Advice: PayPal Fees on Refunds

[zzyzx.livejournal.com]

Greetings,

I had a commission which I originally paid for on 2012-06-30. The artist has decided to refund my money rather than finish the commission at this point.  This was her decision and not mine. However, the way the refund is being sent, since it's too late to issue it as a refund through PayPal, I'm being charged £1.57 in PayPal fees if I accept it because she's sending it as a regular transfer. I feel like the artist should be responsible for the fees, since she decided on the refund. If I gave her £35, I feel I should be receiving £35 in return, either with her sending it as a gift (I'm not sure how this transaction should be handled, because it's definitely not for goods or services, but it's not exactly a gift, either...) or with her using a calculator to figure out what the fees are in order to cover them.

I'm actually losing even more because of PayPal converting from USD to GBP and then back again. I originally paid $56.29, but if I accept this, I'm only getting $51.92 from PayPal. I've told her I don't expect her to cover the currency conversion, but that I do think she should cover the PayPal transaction fees.

At this point, I'm expecting her to cover the fees, but not the currency conversion.  Since I paid her £35, I think I should get £35 back.  Her prices are in GBP, so I understand taking the loss on currency conversion.

What would you expect?  Would you cover the fees or expect the artist to cover the fees?  Should I ask for the funds in USD rather than GBP?

Thanks for your input!

Edit:
First of all, I want to make it clear that the artist wasn't difficult to deal with, and that I wasn't intending to post a beware at any point on this.  Second, since I've never dealt with a refund from an artist before, initiated from either end, it was something new for me, and sometimes with anxiety things seem like a bigger deal than they are, but I was also genuinely curious how this should be handled, especially since with larger amounts it could definitely add up.  Then again, I've seen bewares posted for art that's cost less than $3, so I suppose I'm not sure at what point it matters and what point it doesn't.  I certainly don't mean to seem petty or anything, but it mostly that it was a new situation and I wasn't sure how to handle it.  I didn't mean to give the impression that it was a long fight with the artist over it, just more me asking what I should ask for in this situation.

Anyway, in the end, the artist resent it as a gift, so there weren't any fees, so all is well.  I appreciate the input!

Edit 2:
I just want to make it abundently clear that I am in no way upset with the artist or trying to say she was difficult to deal with.  I had never handled a refund before, so I was seeking advice on what I should expect.  Thanks again for all the insightful answers.

Comments

[celestinaketzia.livejournal.com]

I'd expect a refund and not hassle about fees. More than likely the artist didn't see the full amount either, as sending a regular transaction takes fees from them as well. The fee is there for the use of the service. If you don't want to incur fees, then it could easily be sent via another avenue.

With that said: Artists? Sending refunds via your Paypal balance vs. pulling from your debit card/ bank account/ credit card will incur no fees for the client. The same goes if the client transfers from their balance.

[matrices.livejournal.com]

Paypal has a refund feature that also refunds the fees. Ask them to find your original transaction and initiate the refund through there.

If it is past a certain number of days (I forget which) then it might not be an option any longer. But Refunds are a specific category that paypal is capable of.

[growly.livejournal.com]

I think if the artist was the one to cancel, then yes, they should ensure that you get the full amount returned to your account.

[ryunwoofie.livejournal.com]

Artists should totally pay the fees if they have passed the refund time. Typically I refund as a gift payment to avoid fees for the user. That or just send the amount in fees you know that would be charged using the 'Paypal Fees Converter' etc.

[starcharmer.livejournal.com]

If it's past the 100 day mark and a refund is being sent [regardless of who requested it], I send it as a gift so there are no fees removed from the client. Yeah, it's not exactly a gift, but it's definitely not for a service. I paid for the fees when I accepted the payment, so IMO, PayPal still gets their cut and nothing shady is occurring.

PayPal pays out a percentage of refunds when you use their refund feature, so actually doing it this way, they get more than they would if that feature was used.

[ctk-hullo.livejournal.com]

They should send it as a gift to avoid the service fees. I'm not sure what to say for currency, part of me thinks the artist should refund you in the same currency you paid them, but I know how much conversion fees suck. Might be best just to ask if they'd refund in your preferred currency.

[gaturguts.livejournal.com]

When I send refunds (of my own choice) past the allotted time, I always cover the fee. It's a courtesy since it was MY choice to refund, so I should take the hit, not the commissioner.

[wolf-goat.livejournal.com]

I'd normally say yes the artist should cover the fees but..it's £1.50. You can't even buy 2 cans of Coke for that. I'd just leave it and if you're not happy with how things went down, don't work with the artist again - but with such a tiny sum it's not beware-worthy or anything.

[thaily.livejournal.com]

I suspect Paypal's refund function should send the entire amount back, maybe minus the initial fee, without any extra fees. That said.

If artists can't charge extra to cover their fees, should they give extra to cover the fees of a refund to a customer? :/
I can imagine that it feels unfair to be shorted when an artist refunds you, but it also doesn't look good to kick up a lot of dust over £1.57

Odds are the artist has a GOOD reason to refund you, like if they feel they can't give you your work, that you paid for, within a reasonable amount of time, if ever. Or can't give you something of sufficient quality. They might even not be happy about their customer for some reason and no longer feel comfortable doing business with them.

Artists don't refund for funsies, and you have most of your money back, that's more than most people who post here get.

[thaily.livejournal.com]

"Then again, I've seen bewares posted for art that's cost less than $3"

In which case that is the entirety of the amount in question. If people didn't refund that, they wouldn't have refunded anything.