Ebay help- seller and shipping

[Anne MN]

I have a seller who has a dollar amount stated in the auction for shipping.
then further down they say has to be calc by zip

The s/h for this item is $6.00 to $10.00, depending on your zip code, for US shipping locations, insurance is optional.
that is directly from auction

now they are saying that shipping is $17.00

there is NO shipping calculator in the auction
my feeling is you have 2 choices for shipping flat or calculated.
if you are going to calculate shipping -use the calculator!
this seller keeps coming back and saying that is what the post office says the charge will be.
when I sell things- if i put a dollar amount in the auction and it is less than what it costs to ship i eat the cost (i have done this- once for $30.00!)
that is the price of doing business and having GOOD customer service.

any advice on what I should do?
am i wrong to think that is excessice shipping charges after the fact?

 

[seashoreCM]

The seller has the choice of:
1. Putting the shipping cost in the item description,
2. Having you use eBay's shipping calculator,
3. Telling you the shipping cost to your town via email after you ask.

Also if the seller is not good at it, he has the right to err on the high side in advance.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[Anne MN]

but to come back and say shipping is $17.00 after stating in the auction is $6.00 to $10.00
that is just wacky to me.
the thing is cardboard- seller says it weighs 12 lbx.
how does a cardboard display case weigh 12 lbs?? it is not that big- less than 4 ft tall and it has to be taken apart to ship

can the seller change shipping charges that are stated in the auction after the auction has ended?
that is the question that I am looking for.

 

[lbgraves]

An auction is a contract. You bid and committed to the contract the seller presented. They cannot come back after the fact & change the terms. You should be able to report them to ebay for this.

 

[Anne MN]

That is what i thought

this seller has shipping amount in auction, but then says calculated by zip in both places, NO shipping calculator
i expected $10.00- comes back with $17.00
seller keeps saying- that is what the post office says it will cost to ship.

i keep saying- you state xxx amount in your auction that is what shipping is you can not come back after the fact and change shipping.
this seller is NOT new she has about 1700 auctions so they should know how to calculate shipping!
what can i do- I want the item, but do not want to pay the excessive shipping cost that she is now quoting

 

[AnninIowa]

The best way to deal with a seller like this is not to bid! Hopefully you can find what you're looking for from someone else who deals fairly.

 

[SelfEmployedDebtFree]

This happened to me recently. I have the negative feedback to show for it. (He got some too, plus I spammed his inbox with about 100 freebie items, insurance quotes, home university website emails, other things i cant mention here, and lots of other spam; but thats another story).
If you have already paid via Paypal you can contact paypal and they will usually take your side and refund your money. If you havent paid yet, I wouldnt!!! make him abide by his terms!!! He set them. You didnt. I sure as heck wouldnt pay a penny more than is stated in the auction. If you pay via Paypal, and he doesnt ship, The BOTTOM LINE is he has to show proof of shipment. If he doesnt Paypal will refund you, but its a hassle. Last week I set shipping at $25 for one of my auctions to anywhere in USA. A guy on the other side of the US bought it (thats fine) but UPS also had just raised their rates, and BOY is it expensive now!!! It was more than $25 to ship the vintage Atari, and I did what any honest seller would do; I fudged on the shipping weight and an inch or two! I got it down to a couple dollars less than the stated flat $25 that way. I'm crossing my fingers that they dont catch it, and I'll be more careful in the future. Before that it was $27.00. It didnt bring much, and after fees I barely made anything. My point is if I would have had to pay the shipping OVER the amount stated to ship it, I would have. I wouldnt have charged the buyer the additional amount, its just not right, and its against ebay rules (not that I obey them... I dont agree with all ebay's rules) but that one makes sence.

 

[Anne MN]

have not paid yet-
seller keeps coming back and saying that auction says calculated by zip
but has the set dollar amount in it also.
i am going by the set dollar amount.
sent a very "nice" email saying you have 2 options flat and calculated
if you calculate shipping you HAVE to put the calculator in your auction
waiting to hear back from seller.
i went and looked a few things up- says 2 ways for shipping flat or calc that is from ebay site
it also tells you how to use different shippers USPS, UPS...
i think that she will have to "re adjust" her invoice again
$17.00 for a "big piece of cardboard"
I don't think so!
I will get insurance!
i have only given neg for items not received or arriving broken
she has been a "treat" to talk to.

 

[SelfEmployedDebtFree]

$17.00 for a "big piece of cardboard"

Remember, with both UPS AND USPS size matters. With UPS for instance, If its a certain size, even if it weighs less than a pound, its treated at a 30 pound weight price. (last I checked at least, which was a good while back)

Either way, they set the price already.
Have you actually won it already?
Like another person here said, if you havent won it, I wouldnt bid. Or retract the bid. If youve already won it then it gets messy.
As a seller I add hundreds of user IDs to my blocked list every year, and I retract and block bidders daily. i'm super picky. I examine every bidder's feedback very carefully before I let them win. The same before I buy.
Call me paranoid, but my feedback (despite the last one mentioned earlier) is still excellant.

 

[seashoreCM]

Ask before you bid.

Once you have determined the shipping prior to bidding, should the seller come back with a rude awakening or a nasty surprise after you win, you may call off the deal by emailing the seller and then not paying.

Should you run into problems like this, there is a significant chance the seller will give you a hard time all the way so you should seriously consider calling off the deal even if the seller recants.

 

[MiniGirl]

As a seller, I had to pay a high "stupid" tax recently. I underestimated the weight of my item by several pounds. I must've been sleep deprived or something when I put the weight in for the shipping calculator. Anyway, it hurt -- bigtime. It cost about $6 more to ship than I charged. I just ate the cost. My buyer had paid the price I set, and I didn't feel right asking him to pay more or sending it at a lower priced method. I just made sure to up the weight next time I listed a similar item.

All this to say.... if your seller clearly states a price for shipping, s/he needs to stick with it, learn from her mistakes, and move on.

 

[spatenfloot]

Do not pay if he is raising the price after the auction. File a dispute with Ebay. There is a category for this.

 

[momma leaps]

but to come back and say shipping is $17.00 after stating in the auction is $6.00 to $10.00
that is just wacky to me.
the thing is cardboard- seller says it weighs 12 lbx.
how does a cardboard display case weigh 12 lbs?? it is not that big- less than 4 ft tall and it has to be taken apart to ship

can the seller change shipping charges that are stated in the auction after the auction has ended?
that is the question that I am looking for.

No. If the seller clearly stated what the shipping charges were and then finds out it will be more he/she should eat the difference. You bid on an item based on the information that was stated in the auction. He can't change the price AFTER you've won it.

I recently sold something to someone and underestimated the shipping. Completely my fault. I ate the $7 difference.

I would tell them you are willing to pay $10 since that's the maximum it originally stated otherwise you will contact Ebay.

Good Luck ~ Sorry you got stuck with a stinky seller !

 

[SelfEmployedDebtFree]

For the first 2000-2500 items I was basically seller only. Recently ebay and paypal fees have me second guessing how much I sell there. I'm listing more and more in the newspaper ($300 or less free for 3 days) and at local consignment stores.
I'm also buying a LOT MORE!
I didnt realize how good a seller I was till I had to start dealing with other sellers!

They take crappy, sloppy pictures, then get mad when you ask them for better pictures.
(or how about the "lots that are dumped into a pile and you cant see the items???)
They use One sentence descriptions and leave too much up to guesswork.
They steal tiny little stock photos because they are too lazy and sorry to take the time to take a good picture.
They are too cheap to invest in a good camera and a decent light source.
They barely answer your emails if at all, and often answer my emails about the item (that I asked a day or two into the auction) 2 days after it has ended.

When I meet a good seller with great photos, thorough description that covers all the basics (warranty, condition, age, measurements of item, known problems, how it works, why you need it, etc) who answers emails quickly, I will go a lot higher for the auction.
But those sellers are getting harder to find.

If the seller seems uncertain in any way, and I cant pin him down on an exact shipping rate I dont bid. Multiple auctions shipping is a different story.