Why am I being charged £5.88 on eBay when the buyer has already paid £5.88 for delivery?

[aachaucer]

Hello,

Although I've been a member of eBay for many years, I've only recently started selling. Initially, everything was going smoothly until I noticed that £5.88 was being deducted from each sale.

I had set up my listings so that the buyer would cover the delivery cost, which also came to £5.88.  I don't understand why both the buyer and I are being charged the same amount. The items I'm selling are under the size limit and weigh less than 10 kg, so I'm at a loss to understand what this £5.88 charge is for.

This £5.88 fee has been applied to every item I’ve sold and it feels very misleading, especially since eBay is now advertised as "free." 

[jckl1957]

The buyer pays you, then Ebay deduct that amount from the payment to pay for postage.

So, on a £38 sale, the buyer would pay 43.88 and Ebay would pay you £38 after deducting the postage charge.

As you are selling all new items, and not your own unwanted stuff, you do need to have a business account.

[aachaucer]

Thank you for your help, but I wanted to clarify the costs I've been charged. As you can see (below), I'm being charged £5.88 for the printing of a QR code for the label (Label cost), which I then take to the shop along with the package. However, my account is also being deducted £5.88 for the buyer's delivery costs, plus an additional £5.88 for the label itself, which seems excessive.

The main point I'm trying to raise is why I'm being charged an additional £5.88 for printing a label when the delivery has already been paid for by the buyer (total cost £11.76). Is there always a £5.88 charge for printing the label, even if I was to cover the buyers delivery cost?

Postage cost
Label cost
Paid
£5.88
Total
£5.88
See cost breakdown
Postage
£5.88
Total
£5.88

[papso22]

Are you using the new simple delivery system?

The problems people think they have with postage is always due to a lack of understanding combined with Ebay's awful communication.   No member has ever actually paid postage twice, or paid it when it's already been paid to the courier.

[aachaucer]

Thank you for your help. Just to clarify, are you saying that if I cover the buyer's delivery costs of £5.88 (offering free delivery), I would then be exempt from the additional £5.88 fee for printing the QR code for the label (label cost)?

[papso22]

If you offer free postage someone has to pay for the delivery label and it obviously won't be the buyer.

So if you 'cover it' you have to pay for it, who else is going to?

[aachaucer]

Thank you for your help. Just to clarify, if I offer free delivery and the delivery cost is £5.88, will I still have to pay an additional £5.88 for the label's QR code (label cost)?

If so, my total cost would be £11.76— is that correct? Deducting £5.88 just for the QR code seems excessive.

[papso22]

You have to pay for the label but if the postage costs £5.88 that's what you pay.  You don't pay it twice, there is no 'additional cost'.

[aachaucer]

Thank you for your help. Just to clarify, if I don't have free delivery and the delivery cost is £5.88,  I will have to pay an additional fee £5.88 for the label's QR code (label cost)?

[papso22]

Sorry I am finding it impossible to be any clearer.

[aachaucer]

Thank you for your help. With respect, I’m not sure if you've ever sold anything on eBay—perhaps if you tried, you’d better understand my question. For the items I've sold, the buyer has paid the full delivery cost (£5.88). However, on top of this, I’ve been charged an additional £5.88 by eBay for the QR code, which seems excessive.

Everyone I’ve spoken to about it agrees this doesn’t sound right. As a new eBay user, I reached out to the community for guidance, only to feel dismissed for asking a question and seeking support.

[tobiasd4]

A lot of mentors on here have other accounts they buy/sell on, but all are experienced.

Simply put, buyer pays you for item & any postage you listed.

You use this money to buy postage from packlink or courier.

If you do free post, it means you have added postage cost to start price of item.

You are never charged twice.

It confuses some sellers when it says "Buyer pays postage", this is bad wording by ebay.

[aachaucer]

Thank you for your help. Below is an actual example from one of my sales.

As shown, I sold the item for £38.00, and the buyer paid for delivery.

However, I didn’t receive the full £38.00—instead, eBay paid me £32.12 in "order earnings."

What your buyer paid
Item subtotal
£38.00
Postage
£5.88
Order total
£43.88

What you earned

Order total
£43.88
Selling costs
Transaction fees
£0.00
Postage label
-£11.76
Order earnings
£32.12

[tressygirl]

Looks like the deduction was for a postage label you purchased from eBay.

[tommystrezures]

Or you have inadvertently purchased postage twice? Eg 5.88 x 2

[tressygirl]

Loloking at that breakdown again,  it does look like you purchased 2 eBay postage labels.

If this is the case,  you can receive a full refund for the unused label.  It may take 24 hours for the label to appear before you can void it for the refund.

Find your label with this link . https://www.ebay.co.uk/ship/lmng/labels-history/seller-hub and to the left of the sales record there is a drop down menu under 'Actions' click on that , then click on 'Void Label'.

The refund will take between 5 - 21 days to process.

@aachaucer