How come buyer has paid postage on a "Free Postage" item?
Summary: moonlight-rhapsody was confused about a sale where an item listed with "Free Postage" unexpectedly showed a balance with postage paid by the buyer. jonatjonatjonat suggested checking the shipping label for upgrades such as Royal Mail Tracked 24. sml192 clarified that buyers can opt for 'Express delivery' and pay for it directly, and noted that the 'Import tax' line actually referred to VAT. moonlight-rhapsody appreciated the explanations, gaining a better understanding of the transaction details.
I’ve just sold an item which was listed at £30.10, plus BPF = £32.00. It was Free Postage via Simple Delivery, and the listing confirmed that I would pay £3.38 postage.
When I checked my account, I was surprised to see a net balance of £30.10, ie no deduction for postage.
When I looked into it further, I saw the figures as per the attached screenshot, so it looked as if the buyer had paid, and when I looked more closely at the email notifying me of the sale, sure enough it said the buyer had paid £3.99 postage.
1. How can this happen when the listing clearly says Free Postage?
2. Why is P&P listed as £3.33 + Import tax £0.66, when I was shown £3.38 when I listed it. What has Import tax got to do with it? Both the buyer and I are in the UK.
3. If the buyer has paid, why didn’t they pay £32.00 + £3.99 - the account shows that the postage was added to the listing price of £30.10, not the buyer’s price.
4. How can I sort this out now. Before I send a refund, I want to find out what the buyer has actually paid and I’m not sure they will get my message as isn’t ebay intercepting SD messages now?
sml192
·1 month ago · EditedFirstly, that isn't the breakdown of what the buyer paid. It's the breakdown of the amount used to calculate any ad fees, or similar, that were charged, if applicable, and doesn't include the BPF fee.
The 'Import tax' line is mislabelled. It is actually the VAT element of the postage charged.
Looking at the listing it appears that the buyer selected 'Express delivery' instead of 'Standard delivery', the price for which is shown as £4.00 on the listing (the 1p discrepancy is probably due to roundings). When a buyer selects 'Express delivery' on a listing with 'Free postage' they get charged the full postage amount and nothing gets deducted from your proceeds. A little bizarre but that's the way it works.
moonlight-rhapsody
OP1 month agoAh, I see. I didn't know that the buyer could switch postal service and pay the postage themselves. And if the BPF isn't accounted for, that makes more sense now. As does the Import/VAT figure. Every day a school day!
Thanks to both of you for your replies.
jonatjonatjonat
·1 month ago · EditedWhat label did you actually get? because there are postage upgrades available that offer a faster service. This is generally Royal Mail Tracked 24.
moonlight-rhapsody
OP1 month ago · EditedThe listing said that it would be sent by Standard Tracked Delivery, which I thought meant 48 hours. However, I see from the label that it's been sent by 24 hour delivery. So does that mean that the buyer can override the seller's choice, and pay extra to have it sent Express delivery? If so, it still doesn't explain why the £3.99 has been added to the listing price rather than the buyer's price.
PS. See my later post, I understand now, thanks!