Buyer from USA has bought item but not paid postage.

[BigKidsAttic]

Unless Paypal works differently in the States, you'll still get charged 20p twice. So there's no point in doing the refund, just send a Paypal invoice for the postage plus 3.4% plus 20p.

Paypal changed their refund policy several years ago. They used to refund the whole amount, including the 20p. But then they changed, and you have to look at your refund transactions quite carefully to see the evil trick they play.

You shouldn't need to add the 3.4% to an invoice for the Shipping cost, as Paypal would have taken that amount off anyway had the original buyer waited for the full invoice.
But do add the 20p as you get charged that as a minimum per transaction.

You can refund and send an invoice from ebid that includes shipping as the only part you will not be refunded is the 20p flat non-refundable fee taken by Paypal.
just remember to add that non-refundable paypal fee onto your new invoice.

Jason

[burgyeb]

Unless Paypal works differently in the States, you'll still get charged 20p twice. So there's no point in doing the refund, just send a Paypal invoice for the postage plus 3.4% plus 20p.

Paypal changed their refund policy several years ago. They used to refund the whole amount, including the 20p. But then they changed, and you have to look at your refund transactions quite carefully to see the evil trick they play.

Have not used PayPal in a while, but when they did not refund my entire fee, I called them. My last transactions were impacted by the rash of questionable transactions that were going on, so I asked for the refund and they gave it back. That was one of the reasons I stopped using PayPal.

[johnwash1]

You shouldn't need to add the 3.4% to an invoice for the Shipping cost, as Paypal would have taken that amount off anyway had the original buyer waited for the full invoice.
But do add the 20p as you get charged that as a minimum per transaction.

You can refund and send an invoice from ebid that includes shipping as the only part you will not be refunded is the 20p flat non-refundable fee taken by Paypal.
just remember to add that non-refundable paypal fee onto your new invoice.

Jason

Jason, of course that's up to you, you could even post for free if you're feeling generous! But if you don't add that 3.4% then you're subsidising the buyer's postage cost. The seller needs to understand that and make a business decision accordingly. I'm mentioning this because I imagine postage across the Atlantic will not be cheap.

And I would not go the full refund and start again route, though again that's a decision for each individual seller. The reason I wouldn't is because it's inviting the buyer to reconsider "Hmmm, maybe I don't need this item after all, and I've now got all my money back, I think I'll not bother".

[BigKidsAttic]

Jason, of course that's up to you, you could even post for free if you're feeling generous! But if you don't add that 3.4% then you're subsidising the buyer's postage cost. The seller needs to understand that and make a business decision accordingly. I'm mentioning this because I imagine postage across the Atlantic will not be cheap.

And I would not go the full refund and start again route, though again that's a decision for each individual seller. The reason I wouldn't is because it's inviting the buyer to reconsider "Hmmm, maybe I don't need this item after all, and I've now got all my money back, I think I'll not bother".

johnwash, you haven't grasped what I said properly.

Paypal take 3.4% of the postage costs automatically. If you sell an item here, that 3.4% fee still applies to the amount taken by Paypal for the item sold and the postage charged.
In other words, the postage you charge here, automatically has that fee taken from it on Paypal.

Do you when you sell an item, ask the buyer to pay an extra 3.4% of the postage costs on top of the postage you charge?

Jason

[baandbr2010]

Hello. Many thanks for all the advice I received. I solved the problem - eventually (obviously with all the help I received from members of the forum), and what a learning curve that was for me! Hopefully I will be more aware in the future re paypal's 'evil tricks'. Babs.

[astral276]

Hopefully I will be more aware in the future re paypal's 'evil tricks'.

Well PayPal is the devil spawn of eBay so the dipping of your pockets at every opportunity is only to be expected. It's in the genes.

[johnwash1]

johnwash, you haven't grasped what I said properly.

Paypal take 3.4% of the postage costs automatically. If you sell an item here, that 3.4% fee still applies to the amount taken by Paypal for the item sold and the postage charged.
In other words, the postage you charge here, automatically has that fee taken from it on Paypal.

Do you when you sell an item, ask the buyer to pay an extra 3.4% of the postage costs on top of the postage you charge?

Jason

Hi Jason, naturally I think you haven't grasped what I said properly! But I'm sure the planet wouldn't stop spinning if we continued to debate who's right!

As for your final question, yes I do factor in the 3.4% when thinking about postage. But I don't do it explicitly, I include that in the cost of the item, and show postage at actual cost. Buyers find that more palatable, I believe.

Actually I'm not running a business, I'm just listing items to declutter and make a little beer money. I still think about overall costs though and my time.

[BigKidsAttic]

Hi Jason, naturally I think you haven't grasped what I said properly! But I'm sure the planet wouldn't stop spinning if we continued to debate who's right!

As for your final question, yes I do factor in the 3.4% when thinking about postage. But I don't do it explicitly, I include that in the cost of the item, and show postage at actual cost. Buyers find that more palatable, I believe.

Actually I'm not running a business, I'm just listing items to declutter and make a little beer money. I still think about overall costs though and my time.

Actually I did grasp what you said.
You told the original poster to add 3.4% to an invoice for postage. Would you add that 3.4% to a sale AFTER it has been made?