Eating the cost of postage?
Hello. I would like to get some advice from some veteran sellers here.
I recently sold an item and mailed it on 3/26/25. Per USPS Tracking it was received at the destination on 3/29/25. The buyer lives in an apartment complex and the package was put in a postal locker until it was retrieved. The buyer said he was out of town (for 3 weeks?) and said the person overseeing the postal lockers sent it back, "return to sender." EDIT: I charged the person 15.50 for postage, although it only cost 14.40 through USPS Ground Advantage.
The buyer is requesting a refund and is pretty casual about the situation. I'm thinking he changed his mind about the purchase, or possibly will try switching out my item with another one.
The question I have, assuming I get the item back and it's OK, I am still out the original $15 postage I paid. Am I stuck with this, as "the cost of doing business", or is there something I can do to get compensated? Thanks.
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 year agoI would refund in full. My standard for my orders. IMO it was not delivered to the buyer.
Just because Ebay MIGHT allow a seller to not refund the shipping, I will do what I think is the right thing to do.
Do what fits your business policies.
mam98031
·1 year agoWell that isn't true. The package WAS delivered to the address the buyer gave to the seller. Why should the seller take a loss because the buyer's apartment complex decided to have it returned??
There is no "might" in a situation like this. The buyer can file an INR but can not win it because tracking shows delivered. Ebay will NOT force the seller to refund a penny to the buyer.
But with that said, I always encourage the seller to refund the buyer, as I stated before, less the original shipping charged plus non recoverable fees. IMHO that is the correct thing to do.
natoman777
·1 year agoSo, if you get it back, you have to refund the total cost, which includes shipping. You will be able to relist and possibly sell it. If you sell items with "free shipping" I'm sure you are aware that is just a way to get buyers to purchase thinking they are getting deal. you have to figure in the actual shipping cost and your item value and add those to do "free shipping"
wheredidiputthatremote
·1 year agoI did the free ship for the past 5 years. Switching all my listings back to calculated. Postage is way too high, takes time, and the packing has a cost even if you get most of your packaging materials for free to be offering free shipping.
reallynicestamps
·1 year ago@wheredidiputthatremote
I assume that you realize FreeShipping means you put your postage and packaging costs into the asking price for the product.
Which is cheaper? A $10 item with $5 Shipping or a $15 item with Free Shipping?
Most of my items are shipped Flat Rate/Free Shipping because they are light and small and the rates rarely vary. YMMV.
My bulky, heavy items go Calculated.
a_c_green
·1 year agoAbsolutely; me too. My breakover point is one pound. Below that, I offer Free Shipping, as buyers generally know that the item is small and lightweight. Above that, I charge Calculated shipping, as I think buyers are aware that the item has some mass and some cost to ship it. Calculated method ensures that each buyer sees only an accurate cost to his own selected destination.
mam98031
·1 year agoWhen any seller offers free shipping, they need to raise their pricing every time a carrier they use raises pricing. That is a lot of work IMHO. I do a fixed price for shipping and if there is a need to raise pricing I use the Bulk editor to raise pricing. For me it makes it much easier.
pickapaper
·1 year ago@ak714collectibles wrote: "The buyer said he was out of town (for 3 weeks?) and said the person overseeing the postal lockers sent it back, "return to sender."
The buyer must have told the overseer to return the package. Otherwise, why would an overseer take it upon himself to return a tenant's package? I would think such an employee could get in trouble for that.
mam98031
·1 year agoIt really doesn't matter how it happened or why it happened. What matters is the fact it did happen. Other than that, it doesn't matter for the purposes of Ebay and Seller Protection.
reallynicestamps
·1 year agoEBay does not require the seller to refund anything when a shipment is Refused.
It is considered Undeliverable.
https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy?id=4210#specialcoverage-inr
So technically you don't owe the buyer anything.
Most sellers would refund only the purchase price, less any fees and postage that they were charged.
Most sellers would not refund shipping. Shipping includes packaging costs.
BUT
Buyers are also covered by the chargeback program of their credit card. While eBay is pretty good about backing sellers in such claims, it is important to stay on top of them and make sure eBay has the Proof of Delivery number and that eBay knows that the shipment is being returned.
Then relist and resell.
mam98031
·1 year ago@ak714collectibles
You are only going to be out that original shipping if YOU choose to refund the buyer in full.
You did your job. You shipped to the address given you when they paid. It was received at the address you shipped it to. At a later date the item was refused and sent back to you. The buyer can not win an INR. You are covered by Seller Protection. Heck Ebay wouldn't even make you refund a penny to the buyer.
But I always advise sellers to be fair with their sellers and refund them LESS the original amount charged for shipping and your non recoverable fees. That would be the FVFs on the amount you are NOT refunding plus 40 cent fixed transaction fee. There is no reason you should be out any money at all.
12345jamesstamps
·1 year ago'was out of town(for 3 weeks)'...I enjoy reasons buyers and sellers give and usually believe none of them.
Why...if they can come here and complain...most sellers and buyers know nothing about coming here to complain.
The...I was in the hospital...my house had a fire...and so on....
I will tell buyer when item is returned and when I see the yellow label on it why it was returned I will do the right thing...it probably will say refused...and buyer loses...no refund or anything.
lakefor94
·1 year agoIs that correct @ak714collectibles , no case filed by the buyer?
Or did the buyer file some type of case with eBay?
ryry-jj
·1 year agoI believe since the items was just returned without filing any claim to be returned, even if you offered free shipping, you could still deduct your cost from the amount the buyer paid and only offer a partial refund
lakefor94
·1 year ago@ak714collectibles
If your tracking shows as "delivered", you are in good shape.
When the package is returned to you, you can go to your Paid and Shipped orders in Seller Hub and the pull down there with have an option to refund.
You can refund less the shipping cost.
ryry-jj
·1 year agoYou are not required to refund the postage. You might not even be required to refund the sale price either. The item was accepted and then just returned to you for no reason.
What I would do, after you receive the item back & if it is the item you sent and nothing funny, is refund the item minus postage and fees. Then relist. If the buyer wants the item, they can repurchase it from the new listing.
cardsforauction
·1 year agoBetter off not selling this item back to this buyer. Block the buyer and relist and sell to someone else.
bandrhome
·1 year agoIf you offered free shipping, yes you're out the money. Write it off at tax time.
a_c_green
·1 year agoIf you charged for Shipping, you could deduct that if it's returned as Undeliverable/Unclaimed.
If you did not charge for Shipping (I see you list some items with Free Shipping), you cannot deduct Shipping now as you did not charge for it as part of the original transaction.
ak714collectibles
OP1 year agoThank you for the fast response. Yes, I charged $15.50 for postage, although it only cost $14.40 through Ground Advantage. I was unaware I could deduct anything, as I thought you had to refund the full amount the person paid. Thanks.
lakefor94
·1 year agoThere is no case filed at this point. (Edit: I think)
The OP can refund what he wants from the pull down on the order.
wastingtime101
·1 year agoOf course they can. This is not a return request. It's a non-receipt claim for a package with a delivery scan; seller does not have to refund a penny.
If a formal item not received claim is open @ak714collectibles you'll want to confirm the pre-filled tracking number and in a few days escalate to get the case closed in your favor. Then, after the case is closed you can use "send refund" to send a partial refund after (if) the item is returned to you. (You cannot send a partial refund through the claim.)
If this is all through messages to this point, see below.
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This is my standard advice for RTS (returned to sender) packages. Take the parts that are relevant to your situation.
You have a few options. You should decide which route you'll be taking and communicate with the buyer, but wait until the item is returned (and delivered) to you before you take any of the following actions.