OT: Two out of Three eBayers ...

[thecatspajamas]

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[ALR-bishop]

I am just a buyer on eBay. If the seller gets me the card in the condition advertised and charges no more for shipping than stated in the listing, I am good

[JustinD]

Originally Posted by samosa4u

Yes



Yes



Yep, and it really is happening to me.



This happens too. Some American sellers would charge me $20 or $25 and then send it by First Class for much less. I always had to get some money back from them.



This just happened to me a few days ago. I bought a hockey card from Vancouver and the guy charged me $5 US and then sent it in a plain envelope with a dollar-something stamp. I had him send me some money back.



No. Sometimes I buy a bunch of things from one seller, and then he will hit me with an invoice with a higher shipping charge. In other words, it's not always clear on the eBay page.

I have a feeling that you are on a ton of blocked lists.

This is holding feedback hostage and demanding to renegotiate after you receive the item in every example.

If the shipping price was clearly stated there is nothing to complain about here.

[robertsmithnocure]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

I am just a buyer on eBay. If the seller gets me the card in the condition advertised and charges no more for shipping than stated in the listing, I am good

I feel the same way. As long as I know the amount ahead of time and the card arrives safely then I am fine. If I feel that that shipping charge is too much, then I either take that into consideration when I bid on a card or do not participate in the sale.

[painthistorian]

We ship a lot of items, not just cards to Canada and we NEVER use a white envelope..we use bubble mailers with packing material so it is considered a package.. Most Canadian buyers are exceptionally nice and fair, we love Canada and want them as customers.
...Under $50 items coins,jewelry,cards...I will reduce shipping to $14.95, over $50 $16 to $20 based on value and size-but I will combine shipping at $1 per item unless its heavy...however anyone that doesnt not like that as it is our CLEARLY POSTED rates, with fast reliable shipping and gives us crap about it (which is very RARE)-we dont want. We will gladly block from future bidding and that goes for retractions after 24 hours without notice..no one can ship a card to Canada for $5 unless it is a white envelope with 1 oz or less so damages can occur...the original poster should either factor that into bidding or just dont bid on anyone's goods that charges more....

Like good buyers, good sellers are scarce and should be treated fairly but negotiating after the listing is over, unless there is an error....is not fair or tolerated here.

[perezfan]

What about the reverse?

I have had more than a few sellers say they under-charged me on shipping, and then came back via email, to ask for more money. Happened just last week... the guy claimed postage was $14 higher then he charged, and he said that I had to pay him the difference.

I'm pretty sure he had no leg to stand on, but I paid him $7 (half the difference) as a measure of semi-goodwill. Anyone else have this happen with any frequency?

[perezfan]

And as for the card in the plain white envelope... I would send it back just on principal. Lazy and cheap on the seller's part, and he definitely put the card's condition in jeopardy.

I've had to resort to asking every eBay seller to sandwich the damn card in a toploader between two pieces of rigid cardboard. And about a quarter of them still won't do it.

I really wish that eBay would include "Quality of Packaging" in their Feedback Criteria (1 - 5 Stars). Doing so would force sellers to think harder about protecting peoples' purchases. IMHO, it's much more important than the somewhat meaningless "Communication" criteria they currently have.

[Jewish-collector]

Let's say a seller lists a graded card for $20 + $4 postage. Can someone please explain to me (seriously) why they just can't list it for $24 and free shipping ? I'm serious. WTF can't they do that ?

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by Jewish-collector

Let's say a seller lists a graded card for $20 + $4 postage. Can someone please explain to me (seriously) why they just can't list it for $24 and free shipping ? I'm serious. WTF can't they do that ?

When I sell on Ebay, I charge $3.25 for shipping for a raw card, which typically barely covers the shipping. I offer any additional cards that are purchased at no additional shipping charge if bought at the same time.

My thought is that I am trying to encourage multiple purchases, whereas if I had posted the card at the same overall amount with free shipping, there would be no incentive for people to buy additional cards from me at the same time (which is a lot easier on me as a seller...less time spent packing, less packing materials, less trips to the post office). If a customer were to buy two cards with free shipping a week apart, then everything becomes less ideal and more costly for me as a seller.

Brian

[Jim65]

Originally Posted by Jewish-collector

Let's say a seller lists a graded card for $20 + $4 postage. Can someone please explain to me (seriously) why they just can't list it for $24 and free shipping ? I'm serious. WTF can't they do that ?

They can but free shipping discourages multiple sales. If the shipping is factored into the price and I want to buy 3 cards, then I'm basically paying $12 to ship those 3 cards. If the seller accepts Best Offers, I can try to offset that but some don't.

[Yastrzemski Sports]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

The other side of the coin is, I combined shipping for a buyer. 7 huge, graded mutoscope cards and some other cards. Combine shipping was $8.50. He screamed and moaned. Said it should be $5. I explained to him that I was probably losing money on shipping the items to him, even at the $8.50 (and I did). His items easily weight over a pound, which is the cutoff for getting items into the cheaper "First Class" category. To be honest with you, I always cringe when people win multiple items from me, as shipping is always going to be a sticking point. They don't seem to understand how combined shipping even works.

Most people haven’t kept up with current shipping rates. Whenever the price of a stamp goes up a penny, shipping rates change across the board by a lot. When I started, a card in a bubble mailer was 49 cents. Now it’s almost $3. All items over a pound are $7 and up. And now eBay is taking a percent of the shipping money. Most of us teeter on the edge of making or losing money on shipping. At $3.50 for a single card - with all costs involved - it’s close. Always better to buy multiple items from the same seller. The most expensive item to shop is the first one.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by perezfan

What about the reverse?

I have had more than a few sellers say they under-charged me on shipping, and then came back via email, to ask for more money. Happened just last week... the guy claimed postage was $14 higher then he charged, and he said that I had to pay him the difference.

I'm pretty sure he had no leg to stand on, but I paid him $7 (half the difference) as a measure of semi-goodwill. Anyone else have this happen with any frequency?

Could have been an honest mistake. My one and only example. I had a very large item I sold on eBay. Before listing it I went t UPS with the dimensions and weight and got a price. After it sold I took it to UPS and they said they could not ship it even though they earlier said they could and gave me a price. Ended up costing around an extra $150 to ship by special freight. I contacted the buyer explained exactly what happened and asked if they would split the extra shipping with me. They did and we were both happy in the end.

Originally Posted by perezfan

And as for the card in the plain white envelope... I would send it back just on principal. Lazy and cheap on the seller's part, and he definitely put the card's condition in jeopardy.

I've had to resort to asking every eBay seller to sandwich the damn card in a toploader between two pieces of rigid cardboard. And about a quarter of them still won't do it.

I really wish that eBay would include "Quality of Packaging" in their Feedback Criteria (1 - 5 Stars). Doing so would force sellers to think harder about protecting peoples' purchases. IMHO, it's much more important than the somewhat meaningless "Communication" criteria they currently have.

WOW, seriously you send sellers shipping instructions and would return a card that arrived as described.

[Buythatcard]

Let's not forget that S/H just doesn't cover what it costs to ship. Besides eBay charging a fee, there is also insurance costs. I buy insurance for almost all the items that I ship.
There are many times where the actual S/H plus insurance is higher than I charge the customer. It comes from my pocket. I don't ever contact the buyer and say that they now owe me for the difference. There are times where the S/H is actually lower than what I charge. Over time, it just evens itself out.

A buyer has no right to complain if the S/H rates are disclosed up front and then they make the purchase.

If seller ships in a white envelope with a postage stamp, then that's another story.

[G1911]

I'm an American, buying mostly from American sellers. Even I get ripped off on shipping all the time. Now, I don't mind paying the X price to ship that is in the listing; I know it before hand, if it is excessive I simply don't bid. Easy

What bothers me though is when it becomes fraud. If the seller lists a $4 shipping charge and states it will ship via a method that costs somewhere around $4, that is fine. However, half the time it feels, they then actually ship it in a PWE. I actually prefer a PWE as its cheaper and I'm a low grade unimportant collector, but when they state they are shipping via a $4 method and charge $4 and then PWE it for .50 cents or whatever, that is a fraud. I've gotten tired of it and now hit them with a negative for the lies.

[timn1]

Most auction houses do the same thing - but I agree with other posters, shipping and handling are real costs for businesses. As long as they're upfront about the charges, I don't see the problem. You don't have to buy from them if it's excessive to you.

Originally Posted by Tabe

You mean they are somehow charging you more than what's specified in the listing for a shipping charge? No? Then you're not being overcharged.

[forceplay sport]

several things I consider when dealing with Ebay. One is of course feedback rating and the other is description and shipping fees, if I dont feel comfortable about these things I dont bother with them, no matter how bad I want (or need) the item. I suppose you could ask the seller about this before bidding or buying. Just my 2 cents .