Druss

So I was interested in a set of tires (2 paddle tires) on ebay, the shipping was via USPS Priority to Canada for $20 (which is not worth it when I can get them new for almost that much) so I asked for shipping via First Class which is much lower if a bit riskier due to there being no tracking.

As a note I have received hundreds of items from the US using First Class and have never had any problems. It takes longer but I always give 5 stars for shipping time, the only time I don't is when it takes them over a week to actually ship it.

So I get my First Class shipping cost and actually win the auction, the seller sends me an invoice with the shipping cost that was listed on the auction, I told him to check his messages as he had agreed to ship via First Class for a lower amount BEFORE the auction ended. He gets all pissed off and starts talking about having to fill out forms (10 seconds or online) and having to take the item to the post office (which he has to do anyway)... etc. so then he offers to offer it to the next highest bidder or go halfway between what he had promised in the email and the listed shipping cost. At this point I am a little pissed myself as it's now only a few dollars less than buying new but whatever, it's not worth getting in a fight so I say "sure, offer it to the next guy, if he doesn't want it then send me a new invoice for the compromised shipping cost". NO response for a week then I get a notice of an unpaid item dispute...

So the dispute process goes on and by now I'm REALLY pissed so I tell him that he just lost ANY chance of a positive feedback by pulling this stunt. At BEST he was getting a neutral BUT that it would not matter if he cancelled the sale. He's still being a jerk and says that the shipping is as per the listing making no comments about the agreed upon lower shipping or even the compromise (didn't want to put it in writing in the dispute process). I keep replying but no more replies from him and then the time limit ends and I get an unpaid item strike. Of course I appeal it sending ebay the email showing, first the agreed lower price, then the compromise.

Within 15 minutes I get a message stating that the unpaid item strike has been removed.

I find that most seller and buyers on ebay in this hobby are pretty good. Most of use are just trying to get a few bucks back to spend on some more RC (typically). Then you get the greedy (*#$(*& that are trying to make a profit and want to squeeze every single dime from you.

IF YOU AGREE TO SOMETHING THEN FOLLOW THROUGH, BE A MAN AND SUCK IT UP.

end of rant...

redfisher1974

Thats good they came throught so fast,I too buy alot off of ebay and hardly ever have problems.

Jailbird1818

My Feedback: (5)

That's good to hear things worked out for you. I have a bunch of bad experiances but I'm not giong to jack your thread. It's so suprizing the stunts sellers try to pull when their reputation on ebay is at stake. I know as a seller myself, I'll do everything possible to keep a good seller/buyer relationship. If I have run my butt off to get to the post office at 5 min untill close, so be it. I got paid and the buyer is happy.

-JB

Druss

The thing is that I can understand some handling fees but I've also dealt with many sellers who charge exactly what USPS charges and consider the time, packaging... etc. as a part of doing business on ebay (this is what I do, I'm the one that decided to sell on ebay knowing full well the time and costs involved).

So I can order a really small item which one seller will charge $2 for shipping (actual cost) and another seller who wants $8 for the exact same item. Does the second seller deserve 5 stars for shipping cost? I don't think so. It's not an absolute scale but a comparitive one. The guys who charge the exact shipping fee plus maybe $2 as "handling" get 5 stars. The others get less. I once paid $20 for shipping Priority and the box came First Class and said $5 shipping on it... the guy would not refund anything so I gave him a 1 star for shipping price.

I've also had sellers who have voluntarily given me refunds after the item shipped because it cost less then they expected without me even requesting it. There should be an option to give an extra star for guys like this who go out of their way to keep customers happy.

Jailbird1818

My Feedback: (5)

I know what you are talking about Druss. It realy gets me when someone sells something for $90 plus $10 s/h. Then someone else is selling the exact same thing for $50 plus $50 s/h. Is anyone realy that dumb to think they are getting a deal by buying from seller #2? I have shipped a lot of stuff international and it is a bit more work but if it bothered me, I would only sell domestic. I think alot of it is just people trying to make an easy buck. I try to use the flat-rate box as much as I can so the shipping is the same. It's sellers like those that give ebay a bad name.

-JB

Druss

When someone decides to sell international it only helps them really. One thing to keep in mind is that even with the higher shipping costs, buying from the US tends to be cheaper than buying locally, whether used or new. So it only makes sense to open up the auction to 10 times more people who might bid on it. Sure it might take a bit more time for the customs form but really it's a 3 word description, the cost and a signature.

What really does bug me is when someone lists something as free shipping to the US only... but does not take that into account for international. So say an item costs $10 ship in the US but $30 to ship international, to me it just makes sense that you'd charge $20 to ship international because then it makes the auction fair for everyone.

All this is true regardless of where you actually live, I'm only using the US as an example because I've only ever bought from the Canada, US, HK/China and the UK.