eBay: Seller wants more money for s&h after auction is over?


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Hey all,

I recently purchased an item on eBay. I was the only bidder, so the item went for the low price of $10 + $20 s&h. However, after I paid for the item via Paypal, the seller contacted me and said that Fedex quoted shipping costs as $38 (more than the total the auction went for), and gave me the option of either coughing up the difference in s&h or getting a refund.

What are my options here? I feel like the seller should be contractually obligated to send me the item for the price of auction, but my hands are kind of tied unless I want to drag it through the dispute system.

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Depending on how much you want the item either complain to ebay and leave negative feedback, or just accept a refund.

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Sellers may charge reasonable shipping and handling fees to cover the costs for mailing, packaging, and handling the items they are selling. While eBay will not prescribe exactly what a seller may or may not charge, eBay will rely on member reports and its own discretion to determine whether or not a seller?s shipping, handling, packaging, and/or insurance charges are excessive. Shipping and handling fees may not be listed as a percentage of the final sale price.

Sellers who want to be sure they are in compliance with this policy may charge actual shipping costs plus actual packaging materials cost (or less).

In addition to the final listing price, sellers are permitted to charge:Actual Shipping costb>: This is the actual cost (i.e. postage) for shipping the item.Handling Feeb>: Actual packaging materials costs may be charged. A handling fee in addition to actual shipping cost may be charged if it is not excessive.Insuranceb>: Sellers offering insurance may only charge the actual fee for insurance. No additional amount may be added, such as “self-insurance”. Sellers who do not use a licensed 3rd party insurance company may not require buyers to purchase insurance. This is a violation of state law.

For cross border transactions, sellers may not collect tariffs and duties. However, buyers may be responsible for actual, applicable tariffs, and duties as requested by respective country laws. Violations of this policy may result in a range of actions, including:b>

Listing cancellation

Limits on account privileges

Account suspension

Forfeit of eBay fees on cancelled listings

Loss of PowerSeller status

Ebay Excessive Shipping Charge

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As long as your within the shipping locations and he didn't put any disclaimers saying anything about increased cost for certain places, then basically all you can do is complain to eBay and give poor feedback.

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Did he say how much the shipping would be before the auction ended? If not, then you certainly have no right to dispute it unless you can prove he's asking for far too much than he should.

All you can really do is get a refund and leave poor feedback unless you have concrete proof that it's too much.

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Then if you really want it, file a complaint with eBay and you might be able to still get it at the right shipping cost.

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I would refuse to pay it initially, and tell him that if he doesn't send you the item he's going to get reported etc. At least give him the chance to send it for the $20 before reporting, it might be a genuine mistake.

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I agree with pretty much everyone else here. It is a shipper's responsibility to find out how much an item will be to ship BEFOREHAND. If he listed a flat rate for shipping, then he is contractually obligated to ship it to you for that amount.

What the hell did you buy that costs more money to ship it than it did for the actual item?
I've had this happen with a 17" CRT monitor. I paid about $6 for the monitor, but it was about $25 to ship it.
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What the hell did you buy that costs more money to ship it than it did for the actual item?

My bf once bought a couple of A series engines for about ?1. Those would have cost a fortune for shipping! (we drove don to pick them up).

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lol... if he didn't check the shipping costs, it's his own problem. He put $20 for shipping - so that's what you're legally entitled to pay. Nothing more, nothing less. Asking for more post-auction is just cheeky.

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