Posting Ebay Items As A Private Seller

[V8RX7]

I'm selling a few things on Ebay including a set of wheels.

They are cheap and nasty and have been accurately described and photographed.

They have sold for £170 and the postage is £55 - what concerns me is who would spend that much transporting cheap wheels.

I have stated that they are responsible for paying postage out and back.

However am I correct in thinking that Ebay / Paypal will refund them with very little / no reason and possibly leave me out of pocket by £55 or worse £110 for return postage should the buyer change their mind - regardless of what's stated in the ad.

To confirm they are accurately described but I know many buyers don't seem to read descriptions.

[psi310398]

It's possible.

You might wish to consider withdrawing them from sale (even after the auction has finished).
I'm sure you can find some reason why they are not quite as advertised. The worst you can then lose is your listing fee.

Readvertise them later as collection only and accept only cash on collection.

[eltax91]

Why would you lose £110? If a buyer wants to return an item, they must pay return postage themselves.

So, asked yourself this, would a buyer get the wheels, not be happy with them and be significantly unhappy enough to lose the £55 return postage costs?

You’ll be fine I reckon.

P.s. try paisley freight, pretty cheap for wheel postage

[ashleyman]

Postage is why I don’t sell on eBay anymore. People just claimed to not receive stuff and then ask for refunds.

I think Ebay have that process where you can post to them and then they post out? Never used it so not sure.

[Saleen836]

eltax91 said:

Why would you lose £110? If a buyer wants to return an item, they must pay return postage themselves.

So, asked yourself this, would a buyer get the wheels, not be happy with them and be significantly unhappy enough to lose the £55 return postage costs?

You’ll be fine I reckon.

P.s. try paisley freight, pretty cheap for wheel postage

The buyer will just open a dispute stating the wheels are not as described, ebay WILL side with the buyer and tell the seller to accept a return, the buyer will use ebay postage which the seller will be charged for.

[psi310398]

Saleen836 said:

The buyer will just open a dispute stating the wheels are not as described, ebay WILL side with the buyer and tell the seller to accept a return, the buyer will use ebay postage which the seller will be charged for.

^ This. I just won't sell by this route any more. Cash on collection only.

[Nickyboy]

ashleyman said:

Postage is why I don’t sell on eBay anymore. People just claimed to not receive stuff and then ask for refunds.

I think Ebay have that process where you can post to them and then they post out? Never used it so not sure.

Posting stuff has never been easier, now Ebay link with Shutl you can use a number of carriers for very little. I've shipped 100 or items in the past 3 months and everyone has had delivery confirmation

[eltax91]

Saleen836 said:

eltax91 said:

Why would you lose £110? If a buyer wants to return an item, they must pay return postage themselves.

So, asked yourself this, would a buyer get the wheels, not be happy with them and be significantly unhappy enough to lose the £55 return postage costs?

You’ll be fine I reckon.

P.s. try paisley freight, pretty cheap for wheel postage

The buyer will just open a dispute stating the wheels are not as described, ebay WILL side with the buyer and tell the seller to accept a return, the buyer will use ebay postage which the seller will be charged for.

Totally different ball game but I received the wrong sized case for my iPhone, seller went silent. I opened a dispute and shipped back with eBay postage, the postage costs came out of my refund.

[anonymous-user]

eltax91 said:

Why would you lose £110? If a buyer wants to return an item, they must pay return postage themselves.

Because buyers abuse e bays returns process. They will use the reason that there is something wrong with the item, rather than they have simply changed their minds
Some will even not return your item. They may send their old ones back instead
Vermin lying buyers will lie and steal and e bay give them a platform for it
There are still many many decent buyers but the wkers are spoiling it and e bay is encouraging them
Remember that a seller can only leave POSITIVE feedback for a buyer but its still possible to check for any oddities. Look at the buyers feedback they LEAVE for others. If there is a lot of negatives being left then it can indicate a picky buyer.
Personally I wouldn't risk a large heavy item on there.
You just have to have your wits about you
Be aware as well that because too many sellers were shafting e bay by listing stuff as cash on collection then selling and cancelling the sale to get their fees back e bay have introduced some tough stringent rules about such sales. basically you can now risk a cash on collection sale a buyer not turning up and still paying the e bay fees

Large heavy items I would look elsewhere such as Gumtree

[Strudul]

I bought a £200 set of wheels and spent £40 couriering them...