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 Replies: 21 / Views: 3,778 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1767 Posts |
I recently made a purchase from an ebay seller. The charge for shipping was $4.50 and when I item received it had a postage stamp of $0.58. (The total amount of payment was $14.11) I am not happy with my purchase (4 banknotes) I am just not thrilled I was charged $4.50 when the items cost only 58 cents to mail. I am supposed to leave a feedback and I am not sure how I should handle this unpleasantness. This seller also has many notes of interest which will prompt me to return again but not if I am overcharge shipping. Advice needed, Thanks mila_ |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
965 Posts |
You could leave a positive feedback, but give them a lower score on the shipping part of it. I would even email the seller and tell them that you are interested in future auctions of theirs, but that the inflated shipping charges will be taken into consideration. I'm actually glad that ebay has changed their feedback form, so that you can tell the world that a purchase was great EXCEPT the high shipping cost. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1151 Posts |
Mila, my advice is this. If you knew what the shipping cost was beforehand, what does it matter what it really cost to mail it? Unless they were shipping the notes Priority mail, I would imagine that just first class mail would be under 75 cents to mail. I always figure the cost of mailing into my bid price. If I am willing to pay $50 for a coin, it does not matter if I pay $48 for the coin and $2 shipping or $2 for the coin and $48 for shipping. Yes, $48 for shipping would be ridiculous, but I am at the total cost of $50 that I would have paid for the coin. It would be great if ebay enforced a rule that only actual shipping costs be charged, but until that happens, people will charge whatever they can. |
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Valued Member
United States
155 Posts |
If the auction stated that you would pay actual shipping charges then you could e-mail the seller and ask for a refund. If the shipping is listed in the auction as being $4.50 then it was something you would want to be comfortable with ahead of time. Personally I always add the shipping charge in with my bid price and consider the total when I decide what I would like to pay.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
597 Posts |
Not a PC answer here. I hate ridiculous shipping charges, when I sell notes domestically and they are shipped w/o insurance etc. I charge 41¢ for shipping. That is my cost(not sure the envelope etc are worth charging for.
But... lots of sellers lately are getting around fee avoidance by padding their shipping charge with shipping into the $4-5 range. That is what it is all about, that way they can sell their item for less, but most people overlook the shipping when they bid and then they get stuck with ridiculous shipping. I look at all shipping handling charges before I bid. It doesn't stop me if I really really want something and am willing to suck it in, and I cannot gripe at the seller because by popping the bid button I have accepted their ridiculous terms. And I cannot gripe because I hit the bid button and didn't take notice of their egregious shipping.
But an awful lot of the time, I shop around and go with more reasonable shipping charges. And even more times I just don't buy from sellers with these.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1767 Posts |
Thanks guys,
I won't have minded the shipping being $4.50 if it was shipped Priority.
My problem, it was mailed in a #10 business sized enevlope with the postage stamp of 58 cents.
The seller charged $2.00 for one item and then 50 cent additional per item, thereafter. I bought 3 of this item.
The other was one item with "low shipping/ in USA $1.50 then 50 cents per note thereafter. I bought 1 item.
How does one(seller)determine a note for shipping to be $2.00 when a different note is $1.50 to mail anywhere in the USA
Seller also has a listing for another note and the shipping for this particular note is $2.50 for first three items, then 50 cents per item thereafter. Then there is another $1.00 for this item, then 50 cents per item thereafter. All within USA
Why all the different shipping prices? Is this where sellers make their 'profit' in the shipping charges. Shouldn't the profit come from the item itself? Whereas,the shipping be 'actual' mailing cost?
mila_
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
I had this problem one time- I purchased a couple books and the auction stated that items would be shipped via priority mail and I had no problem paying $5 for that service. It took forever to get the books and when they arrived I realized why- the seller jipped me by using the less expensive and much slower media mail rate  His actual shipping costs were a little over two dollars and I complained mightily which got me nowhere- a month after it happened the guy disappeared, was NARU'd, and stiffed many buyers on their orders. Prior to this, he had several hundred feedbacks and a score of 99.8%. Someone posted feedback stating the guy died of a brain aneurysm but it seemed a bit fishy to me... |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1840 Posts |
You know how high gas prices are. Maybe he lives really far away from the post office  . I'm with collect4fun here. I always factor shipping in with the cost of the coin. You could always let him know that his high shipping will prevent you from being a repeat customer. |
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Moderator
 United States
6563 Posts |
I normally don't care unless it's a Rediculous amount like 10$ over the actual cost. Or when they charge 25$ and use a flat rate box
Every single auction I just add the shipping into the final price that I am willing to pay for an item. If it's WAY too much I report it and if it's somewhat high I give them a Low star for shipping
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
877 Posts |
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
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4870 Posts |
Mila, I know exactly what your going through with this ordeal. I will never bid on an item if I deem the shipping costs to be inflated. ebay shipping is a controversial subject. One time I won a Standing Liberty quarter off ebay. The shipping was $2.50 and when I got the coin, it was mailed in a regular letter envelope with a 39c stamp and to boot I had to pay a postage due! Now there was no need for a postage due when I paid ample postage. When I pay a higher shipping fee, I would expect a better shipping method to be used. This subject really makes me angry. Last I checked, fee avoidance was against ebay's policies. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
827 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4870 Posts |
Postage Due is when the sender doesn't put enough postage on the package and you have to pay the difference to your post office.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2602 Posts |
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. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4870 Posts |
The real issue in my case was the fact I paid $2.50 for postage and ened up paying a postage due because the seller pocketed the rest instead of using enough stamps to mail it. I paid the postage once, why should I have to pay more postage when the package arrives?
Edited by TheForce
11/28/2007 1:39 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2600 Posts |
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
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Replies: 21 / Views: 3,778 |
Posted 08/09/2007 4:18 pm
