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What do you do when a seller makes a profit from shipping, and not the product?
I bought an item from a seller. It was shipping in a small, one pound, plastic pouch. It was shipped via Ground Advantage via USPS. For a regular customer, who does not ship via EBay, that costs $10.65. This seller charged $16.80 for shipping. I found out through EBay, that sellers who use EBay to generate their shipping labels, they receive a shipping discount. This seller charged me more than double the amount that they actually spent on shipping. I was told, via the shipping department, that the seller had put in false dimensions and weight for this parcel, and owed me a refund. EBay has not been entirely helpful. I also found out that the customer service agent in shipping has been reprimanded for helping a buyer. Apparently, the shipping department is only there to help sellers.
Has anyone else run into this issue? The seller had ignored my messages until I involved EBay. Now, the seller has become extremely belligerent.
I am shocked that EBay only wants to help their sellers. If it weren’t for us buyers, EBay wouldn’t exist.
monroe67
Mentor9 months agoThe price for the item and the delivery (shipping) charge are clearly shown to buyers in the listings of things they might want to buy. BTW, those shipping prices include any handling charge that a seller wants to add to his/her listings.
When you (the buyer) decide to buy the item, eBay notifies you of the total amount you need to pay.
Here's an example, with hypothetical numbers as the item price and sales tax:
Plastic pouch $ 5.00
Sales tax for the state of delivery + .25
Shipping price + 16.80
TOTAL DUE $ 22.05
When you (as the buyer) pay those $22.05, you have agreed to pay $16.80 as the shipping price. You cannot demand a refund of the shipping price after you've paid.
It is possible that the seller entered incorrect box dimensions when the listing was created. But you paid what was requested, even if it was based on incorrect information.
You could contact the seller now, but he/she is not under any obligation to refund you anything.
IF you had noticed that high shipping price before you paid, and been as surprised as you are now, you could simply
not have completed the transaction. If you had contacted the seller at that point and asked if there was any way to reduce the shipping price, he/she might have realized his mistake -- if it was a mistake.
Live and learn.
lady_madonna
Mentor9 months ago>> I also found out that the customer service agent in shipping has been reprimanded for helping a buyer. <<
How did you find that out?
julau_3621
OP9 months agoThe last customer agent from EBay told me this.
eburtonlab
Mentor9 months agoSellers are not required to lose money or break even on shipping, nor are they required to refund overages. The cost of shipping entails more than just the cost of the shipping label; it may also include packing materials, handling and transportation to the post office.
Most buyers understand that the total cost of a purchase may involve shipping and taxes, not just the item price, and buyers should take those other costs into consideration when deciding how much to bid or offer, or whether to buy. In the vast majority of cases for individual purchases, the exact shipping charge is displayed prior to committing to the purchase, and presumably the buyer knows the sales tax rate in the buyer's own location and can add that to the total. For multiple item purchases where shipping may be combined, or where freight shipping may be involved, it may be up to the buyer to contact the seller or a freight company in advance if the buyer wants to know how much shipping will cost up front.
All other things being equal, it may matter to you personally whether the breakdown between item price and shipping is $100 item and $0 shipping, $90 item and $10 shipping, or $1 item and $99 shipping, but for most purposes for most buyers, and for the purposes of eBay's fee calculation, those are all equivalent.
If shipping is not taxed in the buyer's state, the buyer may actually favor the last case, as that would entail a slightly lower cost than the first two.