Situation resolved

[SharpComics.com]

I recently won an auction for a grand total of $.01. Yes, I know I am cheap, but a win is a win right? So anyway, the sellers shipping charges are $7.50 for the auction. I bid accordingly, knowing that if I win, this is what it would cost me to SHIP the book.

Flashforward to this afternoon: the book shows up with no bag and board in a cheap, flimsy envelope with 1 piece of cardboard for support(and I thought I was cheap . Thankfully, the book was not damaged in transit. I looked to see what the seller had spent on shipping: $1.48 for USPS First Class . So I ask myself, should I be upset that I was charged $7.50 when the whole thing probably cost $2.50? Yep, I was pizzed .

I email the seller asking for the remainding shipping charges to be refunded to my Paypal account and this is what I received back from him:

 

"Bradley, I put the cost you would pay for shipping in the auction. That figure includes me packaging it up securely so it arrives safe to you and my car ride there, gas, etc. I also put in a few extra dollars so I would be able to cover the listing fee ($1.20) and the paypal fee.

 

If you'd like you can ship me back the book and I will happily refund your entire payment, even your shipping cost.

I hope you know you got an INCREDIBLE deal on a SIGNED comic book in mint condition. I paid more for the comic book when I ordered it. Check out the cover cost, plus the shipping I paid for from ***** when I purchased it a few years back.

 

Like I said, I will HAPPILY refund your entire payment and pay for return shipping if you'd like to send the book back.

 

I'd much rather have never sold it but I wanted to keep my end of the bargain up since I didn't put a reserve price on the auction (which I should have of at least $20.)

 

I invite you to scour the net and find another mint copy of that book, signed by ***** *****, for less then $10. I haven't been able to find it for less then $30 myself.

 

PLEASE don't try to begrudge me the cost of packaging the item and bringing it to the post office when I LOST money on this transaction.

 

Finally, to reiterate, I would LOVE to completely refund your purchase and pay for return shipping. I'd much rather have this back in my collection then have sold it for pocket change. Please let me know what you decide.

 

Regards,

***** "

 

Positive feedback has already been left for me, obviously, since I paid on time. I have yet to leave any feedback for the seller. So I guess my question is, should I continue to be the cheap arse or let it slide and let this seller continue to screw others out of money?

 

What say ye...

 

[Anfield Fox]

Use common sense and stop filling the boards with this over 7 dollars.

[SharpComics.com]

Its not about the money, its about principal. And as you can see from my post count, I am not here to "fill the boards" .

[worldsbestcomics]

Shipping was stated at $7.50. You were charged $7.50. You can't neg someone for doing what they said they were going to do - even if it is high.

 

But, with the new eBay, you can leave detailed feedback that states you are dissatisfied with the shipping charges. That is what I do now in situations like this. I have also got in the habit of contacting sellers who are vague about how they will ship and tell them that I expect the book to be shipped in a box if they are charging this amount.

 

Anything more than that and I think you are out of line.

[Anfield Fox]

Its not about the money, its about principal. And as you can see from my post count, I am not here to "fill the boards" .

 

Let me get this straight.

 

You win a book for 1 cent. Shipping is stated as $7.50. Book arrives in stated condition. What are you complaining about? Factor shipping into your bid or don't bid at all. If the book was damaged due to the poor packaging you might have a case but seriously there are more important things to worry about that your 1 cent book.

[binarysunrise]

Ah, I *so* love the new boards. Was it the complaining about the board transition that created this new atmosphere??

 

"I didn't win a comic I wanted..."

 

"I got charged the stated shipping amount..."

 

"I got a full refund on a bad deal..."

 

[SharpComics.com]

Hold on a sec Fox. I am basically overcharged for what money was actually used to ship the book and I am the bad guy??? Regardless of what I paid, whether it was $.01 or $100, that DOES NOT make it right to juice me for the fees and his "gas money". I had no intention of getting involved in a flame war here, and just wanted some opinions. WBC, thanks for the input (thumbs u.

[chromium]

Hold on a sec Fox. I am basically overcharged for what money was actually used to ship the book and I am the bad guy??? Regardless of what I paid, whether it was $.01 or $100, that DOES NOT make it right to juice me for the fees and his "gas money". I had no intention of getting involved in a flame war here, and just wanted some opinions. WBC, thanks for the input (thumbs u.

 

Well the seller did volunteer this beforehand..so you knew you were making a deal where you paid $7.50 for shipping and handling.

 

If a seller puts up a book and states he'll be charging $50.00 for shipping and handling because he has to drive to the post office and had a compulsion to get his car waxed and washed after every time he drives it, you know he's an individual_without_enough_empathy, but you wouldn't bid on his book would you...

[SharpComics.com]

Hold on a sec Fox. I am basically overcharged for what money was actually used to ship the book and I am the bad guy??? Regardless of what I paid, whether it was $.01 or $100, that DOES NOT make it right to juice me for the fees and his "gas money". I had no intention of getting involved in a flame war here, and just wanted some opinions. WBC, thanks for the input (thumbs u.

 

Well the seller did volunteer this beforehand..so you knew you were making a deal where you paid $7.50 for shipping and handling.

 

If a seller puts up a book and states he'll be charging $50.00 for shipping and handling because he has to drive to the post office and had a compulsion to get his car waxed and washed after every time he drives it, you know he's an individual_without_enough_empathy, but you wouldn't bid on his book would you...

 

Shipping and handling yes, Ebay and Paypal fees are his responsibility and were not stated to be included in the shipping/handling.

[chromium]

Hold on a sec Fox. I am basically overcharged for what money was actually used to ship the book and I am the bad guy??? Regardless of what I paid, whether it was $.01 or $100, that DOES NOT make it right to juice me for the fees and his "gas money". I had no intention of getting involved in a flame war here, and just wanted some opinions. WBC, thanks for the input (thumbs u.

 

Well the seller did volunteer this beforehand..so you knew you were making a deal where you paid $7.50 for shipping and handling.

 

If a seller puts up a book and states he'll be charging $50.00 for shipping and handling because he has to drive to the post office and had a compulsion to get his car waxed and washed after every time he drives it, you know he's an individual_without_enough_empathy, but you wouldn't bid on his book would you...

 

Shipping and handling yes, Ebay and Paypal fees are his responsibility and were not stated to be included in the shipping/handling.

 

What are the eBay fees for a $.01 auction that ended at ...1 cent ?

Maybe you can ask for a refund on that...

[Anfield Fox]

Hold on a sec Fox. I am basically overcharged for what money was actually used to ship the book and I am the bad guy??? Regardless of what I paid, whether it was $.01 or $100, that DOES NOT make it right to juice me for the fees and his "gas money". I had no intention of getting involved in a flame war here, and just wanted some opinions. WBC, thanks for the input (thumbs u.

 

Well the seller did volunteer this beforehand..so you knew you were making a deal where you paid $7.50 for shipping and handling.

 

If a seller puts up a book and states he'll be charging $50.00 for shipping and handling because he has to drive to the post office and had a compulsion to get his car waxed and washed after every time he drives it, you know he's an individual_without_enough_empathy, but you wouldn't bid on his book would you...

 

Shipping and handling yes, Ebay and Paypal fees are his responsibility and were not stated to be included in the shipping/handling.

 

Ok we have another rma here. I'm leaving this thread. Good luck with your dilemma. I just gave my opinion. If it bothers you that much then i suggest you return the book.

[silverweb]

I agree with WBC and think that you should be pleased to get the book for 1 cent and happy that the book did not get damaged by the cheap- shipping. You were forewarned about the $7.50 shipping charge so let it go.

 

You can ding the guy for his shipping costs in your Ebay feedback.

 

You got a good "score" on Ebay (most of the time we don't) so no need to be upset at the universe.

 

"Don't Sweat the Small Stuff"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[King_of_Batch-migration]

Dosen't every other business pass along the cost of doing business to the consumer?

 

[SharpComics.com]

Situation resolved. I appreciate all of the input.

[sterlingcomics]

Your wrong.

Your welcome.

 

[nochips]

If he stated 7.00 and you paid it, why are you mad now? You could have easily clicked on another auction and not paid his shipping charges. You should be mad at yourself for paying 7.50 to get one book. You have buyers remorse, you need to move on, leave the guy accurate feedback, he did nothing wrong here? If you knew he was charging you for gas, time, air, weather. soil, fertilizer, and the lawn mowed, would you have felt better, it's still 7.50 and you KNEW it up front.

 

Ask questions before you bid, it's will save you lots of future problems.

[binarysunrise]

Ok, yes, I think we all understand that on principle, overcharging for shipping in wrong. But we also have to admit that many people do it, including many of us. If it is stated as "shipping and handling," there is always that grey area of what exactly "handling" counts for. Time? Packaging products? Gas? Sure, ebay and paypal fees should not be included, but can you exclude the other stuff?

 

So, not knowing the auction, perhaps he didn't state the $7.50 as "shipping and handling." Perhaps he just stated it was "shipping." Sure, he could have been more explicit, perhaps he thought "handling" was understood. In addition, if you were really concerned about this, you could have emailed him to ask what the $7.50 shipping charge got you? (i.e. priority mail, delivery confirmation, etc.)

 

Regardless though, he *stated* that there was a $7.50 shipping fee. All of us take in account this before bidding. In essence, you were deciding that this book was worth $7.51 to you when you placed the bid. When the box came, sure, we can understand being upset with the shipping overcharge. Had it been explicitly listed as a "handling" charge, would you have been as upset?

 

What it boils down to though, is that this was an agreed upon total, *before* you even bid. There are countless other times where the shipping charge is *not* listed, and the seller decides to overcharge. *Those* are actual times when a complaint is warranted. But as was stated before, feel free to leave this guy a neutral, and mark down the section on shipping...

[Fazybones]

A very similar thing just happened to me on an auction I won for a penny and I even questioned his 11.00 International shipping fees before bidding which he confirmed.

 

I still bid and won the book on a wicked deal and it arrived in perfect shape although not packaged really securely. His shipping cost was only 2.55 and I still left him a postive because I knew the facts before bidding.

 

I did send him a friendly e-mail stating that some buyers might take exception to

the discrepency on his shipping and advised him that shipping to Canada and our postal gorillas should be a little more secure. He was very pleasant in his reply and said he would be adjusting his Canadian shipping and thanked me for the advice about more secure shipping for that cost to Canada.

 

Your seller sounds like a bit of a nutter mentioning gas and other costs although I think you made a mistake asking or demanding funds for the difference of shipping costs. Friendly communications seems to work out many problems on e-bay or even here on the boards. (thumbs u

 

Just my or one cent in this case.

fay

 

 

[Ze-man]

I agree that the auction was listed as $7.50 shipping, I think what klozd was miffed at was that he did not ship it boxed, priority, safely, etc... But in an envelope with not even a backing board.

 

While no violations were made, it sure was bad form on the sellers part. So next time inquire about shipping first, that way you can blitch later if they do not comply to what you both agreed on in writing.

 

Ze-

[sterlingcomics]

Dosen't every other business pass along the cost of doing business to the consumer?

Only people that aren't in the comic business.