Has this ever happened to you?

[sstralkowski]

I e-mailed an eBay seller and when asked the cost to ship the item, they told me it would be $30 for a package no more than one pound. I have gotten packages shipped from their home town before and it was not more than $8 for 12 or so boosters. I'll not mention places, times or names since for all I know, this seller could be a perfectly reputable person who just doesn't want to pay eBay fee so they inflate the cost of "shipping". I don't necessarily agree with that action, but it happens. What I dislike is a bit of a gray area. The cost of shipping was only given if the bidder requested it. Even then, the reason for the high shipping cost was that the item was worth that much. Since then I believe the shipping cost has been added to the auction, maybe even due to my response to them. Now under eBay rules, you are leagally bound to pay for an item you won. However, in this case, if a bidder won and then found out the "shipping" cost, would they be required to pay the insane price for shipping when they knew it didn't cost that much to ship? After all, they are supposed to check into these things prior to bidding right? I am torn on the subject. I'm not sure if I should side with the seller or the bidder. What do you guys think, and has this ever happened to you?

[Esper3k]

If the seller has a listed shipping cost and you bid on the auction and win it, I believe that you are pretty much bound to pay the listed shipping cost as part of the auction. Bottom line is check the shipping cost before you bid. If the seller doesn't have it listed, email them and ask about it so you don't get screwed by a sudden $15 shipping charge to ship 1 figure. Better to protect yourself and do a little bit of research then to be sorry about it later.

[comical]

If they didn't put the shipping cost in the auction description then you should have asked first, but it's not too late to follow up with more questions. I would a) tell them that while you understand there's more than postage involved in the cost of shipping that your experiences show that the package should be in the $10 to $12 range (be nice about it).

Hopefully they'll respond with more details. Perhaps they quoted and thought global priority and you'd be happy with US parcel post. Maybe they haven't weighed it and put out a high price to be safe but will lower it if asked.

I'd definitely follow up - respectfully - and go from there. As a seller I'm always willing to discuss policies and costs and I think most people are the same way.

You may be "bound" by your bid, but "excessive" shipping charges are against ebay policy also.

[jamie madrox]

so like could you charge 1 million dollars for shipping if so i got an idea.

[sstralkowski]

Yeah I didn't actualyl bid since I did my homework and asked the seller about shipping costs first. I just feel bad for the rookie eBayer who is going to get a bill that is significantly larger than they intended. Let's admit it. we've all made thos kinds of mistakes when we were just starting out on eBay. If the cost of shipping is stated in the auction, then it's just a matter of ethics rather than legalities since you are bound. I dunno, it just urked me and I wanted to get some other opinions on it.

For the sake of discussion, let's assume that someone did bid when the shipping wasn't stated and they found out later that shipping was excessive. then they tried to reason with the seller to no avail. Should they then be stuck paying the high cost or should they contact eBay about it?

[skeevo666]

There's a reason caveat emptor is still in our lexicon; it's as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago . . .

[Joe Kerr]

I have a very simple rule when it comes to shipping on ebay, if it's not listed then I do not bid. I also will not pay outrageous shipping prices. I really haven't bought anything off ebay for awhile but I also figure shipping into the amount I want to spend.

As a seller I give honest shipping prices. I may make a dollar here and there but it's not by design. I think anyone on here who has traded figs knows how much it really costs to ship 1 to 4 figs and it's not 5 dollars. I always get a kick out of auctions, Heroclix auctions, where they "combine shipping." It reads something like this, "2 dollars for the first auction and 1 dollar for each extra figure." So if you win 7 figures you are paying $8 to ship 7 Heroclix? Okay I'll hop right on that.

[SmittySue]

Some people consider getting a box, tape, taking time to go to the Post Office, stand in line, the ebay charge for the sell and Paypal charge (In some cases) part of the S&H. Some also include insurance, signature, tracking number and 2nd day air. All which increase the cost of S&H. Just because the cost on the Box says $12.00, doesn’t mean it cost $12.00 to ship. That was just one part of it.

[Joe Kerr]

I sell a lot of stuff on ebay and I've always believed that if someone is paying me money for the junk I am selling then that's my time in line at the post office. I guess I'm just an honest person who would like to be treated in the same way.

Bidders don't have to buy your item and without the bidder giving you money, then you would be stuck with some unwanted junk taking up space and collecting dust.

So I thank them for helping me out by keeping shipping charges reasonable and further more helping to support my plastic crack habbits.

[Canada Maestro]

I've had a couple of questionable shipping costs but it's usually my own fault in some way (mostly because I don't look into it that much before bidding). I usually only bid on auctions where the shipping cost to at least the US is listed and then figure it will go up a little for shipping to Canada (as many ads just say it will be more for international and I usually can't be bothered to ask about shipping to Canada beforehand). There have been a few times that someone has listed something for a couple bucks shipping within the US and after winning it they quote a price more than double that to Canada.

And then there was the time I won an action figure (not in its original packaging) and after paying a relatively hefty shipping cost which I assumed meant that the figure would be well packaged at least the figure arrived stuffed into one of those bubblewrap envelopes. I was a little disappointed then but the figure was in ok condition at least.

So I've encountered some questionable ones but then again, I've mostly encountered pretty good ones.

[Funky Jett]

You can always report him to eBay for his exorbitant shipping charges. They take just "fee-jacking" very seriously... especially when it is so high. I speak from experience too. Currently I have a 100% rating, with over 980 positive feedback. And I have left my share of negative feedback and reported my share of fraudulant sellers. They know what to do with them.

Good luck!