Anticipating a fight over shipping...

[MegoSteve]

I guess I'm becoming one of those bottom-feeding troublemakers, because I recently bought a bunch of cheap bronze-age comics on eBay and the seller charged me $10.50 to ship them. I just received the package... it came via Media Mail in a padded envelope and I weighed it; he paid $2.77 to ship it. Even if he bought that envelope for $2, he still charged me more than double the actual shipping cost.

I'd have no problem paying $10.50 for shipping something if it was an expensive item or it came in a box and had Priority Mail postage on it. I know I got a great price on the books, so it's really not a huge, earth-shattering blow to my wallet in the overall scheme of things, but man, I really hate when sellers pump up their profits by charging excessive shipping like this.

[SlipperyLilSuckers]

It drives me crazy too, and I'm told Ebay has just upgraded their complaints area for this exact thing.

[Zemo]

Did it say 10.50 shipping in the auction and did it say how they would be shipped?

[MegoSteve]

In retrospect, after he explained it, he did have it in his auctions, but it was pretty confusingly worded. Instead of saying $1 extra per lot, he said "$1 extra for single comic auctions and 50 cents for 2-5 comics and 25 cents for 6 comics or more." What he meant was that some of his auctions were for more than one comic and on those he'd add fees differently. Just confusing... I don't think English is this guy's first language.

Bottom line is that I think it's ridiculous that he's charging me $10.50 on a package it cost him $2.77 to mail.

[Meule]

Welcome to my world :wall:

[NickyBoo]

Well ebay supports any reduction that a seller makes in postage, it means more fees for them. In fact they would have you post it for free so that you pay fees on the postage aswell.

[Adam West]

If you got a good deal on the comics and received them in good shape; I wouldn't worry about it. He probably didn't get the price he was expecting and cut corners. This kind of stuff happens to me all the time. I have learned for myself over the years not to sweat the small stuff. If I got a good deal and the shipping is a little high; I just focus on the great deal I received and not so much on the shipping.

[toys2cool]

If you got a good deal on the comics and received them in good shape; I wouldn't worry about it. He probably didn't get the price he was expecting and cut corners. This kind of stuff happens to me all the time. I have learned for myself over the years not to sweat the small stuff. If I got a good deal and the shipping is a little high; I just focus on the great deal I received and not so much on the shipping.

yeah i agree,

[Bruce Banner]

That happened to me on some CAH figures I got from Ebay Germany.
The actual shipping he paid was less than a third of what he quoted/charged. :enraged:

[Duncan]

Personally, I don't differentiate between shipping and the item's cost, assuming I know the shipping up front. A $12 item with $3 shipping costs me the same as a $1 item with $14 shipping. If an item has high shipping, I just bid less. It's not my job to police fees on behalf of e-bay.

However, I do get annoyed when sellers balk at combining shipping, or try to extract a little extra profit after the fact. I think MegoSteve has a legitimate issue; probably can't do much about it.

[bondtoddbond]

Just look for a guy who under charges shipping on your next auction win and it will all come out even...Steve-n. :wink:

[Corellian Corvette]

Yeah that's always a bummer. How many did you buy? If you bought only enough comics to come in a padded envelope then I'm not even sure how that works out to $10.50 to ship...

That said, I hate people who argue with me about shipping AFTER the fact, so I'm torn. But I also don't have a 400% markup on my shipping. I do always add $1-$2 dollars for "handling" fees because my time is money, too.

Extortion is one thing, asking for a refund is another. How much would you want back, given that the guy should get something for his time as well? Split the difference and ask him for $5 back? Or do you want the whole $8.

I would be straightforward - tell him you know this was only $3 to ship and he charged you $10. Ask him for $5 back.

If he says no, then leave him a neutral. I'm beginning to believe the neutral is an underused feedback rating. It does not affect his feedback rating, so it’s not like you’re screwing the guy – but at the same time it warns others who may have a similar issue. I’m starting to leave more neutrals (and by more, I mean like 2) when shipping takes forever, I’m being overcharged– and I’ve legitimately tried to resolve with no help on the seller side.

[MegoSteve]

It was only 8 comics which were shipped in a padded envelope.

I made out okay even with the huge overpayment in shipping. After I emailed back and forth with him a few times, the seller offered to split the difference with me. I told him to just keep it... I was just happy that he offered.

[Corellian Corvette]

Sounds like an honest seller. Good for him for offering, good for you for realizing you got a good deal overall. See, the internet can be a kind place :)

[Adam West]

I agree with not worrying about how the seller ships compared to price unless it is specified or I really need the item in a hurry.

The seller took a huge risk sending it to you media mail. Maybe someone who works for the postal service is more knowledgeable but I have personally found that media mail items generally have more damage to the package than priority. The seller would have paid dearly for the mistake for cutting corners. I can also attest as a seller that it is difficult for me to calculate shipping. I really don't have the time to pre-package, weigh, and place a shipping calculator for everything I sell. Sometimes I make out a few dollars if the person happens to be on the East Coast near me and sometimes I lose out a few dollars if it is someone on the West Coast.

[MegoSteve]

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of media mail shipping, either, but it's the nature of bottom-feeding on eBay. Cheap shipping helps a seller sell cheap books. It's technically against postal regulations to mail comics media mail rate anyway. I got a large lot of cheap books from another seller a few months ago and when I opened the box, there was a note from the post office saying they opened and inspected it and the contents don't qualify for media mail. Weird.

[megoat]

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of media mail shipping, either, but it's the nature of bottom-feeding on eBay. Cheap shipping helps a seller sell cheap books. It's technically against postal regulations to mail comics media mail rate anyway. I got a large lot of cheap books from another seller a few months ago and when I opened the box, there was a note from the post office saying they opened and inspected it and the contents don't qualify for media mail. Weird.

Yeah, anything with advertisements is technically a no-no with media mail.

As far as media mail is concerned, I don't know what you guys are scared about. It is one of the greatest services the post office offers, to not take advantage of it is sorta crazy. I have literally sent and received 100's if not 1000's of packages via media mail (mainly records--but other media as well) over the last 10 years with RARELY a problem. This idea that media packages come with more damage is just ludicrous.

[Corellian Corvette]

I can also attest as a seller that it is difficult for me to calculate shipping. I really don't have the time to pre-package, weigh, and place a shipping calculator for everything I sell. Sometimes I make out a few dollars if the person happens to be on the East Coast near me and sometimes I lose out a few dollars if it is someone on the West Coast.

Ah, please take this feedback in the nicest possible way, but it's neither hard nor time consuming to predetermine shipping, make sure you are always giving accurate estimates, and insure that you make out on the positive side of the equation.

You can get a 10 - 15 lb postal scale on ebay for $20.

Unless you’re shipping something very large, the size of the box never matters unless it’s over a cubic foot.

No reasonable size box filled with packing materials weights more than a pound.

With all that – all you need to do is weigh the item. Add 1lb for packaging. Add $2 for materials. Totally done. Accurate shipping costs, something for your materials, and you’re never caught losing money. At worst you’re slightly over, and nothing makes a buyer happier than giving them back $1 - $2 on shipping.