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Shipping gouging

Started by DDPGambit,

32 posts in this topic

DDPGambit

DDPGambit

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sign-rantpost.gif

Man, I just got gouged. I bought 3 books from a seller who didn't know how to grade comics. All of her auctions, comics included, feature the line "Very Good Condition", but the images of the books looked ok so I bid. They are (Uncanny)X-Men books numbers 98, 104 and 113 and all 3 appear to be at least Fine + or Very Fine. Anyhoo, on her auction page it says that she will combine shipping. Ok, great. Since shipping is listed as $5 on each page, I assume that I'd be paying like $5.50 or 6 bucks. At most $7.

When I get to the checkout, shipping is "$5 for first comic, 2.50 each additional". So I paid $10 bucks to ship 3 raw books. Pretty high considering the one book only cost $6.99! I probably won't be mad if the books come and are in really great shape. But if they ain't. frown.gif Oh well, you live and learn.

 

Heres the books:

books.jpg

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wrcomics

wrcomics

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I feel for you for raw books like this I would charge only $3 to ship them in a flat or $5 to ship them priority in a box within the US! And I hates to say it but I would be skeptical of the condition as well. It looks like they were photographed in the sleeves, which is a trick I've seen done to hide alot of obvious flaws. Still if they're at least VG...

 

Now the shameless plug...ahem...if you're looking to build a run of bronze/modern X-men/Uncanny X-Men. Check out my auctions if you haven't already. Ebay ID: wrcollectibles Good luck with those books too.

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DDPGambit

DDPGambit

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Well, I got the books today. Arrived in a Jiffylite bubble wrap mailer envelope. Total cost of shipping was $2.53.

First book, X-Men 98.

Advertised as Very Good, comes in at I'd say Fair. I grade pretty strictly, but this is far lower than the Very Good she advertised. The top staple is no longer holding the cover to the comic. Both staples are rusted, and the top of the book is all ragged probably due to the pages not being held well by the staples. Theres also a name written in pencil on the first page.

However, 104 actually comes in at Very Good.The book is solid and has no major defects other than a slightly rusted staple. 113 is also a solid book, with only a small piece of the top cover missing.

I feel that I paid a decent price for those two issues, but not 98.

I would email her asking for a refund, but she put in the auction that all sales are final. Fair enough, I bid, and I agreed to her terms. Should I leave her negative feedback? I would leave positive for the 104 and 113 auctions, but I really think I should neg her for the 98. I personally wouldn't sell that book as a VG, hell, I wouldn't sell it at all it's that messed up. The spine is actually ok, it's just the issue with the staple. Maybe a slight resto would do the trick? I'll post some high res scans tomorrow if theres anyone out there who thinks I may be able to restaple the book or somehow fix it.

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wrcomics

wrcomics

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Sounds like the seller made out quite well on you between the shipping and the overgraded #98. I don't know that you could bring up the gouging issue unless it was not fully disclosed in the auction, then I'd give them both barrels. Otherwise, yes leave a neutral or a neg for overgrading the #98, although I don't know what the proper etiquette would be regarding overgrading... would one leave a negative or a neutral, or would it depend on how grossly overgraded the book was?

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Zanarkand

Zanarkand

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Yeowch. I don't tend to leave grading related feedback unless the overgrading is extreme (I just never expect anyone to be any good at it) and the seller gives me a hard time about a refund.

 

Sounds like this seller deserves a neutral. I would mention one severely overgraded book, two ok, and shipping gouging. If you can cram it all in there.

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sterlingcomics

sterlingcomics

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My .02...

 

You should have asked about shipping prior to bidding on the items, especially if you don't know the seller. So, in my opinion, chalk it up as a learning experience.

 

In regards to the grading, I'd ask her if she can do anything because you are going to leave a negative due to overgrading and she has no satisfaction guarantee or way to resolve issues. If she helps, fine...neutral her. If not, neg away.

 

In any case, stay away...very far away...from this person's auctions. Who the heck does this kind of [!@#%^&^] and expect to stay in biz! Ahh, the joy of eBay.

 

(Wow...c r a p gets caught by the filter....interesting)

 

Where's the Bay Commandos when you need them?!?

 

Good luck...

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DDPGambit

DDPGambit

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I wouldn't care about paying 10 dollars for shipping, if the books cost 10 to ship. It cost $2.53, and was not well protected at all.

I'm about to email her with basically everything I've said here. Let's see what kind of reply she comes up with...

 

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sterlingcomics

sterlingcomics

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I wouldn't care about paying 10 dollars for shipping, if the books cost 10 to ship. It cost $2.53, and was not well protected at all.

 

I'm definitely not saying this was a good deal by any stretch, but we as consumers have to be wary of dumb sellers like this--our only recourse is to get the info before we bid. If she quoted one price and then requested another price at auction close then that's a different story. NEVER ASSUME SELLERS WILL DO WHAT YOU THINK IS RIGHT. In many cases the shipping gouge is due to their lack of research into what it really costs to ship an item. Is this seller a newbie?

 

I nail sellers all the time that I pay insurance for and then doesn't put it on the package. If I don't like their shipping practices, I simply let them know and stop bidding on their stuff. Vote with your dollars.

 

But yes, neg her for overgrading if she can't resolve the situation. It's clearly an issue.

 

This public service announcement paid for by the Anti-Dumb Comic Sellers Authority... (ADCSA)

 

GGRRRR....CAN'T CONTROL ANGER.....ROOOOAAAARRR!

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garthgantu

garthgantu

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I'd give her a negative in a second.

 

She totally overgrades one of the issues and charges you 4 times the shipping that she actually paid, and you're thinking of leaving a neutral??

 

Um, yessss... this is exactly right. Ask about combining shipping when the auction states she will? Making $6+ on the shipping alone, qualifies this seller for a neg right there. The X-men 98 is about a FR, I'd agree, given all the defects.

 

I'd leave a neg on the X-men 98 and hold off on the other books. That way the seller will be less inclined to give you a retaliatory neg. Further, you're within your rights to leave neg, or at least neutral, on the other two books as well, as far as I'm concerned; the shipping profiteering applies to all three books.

 

Look, it's easy to dismiss the overgrading and even the shipping overcharging, but clearly this person knows they're making as much off the shipping as the item(s)! And it seems pretty shaky that someone would describe all those books as being in the same condition, unless they're a total novice at comic book grading/selling, in which case they should include a large disclaimer to that effect in each auction listing. You owe it to other buyers to alert them to this seller's shady practices so they don't fall victim to the same experience.

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sterlingcomics

sterlingcomics

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I'd give her a negative in a second.

 

She totally overgrades one of the issues and charges you 4 times the shipping that she actually paid, and you're thinking of leaving a neutral??

 

Um, yessss... this is exactly right. Ask about combining shipping when the auction states she will? Making $6+ on the shipping alone, qualifies this seller for a neg right there. The X-men 98 is about a FR, I'd agree, given all the defects.

 

I'd leave a neg on the X-men 98 and hold off on the other books. That way the seller will be less inclined to give you a retaliatory neg. Further, you're within your rights to leave neg, or at least neutral, on the other two books as well, as far as I'm concerned; the shipping profiteering applies to all three books.

 

Look, it's easy to dismiss the overgrading and even the shipping overcharging, but clearly this person knows they're making as much off the shipping as the item(s)! And it seems pretty shaky that someone would describe all those books as being in the same condition, unless they're a total novice at comic book grading/selling, in which case they should include a large disclaimer to that effect in each auction listing. You owe it to other buyers to alert them to this seller's shady practices so they don't fall victim to the same experience.

 

Yes, I agree. Warn others. If you're concerned about your rating get an id for selling and another for buying.

 

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DDPGambit

DDPGambit

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Yeah I'm concerned with getting a neg simply because I while I don't sell many books yet, I plan to in the months to come. Anyhoo, heres the email I sent to her. Let's cross our fingers and hope something good can come of this.

 

"Hello,

I received the books today. I noticed that the shipping cost was $2.53, and the books were not well protected. I can't say I'm pleased with this, especially when I was charged $10 for shipping.

Furthermore, while two of the comics (104 and 113) are in good shape, issue 98 is in far lower than the very good condition advertised on the auction. Because the auction stated that all sales are final, I cannot and will not pursue a refund. My only option at this point is to leave you a negative feedback. I'm just letting you know that you can expect a negative feedback from that auction, unless you can come up with a way to rectify the situation. Please get back to me asap so that we can work this out. I don't want to have to leave you a negative feedback, but I will if no action is taken regarding this matter.

"

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DDPGambit

DDPGambit

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Got a reply...isn't this peachy?

 

"Were they damaged in shipping? I protected them as best I knew how. What else could I have done? They were in a bubble envelope. And I listed them as I saw them and I thought they were in very good condition. The person whom I was selling for said, "near mint" but I didn't think they were that. I did think they were in very good condition though. What do you expect from me? Let me know."

 

And I just got another e-mail.

 

"As far as the shipping goes, it was shipping and handling. I was selling them for someone else and was hoping to get the fees back (ebay and paypal) with shipping so I didn't have to charge them for it. I am allowed to charge a handling fee if I desire."

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