Free Shipping is not included when a Best Offer is accepted

[wwdolfan]

"Free Shipping is not included when a Best Offer is accepted. Please wait for an updated invoice before completing checkout."

  "Free Shipping", "Best Offer" listings, the above statement is at the bottom of the page.   When I say” bottom" I mean the very last line of his listing, in small print!

Of course, like you, I have never run into something like this before, so why would I scour the listing for a "read the fine print" item before I purchase from what is supposed to be a trusted "power seller"?

He doesn't tell you this when you make the offer & he accepts your offer.  It's not until after you receive his invoice do you notice a random shipping charge.  He accepted my offer on two listings & made no mention of any shipping charge.  He sends an invoice & 1st he puts a shipping charge on both items, then at checkout he removed one shipping charge & replaced it with the choice to locally pick it up.   I asked him to do the right thing & eat his shipping charge, he refused. Then he cancelled the transaction stating that I requested it.  So I called Ebay & we will see what happens.  Hopefully they will require that he remove that last line.  

[wwdolfan]

EBAY DOES Condone it!! They told me so matter of factly! I even repeated it back to the rep & he said that it happens a lot & is OK.

[dtexley3]

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@wwdolfan wrote:
EBAY DOES Condone it!! They told me so matter of factly! I even repeated it back to the rep & he said that it happens a lot & is OK.

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Then you got one of the clueless reps.  It's clearly not allowed under the site's rules.  You just got unlucky with CS roulette.

[dtexley3]

@Anonymous

Is what the OP stating correct? 

They purchased two separate items both with free shipping using best offer for each item. When the seller sent the invoice they added shipping and have a statement in the description that says they will add shipping if best offer is used.  My understanding is that you can't add shipping after the fact like this.  I realize the invoice system allows you to change the shipping charge, but I beleive in this case it's not allowed by rule.

I know if a buyer sends an offer on a single item with free shipping and I accept the offer, I'm accepting that amount and the shipping is still free, so it should be the same for multiple free items.

[wwdolfan]

I must have gotten TWO clueless reps, because after the 1st one said it was OK I told him he was wrong & that I'd like to speak with another person, I was transferred & that person told me the same thing!

[chrysylys]

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@dtexley3 wrote:

@Anonymous

Is what the OP stating correct?

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They also have their website URL on an icon in their listings.

[brian@ebay]

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@dtexley3 wrote:

@Anonymous

Is what the OP stating correct? 

They purchased two separate items both with free shipping using best offer for each item. When the seller sent the invoice they added shipping and have a statement in the description that says they will add shipping if best offer is used.  My understanding is that you can't add shipping after the fact like this.  I realize the invoice system allows you to change the shipping charge, but I beleive in this case it's not allowed by rule.

I know if a buyer sends an offer on a single item with free shipping and I accept the offer, I'm accepting that amount and the shipping is still free, so it should be the same for multiple free items.

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Hi @dtexley3 and @wwdolfan, I'm sorry to hear that you were given inaccurate information by customer support. I'll ensure proper coaching is provided to those agents.

I want to clarify that shipping costs are not part of the Best Offer process, meaning sellers need to honor the shipping stated in their listing and should not add additional shipping costs while invoicing their buyer. The disclaimer in the listings description is not supported by eBay and not something we would honor. If the seller isn't willing to invoice the correct amount then a cancellation is probably the best route to go so the buyer can purchase the item from another seller.

If you run across a similar situation in the future then please report the listing so we can review the disclaimer and take appropriate action. Thanks for bringing this to our attention!

[wwdolfan]

How do you know who the agents are that need this proper coaching?

Also-
Will ebay require that he remove the disclaimer from his 180+ current listings?

[dtexley3]

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@wwdolfan wrote:
How do you know who the agents are that need this proper coaching?

Also-
Will ebay require that he remove the disclaimer from his 180+ current listings?

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which agents? Good question.

They may remove the ads if enough people report them.

[a_c_green]

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@dtexley3 wrote:

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@wwdolfan wrote:
How do you know who the agents are that need this proper coaching?

Also-
Will ebay require that he remove the disclaimer from his 180+ current listings?

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which agents? Good question. 

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I can answer that in terms of our company's Support platform, though I can't say for certain that the eBay system is similar: if a customer contacts us for a support issue, that contact as well as any others will be tracked by the case number (or ticket number, or transaction number, or whatever you want to call it), as well as by customer name, product license, etc., so that anyone who had contact with the customer can be identified later from details in our tracking database.

If the OP phoned in from his registered phone number, or provided his eBay ID during the call, or keyed in the listing number that he was talking about, or mentioned any other specifics that would uniquely identify him and/or the listing, they should be able to determine exactly which Customer Service people he talked to; they would have been the one(s) making notes in the record. It's actually not difficult to trace back at all.

[mg152]

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brian@ebay wrote:

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@dtexley3 wrote:

@Anonymous

Is what the OP stating correct? 

They purchased two separate items both with free shipping using best offer for each item. When the seller sent the invoice they added shipping and have a statement in the description that says they will add shipping if best offer is used.  My understanding is that you can't add shipping after the fact like this.  I realize the invoice system allows you to change the shipping charge, but I beleive in this case it's not allowed by rule.

I know if a buyer sends an offer on a single item with free shipping and I accept the offer, I'm accepting that amount and the shipping is still free, so it should be the same for multiple free items.

---

Hi @dtexley3 and @wwdolfan, I'm sorry to hear that you were given inaccurate information by customer support. I'll ensure proper coaching is provided to those agents.

I want to clarify that shipping costs are not part of the Best Offer process, meaning sellers need to honor the shipping stated in their listing and should not add additional shipping costs while invoicing their buyer. The disclaimer in the listings description is not supported by eBay and not something we would honor. If the seller isn't willing to invoice the correct amount then a cancellation is probably the best route to go so the buyer can purchase the item from another seller.

If you run across a similar situation in the future then please report the listing so we can review the disclaimer and take appropriate action. Thanks for bringing this to our attention!

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We were told in a recent weekly chat that we are expected to abide by the buyers “terms”. Which is it? I take offers and I’ve never seen the terms box in an offer I received. That’s not fair to sellers. I see the terms box when I make offers but not when I receive them. If a buyer put free shipping in the box, I wouldn’t know it. Can we clarify this please? Thank you!

[dtexley3]

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@mg152 wrote:

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brian@ebay wrote:

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We were told in a recent weekly chat that we are expected to abide by the buyers “terms”. Which is it? I take offers and I’ve never seen the terms box in an offer I received. That’s not fair to sellers. I see the terms box when I make offers but not when I receive them. If a buyer put free shipping in the box, I wouldn’t know it. Can we clarify this please? Thank you!

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If you use a mobile device it doesn't always show (depends on OS) and when it does it's easy to miss.  Browser based it shows on the offer screen but not on the subsequent screens.  We were told that this STILL does not apply to changes in shipping, however that is not made clear at either end.  

If you don't like the buyer terms then you can still decline the offer, or counter offer with the same price and explain that you don't accept special terms on BO. 

I had one where the buyer wanted me to not only "leave out the packing slip but use a generic box, clear tape and make sure the label didn't say eBay" because they didn't want the recipient to know they bought it on eBay. I politely declined the offer but decided not to suggest if they didn't want the recipient to know it was bought on eBay maybe they should shop elsewhere....

[rixstuff]

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@mg152 wrote:

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brian@ebay wrote:

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@dtexley3 wrote:

@Anonymous

Is what the OP stating correct? 

They purchased two separate items both with free shipping using best offer for each item. When the seller sent the invoice they added shipping and have a statement in the description that says they will add shipping if best offer is used.  My understanding is that you can't add shipping after the fact like this.  I realize the invoice system allows you to change the shipping charge, but I beleive in this case it's not allowed by rule.

I know if a buyer sends an offer on a single item with free shipping and I accept the offer, I'm accepting that amount and the shipping is still free, so it should be the same for multiple free items.

---

Hi @dtexley3 and @wwdolfan, I'm sorry to hear that you were given inaccurate information by customer support. I'll ensure proper coaching is provided to those agents.

I want to clarify that shipping costs are not part of the Best Offer process, meaning sellers need to honor the shipping stated in their listing and should not add additional shipping costs while invoicing their buyer. The disclaimer in the listings description is not supported by eBay and not something we would honor. If the seller isn't willing to invoice the correct amount then a cancellation is probably the best route to go so the buyer can purchase the item from another seller.

If you run across a similar situation in the future then please report the listing so we can review the disclaimer and take appropriate action. Thanks for bringing this to our attention!

---

We were told in a recent weekly chat that we are expected to abide by the buyers “terms”. Which is it? I take offers and I’ve never seen the terms box in an offer I received. That’s not fair to sellers. I see the terms box when I make offers but not when I receive them. If a buyer put free shipping in the box, I wouldn’t know it. Can we clarify this please? Thank you!

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There have been many posts on the stupidity of the box - it is pointless and may leave folks the idea that there ARE other things to negotiate besides the price when there really isnt.

[ed8108]

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@wwdolfan wrote:
Also-
Will ebay require that he remove the disclaimer from his 180+ current listings?

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That would appear to be appropriate in my opinion.

[mg152]

😀 That was a great reply. Some people think eBay equates cheap, low quality & that’s just not true for the most part. I don’t have a computer. I have a giant iPad, a regular iPad & an iPhone. Maybe this is a good excuse to get an iMac computer. 😀

[wwdolfan]

So far ebay has allowed this to continue & has ven allowed him to add more listings with the his disclaimer that is against TOS...WHY?