International Ebay Sale Extortion

I ship all of my ebay merchandise in recycled materials (except for plain envelopes and tape). That's nearly zero material cost to me.

I then charge buyers about 15% above my postage cost to cover ebay and Paypal percentages. So, things I ship in a 50 cent first class envelope, I charge $0.59. If it requires hand stamping, I charge $0.79.
When first class package is used, and costs me $2.64 postage, I charge $2.99.

I have never had a feedback problem on shipping cost.

I am a hobbyist, and do not think of my time as entering into this equation. Which helps, because no buyer on ebay thinks this way either (I certainly don;t when I buy on ebay).

I offer international shipping and occasionally get international buyers, and also have never hand a complaint using this formula. I'm not surprised, though that there might be more feedback risk with international shipping.

Hope it gets resolved with no further damage.

Once he messaged that he's done for. No need to reply to him anymore and go ahead and call ebay and report the buyer and make sure any return is blocked or he has to pay for it.

Unfortunately if you're on ebay long enough you eventually run into these types.

So quick update,
I have spoken to ebay Canada as they handle all returns purchased through their site.
They have acknowledged the issues on the case and that it appears he has falsly lodged a claim. His file will be inviestigated for sanctions however they have processes in place to protect both parties and they cannot close the case until the buyer asks them to review it, the buyer closes it or it lapses in 21 days.
So basically they have all my information on the case and I have to simply sit on my hands and wait to see what happens.
AS I have had a couple of request for buyer details so that other members can avoid having to deal with this fraud I would suggest blocking Canadian buyer tae-ken-d0
guy obviously has issues and is willing to use ebay systems to his own personal advantage. I have no respect for people who make an agreement then change it when the other party fulfils their end

Thanks for sharing your story and sorry you had (are having) to go through it.

Looking at all the replies here, that's another benefit of CCF membersip...fantastic advice backed up by years of experience.

I wish you with the best of luck man! That's horrible what you're going through. Hopefully it will get resolved.

@serial (aka woollybeaker)

Are you aware you have been flagged and are under surveillance by ebay and they are going back months, if not years into your shipping fees looking specifically for over-charges. I simply wanted to settle this buyer-to-seller or man-to-man if you prefer, but obviously you underestimated that buyer's will simply accept paying your ebay & Paypal fees for you. You made several mistakes, let me list them out for you:

1- You got greedy and charged high and shipped low to a fellow collector/seller
2- You didn't absorb what was actually going on (maybe you're too busy making money to actually care about your clients...)
3- You didn't refund the over-charge used to pay your seller fees when you had ample chance and to do so amicably
4- After several attempts to make you understand, you became more obstinant in Your woes and business costs as opposed to trying to listen.
5- You posted a thread in the same forum that the collector/buyer is a member of

The way I see it is you have a few options as an ebay seller.
1- You can continue charging extra to each and every one of your buyers without disclosing you are doing so
2- You can disclose this important, forthcoming & honest information on each of your listings so your clients are informed, especially the repeat ones.
3- You can not breathe a word and continue doing what you're doing but for heaven's sake, at least don't admit it to ebay through the messaging system, you should know by now they're always listening.
4- You can humble yourself, learn a good lesson on integrity and fairness rather than run to your nearest coin forum shoulder to cry on while at the same time trying to tarnish a long-time, fellow collector's reputation while trying to gain support to justify your less than transparent ebay practices.

And lastly, as we age, we have less patience for the run-around on places like ebay. We (ALL) work hard for our money and hope to be fairly treated but should be wise enough to know that will not always be the case. We should also strive to see the others point-of-view and be a little more sympathetic to what they are saying. A simple, justified partial refund would likely have gained you a client for life. Instead, you earned exactly what ebay's system provides for and keeps things from getting out of hand.

Just thought I'd share these next 2 screen-shots with you, it might go a long way.