Shipping Profiteers, I Hate Them

[tkg2627]

This is not related to a comic purchase, but it can apply to anything you buy off eBay. So I buy these shoes on eBay (very nice shoes, my 2nd pair), and I'm charged $22 for shipping. $19 + $3 insurance from Florida to Canada. I pay through PayPal. I get the shoes this past week, and the actual postage is $7.65! I email the seller:

 

Hi,

 

I received the shoes today. Thank you, they are very nice and as advertised. However, I have one problem. I was charged $22 for shipping to Canada, and it only cost you $7.65 to ship it! I would like a partial refund for this gross overcharge. Thanks,

 

Vince

 

They don't respond so I send it out again and I finally get this [!@#%^&^] response:

 

I stated the charge in the item description. You did not have to bid if you did not like the shipping charge. It's not like I hit you with a unexpected shipping price. I purchased a smart media card off Ebay the other day and was charged $7.50 in shipping that cost him .60 to send to me. But he stated the shipping charge in his auction so I had no problem with it. Some people use their shipping costs as a way to make money without being charged the high Ebay fees. Because Ebay does not charge you anything for the shipping charges but they do for the end of auction price.

 

nikediscount@yahoo.com

 

I haven't replied yet but I am [!@#%^&^] ticked off. This guy ripped me off and pocketed an extra $14.35. WTF was the $3 insurance charge for? He didn't even have any shipping supplies to pay for. The damn shoes were shipped in the shoe box they came in! I can't stand people like this, no morals at all. The least he could do was state that he is a shipping profiteer in the auction description. He'll be receiving some nice negative feedback, but does anyone have suggestions on how else I can make this insufficiently_thoughtful_person pay?

[ninanina]

I feel when a seller quotes a shipping price that is inflated on the sell site, it's wrong. Buyers are not going to check to see if it's accurate, because in any transaction, there's a degree of trust that is required. Without that trust, there can be no transaction. So, when the buyer realizes after the fact the shipping charge was inflated and the seller reacts as he did, he's basically saying it's all right to charge what I did because I told you what it was on the auction site. Problem is, he lied on his auction site as the figure quoted was NOT the actuall shipping costs. NOT RIGHT!

 

Now, if he said on his auction site actually shipping is $7.65, but I am going to charge you $22.00, then you wouldn't have a leg to stand and he would be a complete insufficiently_thoughtful_person.

 

Most buyers assume it's an actual cost and it should be, not an inflated one.

 

I was looking at ebay rules and they do have something about making money on freight charges. Look it up, and because I don't know the details you MAY have a case against this seller if you want to go through square trade to try and get this seller to see the lite. Can't remember the exact phrasing of the rule, but it definitely has something to do with making money on freight charges. I think it's agains ebay rules. So, look it up and do what ebay tells you to do. But, do it quickly as they have some serious time contraints on what's available.

[the_Greatest]

 

There is no way that something was shipped from Florida to Canada INSURED

for $ 7.65. If you paid for insurance then you almost certainly did not receive it.

[tkg2627]

Thanks, I'll look into it. If I have to pay Squaretrade $20 to get my $14.35 back, I will do it. I can't let this guy get off so easy.

[tkg2627]

There is no way that something was shipped from Florida to Canada INSURED for $ 7.65. If you paid for insurance then you almost certainly did not receive it.

Well you're incorrect, and here's the proof:

Click to view supersized image

 

 

Reliable image hosting provided by Vendio. Unlimited images for $12.95.

 

[the_Greatest]

 

 

i'm guessing that the postal clerk made a mistake, and instead of charging him for a parcel, he was charged for a letter. usps calculator

[supapimp]

the seller does have a point, but i'd leave neutral feedback and explain why.

[valiantman]

While I agree that it sucks... my bids always take the stated shipping charges

into account. I will only pay so much TOTAL... which means the shipping costs

affect my bid amounts. I just bid less, or not at all.

[tkg2627]

the seller does have a point, but i'd leave neutral feedback and explain why.

No, the [!@#%^&^] [!@#%^&^] will get the negative feedback he deserves. And why would I leave myself open for retaliatory negative feedback? What he did was wrong, plain and simple. Why the [!@#%^&^] was I given the option of $3 insurance per $50.00 coverage? More of my money to line his pockets with? Why do I have to pay his eBay fees, PayPal fees, and more? It's all unacceptable, and I won't stand for it.

[the_Greatest]

I think your position is out of line. first of all, the seller accepted a Paypal payment from you. With paypal's policies, he was taking a chance that he would get a chargeback notice about your payment two months from now because there is no way that a buyer in Canada can use a "confirmed address". Charging extra may be his way of insuring against the inevitable chargebacks. Second, he listed the fee for shipping to Canada clearly in the description. To leave him negative feedback is just wrong. You should be happy you got the item so quickly, I have had items take three months to get to buyers in Canada.

[nearmint]

Last week, a well-known national comic dealer charged me $13 for insured priority mail. When I received the package, I noticed shipping only cost him $5.35, and he neglected to insure the package.

 

Not very nice...

[tkg2627]

I think your position is out of line. first of all, the seller accepted a Paypal payment from you. With paypal's policies, he was taking a chance that he would get a chargeback notice about your payment two months from now because there is no way that a buyer in Canada can use a "confirmed address".

 

No I beg to differ, I don't think I'm out of line at all. Look at my eBay feedback (679 rating), do you think I'm a likely candidate for ripping someone off? No, obviously not. You're speculating and grasping at straws in trying to excuse the seller. Also, PayPal DOES confirm Canadian addresses so you are wrong again.

 

Charging extra may be his way of insuring against the inevitable chargebacks.

 

No, charging me $14.35 extra was his way of covering his fees as he STATED himself.

 

Second, he listed the fee for shipping to Canada clearly in the description. To leave him negative feedback is just wrong.

 

So what was the $3 optional insurance per $50 coverage for? More of my money to line his pocket's with?

 

You should be happy you got the item so quickly, I have had items take three months to get to buyers in Canada.

It took 12 days. Most of my purchases from the US take 7 days to arrive & are packaged much better. The guy only used the flimsy shoe box that came with the shoes. I'm lucky the shoes weren't stolen with Air Jordan written all over the box.

 

 

[the_Greatest]

"Note: At this time, the Seller Protection Policy is only available for U.S. or Canadian sellers transacting with U.S. buyers, and for U.K. sellers transacting with U.K. or U.S. buyers. Eligible transactions will be displayed as Seller Protection Policy Eligible on the Transaction Details page of a payment."

 

 

note the part that says U.S. BUYERS.... ??

 

at this point all I can say is..Good Luck.

 

 

 

[tkg2627]

"Note: At this time, the Seller Protection Policy is only available for U.S. or Canadian sellers transacting with U.S. buyers, and for U.K. sellers transacting with U.K. or U.S. buyers. Eligible transactions will be displayed as Seller Protection Policy Eligible on the Transaction Details page of a payment."

 

 

note the part that says U.S. BUYERS.... ??

 

at this point all I can say is..Good Luck.

 

 

Like I said before, look at my eBay feedback (679 rating), do you think I'm a likely candidate for ripping someone off? No, obviously not. Also, this chargeback nonsense was not part of his reasoning for overcharging me. But hey, if you want to take the side of the shipping profiteers and rip off sellers of this world then that is your prerogative.

[the_Greatest]

No Mr. Wong, I don't choose to take the side of the shipping profiteers at all. Like I stated in my other post, I am guessing that the postal clerk made a mistake and undercharged him. " i'm guessing that the postal clerk made a mistake, and instead of charging him for a parcel, he was charged for a letter. usps calculator ". If that was indeed the case, do you expect that the seller would send that money to you after you used the word " grossly" in your initial e-mail to him? check what it costs to airmail a 2lb box to Canada from Florida with insurance

 

 

[ninanina]

OK, I looked it up. As far as e-bay is concerned, sellers have a responsibility to set a REASONABLE fee for shipping/handling as long as the fee is listed on the sell site. If there is a problem with the fee, it suggests you try and work something out with the seller. If that doesn't work, you could try square trade.

 

Not sure if this charge comes under the heading "Reasonable".

[ninanina]

No Mr. Wong, I don't choose to take the side of the shipping profiteers at all. Like I stated in my other post, I am guessing that the postal clerk made a mistake and undercharged him. " i'm guessing that the postal clerk made a mistake, and instead of charging him for a parcel, he was charged for a letter. usps calculator ". If that was indeed the case, do you expect that the seller would send that money to you after you used the word " grossly" in your initial e-mail to him? check what it costs to airmail a 2lb box to Canada from Florida with insurance

 

 

The proper way for a seller to look after a problem, is to first calm down the customer. If he's going to start using a wrongly worded email as an excuse to not look after a problem, any problem with HIS customer that won't solve the problem. And in my view, an unhappy buyer is a problem that needs to be addressed by any seller.

 

You gotta take away the emotion in situations like this. It's bad business not to for any seller.

[tkg2627]

If that was indeed the case, do you expect that the seller would send that money to you after you used the word " grossly" in your initial e-mail to him?

Yes, of course. My email was fine. "Gross" is not a degoratory word, it was accurate in this case. $14.35 extra is a gross shipping overcharge. Did I cuss? No. Did I threaten him? No. Is "gross" an offensive word? In my eyes, no. In your eyes, yes.

 

I bought this on behalf of a friend and was overcharged on shipping. I emailed the seller with this: "It only cost you $5.70 to ship it. You charged me $20!!! I would like a partial refund for this gross overcharge. Thanks" He wasn't offended & I got a $10 refund because he was a good seller with morals and a conscience.

[Zanarkand]

Whatever the stated postage charge is, whether it's $2 or $22, a buyer can reasonably expect to receive a package that cost around $2 (or $22) to send. Bidding on an auction does not constitute an implicit agreement on the part of the buyer to accept getting cheated.

 

Ebay will take issue with this if you complain. Shipping profiteers are not merely sneaks who use high charges to keep the actual bid price low and therefore presumably more attractive, they are sneaks who are cheating Ebay out of part of their final value fee.

 

As many of us here have discovered, at one time or another, Ebay could care less if you get cheated, but watch the fur fly when someone takes money out of their pockets.

[Dave_Hennen]

Not sure if this charge comes under the heading "Reasonable".

 

From my experience with Ebay's non customer service I'd willing to bet the quoted cost could be ten times the actual amount and they wouldn't lift a finger to help the buyer who got screwed

 

I hate bogus shipping costs also

 

dave h