Change of shipping company causes dramatic change of total cost. What are my options?

[1313.musicmonger]

I am a buyer from Greece and the seller is from Australia. The items I bought were to be sent through USPS according to the listing, which means that the items would arrive through ELTA, the Greek postal service, which also deals with brokerage at a reasonable fee (around 20 EUROS). The seller sent the package with the items through FEDEX, FEDEX has a local associate (ORBIT COURIERS) which deals with brokerage and delivery of the items and they charge dearly.

What should have cost me around 50 EUROS max (for import taxes and brokerage if the seller had used USPS) is now 132.88 EUROS, which is more than I paid to buy the items and have them shipped to Greece! Moreover, if I try to reduce the cost by hiring someone else for the brokerage, I will still have to go to Spata at their offices, which is 35 km outside of Athens, pay 25 EUROS plus VAT just to get the paperwork and spend the best part of a day (or two) figuring out a less costly solution, which I do not want and was not what I had in mind when I bought the items.

I have informed the seller about the situation to find out his intentions, but so far he has remained silent. I am inclined to let it go back to the seller. What are my options?

[myangelandmyprincess]

Honestly I don't even understand how a seller in Australia could show USPS to Greece an option...

[airsheep]

Is the item something you MUST have? I don't know what ebay's rules are in Greece, but you should have the option to refuse it because of undisclosed extra shipping charges.

[1313.musicmonger]

Some additional info to clarify things:

a) I am registered in ebay.com since 2008. There is no ebay.gr, never was.

b) I was expecting a national postal service / carrier – Australia Post or some such affiliated courier – but not FEDEX and certainly not this type of aggressive charging for services. I did not see this coming.

c) The way total cost ramps up to 132.88 Euros is as follows:

Import tax / VAT:                                                                                                    33

Est. expenses for airport load management (warehouse costs?):     23

Brokerage fee including VAT:                                                                            45.88

Issue / Declaration of ownership of merchandise including VAT:       31

TOTAL COST:                                                                                                         132.88  EUROS

And finally the fine print:

*Paperwork remains for 5 working days, afterwards it goes back to the sender (I suppose that goes for the package as well).

**There is warehouse charge after the 3rd day.

I do not consider the items worth that kind of money (as in double the price and way too much trouble) – having said that, I want to get back as much as I can from my original paypal payment.

What are my options?

Q1) If I do nothing and let the package go back to the seller – will I get my money back from paypal or ebay (minus shipping)?

Q2) Will I have to pay for shipping AND whatever these ORBIT scammers ask for warehouse cost (per day)?

Q3) Do I have to open a case (to make the seller take back the items or to get my money back)?

Q4) Do I officially inform the seller that I do not want the items (or that I want to return the items)? To clarify, the only reason(s) being the added cost (and trouble).

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR REPLY - I should have mentioned this in my first post.

[lilbama911]

As a buyer, you can refuse to accept delivery of a package, if your reason(s) is legitimate, perhaps you changed your mind.   In your post you stated that you were expecting a national postal carrier, however, you didn't mention what shipping method the seller listed for your destination.  Also, as an International buyer you are responsible for paying custom fees, duties and any other applicable charges related to the parcel.

Nevertheless,  as a matter of courtesy, you can inform the seller that you were blind-sided when the shipping courier was changed after you had paid, without your knowledge.   Furthermore, as a result of the shipping change you will incur FedEx carrier fees in addition to custom fees which is why you are refusing to accept delivery.

Contact FedEx International and let them know that you have changed your mind about the parcel and request that it be returned to the sender.   Of course, FedEx may require you pay some fees, I don't know.

You can open a "I changed my mind" dispute in Paypal Resolution Center, for a refund.

Give us a status update. 

[pjcdn2005]

The answer to some of your questions does depend on what service the seller had listed.  What does it say when you look at the shipping tab in the listing?

[1313.musicmonger]

To lilbama911 and pjcdn2005: Thank you for your replies. The shipping service mentioned in the listing is USPS Priority Mail International TM. When I see USPS (as opposed to UPS, FEDEX etc.), I expect to find a national Post service as shipping method or some sister courier company, hence I was expecting AusPost, but certainly not FEDEX. I had no reason to suspect hidden costs etc. and did not know the implications of this switch from USPS to FEDEX, which I found after the fact.

To put things into perspective: This could have been any one of my purchases – and this change in cost and expectations is scary. I was expecting to email my paypal payment etc. to ELTA (the Greek postal service) and either go to my local post office to pay around 50 Euros total or even pay the postman upon delivery (small package). Instead, I have to complete a bunch of papers (physically or virtually), deposit their 132 Euros fee in their designated bank account and if I am not happy with this expensive FEDEX / ORBIT service, I can always travel to the Airport, by bus or train (35km), pay ORBIT their 31 Euros commission for the paperwork and find / pay another broker or do it myself, running around from one building to the next at 35 degrees Celsius / 95 Fahrenheit – cost in Euros, time and frustration, anyone?

How was I responsible for all this? How was I protected as a buyer from all this?

Can I report this incident or open a case? Ebay does not readily allow a buyer to open a case for this particular reason (I think – try finding an appropriate ebay description / classification for it). I have somehow managed to send an email to ebay but I don’t know what to expect as a reply – we’ll see.

I contacted ORBIT and asked them what happens if I do absolutely nothing and let the package return. Am I liable to them, to FEDEX, to the warehouse for hidden costs? They replied that if I do nothing at all or if I inform them that I am not interested in the package then they [FEDEX / ORBIT] will ask the sender whether he wants the package sent back or if he wants to have it destroyed! Exactly how that will affect my expectations for a paypal refund I do not know but I am sure it will – adversely. I will not be liable to ORBIT and the rest, however.

Seller is silent so far.

Keep those answers coming… And THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR REPLIES.

[myangelandmyprincess]

Did you not have the shipping tab set to show the shipping to Greece?   Even registered on .com if you show your address it should show the shipping to you and since USPS wouldn't be an option Im still confused unless you have it set to show US and then check out with a different address. 

[1313.musicmonger]

To myangelandmyprincess: The info about shipping was from the listing as stored when you are the winner. I did not tamper with it in any way. I hope that clears things for you.

In my final post I would like to thank those who participated in this thread. The situation resolved as follows: Ebay Customer service suggested that I file a return request offering “Item not as described” as the reason behind it. At the same time I emailed ORBIT / FEDEX and the seller that I would let the package go back. A few days later I got a full refund from the seller along with his apologies for the situation. The package returned to the seller.