An eBay first for me -- update with seller's reply

ajaan · April 15, 2011 7:00AM

I bought something off eBay. Paid $2.00 for shipping. Seller sent item with (2) forever stamps on it. The package came with 68c postage due. Ya gotta love some eBay sellers.

SaorAlba · April 15, 2011 7:07AM

<< I bought something off eBay. Paid $2.00 for shipping. Seller sent item with (2) forever stamps on it. The package came with 68c postage due. Ya gotta love some eBay sellers. >>

Neggy weggy. I loved the dope I bought some old German note from one time that had just what had been until he put it in the envelope a crisp uncirculated note - just the note and no cardboard or anything. Of course it got crumpled in some postal machine. Idiot charged a couple of bucks for postage and put the 44 cent stamp on it.

Hmm, the Thai note?

ajaan · April 15, 2011 7:31AM

I sent him an email. I'll wait to see if he replies before I neg or neuter him.

FilthyBroke · April 15, 2011 7:35AM

<< ... or neuter him. >>

Sounds a little harsh, but what the hey!

The post wouldn't notify the sender of shortage (would they?), so I also think you should tell him. Maybe he just thinks he's slipping stuff by the post office and no one is the wiser.

JamesMurray · April 15, 2011 8:09AM

Harsh indeed , i doubt i could ruin a sellers feedback over 68c

JCMhouston · April 15, 2011 8:36AM

I don't know, I've had people give me 3's and 4's on shipping price because I charged $4.95 for priority mail insured and it actually cost around $6. I think a neutral or a 1 on shipping cost would be fair.

Pokermandude · April 15, 2011 9:02AM

I wouldn't neg or neut over that. Higher than actual shipping costs are just part of the Ebay game. At least until they change over the FVF to include shipping costs.

As long as the seller clearly stated what they were charging for shipping, you knew how much you'd be paying when you put your bid in. It really shouldn't matter if you bid $10 with a $2 shipping fee or $11 with a $1 shipping fee, you still got the item for the same price.

Now if they charged $8+ for shipping and said it would go priority/registered/etc, and it came to me with regular mail with <$1 postage on it, THAT would be neg worthy.

spoon · April 15, 2011 9:11AM

This isn't just overcharging postage. The bum overcharged and then paid insufficient postage, leaving the buyer with a hassle (however minor).

I'm with JCM, harshly worded neutral and 1 stars, since it was a low value screw up. If the seller responds with jackassery, neg away.

Then again, this could warrant a neg in my book. That's the whole point of the feedback system - to provide useful information to others about the quality of service. It's not just a deferential ritual that we go through after a transaction. Stiffing the buyer with postage due is an insult and indicative of a seller who's either greedy or incompetent. I think most potential buyers would be interested in knowing that. But, Don's a good guy so he's giving him a chance to respond.. it could be an honest mistake.

Edit - if I ever did something like that by mistake, I'd refund the buyer's full postage and a bit more for the hassle.

mrpotatoheadd · April 15, 2011 9:18AM

<< I bought something off eBay. Paid $2.00 for shipping. Seller sent item with (2) forever stamps on it. The package came with 68c postage due. >>

Sounds like two problems here, and one of them may not be the seller's fault. 88 cents is the large envelope rate for 1.0 oz. or less. One way to get a postage due of 68 cents is for the shipment to be considered a package, weighing 2+ ounces. There's no real excuse aside from it being a mistake to miss the weight, but if the seller sent the package as a large envelope (like in a bubble mailer) and someone in the post office decided it should have been sent as a package instead, they could have "upgraded" the cost without the seller ever being aware.

Don't ask me how I know about this (the second part, that is).

In reality, you will find varying opinions in the post office regarding bubble mailers, and how they should be classified. There's nothing any shipper can do about this.

JamesMurray · April 15, 2011 9:19AM

A nuetral does almost if not as much damage to feedback percentage as a neg , it takes a year to recover , that's why i hesitate before leaving feedback less than positive. In all fairness it probably was a genuine mistake on the sellers part , one might very well think 2 1st class stamps would cover a coin in transit.The post office charges now by the 5 different regions so what might cost me $2 to mail to say texas will cost me $3 to mail to california.

mrpotatoheadd · April 15, 2011 9:23AM

IMO, two dollars to ship something is hardly overcharging. And I'm disappointed how quickly people are to rip someone for what may be nothing more than an oversight on the seller's part and a judgement made by the post office that the seller has no control over before even finding out what actually happened.

ajaan · April 15, 2011 9:36AM

First of all, I'm not complaining about the $2.00 shipping. I thought that was very reasonable. It's the postage due part I'm questioning. Here is an image of the package, it is a bubble mailer. I don't know if it was hand stamped at a PO or processing center.

mrpotatoheadd · April 15, 2011 9:46AM

Ok- assuming my previous post was correct (weight of the package is 2+ ounces), the guy obviously made a mistake, as the large envelope rate would be $1.22, not 88 cents. The rest of my post stands- it's certainly possible somebody in the post office (other than where the guy mailed it) decided it should have been sent as a package, not a large envelope, and added the "postage due" to the shipment. Not the seller's fault there- it happens.

As far as getting the postage wrong from the get-go, well- sometimes people make mistakes. Maybe this was one of them?

ormandh · April 15, 2011 10:29AM

Maybe he did not know that the charge is higher for a larger envelope. That envelope probably cost him $1. If he left it with his mailman then it could of been a mistake.
I would probably let him know postage was due at delivery and see how he responds. -Dan

mudskippie · April 15, 2011 12:01PM

Same thing happened to me last week and I was annoyed, but it was only 34c so I let it go

Just one less thing to worry about!

spoon · April 15, 2011 12:28PM

$2 is a reasonable shipping fee - it's what I charge. But if he expected postage to cost 88 cents then it is padded a bit much. Still, not horrible, but when he does that and doesn't do his homework resulting in postage due hassles, reasonable people (me) resort to hyperbole and vicarious griping

You guys are entirely right, though, it is quite possible that the PO is the cause of the screw up in how they classified the package. It still amazes me how often I come across USPS folks who flub things like that. But, again, look at how many folks here ask about how to ship packages here or there... if you're gonna do online sales, do your homework. It's not quantum electrodynamics.

Pokermandude · April 15, 2011 12:33PM

Oh my bad. I didn't read that as "he shipped it to me and I owed the PO money". I didn't think the post office still shipped letters where the recipient had to pony up some money. The 1 or 2 times I've put insufficient postage on a letter, it's come back to my own mail box saying "give us mo' money!".

I'd definitely write the seller and politely mention that he forgot a few stamps and that I had to pay the debt to the post office. Give him a chance to make it right by giving you a partial refund. Sometimes mistakes happen.

mrpotatoheadd · April 15, 2011 12:45PM

<< $2 is a reasonable shipping fee - it's what I charge. But if he expected postage to cost 88 cents then it is padded a bit much. Still, not horrible, but when he does that and doesn't do his homework resulting in postage due hassles, reasonable people (me) resort to hyperbole and vicarious griping

>>

Ok- fair enough.

IMO, eBay sellers have a rough time of it- buyers on eBay are very demanding. Personally, I can see how this could have been a mistake- it could easily be me, as I'm not anywhere near perfect. But looking at the big picture, even if the guy was cheating the buyer, how many buyers does he have to scam at 68 cents a pop before he can take that vacation in Cabo?

ajaan · April 16, 2011 4:46AM

Heard from the seller:

<< Don,
Good morning, Sorry for the troubles with my shipping dept. I refunded 0.75 to your account even though the balance was 0.68.
Apr 16, 2011 Refund Completed Details -$0.75 USD
I feel the added refund is appropiate for your troubles. Thank you again for your business.
Please provide appropriate feedback.

Regards,
Joseph
>>

I gues he feels the time and gas it took me to go to the Post Office because of this, I wasn't home when the mail came yesterday, is only worth 7c.

JamesMurray · April 16, 2011 5:01AM

What amount of refund do you feel would have been adequate ?

mrpotatoheadd · April 16, 2011 6:05AM

<< I gues he feels the time and gas it took me to go to the Post Office because of this, I wasn't home when the mail came yesterday, is only worth 7c.

>>

With all due respect, since eBay specifically prohibits sellers from charging buyers for gas and time, it seems kind of unfair to expect sellers to pay buyers for theirs.

ormandh · April 16, 2011 11:07AM

<< First of all, I'm not complaining about the $2.00 shipping. I thought that was very reasonable. It's the postage due part I'm questioning. Here is an image of the package, it is a bubble mailer. I don't know if it was hand stamped at a PO or processing center.

>>

Well, if it were hand stamped at the desk he would have paid the actual shipping. I really think that he made a mistake. I think had it been myself, I would have refunded your shipping costs, but it is what it is. I realize that it was an inconvenience, but what were you expecting? The principle of the whole thing is what matters I am sure, but it is petty on either side. -Dan

spinaker2000 · April 17, 2011 7:50AM

wad + panties = cold long winter in Buffalo.

ajaan · April 17, 2011 7:58AM

Friggin' snow storm today here.

RareBronzeCollector · April 18, 2011 9:41AM

To be fair, the cost of the padded mailing envelope (or saf-t-mailer as the case may be) should be factored into shipping costs also....

Bailathacl · April 18, 2011 11:51AM

Yes, the most frightening shipping cost to see listed is "44 cents" -- then you know the seller will be taping a raw coin to the eBay shipping statement and slipping it into a regular envelope. (It has happened to me twice -- shame on me the second time.)

mrpotatoheadd · April 18, 2011 12:27PM

<< Yes, the most frightening shipping cost to see listed is "44 cents" -- >>

Isn't that what eBay buyers want- low (or no) shipping charges?

wybrit · June 30, 2011 11:30PM

Well, the same thing just happened to me.

$2.50 shipping, $0.83 postage due. The shipper is a different person, but he/she also put two Forever stamps on a bubble mailer. My wife wasn't very happy to wait in a long line to pay it. No response yet from the seller, but will post here when the results are known.

OchoReales · July 1, 2011 12:21AM

About a year ago, I bought a 1964 Philippine Silver Peso from an Ebay seller, two counties away. After waiting three weeks to get the counterfeit coin, the envelope was short 80 cents or so postage. The seller not only said that this was impossible, but demanded that I send back the coin on MY dime! Needless to say, Ebay refunded my money (minus the postal shortage) and I still have the counterfeit!

ajaan · July 1, 2011 8:29AM

<< Yout time and gas had nothing to do with the shortage. You had to go there anyways didn't you to get the coin? Or did you have to make a special trip because of the postage due issue. >>

Special trip. Package was delivered with the postage due stamp while I was at work.

wybrit · July 1, 2011 1:14PM

My seller just refunded the postage due.

An eBay first for me -- update with seller's reply

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