Excessive postage

theboz11

I just purchased 3 coins from a gent in North Carolina, total cost $285. Weight 4 oz. He wants me to pay $25.50 postage for parcel post to Florida. Now his sale did not say combined postage and I did not ask. His postage on each coin $9.5, $8, $8 was stated in the auctions. $25 seems excessive and I told him so along with a link to ebays page on their policy.

Am I wrong to question this high postage.

hockeyfan9

If he listed the price of postage in his auctions, then you have no reason to complain no matter what the charge. If he told you afterword I would have a problem. I never bid on a coin that does not have the postage listed. What he is trying to do is to cover all of his ebay and PayPal fees. I always caculate the shipping in what I am buying.

harasha

I was thinking of bidding on a Roumanian medal being sold out of Israel, on e-bay. But then, I saw the shipping as $50!

Since you like medals, check out 200089828268. I think the seller has been discussed before.

theboz11

Down in the description he writes "BUYER WILL PAY $10.00 FOR INSURED REGISTERED AIR-MAIL AND HANDLING. I ACCEPT PAYMENT BY PAYPAL." I think this may be one instance that the automatic postage calculator on ebay is questionable and an email to the gent is in order. That is a nice Lion and I would be interested if not for the poor obverse condition of the piece.

harasha

I did note the condition, and that was the other part of my hesitancy. Sometimes, my finances are such that I look for reasons not to buy/bid on an item.

theboz11

Stork

Did you already email him about the postage? The automatic calculator definitely is off.

I recently bid on a bunch of overseas coins (though I did ask first about combined postage ) as the cost for each was $10--high, but for 6 (I was hoping to win 8, but 6 is what I got) coins/combined postage I just figure that into my bids.

In any case the seller did confirm she would reduce the postage. When I tried to do the automatic payment, sure enough the total was $60 for the 6 items. She emailed me a different amount which I used and all is well.

If you did ask and the seller is refusing to budge, then he is a twit--sticking to the letter of the agreement and not considering common sense, good service, or the prospect of return customers.

I would suspect other sellers from North Carolina are a little more reasonable

theboz11

I had emailed him for an invoice after ebay posted a totals due in Items Won. His invoice was the same. I have emailed and questioned the reason for the high postage , Citing a recent purchase of 6 of the same coins that cost $10 insure priority to deliver from California.

Aethelred

The seller could send three coins fully insured by registered mail from NC to Florida for about $10, there is no reason to charge that much!

wybrit

Although I agree with the commentary in the first response in this thread (in terms computing total cost, from a buyer's perspective), I think $8-$9 to ship each $100 coin is excessive and could be grounds to report excessive shipping charges intended to compensate for PayPal fees. $25.50 to ship three slabbed pieces certainly is. ebay claims they are cracking down on this sort of practice. Keep us posted, so to speak.

spinaker2000

<< <i>I would suspect other sellers from North Carolina are a little more reasonable >>

Zoins

Whether or not the seller will combine shipping is something the buyer should ask before bidding if it is not stated. I always ask before I bid if it is something I'm interested in. I think you made a mistake/oversight here and should ask before bidding in the future.

If the seller will combine shipping after you won auctions that didn't mention it, s/he is being nice to you.

If you insist on changing the terms of the auction, I think you could be classified as an "unwelcome bidder" and there may be consequences if you are reported. Something to think about if you are going to play hardball.

drjules

I have heard this scenario before and the suggested solution there was to have the seller ship to three different addresses. You know that if the seller puts all three coins in one envelope the cost will be significantly less than the stated $25. By sending to three addresses you make the seller work for his shipping fees and you may get him thinking about offering a combined shipping charge.

Also with this idea of reporting excessive shipping to ebay - do you have to wait until the item arrives to see how much shipping they really paid or can you do it up front?

Dr J

crito

Sounds to me like you thought the $8-$10 shipping fee was excessive before you bid. If so you should have resolved the issue with seller first. If I were in his place I'd ignore you like you did his terms and just relist after the usual NPB procedure. I'd also hold your feedback hostage, just in case you thought about negging me for not doing it your way -- I usually leave positive feedback as soon as payment is made/received.

Sorry, but IMHO buyer's prerogative is to take his/her business elsewhere. You don't get to dictate terms of sale to the seller. eBay might on the other hand.... so keep us posted.

theboz11

I have been assured by the seller any excess postage would be refunded. I was the underbidder on 10 other of his pieces and the prices ended high. He assured me that he wanted a smooth transaction and continued business.


I thanked him for his quick reply and informed him that payment was made.

spinaker2000