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

[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.

[zzyzx.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm not meaning to kick up dust about it, and I'm not posting it as a beware. I'm genuinely curious, especially since I've never dealt with a refund, initiated on either end, with an artist before. I guess, if I went to a shop and paid for something with my card, they'd cover the fees, but if I went for a refund, I'd get the full amount I paid, no fees subtracted from my end. I'm really just not sure, and it's also kind of a question for if it comes up in the future, because obviously if it was a larger amount, it would be more of a problem. I'm not saying I'm going to flat out reject the idea of paying the fees either. I'm just not sure what to do, which is why I asked...

[teekchan.livejournal.com]

Actually, most stores that charge 50 cents for the debit machine WONT refund that. You'll be refunded your total purchase, and not the fee for the machine.

Ive had multiple cases like this IRL when I was over charged or something was purchased but went bad before its date.

[thaily.livejournal.com]

It's the same here, some stores will charge extra if you use an ATM card below a certain amount and you do not get that refunded if you return the item, because the shop still had to pay the bank fee for the small transaction.

It's not that unusual.

[zzyzx.livejournal.com]

I've never seen a store that charges for debit or credit before. I don't know if that's something that varies by region or what.

[kayla-la.livejournal.com]

I believe in the US, it's illegal to charge extra for people using credit cards. It is, however, legal to give a 'cash discount' (though I feel like I only see this really used at gas stations). The difference is only in the wording, really.

It definitely depends on which country you live in though.

[zzyzx.livejournal.com]

I don't know if it's illegal, but I think it's more like PayPal where the terms from the payment processor don't allow including the fees in the purchase price. I haven't even seen a gas station with a lower cash price in years now, but I do live in a large, metro area. Maybe it's more common in smaller towns? I remember seeing it now and then when I was a kid, but it's been a long time now.

[teekchan.livejournal.com]

It's not charging extra for credit cards, it's for using the Interac terminal because you (shop owners) have to pay for it.

[teekchan.livejournal.com]

It's often small stores, like family owned. Walmart or Target don't, but our local corner stores do. Family owned pizza places, stuff like that. It's usually 50 cents, but can go less/more. This fee is almost never refunded when the purchase is. (I personally have never had it refunded)