topic Re: Royal Mail Label Refunds - When Buyer Cancels or Label Printed by Mistake in Postage

Royal Mail Label Refunds - When Buyer Cancels or Label Printed by Mistake

k1techcare — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 10:14:09 GMT

Hi everyone,

I’ve noticed a problem and wanted to see if anyone else is experiencing the same.

When we buy a postage label through eBay (Royal Mail), and then the buyer cancels the order or we accidentally print the wrong label, there seems to be no way to get a refund.

I’ve tried contacting Royal Mail directly, but they say I need to contact eBay. When I contact eBay, I never get a refund back for the unused label.

Has anyone here managed to successfully claim back a refund in this situation? Or is it just a case of losing the money each time?

Any advice or tips would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Re: Royal Mail Label Refunds - When Buyer Cancels or Label Printed by Mistake

supermanifest — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 12:30:10 GMT

I have cancelled a few RM labels in the past. For business sellers, there is a link to do it in the postage labels section of the orders section. There is a menu where you can cancel a label. Takes a while to get the refund.

Re: Royal Mail Label Refunds - When Buyer Cancels or Label Printed by Mistake

brainuk — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 12:56:42 GMT

https://www.ebay.co.uk/claims/simple-delivery/refund/seller

This is the link where you can request a refund for unused postage labels. I have just had 8 refunds in one go and these date back to the beginning of August. As long as you fill all the details in correctly you should get the money back within 30 days. If your buyer paid for the label, then the buyer will get the refund within 14 days.

Re: Royal Mail Label Refunds - When Buyer Cancels or Label Printed by Mistake

jckl1957 — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 18:14:03 GMT

The OP is a business seller who does not use Simple Delivery.

Re: Royal Mail Label Refunds - When Buyer Cancels or Label Printed by Mistake

jckl1957 — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 18:16:33 GMT

You do have to follow the proper process to void or cancel your label. You don't automatically get a refund for those unused labels. Here is what to do in future:

How to cancel a postage label

Labels purchased on the eBay labels platform need to be used within 14 calendar days. If unused, make sure to void the label within 14 calendar days to get a refund.

Here's how to void a postage label in My eBay or Seller Hub:

Select Selling in My eBay, or select Orders on the Seller Hub Overview page.
Select Postage Labels on the left-hand side.
Select Actions next to the label you'd like to void, and select Void Label.

Re: Royal Mail Label Refunds - When Buyer Cancels or Label Printed by Mistake

tessawessawoo — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 21:31:17 GMT

I’m a seller - I accidentally posted an item to the wrong customer. That customer agreed to send to the correct customer and I refunded part of their sale to them to cover the cost if this. EBay now will not let you mark a sale as dispatched unless you actually buy a label. I have - through eBay - requested this label refund but I’m guessing the customer will get the refund and not me - not fair at all

Re: Royal Mail Label Refunds - When Buyer Cancels or Label Printed by Mistake

61stephenuk — Sat, 15 Nov 2025 05:17:46 GMT

If the buyer originally paid for the delivery they will get the refund, however you should not be passing on another customers details, you should have paid for the return of the incorrect item and then sent it to the right customer yourself.

Re: Royal Mail Label Refunds - When Buyer Cancels or Label Printed by Mistake

fruityloopynutz — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 12:25:55 GMT

they force you to use this system and then they make the refund process long winded to get back £3.50. if the postage is in the £10+ then ok. but how much many are they making off people who dont have the energy to go through hoops for 4 wings and chips with no drink? total joke

Re: Royal Mail Label Refunds - When Buyer Cancels or Label Printed by Mistake

bluewebseller — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 16:29:30 GMT

You can cancel a royal mail label, from your sales list find the label >postage labels>actions> cancel label.

I have done this a few times after making mistakes with the weight etc. and the cost has been refunded to my account. however the last 2 times I have done this:

1st instance I entered the wrong weight but purchased a new label with the correct weight. I did not receive the refund. According to ebay if the buyer pays for postage then they get the refund even though the seller buys the label for royal mail via ebay. Strange way of doing things as the buyer pays the seller to purchase the label and send the item!!!

2nd instance I purchased a label by mistake to collect the item from me at home, I cancelled this label and purchased a drop off at post office label. I cancelled the first label within minutes yet royal mail still turned up to collect the item next day. On checking the status of the cancelled label it says "cancellation refused" but with no explanation as to why, not my fault the systems used by RM and Ebay are slow?

All I can say is be careful and double check what you enter as in weight, drop off or collect etc. and make sure everything is correct before you click purchase.

Royal mail do not want to know and ebay well who knows? for a combined cost of £4.30 for 2 labels it is not worth my time jumping through hoops to get the refund.

But you know when you add all these postage label mistakes up ( I am sure there must be thousands ) it becomes a fair old amount that ebay do not refund. I think in the real world that is called theft or it is when the correct procedure is followed.

Re: Royal Mail Label Refunds - When Buyer Cancels or Label Printed by Mistake

palecelt — Sat, 07 Feb 2026 23:23:45 GMT

Hello there, may I just clarify something from your post, please?

So, you sold something. Buyer paid postage. Postage price is included in the payment and both postage and item cost are added to your EBay balance. You bought a label with this payment, then you refunded it BUT the refund didn't go back to your EBay balance? It went to the buyer?

Thanks so much for any info! I'm very confused by this system.

Re: Royal Mail Label Refunds - When Buyer Cancels or Label Printed by Mistake

neovass0 — Sun, 08 Feb 2026 00:41:51 GMT

Just to clarify, from personal experience, I believe if you actually print the label, it then counts as 'used' and you cannot claim a refund for it. As said above, you can claim a refund for an unused postage label, but again that is provided you have not actually printed it. That is what I have been told by Ebay, previously. Don't know if it's still the case, with the amount of changes every other week, lol.

Re: Royal Mail Label Refunds - When Buyer Cancels or Label Printed by Mistake

palecelt — Sun, 08 Feb 2026 00:46:47 GMT

I hear you on that, the number of changes are making it even more confusing for me. I have to check the date of every single comment, to see if that's up-to-date info. I'm just starting to understand the complications of Simple Delivery etc, lol.

With regards to refunding postage labels, where Royal Mail is concerned an unused label is one that hasn't been scanned, by them, into their system. Printing it shouldn't impact that at all, how would they know you've printed it? It's just a PDF. (In theory, logically!)

No idea what eBay is talking about!