How To Handle Shipping Overcharges?

You know how high gas prices are. Maybe he lives really far away from the post office.

I'm with collect4fun here. I always factor shipping in with the cost of the coin. You could always let him know that his high shipping will prevent you from being a repeat customer.

There are plenty of sellers listing items at low prices (say 99¢) and have inflated post and pack charge so, even with one bid, they make money on the sale. I would not buy from them but people do!

My philosophy is to consider the total price, including postage, and bid accordingly. If seller will not give a postage quote on request then don't bid.

When selling I only charge postage at actual cost and consider the packing my responsibility. Buyers appreciate that and are more inclined to bid a little more to get an item anyway.

Jeff

what is postage due?

I am not in favor of ebay dictating to me how much I should charge for shipping. Every other on-line company you buy from charges variable shipping rates- it is capitalism. If we want a dictator fixing all the shipping, we should go to Cuba.

As many have said, ALWAYS factor in the shipping in your bid and read the entire auction before you bid. Lots of sellers have fine print and terms and conditions. When you bid on an item, you are agreeing to the conditions set forth in the auction. If you don't like the terms, shipping charges, when they will ship (some say 2 weeks!), or anything else (poor pics and seller won't send better pics) then move onto another listing. I do not think you can be angry with a seller for sending you something in a 58 cent envelope, as you agreed to the terms. However, you do have a right to be angry if the seller states they will ship priority mail and instead they ship a cheaper way. That's dishonest.

ebay's a la carte fee structure and heavy push for sellers to accept Paypal (with its 3% fee) significantly eats into whatever small profit the seller makes (range is 10-20% loss to EBAY/Paypal). I think increasing the shipping charge is a common strategy to help offset some of the fees. Charging $4-5 to ship one coin is all over ebay. I do not get the sense, especially with coins, that sellers are making all that much profit, even if their shipping is on the high side.

If the shipping is listed on an item and you buy it, expect to pay the listed amount and don't worry about the cost. You contracted to pay it and that is all that matters.

More importantly, the cost of the stamp is only part of the total realized cost. Just driving to the post office to get stamps is expensive, now.

The seller preformed exactly as they said they would on the listing. If the product is correct and delivery was timely, leave good feedback and get on down the road. The time to discuss shipping was before bidding, not now. If $4.50 for shipping was acceptable when you bid, it still is, otherwise you should not have bid on the item.

Jim

Mila cent, some sellers actually use the freight charges to protect themselves. Auctions with minimums tend to be looked on with anathema and you have seen discussions here about schill bidding. Dad and mom have talked about the problems with starting an auction at 1 cent and taking the chance that some sellers take.

Still, the most active, so profitable, auctions tend to be those with no minimum and start at 1 cent. Some people take out a little insurance by fudging the freight. If it is then a good auction for them they have some extra profit.

The question is, would you have had he or she put a reserve on it of say $5. I know people here on the forum that won't even bid on one. I don't know how you feel, but it the real question. I have seen auctions where the seller gets completely ridiculous. Selling a Lincoln Cent, say, and having the freight at $25. Now I just factor that into my purchase price and bid accordingly knowing that the freight will be much less.

Sellers have problems like these that they have to work with and I guess I understand that and do not hold it against them. We all have had problems with sellers, but when you listen to mom and dad you see what they are dealing with, too. I am sure not saying anyone is right or wrong, just trying to understand both sides.
Jim

quote:

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Selling a Lincoln Cent, say, and having the freight at $25. Now I just factor that into my purchase price and bid accordingly knowing that the freight will be much less.

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Jim,
If I was to purchase this Lincoln with the understanding that the shipping rate be at $25, then I would expect the shipping charges of $25 would be used and my cent be shipped with the quoted charges and not less.

I'm sorry but if I was to send a coin or anything else and charge $25 to ship to you or anyone else in the (USA) then that is what I would spend to ship your item(s).
It bothers me to be charged a higher amount then turn around and ship it for less then it was originally quoted.
Just my opinion.

mila_

nds76: I am sorry you had to pay postage due. I do have a recent personal story that shows that underpaying postage is not necessarily done on purpose.

I sold something recently on ebay that I was certain had the right amount of postage. I weighed it with my own sensitive balance (zeroing it first, of course). It was weighed after it was all packaged, sealed, taped, etc. After it was all packaged up and affixed the proper amount of postage. The buyer received it but owed 17 cents according to USPS. I think the difference here was because the USPS didn't zero their balance and effectively overcharged the postage (I wonder how widespread this potential problem is and how many Americans could be getting overcharged for postage?). Anyhow, I accepted responsibility and tried to make it right with the buyer. I was not trying to purposely underpay on postage. Because the anmount was only 17 cents, the buyer very nicely agreed to eat it- I would have had to write him a check for 17 cents and mail it in a 41 cent envelope. Honest mistakes happen. I told the buyer if he buys something else from me in the future, to expect something extra.