My selling ethics, opinions please

[aussiejames]

So I listed an item on a forum for $100. A prospective buyer asked for a total cost including shipping. I estimated postage to be $20 with packing materials etc. The buyer payed via gift as requested $120. The item was recieved in good order. The postage was actually $9. The buyer has requested a $10 refund. IF they wanted an actual cost they could have waited & asked before payment. They ASSUMED I would refund the difference. I supplied the item at an agreed price. Thoughts please.

 

[phantom]

Depends, lets say the item is the mentioned 100 USD and I asked the seller if he would take 120 Shipped and the cost is less I wouldnt bother, as this is the agreed price.

Often a seller will check the price and get back to me, then it would be a different story should it be a mismatch between paid postage and the actual. I would however not bother to ask for a refund to be honest should there not be a massive difference. Ive had sellers refund postage at their own will and I see it as a nice gesture but not a requirement.

Ive even had forum users ship it before I paid the shipping, but I guess trust comes into the picture then.

I can to some extent see the buyers point aswell as he asked for the cost with shipping and to him it seems like you bumped the items value up to 111 and added shipping, but as mentioned it depends how you see it, is it an agreed deal that he offers 120 shipped or is it 100 + shipping, which is 9.

So my 2 cents are that its up to you if you chose to refund it. In this case I would not have requested it as a buyer, but it would be a nice gesture to have the difference refunded as I technically paid 11 usd more for the item than the requested price, but again not a requirement for me personally. He could, as you mentioned, have asked for a more specific postage

As a Norwegian I dont have this issue as actual postage is always higher than my requested postage, I need to subsidize it to be able to sell my items. (crazy prices in this country) :lol:

 

[snaggletooth]

If I brought something on a forum for $100 and then paid an extra $20 for the postage I'd only expect to be paying the actual postage and packaging cost, within a few quid anyways but I would normally arrange this by PM first. If I'd agreed $120 for the something posted then that would be another matter.

 

[jackabina]

If I brought something on a forum for $100 and then paid an extra $20 for the postage I'd only expect to be paying the actual postage and packaging cost, within a few quid anyways but I would normally arrange this by PM first. If I'd agreed $120 for the something posted then that would be another matter.

Agreed. If I was him (the buyer), I wouldn't expect a refund, but if I was you, I would give one anyway. He may or may not buy from you in the future based on this :wink:

 

[Stargeezer]

If i was you, i would had let him know as soon the item as shipped that it was cheaper and refunded the difference.

As a buyer, if i negotiate a price down and agree on an item 120 shipped, i would not complain.

If i ask for an shipping estamation and the seller says 20 (wich i pay) and notice he asked double the shippingcost i wouldexpect a refund from the difference aswell....

You surely wouldn't like to look like an eBay seller, who tries to gain more profit by overcharging on shipping (sorry James, no offence meant, just my opinion).

 

[Bramistuta25]

This couldn't have come up at a better time!!

In my opinion I would send him an email/pm explaining that you costed it to include packaging and time taken etc... If this was the case? If you were guesstimating that it would be $20 then I would take off what the packaging cost you and send him a refund for the rest.

I myself just bought a figure on eBay and they were charging £4... I was assuming (stupid me) that they would be sending either 1st class at £2.90 or 1st class recorded at £3.65 plus a little for packaging.

I received my item in a USED bit of packaging at the cost of 90p which is a Large Letter. As a buyer this annoys me and if he doesn't refund me some money I will use the negative feedback option.

As a seller on eBay if I guesstimate the postage and it comes up cheaper, I ALWAYS refund the difference. That way you have happy customers who will buy again as they know you are honest and that (for me) takes presidence over making a couple of extra quid.

On a side note. Anyone who buys from me on the forum knows that I take the money for the item(s) first and then once they have received them and are happy they can pay the exact postage. Although it may seem more hassle doing 2 payments, I do it this way for 2 reasons:

1. The buyer knows exactly what the price of postage is and will be happy to pay.

2. If, for any reason there is a problem, you can offer free postage and if needed more of a refund.

This is the way I do business, but I understand the variables in buying and selling and respect others opinions.

Hope this helps? :?

Bram

 

[edd_jedi]

Personally I always make a best guess based on experience. Usually I am very close, occasionally it is higher or lower. As over time it evens out, generally I keep (or take the loss) of any difference. If the buyer wasn't happy to pay that price, they shouldn't have bought it.

However if the buyer asked for the difference back, I would probably give it to them as it's not worth pissing somebody off (especially on eBay.)

 

[weasel]

If i was you, I would had let him know as soon the item as shipped that it was cheaper and refunded the difference.

As a buyer, if i negotiate a price down and agree on an item 120 shipped, i would not complain.

If i ask for an shipping estimation and the seller says 20 (wich i pay) and notice he asked double the shippingcost i would expect a refund from the difference as well....

Dennis summed my opinions up pretty well.

 

[itfciain]

Shipping is always a tough one -what I certainly notice is that if you over charge for shipping then people are always quick to point this out - yet if you undercharge there is never an email back saying 'oh I see you paid more - let me send over the difference !'

I'm with Ed - I take a best guess (based on sending out 100's of packages a month) and normally I get close. I would also refund if it were mentioned as it is not worth pissing people off for the sake of such a small amount

 

[edd_jedi]

It's especially difficult with the games consoles I buy and sell - the difference between sending a 1.9kg package and 2.1kg package to Brazil is nearly £100! So now on eBay for anything I think may be over 2kg I put a very high estimate as I can't risk taking a huge sting (as Iain says - when was the last time a buyer offered to pay the difference?)

 

[aussiejames]

I don't think there is a right or wrong in this situation. I appreciate everyones opinion.
I AM a buyer that will cover undercharging of shipping.
I am actually the cheapskate BUYER in this case :lol: :lol:
I made the mistake of assuming unwritten forum ettiquette. I thought since I paid full asking price I would also pay close to actual shipping.
Lesson learnt, I have no ill feeling towards the seller at all & in future will discuss my expectations more clearly.

Cheers

 

[itfciain]

I don't think there is a right or wrong in this situation. I appreciate everyones opinion.
I AM a buyer that will cover undercharging of shipping.
I am actually the cheapskate BUYER in this case :lol: :lol:
I made the mistake of assuming unwritten forum ettiquette. I thought since I paid full asking price I would also pay close to actual shipping.
Lesson learnt, I have no ill feeling towards the seller at all & in future will discuss my expectations more clearly.

Cheers

Ha ha - in that case then you owe me 20p extra for you Ewok :lol:

 

[Grant]

I would approach the buyer and kindly mention that there are other factors to add to the equation for example, packaging costs, a box, foam peanuts, bubble rap etc etc. Then on top of that the price of petrol/gas etc to get the parcel to the Post Office or Delivery Depo. Then finally the cost of the the actual postage.

Altho personally I wouldnt argue over $10. Id refund them and not bother dealing with them again for the simple fact that they were making waves over $10. If they want an explanation point out whats written above in my first paragraph.

Regards

G. 8)

 

[Frunkstar]

I always refund any excess postage costs paid after I have sent minus the actual postage & packaging charges, no one seems to ever think about the actual packaging costs (more is the pity) & as for covering your travel to & fro to the post offices (mine is a 26 mile round trip) - they NEVER take it in to consideration sadly, so a bit of a mute point sadly.

BUT! - I always make sure that I am covered for packaging materials, its a tough one though as we all know some folks expect you to charge EXACT ACTUAL postage costs, which we all know is insanity as there are always other costs involved.

Personally I would refund the $10 but also calculate your packaging costs & send them a breakdown of them so they can see that it has now actually (most likely) cost you to send the item to them & in an ideal world they would thank you for this - :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: & we all know the answer to that one :|

 

[jedisearcher]

Goodwill is worth alot more in the long run than a few quick $$'s here and there, especially if you're planning on selling over a long period.

 

[TheGent]

As a buyer, if it were for one or two bucks, I would not mind.
But demanding 20 using only 9 and not saying a word to me has the wrong ratio.
Plus I totally agree with jedisearcher's post above.

 

[thenightmarcher]

I agree with Iain & the vast majority on this - refund the difference as a goodwill gesture, even if this wasn't agreed in advance. Far better for you to retain an unblemished feedback score in the long run.

 

[aussiejames]

I am actually the cheapskate BUYER in this case :lol: :lol:
Cheers

:wink:
I'm really not fussed about it, just wanted people's opinions

 

[Joe]

I like what you did there AJ

Poor you