Where does eBay get these return label costs?

[valueaddedresource]

$54.99 item, shipment to buyer was 5 lbs - 14" x 9" x 7". Return would be from CT to FL.  UPS retail rate ground would be a little over $18 and USPS priority mail would be a little over $19 - how does eBay justify this?

Yes I know how to handle this with the buyer - but I shouldn't be in this position to begin with.  eBay has created a negative situation where there didn't need to be one and has exponentially increased the likelihood this buyer will leave negative feedback.

This is a terrible experience for buyers, which leads to a terrible experience for sellers.

[babclassics]

eBay always uses the dimensions and weight in the sold listing to price the return label and the label would be Priority Mail due to weight over 1 pound.  Is it possible the DIMS or weight in the listing itself were not accurate (overstated)?  Shipping was free so those package details would never come into play except for a return label.  You probably already check it but if not it could be the reason for the overpriced label?

[valueaddedresource]

---

@babclassics wrote:

eBay always uses the dimensions and weight in the sold listing to price the return label and the label would be Priority Mail due to weight over 1 pound.  Is it possible the DIMS or weight in the listing itself were not accurate (overstated)?  Shipping was free so those package details would never come into play except for a return label.  You probably already check it but if not it could be the reason for the overpriced label?

---

Thanks @babclassics  - the weight and dimensions I listed in the original post are what is in the listing.

Also, this isn't the first time I have seen some crazy numbers for return shipment costs.  When we get NAD return requests where we would be responsible for return shipping, sometimes the cost eBay shows to us is in line with what we would expect and sometimes it is extremely over-priced.  I've never dug into it much before because as mentioned, due to volume our rates are better than what eBay offers so we always provide our own label when required to do so.

[hillcountryaccents]

When selling, I've found that it's far better to set my own shipping price and not rely on eBay who always exaggerates the cost.  When buying, If I see a shipping cost that seems out of line and too high and I've contacted the seller about it, 99 out of 100% of the time their answer is that eBay plugged in the cost, not them.   It's bad for the buyer and the seller, but good for eBay because they get more money from the fees charged to the seller.  Doing it this way the return postage label from eBay is around $10 which is very reasonable.