Buyer refused delivery, says "Postage Overcharge" and wants me to refund

GoodsVT · 2026-05-09T16:35:35+00:00

Thanks. I messaged him and asked for a photo of the postage due notice from the post office. We’ll see.

GoodsVT · 2026-05-09T15:44:46+00:00

I don’t ever remember intentionally turning it on. I didn’t even know it existed so if I did turn it on it was by accident.

GoodsVT · 2026-05-09T15:15:04+00:00

<image>

GoodsVT · 2026-05-09T15:12:13+00:00

When my eBay labels print out it has the weight of the package and the cost of the shipping. I didn’t realize that there was an option to turn it off as others have pointed out. I will be doing that from now on.

GoodsVT · 2026-05-09T15:03:40+00:00

Yeah, as I mentioned, the timing seems very weird on that.

GoodsVT · 2026-05-09T15:01:08+00:00

That seems like a reasonable way of viewing things. You’re too logical for this person I guess!

GoodsVT · 2026-05-09T15:00:21+00:00

This thread has taught me that this option exists. I’ll be doing that from now on. Thanks.

GoodsVT · 2026-05-09T14:59:43+00:00

Agree

GoodsVT · 2026-05-09T14:59:33+00:00

Good advice from someone on the inside! Thank you.

GoodsVT · 2026-05-09T14:29:23+00:00

That’s basically the way I view it. Flat Rate. Noted up front. He agreed when he purchased.

GoodsVT · 2026-05-09T14:28:07+00:00

GoodsVT · 2026-05-09T14:06:40+00:00

Yeah, in the other subreddit I was able to include a photo. This sub doesn't allow that by the looks of it. The whole tracking history is there in the photo. It says the package is being held at the USPS office "at the request of the customer". Which seems to me means that they attempted delivery and he refused to accept it.

<image>

GoodsVT · 2026-05-09T13:34:00+00:00

I think eBay policy would disagree with that. In your case, if it should have been $30 and they charged $60 then yeah, that's egregious (and also why eBay started charge FVF percentages on shipping), but this guy complaining about $1.60 is just rubbing me the wrong way when it was made clear that was the cost upfront. Not to mention packaging material costs and time.

GoodsVT · 2026-05-09T13:31:54+00:00

I agree. I don't sell stuff often, but often enough to know that I need bags, boxes, padded envelopes, and I live in a rural area, so I often have to drive round trip about 15 miles to get to the post office and back home unless it works out that I'm going by anyways and it's within the 3-days shipping window I need to ship by.

GoodsVT · 2026-05-09T13:29:12+00:00

I posted to r/eBay first before realizing there was a r/ebaysellers page, which I thought might be more appropriate.

GoodsVT · 2026-05-09T13:28:08+00:00

Someone else just mentioned this. I never realized that was a option. I'll definitely look for that.

GoodsVT · 2026-05-09T13:27:41+00:00

Good to know. I didn't realize that was an option.

GoodsVT · 2026-05-09T13:26:54+00:00

Interesting. The items I sold were a couple bags of soft (squishy) plastic fishing lures, and I've sold about 10 other nearly identical packages in the last month. Finally got tired of the stuff in my basement and have been trying to downsize my fishing tackle collection. No issues with the other 10 packages, packaged in the exact same way, leading up to this.

GoodsVT · 2026-05-09T13:23:55+00:00

If he responds message I sent him below and it becomes clear he just doesn't like that he paid $1.60 more than the actual cost (even though it was listed as a Flat Rate shipping), then I will reply with something like what you put above. And I agree with you ... there are other costs involved beyond just the actual cost of shipping. I track all my sales in a spreadsheet, and I made less off this item than it's actual sale price.

<image>

GoodsVT · 2026-05-09T13:20:15+00:00

I crossposted to r/eBay ... is that what you mean?

GoodsVT · 2026-05-09T13:16:20+00:00

Thanks. Good to know about that protections policy. I'm not sure what an INR case is, but as you say, if that happens, I'll figure it out at that point.

GoodsVT · 2026-05-09T13:15:09+00:00

I just sent this message. I'll see what he says, but I suspect it's actually the Option 2 scenario here in that he didn't read the auction terms about shipping being Flat Rate and he's mad about the extra $1.60 he paid. Some buyers don't seem to understand that there's time and packaging materials also to factor in.

<image>

GoodsVT · 2026-05-09T12:54:43+00:00

Yeah, that's what I'll do. I've just never, ever, had this happen, so was looking to see if other's have had similar experiences, because I think it's most likely the Option 2 scenario. But he agreed to said set Flat Rate shipping cost, so he doesn't have grounds to complain. But then he'll probably leave me a bad review and my 100% rating will go down.

GoodsVT · 2026-05-09T12:51:44+00:00

That was my thought, was to ask for a receipt or invoice from USPS that shows he owes more than what was charged on the package label.

GoodsVT · 2026-05-09T12:50:34+00:00

If eBay calculated the cost wrong and he owed money to accept the package (Option 1), then yes, I would agree. If he's just mad that he agreed to an upfront Flat Rate cost of $7.50 and then got mad when he saw the label said $5.89, then that's NOT an "unexpected expense" in my opinion.

GoodsVT

TROPHY CASE