my ebay costume rant

[surfergirl602]

Since this has to do with the costume that I bought for PPP, I guess I'll post this here. Let me start by asking... am I totally wrong on this??? I would like others opinions before I report this and file an ebay claim. Anyway...

here is the link to the petticoat I purchased to go under my Elizabeth Swann costume.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=220205904042&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=012

Notice specifically where it ships from, and the price for shipping.

I love this item, don't get my wrong, but I feel that the seller has grossly misrepresented the shipping on this one. I get a priority mail box about four days after I ordered it. I was expecting it to take at least a week or two, since its "coming from China after all", and I look at the shipping label. GEORGIA. $6.20 in shipping charges. I see this and I'm furious. So I email the seller and ask for a 10.55 refund for the overcharge. I could see two dollers here or there, but ten?!?!? This is what I get in response. (I've been going back and forth on this one with the seller, and am getting nowhere.)

Me:
Hello - I received this item today. The product is great, however, you charged me 16.75 for shipping for an item coming from China, when I received it in a priority mail box from the United states with a shipping charge of 6.20. You have overcharged me by $10.55, falsified shipping information, and I would like that money refunded back to me. This is an excessive shipping overcharge that will be reported to ebay otherwise. Thank you for your understanding and prompt reply. Thanks.

Them:
We have a shipping center in GA to ensure speedy shipping.

US$16.75 consists of international shipping (from China to GA) and domestic shipping (from GA TO CHINA).

It happens that your crinoline is available in our GA inventory. Therefore , yours was shipped from GA . Sorry, I didn't inform you before we made the decision. I sincerely apologize for the confusion it brought you. Hope you can understand.

Me:
Hello – that’s for your prompt reply. Honestly, I don’t care how much the international shipping for an item costs – that is a cost that YOU incur… it’s not up to me to pay it. What the seller of an item can charge for shipping is how much the item actually costs to get from point A to point B, not from A, B, and C. Me, as a buyer, should be paying how much it costs to ship this item from wherever it is being shipped from, in this case, Georgia. If I am paying shipping from China, I expect to see a shipping label from China. This is not the case. The item was shipped from Georgia for $6.20. I expect to be paying that amount in shipping. What I pay does not include whatever the cost for YOU to get the item from the manufacturer. In no place is this listed in your auction. I feel that this has been misrepresented, and I still feel that I am deserving of a shipping refund. Charging me a fee that is not listed is not a practice condoned by ebay. I feel that if I had known you were going to charge this excessive amount, I would NOT have bid on this item. I would have bought one from the states for way less in shipping.
Melissa

Them:
Hi Melissa,

The fact is that we didn't make fat profit from the shipping.The shipping calculation is based on shipping from China instead of from GA since it was listed as located at Shanghai, China. Pls refer to attached red line circled part for item location detail.

Also below is the item link, you may refer to related terms on this listing.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220205904042


Actually, you've got value-added service. We have to pay the GA shipping center US$5 extra commission. If it was shipped directly from China , we'll save that cost.

Hope this will help sort everything out.


Me:
Hi, yes, I am aware that the auction says it ships from China. The fact is, that is shipped from Georgia yet I was charged a China price. I guess we are just not seeing eye to eye on this one.


So, after reading all of that... am I right in feeling a little ripped off? Should I file a claim to get my money back? I'm not looking for all of it, just the 10.55 that I feel I'm owed in shipping.
Thanks for reading...
Melissa

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I would go to near the bottom of the eBay page and report them for policy violation - excess shipping. It is fairly easy do to this. Especially since you have all the e-mails.

 

[toocherie]

Ok--not trying to be unsupportive . . . .

but are you saying that if the package had really been shipped from China you would have been ok with paying the higher shipping charge?

I guess I look at it that the seller has incurred certain shipping charges getting the product from China to the U.S. (although presumably they buy a bunch of these at a time and $10+ each for shipping does seem steep if they're buying in bulk). So this is a "sunk" cost--whether the seller incurred the cost of $10 to get it from China to Georgia and then charged you another $6 to ship to your home, it might well be that the total charge to get the product from China to your house was $16--whether it came direct from China or the roundabout way through Georgia. (I hope I'm making sense here.)

Otherwise, the cost of the slip would probably be increased to something more like $25 to cover the international shipping charges to get it to the U.S. and the seller's cost of product--but that wouldn't work if it did need to be shipped from China.

I also know that most ebay sellers add a few extra dollars for the cost of shipping packaging and time to package the product--so do online retailers.

One positive spin is that you probably got your slip a lot faster since they had it in Georgia--I know that from personal experience (and DBF who has been a buyer) it can sometimes take 60-120 days to get a shipment of something from China!

Not to say that you shouldn't make the complaint with ebay, but I don't think the seller was completely out of line here.

 

[Island Mouse]

I just clicked on the link you posted and the shipping description states:

"Shipping

First item: 16.95$/each , from the 2nd 7$/each, Rate applies to area: USA

Via USPS priority mail, shipping from Georgia"

I'm not sure if it stated that before or if they changed it after their communication with you. FWIW many sellers on ebay will charge a lower price for items and then inflate the shipping charge in order to make up the extra cost without having to pay as much to ebay for seller fees. Ebay charges a fee based on the price the item sold for, not including shipping costs. Just because the seller charges a certain amount for shipping doesn't necessarily mean they are obligated to pay that much to actually ship the item. If however they charged you for expedited services like priority or express shipping and sent it parcel post or another less speedy way, then you would definitely have a case of false advertisement. Since you paid for priority and they shipped priority, then I don't think you can do much besides leave negative feedback. Consider the excess shipping cost a "handling fee" and a lesson learned. HTH

 

[tink576]

That seems kind of crazy...I understand a couple $ bump because of handling/supplies...but when we sell stuff on ebay we actually a lot of the time charge less then it actually costs and "eat" the rest of the charge...It is outrageous that a person would charge $10 extra...

 

[PrincessBelle39]

I know where you are coming from. I have just paid $18.90 postage for something that has just arrived and cost $6.95. They were a tin of Disney DVD's that cost me over $350. I hadn't seen it anywhere else here in Australia but was extremely disapointed when they arrived. It took over 3 weeks for them to get here (and they were in the same state) On top of the shipping, the writing on the dvd's and the menus when you put them on are in chinese. I was just sooooo disapointed. The bottom of the tin is also broken. It is my first bad ebay experience in over 200 purchases so I guess I'm lucky but also disapointed. I don't know where they get off on the postage price. If it had been packed better, maybe I would have accepted it.

 

[tasha99]

I think you were in the wrong there. Shipping does not equal just the postage on the box, though here, it sounds like the skirt was already shipped partway to you (to Georgia) before you even bid. Who do you think is supposed to pay for that part of the shipping, the seller? You could have been a glass half full person and been happy to get it quickly, but instead you quibbled over $10.

BTW, $10 over is not excess shipping. If there was a $5 surcharge and the seller had to ship it to GA a while ago, he's correct in saying he made no money. There is no crime in making money on ebay however, even on shipping. Smart sellers charge for shipping materials, shipping fees, and their time.

 

[bsbrady]

I know it can be frustrating dealing with shipping costs on ebay, but firstly you agreed to pay the full amount, so regardless of where it came from it shouldnt matter. If the item originated in China, they would to have paid to ship it to their local warehouse, which has a cost involved.

Alot of people run businesses on ebay, so they have to recoup their costs. You mentioned earlier that when u sell stuff that you would eat extra costs. If businesses ate all those extras they wouldnt be in business for long.

 

[CanadianGuy]

This response won't seem particularly helpful , but in all honesty, nobody here can help you with this.. it's between you, the seller and E-Bay.

That said, the cost of shipping was made clear at the time of sale... where it came from and how that cost is arrived at - you can argue about it .. but sounds like you were charged what you were told you'd be charged.

I'm moving this to the themeparks community board.

Thanks,

Knox

 

[ajh88]

I'm going to echo some previous sentiments - unfortunately, when you bought the item, you agreed to the shipping charges they specified and the listing said it was shipping from Georgia (albeit at the very bottom of the page). I don't agree with this practice because I believe it is a way for sellers to make a few extra dollars without paying fees to ebay and the principle of it is irritating (no, they won't get rich off $5 or $10 from you, but say they do it to 1000 people!).

Anyway, if it were me, I'd just let it go and be a lesson learned - I typically don't bid on international items anymore, nor will I buy something that has super high shipping (although USPS has raised rates SO MUCH this past year!). You could always say something about it in your feedback to warn other potential buyers.

 

[EnnEss]

The shipping rate is actually shipping and handling. I think of it the same way as airline tickets, there is the base cost then extras. I'm sure many ebay sellers make money off this but then again they have to sort and organize their sales, then take them to the post office etc., so why shouldn't they. It's probably not the answer you want, but its standard practice on Ebay and not really misleading because they tell you up front.

I wouldn't say something in your feedback, its not against policy and the seller could petition against you as a result which can result in account suspensions and bans.