This is a first for me

[Archive]

Posted By: Rob D.

On Tuesday morning I was the high bidder on a $1,200 card on eBay. As I usually do with sellers who accept PayPal, within a few minutes of the end of the auction I paid using the automatic checkout (in this case it was a third-party system that totals the amount -- Auctiva maybe? -- used by the seller that eventually sent me to PayPal so I could make the payment).

The shipping and handling charges were listed at checkout, as was the optional charge for insurance, which I paid. Late Wednesday night, after not hearing anything from the seller, I sent him a note asking to confirm that he received payment and did he know when the card would be shipped. This morning I received a reply that the card will ship tomorrow, along with a sarcastic comment "thanks for leaving me with the tax."

Both the seller and I are in the same state, so I totally understand the tax issue. But nowhere in his listing does it mention that Ohio residents must pay sales tax -- and most important (I think) -- he didn't have it factored into this own checkout form! But in his mind it's the buyer's fault for not computing the state tax and including it in the payment.

I wrote him back offering to pay the tax, but man, this seller has a 3,000-plus feedback rating, so it's not like he's an eBay newbie. So now I'll be sweating the safe arrival of the card for the next few days.