Refund shipping cost who pays?

[polainoz]

I sell an item on Ebay (item listed as free postage) so I factor that into my price, and the person recieves the item but finds out they purchased the wrong item and wants a refund is it normal I refund the item less postage costs I paid?

Buyer wants full refund of what he paid for the item, but I have to resell this item again and don't want to pay two lots of postage.

Nothing is wrong with the item btw.

[jameshouseofstyle]

Hi OP,

we don't do free postage for various practical reasons, but if your buyer effectivelly paid for it (included by you in your item cost) surelly that means it didn't cost you anything and she'll have to pay to send it back, so again, no cost to you.

It'll be exactly the same when you re - list it, so the new buyer will pay one sum, which will include the postage.

That should be refunded in total, and you'll get the fees back from Ebay on total transaction, so whatever they deducted at the time would have been based on the total ammount and that is what you'll get back

And your customer will be very happy indeed!

Cheers, January.

[polainoz]

James, so because the buyer purchased by mistake the seller should just cop $20 postage on the chin?  because seller must resell the item and pay another lot of postage to the new buyer.

[jameshouseofstyle]

Sorry OP, you have either misundersood - or I did.

I just couldn't see how you'd loose anything, was half asleep after a late night out, but as I'm wide awake now I can see where the buyer has made a mistake in purchasing, not your fault or problem, they are not entitled to postage refund.

My apologies for the previous message - this is a second time in as many weeks that I didn't read the trhread properly - I'm an idiot, is all.

Cheers, January.

[digital*ghost]

The buyer did pay for the original postage, but if they get a full refund, then the seller has paid for the postage to get the item to the buyer, which is something most sellers won't do for change of mind, and as I take change of mind returns, it's one of the reasons why I generally don't do free post.

If they are expecting a full refund, it's possible they'll be upset they don't get it no matter how well you word your reply, especially if the postage component made up a fair percentage of the total. Just be firm, explain it simply, and don't argue the point even if they get upset and/or aggressive.

On sites where buyers can take advantage of a seller's return policy without contacting the seller, they've also set it up so that the seller can nominate a restocking fee (up to 25%), making it a clear and "official" deduction from any refund due. It would be good to have that here, particularly for those using 'free' postage.

[shoesonthegoau]

Hi op
I think if it is not stipulated in the listing you need to refund in full, alway as we do make sure that if the item is free post too include a restocking fee, we normally charge 5 -7 to cover most of the initial postage as we don't include the postage when we list free post we just sell it at a lot less a profit. I only charge the restocking fee on items returned for refund not exchange, if a customer exchanges I have them send the item at there expense and a pre paid postage satchel. This also alerts buyers to how much postage is in Australia.

[ch_482908]

i would like request you to refund the shipping fees because Australia Post denied ebay's postage labels due to wrong subject on your labels (incorrect weight = right weight is 5kgs. ebay's label is 500g.) and you charged me $55.80 ($9.30 x 6 times , i printed 6 times by mistake), therefore, i request you to refund $55.80 because i paid shipping fees with my own money.

[ch_482908]

i request you to refund $55.80 shipping fees because i didn't use ebay's postage labels ($9.30 x 6), the labels ebay provided to me were mistook (incorrect weight information), and post office denied to accept them, therefore, i paid all post fees with my own money.

[sandypebbles]

Why do you believe other members should give you money?

You still need to pay fees on shipping, like every other seller

If you did not cancel all the labels you printed, you also need to pay for those, used or not

and this has nothing to do with a question posted over 9 years ago

[ch_482908]

i am the seller, i didn't use your post label, but you charged me $55.80

[ch_482908]

i am the seller, i post the item to my buyer