eBay - Reclaiming fees if a sale goes sour.

SaddlerSteveSaddlerSteve Posts: 4,325
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Although I've got over 500 transactions on eBay I've rarely had a problem and never had to go as far as retrieving fees so I'm not aware of exactly how this works. Trying to minimise any money lost so will explain the situation.

Sold an item this morning on a "buy it now" for £35 + £6 postage. Got an email saying it had sold with the buyers details so checked Paypal and it confirmed the money was paid and also the address was the same in a location in London.

All seemed well but needed a telephone number for the courier so messaged the buyer asking him to provide a contact number so courier could be arranged tomorrow. Sent message but then realised i'd received a message from him whilst I was composing my own message.

He was basically saying he'd prefer to use his own courier and could I provide my full name, address, email and phone number so he could arrange pickup. He then went on to say he'd need to know a day they could pick up but he couldn't arrange a specific time.

I've now messaged back to say that as he's paid postage it's easier for us to arrange the courier and we'll provide tracking details once sent. Waiting for an answer back but I'm already getting a feeling this is going to end up in the sale not going through.

As the sale has completed my fees (listing, final value & Paypal) total almost £6.
I'm wondering if this does go belly up if I can get these back and how I'd go about it?

Comments

  • gulliverfoylegulliverfoyle Posts: 6,318
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    you can just cancel the transaction if he will mutally agree and you will get your fees back
  • SaddlerSteveSaddlerSteve Posts: 4,325
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    you can just cancel the transaction if he will mutally agree and you will get your fees back

    Would this include the Paypal fees or is it just the final value and listing fees?

    It's looking more and more like this won't go through now as he's replied to say he's no longer in the country and wants to arrange his own courier to ship to his address abroad.

    My ad stated that it was UK ONLY and the item would be couriered. It's also only been listed on eBay UK and the shipping area is listed as GB.
    The other thing is if he's overseas then the addresses in his eBay and Paypal accounts must be out of date as he hasn't changed them. I'm also sure that agreeing some other pickup or delivery address would invalidate any seller protection with Paypal. Not to mention the fact he seems to want someone to stay in and wait for his courier to pickup anytime during the day!?!
    If he had asked prior to buying about it going through like this I would have refused. Now it looks like the hassle of relisting and claiming fees back as well as refunding.

    I've messaged back to say the only way this sale will go through is by the terms stated in the listing and now waiting for the reply.
  • c00kiemonster72c00kiemonster72 Posts: 2,363
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    If it was me and somebody started asking this after buying an item from me, I would issue a refund and open a case to cancel the transaction as this way you would get back your ebay sellers fees as long as the buyer agrees to the cancel.

    The fees on £35 are only going to be a couple of pounds anyway, so if you don't get them back, you haven't lost much.
  • mred2000mred2000 Posts: 10,050
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    Might be worth posting on the eBay discussion boards for some pointers, too, if you haven't already.
  • emptyboxemptybox Posts: 13,917
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    I think if you refund the buyer through paypal then your paypal fees are returned?
  • gulliverfoylegulliverfoyle Posts: 6,318
    Forum Member
    emptybox wrote: »
    I think if you refund the buyer through paypal then your paypal fees are returned?

    thats right
  • SaddlerSteveSaddlerSteve Posts: 4,325
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    emptybox wrote: »
    I think if you refund the buyer through paypal then your paypal fees are returned?

    Had a message this morning from the buyer asking for his money back and for a cancellation on the transaction.

    Put through the refund and cancellation. Just waiting for him to now confirm the cancellation.
    I've also relisted the item.

    The only thing i'm a little concerned about is the Paypal refund. When he paid the £41.00 they took £1.80 as fees which meant i received £39.20.
    I've put the refund through but it looks to me like he's only being refunded £39.20 and the £1.80 is still going to Paypal.

    Just worried that the buyer might start getting funny saying he hasn't received all of his money back??
  • lymlym Posts: 2,181
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    Had a message this morning from the buyer asking for his money back and for a cancellation on the transaction.

    Put through the refund and cancellation. Just waiting for him to now confirm the cancellation.
    I've also relisted the item.

    The only thing i'm a little concerned about is the Paypal refund. When he paid the £41.00 they took £1.80 as fees which meant i received £39.20.
    I've put the refund through but it looks to me like he's only being refunded £39.20 and the £1.80 is still going to Paypal.

    Just worried that the buyer might start getting funny saying he hasn't received all of his money back??

    If you put the refund through as £41.00 then he will get it all back and there will be no paypal fees.
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