Why Do Some Sellers Play Games?

[TA-Mark]

[rant]

Just over a week ago I purchased 2 sets of Carson wheels for my Grasshopper from a German eBay seller. That's fine, I speak a little German so I was able to understand what he was saying to me in emails.

Payment had been made via Paypal as soon as the eBay invoice was finalised as per normal with any other transaction, although I thought the postage was rather cheap from Germany to Australia. I emailed the seller 5 times to question the postage costs and I was told 5 times that the 6.00 Euros was the correct postage.

Now... a week later and after the Paypal eCheque has cleared (Takes 7 days) the seller now contacts me and says the postage is wrong. He wants 51.00 Euros ($102.00AU) to post two sets of wheels totalling 33.90 Euros and wants me to Paypal the difference of 45 Euros... What the... These emails he sends me are all outside of eBay mail system too.

And now for the real kicker... I just sent a set of DF-03 wheels to northern EU today and it cost me $14.95AU for the postage and the post box is included in that price too!

Is this guy using gold lined wrapping paper or something... didn't get enough for the wheel sets perhaps??

[/rant]

[Lemming]

Ouch!!!

Whilst the postage costs from the UK are preposterous compared with many other countries that is simply insane!

I've sent complete cars (3 Avante's and a TXT) abroad from the UK and even then it's not been that high. 35 for an Avante to Italy (only signed for - it was a TC member so I took a chance), 60 for one to the US (tracked) and 45 for a TXT in Europe tracked. Can't remember the exact price on the final Avante to Australia, but it was definitely less than the one to the US (they went around the same time).

On that basis, the postage he is asking is enough to send you a car in the package.

Personally I would refuse to pay that difference and file a complaint - especially as you have repeatedly checked on postage costs.

Hope it gets sorted for you

Steve

[loaded]

I am not sure if this takes your genuine concern slightly off topic, but I have noticed this too recently. Personally, I have decided to sell everything free worldwide delivery and work everything into the cost, it seems to make things much easier. I have notice a lot of US sellers pricing themselves out of the market (whether this is intentional because they don't want the business, but want the bids? Or perhaps to make more money for items they think we can't get outside the US?) they are insisting on the USPS Priority Global service for ridiculous items. I watched a JPS decal sheet in bad nick with a $30 shipping charge. There was just no way I would bid, even at a Dollar (which is where it stayed until nearly the end)

My suspicion is that the Americans are being led by the nose by USPS pushing their higher priced services, which for most cheaper products are unnecessary unless someone is in a real hurry.

Your annoyance is well founded and I have found the same thing myself with some sellers. I would simply tell him no and insist he ship the item anyway. You have full Paypal protection and if he can't prove he sent it, you will get the money back. You can prove you paid so you won't get a strike (or negative feedback) and he also has the spectre of negative feedback over him.

Let us know how you get on.

P.

[B.M.T.]

He's stuffed.

You paid the postage quoted at auction, his problem if he misquoted. I believe eBay is very strict on people holding sold items for ransom and it's against the rules to ask for more money.

Report him.

[TA-Mark]

I know it's enough to send a car, 2 infact. I just had 2 and an extra body and a heap of extras sent over from the US by Steve (scollins) and the total for post was only $110 and that's with the gold lined USPS 'here in 5 days' mail (which they did crush one of the boxes, nothing inside damaged luckily, thanks to Steve's great packing).

He's offering a refund now. Not really best for me, I need the wheels or I wouldn't have bought them in the first place. I'm not seeing the same wheels for sale anywhere else. I really wanted to sort it out with him at a decent rate because I know the 6.00 euros is too little, but 51.00 euros is a joke. I've not recieved anymore emails from him as yet, seems he only emails out once a day. Will keep you all posted on the outcome.

[cucansu]

For a package that contains wheels from germany to AU no way that the cost will be that high.Deutsche post has reasonable rates even comparing to other postal services in europe.

Following the link you can even calculate the cost from deutsche posts own website and send it to him:))

http://www.deutschepost.de/dpag?tab=1&...amp;xmlFile=828

[Shodog]

file a no reciept of item complaint against him on paypal. either he sends your stuff or you will get your money back.

[fritjofarnold]

I agree with Paul. I just bought a used Hornet from a seller in the US and he wants 45 usd. to send it to Norway (Europe). I also won an auction on Shoo Goo and he wanted 15 usd to send it here. Based on earlier experiences with postage costs in USA both are quite overpriced. I asked for the cheapest possible postage, i. e. regular airmail or even sea mail. I have a feeling that here are some sellers out there that demand high postage if their auction ends too low, hoping the transaction fails or just earn a little extra.

[cucansu]

BEfore bidding I always check with the seller the s&h fees,in order to avoid surprises.Recommend it to everyone...

[loaded]

In a tight knit community where often people watch what others are bidding, it isn't always prudent to announce your intentions.

Paul.

[TA-Mark]

BEfore bidding I always check with the seller the s&h fees,in order to avoid surprises.Recommend it to everyone...

I did ask the guy 5 times before paying if the shipping charges he had in the ebay invoice were correct, each time he confirmed, so I paid.

Thanks for that link, I'll see what it tells me.

Chees, Mark

[442xcar]

I agree with Paul. I just bought a used Hornet from a seller in the US and he wants 45 usd. to send it to Norway (Europe). I also won an auction on Shoo Goo and he wanted 15 usd to send it here. Based on earlier experiences with postage costs in USA both are quite overpriced. I asked for the cheapest possible postage, i. e. regular airmail or even sea mail. I have a feeling that here are some sellers out there that demand high postage if their auction ends too low, hoping the transaction fails or just earn a little extra.

I cannot speak for all US sellers, but I can speak for myself. A year and a half ago, the US Postal Service dropped all surface rates for International shipping. It left sellers with only Priority Mail International as a shipping option. Very pricey, and if your package goes over the "Golden" 4 pound weight, the rates get stupid. My bread and butter is Antiquarian and Rare books. Books are very heavy. Since the rate increase for Priority only shipping outside the US, I've lost 95% of my International business. Not because of the prices for my books, but because of the loss of inexpensive surface shipping rates. We have no unified Internet Tax system anywhere in the world, but in the US the Government found a way to tax the world indirectly through the service we all depend upon, mail shipment. Sure, there are people who have always made huge profits off back-end shipping charges, but to make a purchase and then complain after the fact does not make sense. You should always know up-front before you commit to buy. If you get solicited after the fact with additional charges, back out. By the way, has anyone out there ever complained to a SHIPPER about shipping costs? Do you think they will NEGOTIATE? Do they worry about negative feedback? I'm sure they will lower their fees just like Ebay will.... All you have to do is ask.... Ha!

[bakaguyjean]

I cannot speak for all US sellers, but I can speak for myself. A year and a half ago, the US Postal Service dropped all surface rates for International shipping. It left sellers with only Priority Mail International as a shipping option. Very pricey, and if your package goes over the "Golden" 4 pound weight, the rates get stupid. My bread and butter is Antiquarian and Rare books. Books are very heavy. Since the rate increase for Priority only shipping outside the US, I've lost 95% of my International business. Not because of the prices for my books, but because of the loss of inexpensive surface shipping rates. We have no unified Internet Tax system anywhere in the world, but in the US the Government found a way to tax the world indirectly through the service we all depend upon, mail shipment. Sure, there are people who have always made huge profits off back-end shipping charges, but to make a purchase and then complain after the fact does not make sense. You should always know up-front before you commit to buy. If you get solicited after the fact with additional charges, back out. By the way, has anyone out there ever complained to a SHIPPER about shipping costs? Do you think they will NEGOTIATE? Do they worry about negative feedback? I'm sure they will lower their fees just like Ebay will.... All you have to do is ask.... Ha!

How does UPS and Fed Ex compare when you get over the 4 pound limit?

[Cooltoys]

If any of you guys need help from Canada just let me know I'll try to help you out guys.. Of course it will be actual shipping cost for you guys..

[loaded]

I understand that certain items above the 4 pound (2 kilo in EU) limit can be more expensive, there is no excuse for a simple decal sheet. There are other methods of shipping available for low cost items (first class international, for example) and the service which replaced Economy (I can't remember the name) is also tracked.

USPS have always upsold their products to increase revenue.

Seller and buyer have to agree to shipping terms before payment if they are not specified (according to eBay rules which I read a couple of years ago - they may have changed) and they need to be 'reasonable' whatever that means. If they are specified, I agree there is NO EXCUSE. Regarding the eBay calculator, I recently purchased an item with $38.50 quoted by the eBay system and both me and seller were surprised that it came back at $68.50, which was a disappointment.

One thing I have taken to doing is asking after the fact if I can arrange a collection from UK sellers (who are also overcharging in many cases for simple items - granted this is often the Post Office fault) which for a 5 kilo box can cost me as little as $30 for a courier service with DHL etc.

Keep well,

Paul.

[TA-Mark]

Seller is still saying the same thing. From the best I can workout with DHL parcel services shipping calculator, air is 40EU and surface is 22EU to Australia. I've turned all correspondence over to eBay, they can sort it out now.

This isn't a small time seller either, 27,000+ sales. You'd think he'd know how eBay works by now. All the negatives I see in his feedback all relate to selling items he doesn't actually have in stock. Another eBay no-no I thought.

[442xcar]

I understand that certain items above the 4 pound (2 kilo in EU) limit can be more expensive, there is no excuse for a simple decal sheet. There are other methods of shipping available for low cost items (first class international, for example) and the service which replaced Economy (I can't remember the name) is also tracked.

USPS have always upsold their products to increase revenue.

Seller and buyer have to agree to shipping terms before payment if they are not specified (according to eBay rules which I read a couple of years ago - they may have changed) and they need to be 'reasonable' whatever that means. If they are specified, I agree there is NO EXCUSE. Regarding the eBay calculator, I recently purchased an item with $38.50 quoted by the eBay system and both me and seller were surprised that it came back at $68.50, which was a disappointment.

One thing I have taken to doing is asking after the fact if I can arrange a collection from UK sellers (who are also overcharging in many cases for simple items - granted this is often the Post Office fault) which for a 5 kilo box can cost me as little as $30 for a courier service with DHL etc.

Keep well,

Paul.

You are right Paul. Small items in a mailer such as decals can be mailed USPS from the US via 1st Class at a very low cost. I sent a Lambo Wing to a TC member a few wekks ago for $1.45 and he received it in 5 days. The weight limit is 13 oz. for First Class.

I'm noticing that the UK postal service is starting to molest people via their rates (ala US Postal), and all I can say is it's an indirect internet sales tax. Not to say that Sellers are not using high rates to "skim" profits, and buyers need to do their homework before commiting to a purchase.

As for Ebay's shipping calculator, a simple input error can cause major mis-quotes. I purchased a kit out of Mexico and the shipping was very low. The rate quoted was for "Media Mail" and obviously wrong. The Seller emailed and said he needed an extra $9.00. Not a problem. The total to ship was still less than $20.00 which was way below the norm. To the oposite side of the coin, I've sold items with the Ebay caculator. The rate quoted was more than I actually paid for shipping because I print my labels and purchase postage from my business. USPS gives me a back-end discount for doing this, but that actual amount I pay is not what was quoted to the buyer. With some buyers, this small difference is justification for extortion tactics.

Tim D....

[TA-Mark]

Can't say I've ever used the eBay shipping calculator. I always go for the website of the mail sevice that will be posting the item, least you know it's reasonably accurate.

[RichieRich]

You are right Paul. Small items in a mailer such as decals can be mailed USPS from the US via 1st Class at a very low cost. I sent a Lambo Wing to a TC member a few wekks ago for $1.45 and he received it in 5 days. The weight limit is 13 oz. for First Class.

This is what I use when shipping overseas. The USPS website doesn't even show this price online. LOL. Also, you don't need to fill out customs forms which is awesome.

[Tamiya1/10]

Is very important to read the seller's feedbacks to get a feel of his/she character. In the case shipping at cost should be the actual shipping cost and possibility a few dollars for packing. For this seller, shipping cost would likely include his travel cost to the post office by limo and his time cost at Euro40/hr.

This happened to me at Germany ebay when I bought a 1:43 scaled model from a company in Germany where I was charged double the shipping cost based on another purchase I made in Germany from an individual seller of a differenct but same scaled model. Also the VAT was not deducted from the buy it price as the discription stated was included. My command of the German language is Nil and the English from the company was not great, so I just paid but will never deal with this company again and left the remark of very high shipping cost.