eBay ethics question

[Captain Beard]

This has been coming up a lot lately, so I thought I'd pick your brains and see what you all think.

 

I offer combined shipping on all my store goods and there are instructions in my ads which clearly state that you should request an invoice before sending payment.* Yet at least once a week, someone buys a slew of carts and sends immediate payment, leaving me to send a refund (and it's often a lot -- it's $2.50 for a single cart shipped, but you can get about 6-9 for only $5-$7 depending on your zip code.) Not only is this a (admittedly minor) nuisance, but it ends up costing me extra in PayPal fees.

 

So my questions are: Am I morally obligated to send a refund in these cases? (I always have, but it's really starting to annoy me.) Is it reasonable to send a refund but deduct the additional PayPal fees? And finally, has anyone come up with a way to help prevent this goofiness on the part of buyers? I mean, who pays more than they have to? And what claim to they have to getting their money back when they do so voluntarily?

 

 

*For those who are curious, this is the exact wording: "Shipping and handling for a single game is $2.50. I will gladly combine shipping on multiple purchases to keep your costs as low as possible. If you purchase multiple items, please use the "request an invoice" option before paying so I may apply the shipping discount."

[strattsp]

This has been coming up a lot lately, so I thought I'd pick your brains and see what you all think.

 

I offer combined shipping on all my store goods and there are instructions in my ads which clearly state that you should request an invoice before sending payment.* Yet at least once a week, someone buys a slew of carts and sends immediate payment, leaving me to send a refund (and it's often a lot -- it's $2.50 for a single cart shipped, but you can get about 6-9 for only $5-$7 depending on your zip code.) Not only is this a (admittedly minor) nuisance, but it ends up costing me extra in PayPal fees.

 

So my questions are: Am I morally obligated to send a refund in these cases? (I always have, but it's really starting to annoy me.) Is it reasonable to send a refund but deduct the additional PayPal fees? And finally, has anyone come up with a way to help prevent this goofiness on the part of buyers? I mean, who pays more than they have to? And what claim to they have to getting their money back when they do so voluntarily?

 

 

*For those who are curious, this is the exact wording: "Shipping and handling for a single game is $2.50. I will gladly combine shipping on multiple purchases to keep your costs as low as possible. If you purchase multiple items, please use the "request an invoice" option before paying so I may apply the shipping discount."

 

It shouldn't cost extra paypal fees. When you give the refund, you should see the portion of the refund that is a partial fee refund.

[horseboy]

I think you need to look closer at how you are doing your refunds. If you do a refund correctly, PayPal refunds you the difference in the fees. It is a bother having to do refunds though.

 

-- edit --

 

Beat me to it.

Edited July 31, 2008 by horseboy

[Captain Beard]

I think you need to look closer at how you are doing your refunds.

 

Clearly. Someone want to tell me how to do it correctly, as I just "Send Money" back to them.

I've been using PayPal since 1999 and have never noticed any other way to do it.

PLEASE enlighten me -- someone, anyone!

[horseboy]

I think you need to look closer at how you are doing your refunds.

 

Clearly. Someone want to tell me how to do it correctly, as I just "Send Money" back to them.

I've been using PayPal since 1999 and have never noticed any other way to do it.

PLEASE enlighten me -- someone, anyone!

 

 

I don't actually do the refunds here at work, but I know that it is definitely a different process than the "Send Money" feature. If you "Send Money" to someone not only do you not get your fees back, but the other person is also charged fees on that transaction.

 

If nobody gives you an answer by the time my brother gets back from lunch I will ask him and let you know. I do know that it isn't a difficult thing to do though.

[channelmaniac]

I think you need to look closer at how you are doing your refunds.

 

Clearly. Someone want to tell me how to do it correctly, as I just "Send Money" back to them.

I've been using PayPal since 1999 and have never noticed any other way to do it.

PLEASE enlighten me -- someone, anyone!

 

Go to the "Details" screen for the payment in question and you'll see a refund link. Click it. Do a partial refund from that screen for that payment and you'll see where the fees are partially credited when it's processed.

 

I do it for folks that place mulitple orders in a day or 2... or that contact me about placing another order and to put one on hold to combine them. It's easy to do and saves you on fees.

 

RJ

[Captain Beard]

Thanks!

 

I have truly never noticed that refund link before.

Observant I ain't!

[cephallus]

Honestly, it's costing you time and effort to fix someone else's mistake. If you want to fix it because you personally feel the need to, then by all means, it's a very honorable thing to do. Would I do it myself? Probably not. It's the buyer's responsibility to follow your instructions - you already took the time to set up a system to provide combined shipping. If someone is so impatient, or so dumb, that they can't read the basic directions you send out, then I think they should forfeit their right to combine shipping.

 

I'm not a big eBay seller, either...this is coming from a buyer's perspective. If someone sent me instructions and I ignored them, I would not feel that I had the right to be upset that it cost me a little extra in shipping. Just my .02.

[the.golden.ax]

I state that I combine, and buyers still pay full shipping on the items.

 

Call it honest or not, if they do it, and then inquire I'll fix it, otherwise I don't.

 

I supposed I'd want someone to do it if I screwed up (and I have overpaid before), but if they don't care... they don't care.

 

Often times I never even notice it because I print my labels with the batch tools (hence not refunding overpays of my own accord).

 

It's on them, if you are worried about it, put a line in your policy (say: if you do this, and email me I'll correct it).

 

AX

[djpubba]

Same thing happens to me all the time. I'm sure I could get away with not refunding them most of the time, but I refund them anyway. I'm building a brand both on eBay and off, and in my experience, when I refund someone a little money back without them even asking, it builds your reputation as a great seller. They tend to remember getting excellent service from you and will shop from you again and recommend you to friends.

[Christophero Sly]

You're asking about ethics, so, obviously, the ethical thing to do is refund their money. It's really not that hard.

[the.golden.ax]

You're asking about ethics, so, obviously, the ethical thing to do is refund their money. It's really not that hard.

 

I would agree with the above, ethically it is correct to refund.

 

When I post 100 - 200 items on eBay it's an issue of getting them out quick. I could always go back through once a month and actually do some accounting (and should anyways). I don't think we would survive without the batch print options on the powerseller features. I still think it's a good idea to tell the buyers somewhere that if they feel they overpaid to let you know. That can help ease your having to scrutinize everything.

 

 

AX

[video game addict]

The total fees on a group of transactions vs one single transaction is still higher. If you are refunding the difference in paid shipping charges, then you may be loosing out. Make sure to deduct any additional transaction fees from the amount of the refund. Gotta subtract .30 cents for each additional payment from the refund. These fees are lost money on your end from what you could have seen if the buyer made a single payment vs a bunch of smaller ones.

 

 

Unless you want to refund all of the purchases themselves and then just send a total invoice all over again, that would be the only other alternative.

[Captain Beard]

You're asking about ethics, so, obviously, the ethical thing to do is refund their money. It's really not that hard.

Yeah, I know.

And I know I already knew the answer since it's what I've always done.

 

When I posted this, I was knee-deep in annoyance, though...

[djpubba]

Your annoyance should be more at eBay's flawed shipping calculator than with buyers' inexperience.

[the.golden.ax]

The total fees on a group of transactions vs one single transaction is still higher. If you are refunding the difference in paid shipping charges, then you may be loosing out. Make sure to deduct any additional transaction fees from the amount of the refund. Gotta subtract .30 cents for each additional payment from the refund. These fees are lost money on your end from what you could have seen if the buyer made a single payment vs a bunch of smaller ones.

 

 

Unless you want to refund all of the purchases themselves and then just send a total invoice all over again, that would be the only other alternative.

 

The sucky thing about this type of situation, where they pay on seperate payments, since I use the bulk print out, unless we notice, they each ship in their own box. Good for the product, but no one is saving anything, just making PO rich.

 

AX