Seller increased shipping cost after auctions ended :(

[missjen831]

Well this is a first for me. I've read many stories of this happening but am finally experiencing it myself! I won 2 auctions from the same seller last night. Parcel Select shipping was $7.10 and $7.10. Just went to pay and I see that the seller sent an invoice with a $16 shipping cost. Now math was always my worst subject but isn't 7.10 + 7.20=$14.30?

I was already suspicious because I had bid on 2 or 3 other listings from this seller & got outbid and on one of them, I was sent a second change offer just minutes after the auction ended and today I see the seller has relisted several auctions that ended with winners yesterday including the one I received a SCO on. Looked at the sellers sold listings to see if the same bidder won the  auctions that were relisted and sure enough, they did. And this bidder has a bid history of 95% with this seller......maybe the winning bidder backed out. Maybe it was a friend shilling. We will never know. Only thing that bums me out is, if the seller doesn't send me a new invoice, I can't neg her if she files UIDs. I know the strikes will be easily removed but it stinks that I can't neg her to warn others. I don't like leaving negs but this seller kind of deserves it if she's not going to do the right thing.

[pburn]

Can you request a cancellation? Or do you really want the items?

I thought the seller "couldn't" change the shipping cost after the fact. Guess I was wrong! They can apparently change it if an invoice is involved . . .

So, let me ask you this: could you have paid for each auction immediately--and separately--and been charged only the advertised shipping? Did you ask for the invoice, assuming shipping would be less? And then they charged you more? If so, that's adding insult to injury, IMO.

But you did contact her and ask about the shipping, right? You asked for a new, "corrected" invoice? Let us know if/when you hear back from the scoundrel.

[missjen831]

Sellers can send an invoice and change the shipping cost post sale. That’s what she did. The item description said to wait for a combined invoice so that’s what I did. I didn’t ask to cancel. It’s only a $1.70 difference so I might just pay it. I am definitely not going to ask to cancel though, it would let her off the hook and if I left negative feedback, it would be removable. I could have paid for each one separately last night before she sent an invoice and paid the original cost. I would have been fine paying $14.30. Guess I shouldn’t have waited for an invoice 🙂

[njrtsr]

Hi Jen, sorry this happened to you. Only happened to me once out of hundreds (thousands?!) of purchases and there wasn't really any recourse for me either if I wanted the items.

About the potential shill bidding. From past experience I have learned to request a lower price in response to a second chance offer, usually one bid increment above the bidder below me. I tell the seller "no offense, but I would have won this a lot cheaper if the guy who chickened out on paying didn't bid". So if someone bid 30, you bid 50, and someone else outbid you, I would offer to pay something like 31 instead of 50. If seller refuses, oh well, but I won't be taken advantage of by shill bidders 🙂

[mudshark61369]

@missjen831,

It is possible the two items combined into a larger box could have weighed more and  increased the dimensions of one side of the new box to over 12 inches, thus raising the cost.  Each item alone if they weighed more than 8oz would put the shipping weight at over 2lbs in the 2-3lb range, which means you pay for a 3lb package.  Then add the weight of the larger box and possible packing material.  If one dimension of the box goes over 12" that can increase postage as well.   Sometimes combining items doesn't save money when calculated shipping is used.

[missjen831]

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@mudshark61369 wrote:

@missjen831,

It is possible the two items combined into a larger box could have weighed more and  increased the dimensions of one side of the new box to over 12 inches, thus raising the cost.  Each item alone if they weighed more than 8oz would put the shipping weight at over 2lbs in the 2-3lb range, which means you pay for a 3lb package.  Then add the weight of the larger box and possible packing material.  If one dimension of the box goes over 12" that can increase postage as well.   Sometimes combining items doesn't save money when calculated shipping is used.

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It doesn’t matter. The calculated cost was $7.10 and $7.20. It was 2 separate listings. The seller sent an invoice with an increased cost, it wasn’t the shipping calculator that did this. If she shipping them together required a bigger box that made the postage cost increase, she should have told me that before she sent the invoice. And everything will easily fit in a medium flat rate box. She can ship them separately also, seeing as how I didn’t actually ask for combined shipping. 

[missjen831]

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@njrtsr wrote:
Hi Jen, sorry this happened to you. Only happened to me once out of hundreds (thousands?!) of purchases and there wasn't really any recourse for me either if I wanted the items.

About the potential shill bidding. From past experience I have learned to request a lower price in response to a second chance offer, usually one bid increment above the bidder below me. I tell the seller "no offense, but I would have won this a lot cheaper if the guy who chickened out on paying didn't bid". So if someone bid 30, you bid 50, and someone else outbid you, I would offer to pay something like 31 instead of 50. If seller refuses, oh well, but I won't be taken advantage of by shill bidders 🙂

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Thank you! I’ve got a few hundred purchases under my belt too, I guess there is a first time for everything 🙂

thats a a great suggestion! I wish I had thought of that. I declined the SCO because I won the other 2 auctions. I didn’t want to pay $75 for the SCO anymore. If I hadn’t won the other 2 (they ended 30 & 44 minutes later) I would have wanted the SCO. It never occurred to me to ask for a lower price since I would have won the auction for less if the bad bidder hadn’t outbid me! I don’t know if the seller would have agreed to that, she has listed all the auctions the bad bidder backed out of, at a starting price the same as what they ended for last night. The first time she listed them, everything started at $14.99. That was a bit of red flag to me too BUT we will never know what really happened and why she relisted 🙂

[missjen831]

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@missjen831 wrote:

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@mudshark61369 wrote:

@missjen831,

It is possible the two items combined into a larger box could have weighed more and  increased the dimensions of one side of the new box to over 12 inches, thus raising the cost.  Each item alone if they weighed more than 8oz would put the shipping weight at over 2lbs in the 2-3lb range, which means you pay for a 3lb package.  Then add the weight of the larger box and possible packing material.  If one dimension of the box goes over 12" that can increase postage as well.   Sometimes combining items doesn't save money when calculated shipping is used.

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It doesn’t matter. The calculated cost was $7.10 and $7.20. It was 2 separate listings. The seller sent an invoice with an increased cost, it wasn’t the shipping calculator that did this. If she shipping them together required a bigger box that made the postage cost increase, she should have told me that before she sent the invoice. And everything will easily fit in a medium flat rate box. She can ship them separately also, seeing as how I didn’t actually ask for combined shipping. 

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Sorry mud, ran out of time to edit! I meant to say, I see what you are saying but it doesn’t change things. If it required a bigger box, she should have been upfront about it. I would have gladly paid. But since she didn’t and she increased the amount, it is the principle here. She needs to honor the original price. 

[couldabeenworse]

If it required a bigger box, she should have been upfront about it.

Or just sent them separately.

[mudshark61369]

@missjen831,

"I meant to say, I see what you are saying but it doesn’t change things. If it required a bigger box, she should have been upfront about it. I would have gladly paid. But since she didn’t and she increased the amount, it is the principle here. She needs to honor the original price".

I agree that is what should happen, but some of what you wrote points to an inexperienced seller. Offering Parcel Select for one thing, when priority can be used for a small increase in price for smaller lighter packages,  and by adding stickers to each package. Sending an invoice that has a higher cost more than the individual cost without contacting you. There's also the possibility if they are heading out of town or hosting a party, that in their haste to get things shipped before the 4th they didn't stop to think. 

[jrinam]

i too have seen items that are more when combined. seperate, they just barely escape the next increase but combined, they are just above. 'IF' this is what happened, seller might of simply combined and printed label without ever looking or giving it a second thought. offering combined and giving the discount to buyer is already giving up the few pennies they could keep if they wanted. seller may not even know they charged you more. then again, some make a buck anywhere they can.

[myboardid]

If I were you I would try to work it out with the seller, but if that doesn't happen, then i would take the hits for not paying and call eBay and ask to have the strikes removed because of the reason you didn't pay.  I'd bet you would win that one. 

[laylajames9]

Jen, did you send a message and ask the seller if the shipping increase was intentional? I'd give it a shot and see what kind of response and attitude she comes back with. If she says the increase was intentional then decide if it's worth the extra $2 for the ability to neg or if it's more important to not pay and deny the seller the sales.

[missjen831]

Yes I contacted her. Got good news 🙂

it was an honest mistake! All is good again! I’m glad because I couldn’t decide if I wanted to pay the $2. Because of the parcel select shipping. If priority had been specified, I would have probably sucked it up and paid it because the items are rare and very hard to find. 

I feel like a jerk for my reaction though but I’ve had a string of bad luck with online purchases lately. Just had a bad experience on another site that I would have expected to happen HERE. I ordered a hoodie for my daughter off a website based on Los Angeles, researched it, appeared to be legit. Never got an order confirmation or a shipping confirmation. Ignored my emails. Filed an INR with PayPal after 2 weeks. Escalated it a week later, they gave the seller until yesterday to reply. Yesterday the seller uploaded a China post tracking number! I called PayPal and said I didn’t buy anything from China, I ordered from a US-based company and I have no idea what is being sent and I just want my money back. PayPal rep was awesome and issued my refund 🙂

[castlemagicmemories]

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@njrtsr wrote:
Hi Jen, sorry this happened to you. Only happened to me once out of hundreds (thousands?!) of purchases and there wasn't really any recourse for me either if I wanted the items.

About the potential shill bidding. From past experience I have learned to request a lower price in response to a second chance offer, usually one bid increment above the bidder below me. I tell the seller "no offense, but I would have won this a lot cheaper if the guy who chickened out on paying didn't bid". So if someone bid 30, you bid 50, and someone else outbid you, I would offer to pay something like 31 instead of 50. If seller refuses, oh well, but I won't be taken advantage of by shill bidders 🙂

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That's interesting. I haven't had many second chance offers, and when I did, I asked for them as I really wanted the item.  So not a peep out of me when I got one.  Usually it is for a one of a kind, rare, hard to find item, so I don't want to take any chances.  

But if you are fine and it works with you, that's your call!