Seller includes an additional shipping cost in the description of the item

[franlpezb-63]

Hi!

I'm new to ebay and bid in some auctions of the same seller. The prices were reasonable and the shipping costs as well. Checking the description I see that they charge an extra 6£ (that doubles the shipping costs) to some countries: Spain, Russia, Mexico and Brasil. (I'm in Spain).

Ebay policy and rules are unclear but I don't think it is legitimate to charge a mandatory extra shipping cost and hid it in the description.

I talked to ebay using the chat and the lady said it was alright because its an international transaction. Spain is part of the EU and not a separate entity in terms of trading partners so I don't see how the extra would be applied to Spain and not to Portugal, for example. In addition, this extra is not listed as international fees or anything, it is listed in a section titled mandatory tracking but the actual reason why they charge the extra to these countries is not mentioned.

Could someone help me? If I were to win these auctions and they do send an invoice with the extra shipping cost, what can I do? Do I have to pay? Can I cancel the order? Is this practice legitimate? I truly doubt it

Thank you! 

[whgamer]

I do not know, but I can guess on some things. Some people may ship to specific Countries, but only with shipping services providing extra Insurance, Tracking# etc, etc.. These things do cost extra. And maybe the seller have had bad experiences earlier to some specific locations, so he/she can have some precautions and for extra security.

Do you have to pay for your won item(s)? Well, yes, of course.

Can you Cancel the Order? Well, yes, I believe you can. But that you should take up with your Seller, and you surely needs to have a good reason for it. But then again, why would you Cancel an Order you actually genuinely is bidding on and won? Anyway, don´t make it in to some kind of habit.

[martin2001]

It is against ebay policy to list extra shipping charges in other than the shipping & payment section of the auction page. The shipping charges should be clear without the buyer needing to read the description. The seller may decide to include the insurance and other cost in the shipping, but not via the description.

You can cancel an order even if you win the auction. You don't have to pay and you won't incur any  'bad points'  from ebay. However, don't make a habit of it, if you do it often, ebay may take some measures against you. Make sure you read the shipping charges under the "shipping & payment"  tab. The seller may charge extra for each additional item (if they combine shipments) etc.

[tdumonde2014]

How does a buyer cancel a transaction? Do you have a link to this policy where a buyer is now able to cancel a transaction? Also a link to the policy where a buyer won't get any "Bad Points" if they don't pay.

[no_zero369]

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@martin2001 wrote:

It is against ebay policy to list extra shipping charges in other than the shipping & payment section of the auction page. The shipping charges should be clear without the buyer needing to read the description. The seller may decide to include the insurance and other cost in the shipping, but not via the description.

You can cancel an order even if you win the auction. You don't have to pay and you won't incur any  'bad points'  from ebay. However, don't make a habit of it, if you do it often, ebay may take some measures against you. Make sure you read the shipping charges under the "shipping & payment"  tab. The seller may charge extra for each additional item (if they combine shipments) etc.

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@martin2001 

um, er, ah,  I have a different take on the advice you gave.

First, a buyer can NEVER cancel an order or a transaction - ever.  Buyers can REQUEST the seller cancel the transaction, but any 'cancellation' a buyer makes is only a request and the seller is free to ignore the request.

Second, once a buyer has committed to buy they have a legal contract and obligation to pay.  If a buyer does not pay, then the seller will file a Unpaid Item against the buyer.  The buyer who doesn't pay does get a strike or 'bad points' from eBay.  Ring up enough Unpaids and a buyer could be sanctioned by eBay: loose MBG protection, have their account suspended or permanent ban.

Members must pay for the items they win or buy on eBay within 2 days of committing to the purchase.

• Unpaid items are considered a violation of our buying policies. All unpaid items are recorded on a buyer’s account. Buyers who have excessive unpaid items, or cancelled transactions, may have limits imposed, or lose their buying privileges.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/payment-policies/unpaid-item-policy?id=4271&st=12&pos=2&query=Unp...

To cancel an order – whether it's a Buy It Now purchase or you've won an auction – you'll need to contact the seller and ask if they can cancel it for you.

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/canceling-order/cancel-order?id=4004&st=12&pos=1&query=Cancel%20an%...

[franlpezb-63]

I think there was a certain missunderstanding. If I win an auction I pay for the price agreed on, not for the extras they decide to charge unilaterally later on.

If you acquire a compromise to pay a certain amount and then an extra is charged without it being specified in the price tag, then it is more like a scam, not a contract. You go to a shop and ask for the price of something and they say 5 and you are going to pay and they say it is 6... then you tell me.

Finally I didn't have to pay cause I didn't win the auction, but the thing is, in the description they also say that if you pay for the actual price you agreed on -without that extra that they would include in the invoice later on- they cancel the order (without expliciting that they'd issue a refund).

If I win an auction, I agreed on a price and increasing it in the description is a scammy practice. If you are only sending via tracking system, then in shipping costs you need to put the actual price you charge.

This seller in particular is a big seller, this is, not a vulnerable individual.
In addition, Ebay has a protection of the seller section in their rules, not a protection of the buyer one. And without it being too clear, I believe that they cannot list additional costs in the description. International shipping may imply higher costs, but they'll be on you as the buyer in an international transaction (taxes on imports and currency exchanges). What we are discussing here is a very different thing. 

[franlpezb-63]

Remember, I'm talking about not paying the extra, paying just the price agreed on.

In the description they say that If I win an auction for 20 (price+shipping), they'll send an invoice for 26 and if I pay the 20 agreed on, then they'll cancel (without specifying if a refund is going to be issued)

This is not about protecting a seller, but about a scammy practice.

[franlpezb-63]

If they unilaterally charge an extra without my saying so then it is not a legitimate business practice.

I'd pay for the price agreed on the auction, not the extra. See my other answers to other comments, there I explain the issue in detail, but thanks for your answer! 🙂

[ltopciu]

I filter by shipping to location and free shipping. Anything that is added is **bleep** and I refuse to purchase the items, they can open a million cases against me or whatever, it's not what I bid for so I will not pay a hidden randomly added fee