charge additional fees after purchase?

[Former_Member]

I know that PayPal has the option to refund a purchase, but what about charging the buyer more after they purchased an item - for example, to add additional shipping fees? Or is it best to create a separate listing just for those fees and ask them to "buy" it?

[Former_Member]

Why would you need to add additional shipping fees after a purchase?

[Former_Member]

If someone requests expedited shipping. I am able to ship the order quickly, since it is already made, but they want to pay for the additional cost of priority shipping so they can be sure to have their items in 2 days.

[Former_Member]

I don't know if Etsy allows you to charge for shipping beyond what is stated in the listing. But I know they won't allow you to make a seperate listing ust for an up-charge.

I see lots of sellers on ebay saying 'please ask for a shipping quote' but I don't know what the rules for Etsy are.

[Former_Member]

I think the safer way to do it is to have them ask you in advance if they need expedite shipping, and create a custom listing for them with the product and shipping fees. Does that make sense?

[LivingGlassArt]

If the buyer has requested expedited shipping and are willing to pay the extra charges for it the best way to go about this is to create an invoice through PayPal for the extra fees.

If you have never done this--go into your PayPal acct, under request money create invoice--you will need their email addy which you should have.

[TheGiantKnot]

There's a way to request money on paypal. There should be a section (at least for me) where you request money from __________ and there's a drop down menu where you can select the person or type in their email. Not sure if I helped at all but good luck.

[LivingGlassArt]

Have they already paid for the order? If not you can simply change the listing to reflect expedited charges and reserve it for them.

[Former_Member]

Okay gotcha.

In that case, I would make it clear in every listing: If expedition is required, please notify me in the notes to seller or send a convo in advance of your purchase so that a shipping upgrade can be made in the listing. If purchase is made first, order will not be shipped until Paypal invoice for the shipping upgrade has been paid.

You could include an expedited shipping price range estimate if you find a lot of expedition requests are coming your way.

Kat is right in that you can't list a shipping upgrade as a stand-alone listing in your shop, so sending your customers a Paypal payment request is the best thing. Don't ship anything before you get payment for the shipping upgrade, and make sure shoppers know that. Be open in your communications- if a customer requests expedition, contact them via convo and email stating that a Paypal payment request will be sent to the contact email listed in their etsy account, and that their order will be shipped once the payment is confirmed. That way they'll know to babysit their inbox and pay as quickly as they can.

[Former_Member]

Thanks everyone for your quick responses! I have just created my first invoice through PayPal! Appreciate the help!

So...how does she pay that invoice?

[LivingGlassArt]

She'll receive it via PP, she can then either click on the link from them, or go into her PP acct and pay it there.

[Former_Member]

My PP account shows the invoice was sent and everything seems to look fine, but she received this error: “Transaction cannot be processed because the invoice has been updated, canceled, paid, or closed; contact the merchant for more information.”

Anyone know what it means?

[Former_Member]

Hmm... I didn't know upgrades and add ons couldn't be listed. Looks like I broke that one.

[Former_Member]

Off topic, but just wanted to say thanks for pointed out that upgrades can't be listings as it was on my to-do list to make a gift wrapping upgrade listing. Sometimes I think we just need reminders of the do and don'ts. :)

[Former_Member]

Did you open or modify the invoice after you sent it? I would just try again and leave it alone until she pays for it. You will receive an email when she pays for it letting you know she did.