buying the bulkier items but pretty pricy for mine. Plus had I wanted them next day delivery- over $90. I guess that included faster production but hey, that really was eye watering postage cost!