Overcharging postage

[michaela1162]

I bought a top from a seller who charged $8.50 for postage. It arrived in a yellow A4 paper enveloe with a postage stamp of $1.60. I was disapointed and emailed the seller requestng a refund for the difference. She responded saying it was her policy to charge a flat rate of $8.50 and this was to encourage buyers to puchase more than one item and save on postage as she would combine postage on additional items. I replied saying I think its great you offer to combine postage however its a bit unfair to charge buyers buying only one item such a high rate when it arrived in an envelope with a $1.60 stamp! She responded again saying this was her policy and that I had agreed to the terms when bidding. Im not concerned about the money, its more the principle! As a seller myself I would never do this to another buyer! I always endeavour to do the right thing by paying for items immediately and charging whatever it actually costs to post items. Should I leave negative feedback and report her for overcharging or am I in the wrong due to her stating her 'policy'? I have tried to resolve this with her but am getting the 'its my policy' thing. Thanks!

[zanadoo_56]

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@sherbetlemon63 wrote:

"Must be just me and the OP then"

Not just you imastawka at all, what is wrong with you all. I'm a seller for over 10 years and there is no way I would charge a cost of a satchel or box and put in a cheap envelope. Getta outta here!

Blatant postage profiting and against eBay policy. If you can send via a cheaper postage option than what you have listed, refund, simple.

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Not just you.  I agree because not only would the buyer have an expectation of better packaging, I've had personal experience where a seller has charged a lot more for postage and packaging then what was used....and my purchases had arrived damaged as a result.

I've had items crushed, water damaged, split open ....repaired with tape by AP.  Thankfully none were fragile but that doesn't excuse a seller being sloppy or cheap or not caring about customer service.  For sellers who use those Express Post bags or whatever method where the cost is more or less set, as long as they say so in the listing at least buyers know what to expect for the cost and decide whether to go ahead with the purchase.

But it doesn't appear to be the case in this instance.  For the money a certain standard of packaging is expected.  When is that unreasonable?  The postage rate stated by the seller may be 'policy' BUT perhaps buyers need to start a policy too : inflated postage + cheap wrapping and cost = low DSRs.....and a scathing comment if the item arrives damaged.

And just a thought:  What exactly is AP Standard Post as mentioned by sellers on eBay these days?  There seems to be such variations that I'm beginning to think the words are meaningless.

[davewil1964]

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@zanadoo_56 wrote:

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@sherbetlemon63 wrote:

"Must be just me and the OP then"

Not just you imastawka at all, what is wrong with you all. I'm a seller for over 10 years and there is no way I would charge a cost of a satchel or box and put in a cheap envelope. Getta outta here!

Blatant postage profiting and against eBay policy. If you can send via a cheaper postage option than what you have listed, refund, simple.

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Not just you.  I agree because not only would the buyer have an expectation of better packaging, I've had personal experience where a seller has charged a lot more for postage and packaging then what was used....and my purchases had arrived damaged as a result.

I've had items crushed, water damaged, split open ....repaired with tape by AP.  Thankfully none were fragile but that doesn't excuse a seller being sloppy or cheap or not caring about customer service.  For sellers who use those Express Post bags or whatever method where the cost is more or less set, as long as they say so in the listing at least buyers know what to expect for the cost and decide whether to go ahead with the purchase.

But it doesn't appear to be the case in this instance.  For the money a certain standard of packaging is expected.  When is that unreasonable?  The postage rate stated by the seller may be 'policy' BUT perhaps buyers need to start a policy too : inflated postage + cheap wrapping and cost = low DSRs.....and a scathing comment if the item arrives damaged.

And just a thought:  What exactly is AP Standard Post as mentioned by sellers on eBay these days?  There seems to be such variations that I'm beginning to think the words are meaningless.

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Letter. NOT parcel. Pretty simple

[zanadoo_56]

Letter. NOT parcel. Pretty simple

You'd think so, wouldnt you but...I've seen Standard Post in listings but in my experience items have been:

# Letters, small packets, slighly bigger parcels, big packages, Express Post bags

# With - tracking...or no tracking

# Can be - small items delivered by postie, larger ones left by AP contractor, eParcels, and carded (ie Registered Post) parcels.

# And in one case....delivery by a Courier.

ALL of the above apparently apply where listing says AP Standard Post, and AP Standard Post (Standard Delivery)?

[davewil1964]

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@zanadoo_56 wrote:

Letter. NOT parcel. Pretty simple

You'd think so, wouldnt you but...I've seen Standard Post in listings but in my experience items have been:

# Letters, small packets, slighly bigger parcels, big packages, Express Post bags

# With - tracking...or no tracking

# Can be - small items delivered by postie, larger ones left by AP contractor, eParcels, and carded (ie Registered Post) parcels.

# And in one case....delivery by a Courier.

ALL of the above apparently apply where listing says AP Standard Post, and AP Standard Post (Standard Delivery)?

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AP standard post equals untracked letter. Parcels are all tracked. If you get better than advertised, you can hardly complain. Oops, sorry, this is eBay. Somebody complained last week about getting things sent registered.

[zanadoo_56]

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@davewil1964 wrote:

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@zanadoo_56 wrote:

Letter. NOT parcel. Pretty simple

You'd think so, wouldnt you but...I've seen Standard Post in listings but in my experience items have been:

# Letters, small packets, slighly bigger parcels, big packages, Express Post bags

# With - tracking...or no tracking

# Can be - small items delivered by postie, larger ones left by AP contractor, eParcels, and carded (ie Registered Post) parcels.

# And in one case....delivery by a Courier.

ALL of the above apparently apply where listing says AP Standard Post, and AP Standard Post (Standard Delivery)?

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AP standard post equals untracked letter. Parcels are all tracked. If you get better than advertised, you can hardly complain. Oops, sorry, this is eBay. Somebody complained last week about getting things sent registered.

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That might be because not everyone can easily collect registered mail when it is carded.  Ditto items from couriers who don't re-deliver.   Better than advertised????  Hmm....that depends on the circumstances.

[lyndal1838]

I agree with you zanadoo.  I do not like any mail that cannot be left without a signature as I have great difficulty getting to the PO to collect it.

Thankfully my postie and contractor are very good about coming to the door when necessary rather than card the item for me to collect.

Can't say the same of couriers though but so far everything has been redelivered with an authorisation to leave in a designated place.

[retailtherapist_8]

I have never worried too much about postage costs if I am getting a good deal all round then I am not fussed..........until.

Recently I paid $13.40 for standard postage pre paid satchel, the item arrived in an A4 envelope with about $4 worth of stamps,I was a little miffed but what really **bleep**ed me off was the enevelope was soaking wet and had ripped ( well virtually was falling apart from the water). The item (clothing) was soaking wet.

My thoughts are this : I simply want what I pay for, I want what is stated in the listing both in terms of my item AND the postage & handling service. Yes I agree to the postage when I purchase but I agree to the shipping terms as stated in the listing. Thats all I expect, no more no less. 

[cathyjoyjoy]

Sigh ....... reminds me rhe importance of waterproofing mail !!!

[lane-ends]

Seller probably quotes a rate according to 500gm parcel rate for all listings without trying to work out whether they may go as letter or not. Using Keeping It Simple principle. Then packs and sends them to AP and then they get charged at whatever it costs. Seller doesn't then go and rebalance invoices and mess around refunding items that go for less as that is not keeping it simple.

Quite normal practice for most mail order businesses, except Ebay where buyers don't like it.

One of the reasons I use freepost, as i dont have to try and work out posting costs in advance, or get into debates about it.

[egglesdtp]

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@lane-ends wrote:

Seller probably quotes a rate according to 500gm parcel rate for all listings without trying to work out whether they may go as letter or not. Using Keeping It Simple principle. 

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Then why not work it out before listing? Surely it's not too hard to use a PO measuring gauge to see if the item will fit through the 2cm limit? And why not weigh the item? I weigh all my items before listing, and include the weight in the listing, both for my own benefit when working out the appropriate postage and also so people can work out whether they can fit more within the satchel (I mostly use prepaid satchels). Buying more than one item is usually a win-win for both buyer (postage cost is less per item) ansd seller (FVF on postage is reduced).