Problem with a seller grossly overcharging for shipping *Update* Resolved

Collectordragon

Collectordragon

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I bought two controllers from a seller in Canada and the shipping price of $18.99 for one controller seemed reasonable. The seller didn't mention a discount for multiple items but didn't say she didn't give discounts either. I didn't think much of it since I've always gotten shipping discounts from sellers whether or not it was mentioned in the listing. Big mistake as the seller sent me an invoice for the two controllers with the shipping price for one controller doubled!

Update:

I've paid. I got the seller to drop the shipping price to $29.99 but it was like pulling teeth. From now on I'll make sure to always ask about combined shipping costs before bidding or buying on anything. I already did most of the time anyway but not asking for even one auction can lead to major problems. It's kind of like your car being stolen the one time you forget to lock it. It only takes not being careful once to cost you.
 
$38 shipping is absurd. While I hope that you do get some discounted shipping (more than $5), one thing to remember is to always approach every eBay auction with a healthy dose of skepticism. Read everything carefully, and be watchful for every technique a seller will use to fuck you over and get more money out of you.

Good luck, but I don't know that I'd expect eBay to come to your defense. eBay and Paypal are notorious for having a laissez-faire approach to disputes - after all, they already made their money off the auction/transaction. Why should they care about you?
 
Yeah, I don't think you've got a winner here unless you decide to just not pay.

What kind of controllers? If these are larger fighting game joysticks then they can be a pain to ship and would give a reason for no discount.
 
if it says on the auction page that the shipping is $18.99 and you felt that it is too much, then you shouldve just passed on it. if it doesnt explicitly say there is a discount for shipping, you shouldve asked the seller first before buying. i'm sorry, but the seller has the advantage in this situation.

i think the best case scenario is to contact the seller and ask that the purchase be cancelled because you hoped there would be a discount when there wasn't. agree to not give each other feedback and pretend this never happened. haha. good luck!
 
I can vouch that those are outrageous shipping charges, having shipped a lot of stuff cross border especially of larger size. If she is sending via paypal label it should cost more than $20 at most to send BOTH via expedited parcel.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']$38 shipping is absurd. While I hope that you do get some discounted shipping (more than $5), one thing to remember is to always approach every eBay auction with a healthy dose of skepticism. Read everything carefully, and be watchful for every technique a seller will use to fuck you over and get more money out of you.

Good luck, but I don't know that I'd expect eBay to come to your defense. eBay and Paypal are notorious for having a laissez-faire approach to disputes - after all, they already made their money off the auction/transaction. Why should they care about you?[/QUOTE]

I already do. For example I ask a seller that lists a game as new and sealed if it's factory sealed and not resealed because a long time ago I had a seller pull that reseal crap on me and sold me a new and "sealed" game that turned out to be a resealed obviously used game. I'm already very paranoid on eBay but I guess I need to be more so.

Well, they haven't made any money off of me for this auction yet. It ended today and I still haven't paid. I'm not going to unless the shipping is lowered to a reasonable amount.
 
[quote name='dugg']if it says on the auction page that the shipping is $18.99 and you felt that it is too much, then you shouldve just passed on it. if it doesnt explicitly say there is a discount for shipping, you shouldve asked the seller first before buying. i'm sorry, but the seller has the advantage in this situation.

i think the best case scenario is to contact the seller and ask that the purchase be cancelled because you hoped there would be a discount when there wasn't. agree to not give each other feedback and pretend this never happened. haha. good luck![/QUOTE]

I felt that $18.99 shipping for one controller was fair not $18.99 doubled for two controllers. The controllers were new S-Type Xbox btw.

Also it is against eBay rules to overcharge for shipping. Doesn't the price she's charging me easily qualify for overcharging? We're not talking about charging $7 for $5 shipping we're talking about more than twice the actual shipping cost.
 
how much was the TOTAL COST compared to other auctions? sometimes sellers up their shipping rate when they have a BIN option so they can reduce ebay fees. If the total cost is less then the other auctions you shouldn't be complaining. also your argument "you didn't list that you didn't do combined shipping either" is the dumbest thing ever. The seller is not obligated to list that he does not combine shipping. If it is not offer then there is no combine shipping. duh.
 
You might be stuck, but I would insist that she ships the items in two separate boxes, that she pay two separate shipping charges, or the deal is off. Tell her that you also do not allow for combined shipping...make her pay double what she would otherwise have to pay...
 
[quote name='loserboy']You might be stuck, but I would insist that she ships the items in two separate boxes, that she pay two separate shipping charges, or the deal is off. Tell her that you also do not allow for combined shipping...make her pay double what she would otherwise have to pay...[/QUOTE]
Yeah, do that.

That'll keep her from making profit on the shipping.
 
[quote name='loserboy']You might be stuck, but I would insist that she ships the items in two separate boxes, that she pay two separate shipping charges, or the deal is off. Tell her that you also do not allow for combined shipping...make her pay double what she would otherwise have to pay...[/QUOTE]


thats a really good idea. I would second this option.
 
The shipping charges are absurd but no one forced you to bid on the auction and to assume anything in an auction that is not clearly stated is foolish. If you choose not to pay, you are the one at fault (since no one put a gun to your head to bid on the auction) and if I were the seller, I'd hit you with a negative.

I would do what loserboy recommended. If she won't give a discount for combined shipping, then the products shouldn't be shipped together.
 
I don't know about this one... it's kind of a dick thing to not discount the shipping but I don't think that she is obligated to at all. When I buy something I don't really care how much the seller made - just whether or not I paid what I believed to be a fair price. I always include shipping as part of the sale price when I'm bidding - if it makes the overall number high I don't bid.
 
[quote name='Collectordragon']Well, they haven't made any money off of me for this auction yet. It ended today and I still haven't paid. I'm not going to unless the shipping is lowered to a reasonable amount.[/QUOTE]

That's not how eBay works. You don't bid then demand things. Hopefully you get a negative.

Yes, the shipping is outrageous, but you agreed to it when you bid. That's your fault. You don't win an auction then demand your own terms.
 
remember it is shipping and handling, so it usually be a few bucks higher then the actual cost. So there is nothing wrong with charing $19 for $16.50 shipping. However even when people offer shipping discount they don't take the whole amount off the second item. You really should have asked the seller about shipping before buying. Right now you can not pay the item and take a non paying strike.
 
[quote name='javeryh']I don't know about this one... it's kind of a dick thing to not discount the shipping but I don't think that she is obligated to at all. When I buy something I don't really care how much the seller made - just whether or not I paid what I believed to be a fair price. I always include shipping as part of the sale price when I'm bidding - if it makes the overall number high I don't bid.[/QUOTE]

That's what I do as well. I just never guessed she would just double the shipping price of a single item I figured she'd up the shipping price by $5 or so at most. I've had sellers send me invoices with doubled or more shipping prices for multiple items before and they always immediately apologized (since it's usually automated) and lowered the shipping price to a reasonable amount. I've dealt with many hundreds of different sellers over the years and have never had a seller use this tactic on me before. I guess I've been lucky until now.

I agree I was foolish to assume any seller on eBay would be fair or reasonable about anything but I think we also all can agree that the seller it trying to rip me off.
 
[quote name='Haggar']That's not how eBay works. You don't bid then demand things. Hopefully you get a negative.

Yes, the shipping is outrageous, but you agreed to it when you bid. That's your fault. You don't win an auction then demand your own terms.[/QUOTE]

No, I didn't. Only the shipping price for one item was listed not multiple. I've never had a seller double the shipping price for two items won. I should have asked, it was a mistake not to in retrospect but this seller is clearly a greedy bitch.
 
[quote name='62t']remember it is shipping and handling, so it usually be a few bucks higher then the actual cost. So there is nothing wrong with charing $19 for $16.50 shipping. However even when people offer shipping discount they don't take the whole amount off the second item. You really should have asked the seller about shipping before buying. Right now you can not pay the item and take a non paying strike.[/QUOTE]

I understand that and I agree there's nothing wrong with that but we're not talking a few bucks higher we're talking almost $20 higher.
 
do what others told you and ask her to ship both items seperately. pay for them seperately.

at least you won't feel as guilty for spending more money.

and next time, don't assume anything beforehand ;)
 
I must say I really don't think your spending your time wisely. As you should have learned years ago from ebay its an online auction system letting anyone anywhere put up listings if they have a credit card.

Caveat emptor


Let the buyer beware....Really man its like personally, for example if there is an auction I like but the seller does not list the shipping I do not bid, as them not listing a specific price gives them the right to set it to whatever they see fit fair or not.

If your are bent on getting combined shipping I highly advise that you contact the seller before you bid and ask IF they would combine shipping, they have no obligation to give you a deal.

I am speaking from my own experiences selling and buying. I hope you have good future transactions on ebay.
 
glad to hear you got it resoved somewhat to your satisfaction. I have made similar mistakes too, its best that we learn from experiences like this so it doesn't happen again.
 
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