Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Suprise Extra Shipping Charge On Ebay

I recently purchased an item off ebay that was fairly large and it was naturally going to cost a good amount to ship which I knew in advance. The amount I agreed to when buying the item was 127$. Yesterday I received a message from the seller telling me he shipped the item and it cost him more so he is sending me an extra invoice for the extra amount it cost and I have to pay it. I sent him a message that basically said sorry not paying this because we agreed you would ship for this amount when the listing ended.

I then called ebay and they told me that in a situation like this EBAY will FORCE me to pay him the extra money. The only way out of this is if I just ship the item back. Personally I feel violated because of this and truthfully I would have possibly paid the extra amount if the guy had asked me first rather than just shipping it putting me in a position where I am forced to pay for it or force to pay return shipping. I was wondering if anyone has ever had this happen to them. I personally never have, but if ebay is going to allow this how do I know the next seller wont bill me for 100 or 200 extra dollars after the sale and after he or she has shipped it?

I was going to say something negative about e bay but I will refrain in doing so....I agree with you that is totally wrong and you should not have to pay that.

I have shipped many large items and In most of my ads on ebay I state will not know the exact amount till after the auction ends. I sometimes think that I have the correct amount when I put in the shipping charge. I have at this point never been right, shipping is always more for larger items and it is a problem with me as well as he buyers. I do try to explain that though when emailing after a purhase or as some one asks before bidding. Even small items I have been on the short end too many times now.
The ebay thing is tough though, as they are looking out for buyers whom have been taken advantage of in the past. Also they are making more money on the shipping charges, which is self serving for them.
Just what I have seen.

I have never had that happen to me on eBay. To me as a seller I never charge more than what I say I will ship it for. It's not good business in my book. If it cost me more than I eat the cost if I quoted it cheaper. I recently sold a oil can and I quoted a price but then had to ship it ups which cost me more. I actually made no money because of it, but the way I look at it as it all comes out in the wash and a happy customer is a return customer.

I understand how you feel. The problem is that no matter how carefully a seller tries to get an accurate shipping rate, most times, it is not correct. I too have absorbed the excess in all cases but there comes a time when it becomes too much. I agree that communication was not good between both parties. That being said, cancel the Ebay buy and ship it back if you feel so strongly about it? Otherwise, I think you have learned an expensive lesson. Good Luck with whatever you do. Paul www.severngaspumps.com

I AGREE with s932 I just eat the extra shipping charges just the way it is. I sometimes make a little and occasionally lose some.

How much more is he trying to charge you? did he ship the item already? if not tell him to keep it because you entered into an agreement with them now they are trying to change the agreement after the fact seems like bad business.

most of these instances are caused by lack of research or laziness by the seller. It's very easy to 'closely' estimate shipping. If a seller fails to take the time to correctly estimate it, then they should be decent enough to eat the overage.

pretty simple, figure out the box you are going to use before listing, and then calculate shipping to one of the coasts. you'll lose on some, and come ahead on others... should all even out. I once sold an old bicycle on ebay, I charged $110 shipping... it ended up costing me $225. but I realized it was my fault, no reason that should go to the buyer.

refuse the package when it gets to your door, the carrier will automatically return it and you wont be liable for anything

Well here is whaat upsets me the most about this. I had no say in it at all. The item was shipped for this extra amount and then he sent me a message saying hey shipped it out here's the extra cost sent it to you in an invoice. Then to top it off ebay tells me we will force you to pay this, even though I never agreed to pay an extra charge.

I can tell you as a seller I have shipped items before that I have lost a lot on but here is the thing it was my fault for not getting my lazy butt off the couch and taking it to the ups or usps store to double check myself. I do not feel that I should punish my buyer because I was too lazy to take the item to the local ups or post office to check myself. And also I feel that I have entered into an agreement with that buyer that I will ship the item for the amount listed.

Also the fee was minimal an extra 27 dollars but my problem is with the fact that I was not even asked if this was okay. And now if I do not want to pay that I have ship it back which will ccost me 150 which he does not have to pay.He was a week late with shipping it and the whole time I was communicating with him. Then I am also upset because even though I entered into an agreement with this guy that it would cost this much to ship ebay tells me basically it does not matter what the original agreement is it can be changed. So what is to keep sellers from sending excessive amounts for "extra shipping charges" in the future like 100 extra dollars? Nothing I guess because ebay will force you to pay that.

Naturally the answer to this is pay the 27$ extra fee but to me it is more about my rights than the fee.

Frankly, I am surprised that ebay has sided with the seller on this. Usually it is the seller that gets it in the shorts on most deals involving returns or adjustments. Maybe they have changed their tune now that they get a piece of every dollar that changes hands, including the shipping. I always thought that if the seller posted a flat rate for shipping that the shipping was that amount...end of story. Guess times are changing. One thing I would try is to call ebay back a couple of times and see what different ebay people say about it. Maybe the ebay person you talked to was new or clueless in the matter. The latter is very possible. If you buy an item and it is not as represented, ebay makes sure the buyer gets a refund for everything, including return shipping in most cases. This is just a strange case if we know all the facts. Good luck....GB

If the item was shipped UPS, I believe you can refuse the package and it will go back to the sender free of charge.

Never heard of ebay MAKING someone pay more, after they (the buyer) have already paid. The seller can ask for more, but ebay doesn't force the buyer to pay extra afterwords. A seller can adjust the shipping amount after the sale, but not after the buyer has paid. If seller finds out shipping is more than expected and has not shipped out item yet, the can ASK for more or request to cancel the transaction, but I've never heard of ebay MAKING the buyer pay more after the sale and after it was shipped.

Also, never heard of one being able to send an extra/second invoice just for shipping, unless it was a paypal invoice they sent you...???

I just tried setting up an invoice on ebay, to people who have bought/paid from me recently... and can't do so. Not to say your BS'ing us jwood7, but something is fishy here.

...I never heard of someone sending the item, THEN asking for more money...seems to me the seller had the option of sending you an email, BEFORE he sent the item, explaining the circumstances...

I looked at it again it is a separate invoice through pay pal, but from the two ebay "specialtist" I talked to they informed me that "In a case like this I must pay the difference or ebay will make me pay this and they do not want that to happen so the best way to fix this problem is just pay the difference". Those were the exact words of the phone call I dealt with. Even the second guy I talked to after I asked to speak to someone else told me that the only two real options I had at this point because he already shipped it were pay the fee or return the item. But he did at least say that he finds this very strange that the seller did not ask me before shipping the item if this was okay. Which I believe would lead them into looking into this matter more?

But now that I realize this is a pay pal invoice and not an ebay invoice how can ebay force me to pay this like the ebay guy said? I mean I know ebay and pay pal are linked together but this makes no sense to me. And even more I went back to look at this guys feedback he had a few other people that have left negative feedback about this happening. (That stated I should have looked at his ebay feedback first which is my fault)

However, I did not realize I can refuse a package through UPS and that is what I will do so thank you Ryan for telling me that because it will fix the problem completely.

Call UPS to double check, but I am almost 100 percent positive that you can refuse it.

Ebay must have changed policies, I've had that happen twice and both times Ebay sided with me. First time seller contacted me immediatly and asked if I wanted refund on purchase price and cancel deal or pay more ?, I contacted Ebay and they said nope he has to sell and ship at original cost and suggusted I "open a case against seller" I contacted him and relayed message and he agreed to send out, he was so polite and humble his attitude was "lesson learned, cost of business etc." I ended up sending him half of new cost just because he made it so easy to deal with.
second time not as easy, guy was real jerk ! did't ship for 2 weeks and let several emails go unanswered, finally answered and told me shipping would cost more than entire deal made him and would I like to pay over $100 more or no deal. he was rude and abbrasive ! again I contacted Ebay and was told same thing, placing a bid and winning is entering into a contract and he has to ship at agreed cost or I could open case, leave negative feedback etc etc. Several unanswered and several rude emails later, (took weeks) with Ebays involvment he reluctantly sent item. It was poorly packaged, and broken ! obviously sending me a message so this time I did open a case against him and again with Ebays help ended up getting replacement part shipped at no aditional cost !
Buying or selling on ebay is again entering into a contract which should not be able to be changed by either party or we're all on a slippery slope, where does it end ? should a seller be able to charge more because it was snowing and it took him 3 hrs to get to post office ? or can a buyer change mind and say sorry I think I payed to much or have buyers remorse ? no. there needs to be protection for both sides of deal and honor between a buyer and seller. "Shipping costs estimated" or charging more and offering refund seem acceptable, but to ship a item then demand more is unexceptable.
just one man's long opinion, sorry/thanks

63shelby what type of case did you open? That is what I really need and when I contacted ebay they told me the only case I could open was a item as not described case in which I would have to return the item. Needless to say this post is far more helpful than 2 hours on ebay.

I even was under the same assumption that if you buy something it is a contractual agreement that you will send the item for that amount. I brought that up several times to which I got a long pause on the phone and the answer of you can return the item if you like.

I don't think you can refuse delivery of a UPS package unless it was sent with a "signature required" designation and you refuse to sign it. Since they could care less if you are there to receive a package anymore and leave stuff on the porch, in the garage, with a neighbor, etc., I believe that you still have to ship back an unwanted parcel unless it is damaged. This all changed when they stopped requiring someone to sign for packages and started just having the driver scan the package when it was delivered. If you are there when it is delivered and can get the driver to take it back if it's not damaged you will be lucky. If you happen to be gone when they deliver it, forget it. I could be wrong on this, but we ship an average of 75 parcels a day in our business and I can't recall anyone ever simply refusing a shipment unless it was a COD or signature required shipment. This is why we constantly have people call and claim to have never received their order only to find out that the driver left it at the wrong address or on the porch and the dog carried it off. The driver said it was delivered, so they are always right and never liable for our loss.....GB

If you go on ebay under "customer support" tab there's a link to "resolution center", it gets a little confusing at that point I remember clicking the "my problem is not listed here" tab then being able to type my responce or grievance. If you read through it and follow links and instructions you can figure it out. There will even be a link in there with a number to contact "ebay resolution center" witch is who you should have been speaking with in first place, you could have been talking to some kid who just started working there giving you bad advice. To be honest it was a pain in the butt for a realitivly small amount of money and it took a while but I felt cheated, then I was disrespected ! so I took the time to see it through and in the end it worked out, to me it wasnt the money but the principal of it.

eBay makes money on shipping charges. Seller should have contacted you FIRST before making the decision to ship the item

eBay never ceases to amaze me. The reason they say "and they do not want that to happen so the best way to fix this problem is just pay the difference" is because it will be more trouble than it's worth for them to somehow force you to pay, which the whole thing seems too preposterous to even be legal.

It's just a shame the package got damaged in shipment due to poor packaging, or maybe it was damaged when they sent it. Now you'll have to open a claim against the buyer to get all your money back.

Jon, not trying to start something here.

With the utmost humility and respect; I just want to suggest that we look at this from a different point of view for a second.

Why is no one considering the flip side of the coin? Whatever happened to being fair and compassionate? Why should the seller be losing $27.00?

I'm not a rich guy...but, I would never want to deprive another person of $27.00. Even, if I were poor and broke; I wouldn't want to deprive someone of their money. $27.00 may be of more utility to that seller then me...we never know another person's circumstances. Some people struggle everyday, we are the fortunate ones to have the extra funds to be collecting.

Whether they misquoted the shipping or not. If when the package arrives and I can confirm the extra shipping charges or the seller sends me a copy of the invoice. Once, I am able to confirm the shipping rate, then it's only fair that I pay it. If the ad didn't promise free shipping; shipping is my responsibility. I fail to be convinced that the seller should be out the monies.

I'm 46 years old and I can honestly say that in my life time, I have seen to much change for the worse! What happened to our moral duty to be fair and an example to our children?

I tend to agree with you most of the time but I think you are way off this time. The seller clearly had a shipping charge listed in his ad. buyer bid and paid what seller stated the shipping would be. seller shipped item and then asked for more money after because he failed to provide accurate information. Seller should have contacted the buyer prior to shipping the item not after. I base my bids on the total price including shipping. what if seller said it would be an extra hundred bucks for shipping. does that still seem reasonable to you?
That's just my opinion though...

I have had it also where the shipping was in the ad, but the problem is not everyone is 100 miles away, especially on a larger item. I am with Dave on this one, if it was a mistake and if in fact as stated you see a larger shipping charge, then why not pay it. I have even refunded people money because the shipping charge came in under.

...with Dave. - The sellerdidn't handle it well, but doesn't seem like he is trying to shake you down. I would pay it and move on.

This is not even my post but I am involved at this point and since it has to do with a responce I gave I'd like to answer Dave.
Your first question, why should seller be out $27 ? because he made the "honest mistake" thats why. Why should Jon be out $27 he made no mistake, he made the deal shook the mans hand so to speak, and he paid. Only to be told later deals diffrent, pay more ? not right.
And for what possible reason should he ? because maybe MAYBE he has more money than the other guy because he's a collector ? who knows his circimstance...maybe he saved for weeks-months to purchase this item and thats absoutely all he has ? I sure don't know, doesn't matter anyway..guy could me a millionair, if he buys something for 5 bucks than he pays 5 bucks not 7 because he can "afford to". Has absoutley nothing to do with compasion or morality.
Is the example you suggust we make for our children is even if they make a mistake they don't have to take responsibility as long as the other party is better off that they are ? that's not compasion. I believe example to be setting for out children is if you look a man in his eye, shake his hand/make a deal you stick to it period, not only if you got the best deal. In this deal seller made mistake, seller should own up to his mistake.
As you stated, I mean no disrespect and not trying to start anything Sir...just seeing things a little diffrent than you are.

He said after looking at the sellers feedback the sell has done this extra charge before. That tells me that it is NOT a mistake in computing the shipping charge. I always refund any over payment on shipping charges when I sell on ebay and eat the shortages when I am wrong. . When ever I buy online the shipping charges must be listed or I don't buy the item. Everyone wants to make money on shipping charges and that is WRONG!

I agree with {Tom}
I just had this happen to me. I paid for my lesson and the sellers laziness and a lot of packing. The seller stated in the listing that the e-bay shipping cost was wrong and the buyer would pay whatever it cost. Too lazy to correct it. I should have not bid because it leaves an open contract, but I did. I won the item, I agreed the shipping of $6.15 was too low. I e-mailed the guy and said it should be under $20. Based on what others were charging for similar item it ranged from 10 to 18 dollars. I put the size and weight of a similar item I have in the postal service calculator. It came up $32 for one day air and $10.29 two day ground. I did his homework for him.
He shipped it and said the best he could find was $32, too lazy to really check. He sent an invoice threw pay pal. I paid it. Not worth the hassle for a third of the shipping cost.
I learned don't bid unless all the costs are stated up front. It means they have done their homework and if not they should take the loss.
Here is a picture of the box I received and the item. I don't doubt it cost $32 bucks to send. But what a waste. I also received a bunch of paper that is still in the box as filler.

File a complaint w/ PayPal, item was not shipped as advertised. IF PP says to Return You will receive a Full Refund including Shipping Both ways!
Let the seller eat their mistake. Live & Learn or quit selling on internet.

ok, so you don't buy the item and another seller offers you the same item, same price but shipping is $154 instead of $127, and you know that's an accurate charge. The question then is would you still buy it? If so I say pay the extra and be happy with your purchase, if not then refuse the package or one of the other options mentioned, maybe that's too simple but that's what I would do.

Straight off the UPS website.



Return or Refuse Delivery
Can I request a Return to Sender or refuse delivery of a package?

Yes, however you must wait until after the first delivery attempt to request a Return to Sender.

Return to Sender

If you missed the first delivery attempt, your driver probably left a UPS InfoNotice indicating a delivery attempt had been made. Using the UPS InfoNotice, you can choose from up to four delivery change options; Will Call (Hold for Pickup), Delivery to Another Address, Reschedule Delivery, or Return to Sender. To begin, select the Tracking link below and enter your 12-digit InfoNotice number (found above the bar code) in the Tracking or InfoNotice field, and select the Track button.
If the package was delivered to a neighbor or released without a signature and has not been opened, you have five business days from the day of delivery to request a Return to Sender. After five business days you will need to contact the shipper.


Refuse Delivery

If you are home at the time of the delivery attempt, you can refuse delivery of the package.

You can refuse delivery from UPS or the post office, Simply say, I did not order this item and it gets returned.

I had a 42" sign trade going on, The reciever opened my package slid his 42" sign in and called UPS and said he did not order package. It was returned to me with another $100. charge. The other party did pay the $100. when he found out I was charged.

I have a PO Box and when getting my mail I am always seeing people refuse packages, they just stamp "return to sender" and its done.

Didn't Elvis sing about that.

I still feel about an inch tall for that mistake. I never called UPS however. No BS....it was the delivery driver that told me there wouldn't be a return charge & even watched me switch them. Those were the largest signs I ever dealt with shipping. Rushed into it head first & ate it hard because I didn't do My own research. That was the first & last time.

Ryan, thanks for posting the UPS return info. I guess the best way to work the UPS return system is to make sure your aren't there when they deliver a package that you might want to return. That way, you will have five days to decide whether or not you want to keep it and then, as long as its not damaged and in the original packaging, you can call them and say you refuse shipment and send it back. But, if you refuse a shipment the shipping back to the seller will also be charged to said seller. Thus it cost the seller both ways. While UPS might post all of these options on their website, I've learned from experience that nothing is simple when it comes to dealing with them on any issue out of the ordinary. Just sayin....GB

I want to thank everyone for there help I called ebay again today after hearing so many people saying that this seemed strange. Apparently whoever talked to me yesterday did not understand what ebay procedures are for this because the new representative today told me that I do not have to pay this fee and ebay cannot make me pay this. I did report the other customer service agents who helped me yesterday because they apparently did not understand ebay protocol for this situation at all, though I doubt anything will be done to them for being very negligent. I also reported the seller because I believe this was a shady way to do business.

Again thanks to everyone who shared their story about their experiences because if it had not been for this thread I would not have made another call again today. It does not suprise me that this seller has gotten away with before considering ebay's customer service is so negligent.

Glad to hear you to it figured out. Sometimes it takes two or three calls to these big impersonal companies to get the straight scoop.

Glad it worked out, well hopefully anyhow.

I'd still like to give my 2c.

I agree with Tom 100%. You have to consider the total of how much you want to pay for your widget, bid and shipping. If your max is $400 with shipping, why should you be asked, or especially required to now pay over your max? You did your job as a buyer. The seller could have easily calculated correct shipping cost before placing the auction or informing you their shipping cost was more prior to sending the widget. If they would have done that then I would have to say it's an honest mistake and do what your conscience tells you to do. BUT, the seller made all the wrong decisions.
I often ate some on shipping costs, and always refunded over calculated charges. That was when I sold on eBay, but I don't do any more.

Glad to hear this worked out correctly for you. In the past I have sent the seller (via PayPal) the difference if they under charged me for shipping however it never amounted to more than about $9.00. This was never prompted/demanded/asked for by the seller. Only if the deal felt right through good communication/fast shipping/well packed and undamaged item, would I do this. Anymore the shipping labels I get don't show the cost so I don't know actual shipping on these items.

Ed

Personally, I would prefer to pay a couple extra bucks for an item that is well packed and protected. I've had many items arrive damaged due to "bare minimum" packaging. I'll bet that item cost that seller more than that to package and send.

This is what I would have expected in the first place. It seemed odd to me that as a buyer you could be held responsible by eBay for anything beyond the contractual agreement in the auction sale. And it's good you reported the seller, seeing as this action was "normal" for him based on feedback makes me wonder why eBay hasn't limited his selling ability.

A reasonable seller should always be as accurate as possible in shipping costs in their listings. If you're going to sell an odd shaped or larger item then establishing the box size and weight prior to the listing is critical to determining accurate shipping costs. And going out to UPS/USPS/FedEx sites and getting quotes to the most distant locations will help determine unforeseen fees like fuel surcharges or over-sized package charges.

I've ate my share of shipping differences, and when an item has been inordinately more expensive I let the buyer know and give them the choice of paying 1/2 the difference or cancelling the sale and I eat the fees involved.

Your seller is just plain shady sending the extra charge so often... hopefully eBay will take a closer look at him now.

I have returned one item from UPS. The box had damage. I quickly opened the top , pulled the sign out by a foot and pushed it back in the box it was mangled. I got the driver before he left. It was a good packing job and it was clear the damage was caused by the shipper.

I e-mailed the seller and told him about the damage and that it was being returned and he would have to put in a claim against UPS. He was nice enough to offer me another but it had a small spot of damage. I could not believe he had another and excepted. It came with no problems and I was very happy with it.

Glad this worked out for you. Was shocked when I read your original post, have been on eBay for 13 years myself and have never heard of this. I also have made a deal on EBay selling car parts and the shipping was way more than I estimated. Just had to send them anyway and eat the extra shipping. As the seller it is my job to make sure the deal is square on my end.

Over the years it seems EBay has gotten less customer friendly in my opinion.

Michael

The way I was brought up is if its my mistake, I pay for it. But if the seller contacted me and told me about it, I would probably pay the extra charge or at least split it with him. If it was a real hardship for the seller, he should have at least contacted you. Just common sense and the Golden Rule.
I do have to say that I have begun to ignore my parent's advice to give people the benefit of the doubt. There are way too many people like this seller seeking to take advantage of people and its hard to tell who is a crook and who just made an honest mistake. Sad reality. Glad this worked out for you and am glad you didn't back down and let him get away with it. Scumbag.
John