I paid Priority - seller shipped Media Mail - raging messages from seller ensue

[solasona]

Short version:

Longtime seller downgraded shipping service after I paid (from $12 USPS Priority to $5.13 USPS Media Mail) & got all ignorant in eBay messages when I asked for a refund of the difference in cost.

Other than just sucking it up, I learned from reading in these forums, that I have 2 options here: SNAD or PayPal shipping refund

For SNAD: Can I even file for & win a SNAD for shipping discrepancies alone, even when delivered before the estimated delivery date? Can she lie &/or retaliate & put me at a loss somehow?

For PayPal: I've found something called "Return Shipping on Us", but I don't see anything about requesting shipping overpayment or whatever. Does anyone know where I should look?

Many thanks for any help you all can share with me!

(Longer, drama-laden version below, if interested...lol)

[solasona]

Long version: (for those that like nitty gritty drama)

I bought an item from a longtime seller with only one option available for shipping, $12 Priority Mail. I paid immediately via PayPal & the seller (after 3 days) marked the item as shipped, but didn't post a tracking number. I received the item before the estimated delivery date, & found that it packed in a reused food box with shredded paper for packing via USPS Media Mail for $5.13 - less than half the amount that I paid for USPS Priority shipping.

Typically, I don't have much of a problem with handling charges & whatnot, but this one just seemed a bit excessive & wrong, so I sent a friendly email to the seller stating that she may have made a mistake with the shipping & asked to be refunded the overpayment.

She then immediately pounced on me, telling me that she must pay to get to the post office, that she doesn't have a car, that I received it in time & that the $12 wouldn't have covered Priority. Then messaged again in a new thread saying it would've cost $40 to ship & that if I dispute her price that she'd dispute my complaint?!? No refunds & that she "is not a business".

I checked USPS shipping calc & sent her the link stating the item (with her exact packaging & weight, from her zip to mine) would've been $11.50 Priority, retail.

She ignored the facts & simply replied "No."

Then sent another message touting how great the item is, telling me that if my business is reselling it, that I'd make more $ out of it. That I got a deal. Kept repeating no refunds, etc.

So she's calling me, the customer, "a business", her, the seller, "not a business" & basically stating that I should be grateful for this stellar deal with gouged shipping.

My last response was that it's not appropriate to make assumptions about my use of the item or to threaten me about disputing a dispute. I then stated that what she did was ship with a downgraded service to what was stated & paid for & that it's against eBay's policy to do that. I then asked one last time, politely, to please refund the difference.

Crickets.

At this point, my Irish is up & I'm willing to send back the item just as a matter of principle (which are books stated as "Like New" condition, but are definitely used with yellowing pages "Very Good" condition, at best). I could buy them elsewhere for around the same price & probably in better shape from a friendlier seller. I am concerned, however, that she will not make this process easy. If I did everything right & good, filed a SNAD & sent her the items back promptly, is there a possibility of her mucking this up by lying or something? She's already doing that in messages, so I'm apprehensive.

The other option, from what I've gathered in these forums, is that there's some way to get overpayment of shipping charges refunded through PayPal, but I can't quite figure out how that works. I found something called "Return Shipping on Us" at PayPal, but that doesn't look like the same thing. Can someone shed some light on how this PayPal thing works?

So sorry for the novel. Her lying & ignorance has really turned this measly $7 dispute into a ridiculous "I gotta teach her a lesson" mental moment here. I'm just so tired of prima donna, scammy behavior 😞 .

[alcoforever]

You can file a SNAD for any reason at all, or no reason at all.   Seller will have to send you a prepaid return label and will refund you once she gets the item back, if that is what you want to do.   Or, you can suck it up and leave appropriate feedback.

[katzrul15]

Sorry - not certain on the Paypal item you mention - never heard of that, but someone wiser should be along soon to comment on same, etc.

Sorry, trying to work out the math on this parcel - was this an item that qualifies for media mail in the first place or an abuse of media mail that you can report to the post office (I have accomplished that and share how)?

Yes, you are owed the delta as you did not receive the service stated in the listing.  Did you receive it in the timeline that would have been consistent with Priority Mail (i.e. 2-5 business days, etc)?  I only ask, as sometimes I purchase something and it states "fedex" or "ups" and it arrives via USPS and while I am guessing USPS is cheaper, as a fellow seller, I do realize that sometimes a Seller will select a variable based on the item, shipping distance, etc.  In your case, the Seller should have offered to refund you an amount that was reasonable between the 2 services, but each seller can invoke a "handling fee", but $7 would be excessive.  

She is correct when she tells you she is not a "business" as she certainly does not operate as though she is - sad, but so many have no idea how to do that on this site or any other.  Not a person you evidently can reason with either.  

If it were me, I might be tempted to address media mail abuse if that is what it is and leave a feedback remark that sums up the experience (you can choose the color, but neutral would work for me):

Pd for Priority/shipped MEDIA, refuses to return the $7 overcharge/would NOT recommend

For $7, while I definitely would be frustrated, I am not much into "teaching someone a lesson" as it just is a time suck and negative breeds negative.  Just me, tho....(btw, if you both sell, you did add her to your BBL, correct??)

[redmodelt]

Shipping should never be downgraded, they need to ship the service you payed for. Media Mail would be a down grade.

[divwido]

I'm not sure a dispute would fly, but since this seller doesn't care-a Calm Factual Feedback is in order-color is your choice.  No one should even downgrade your shipping choice.

Maybe they need to learn how angry you are.

[lightlily_arts]

Frankly if you paid for Priority Mail and the item was shipped Media Mail the seller has already opened herself up to a not as described claim.  You cannot advertise and charge for Priority Mail, but then ship with an alternative method.  Moreover, did your item even qualify for Media Mail.  It doesn't matter whether she is an individual seller or not a business as all sellers are required to adhere to eBay policy.  

One thing you should know is that all sellers are charged fees on the shipping portion of the transaction.    If this was a book or DVD  the minimum fees collected on shipping charge is 14.55% for Managed Payment sellers.  Other sellers will pay 15% in fees for shipping on books.  If the purchased item was another  non-book or DVD category the minimum fees for the shipping would be 13%  for non Managed Payment sellers.  The point I'm trying to make is your seller failed to charge enough to cover the Priority Mail postage even with eBay's shipping discount.  Therefore your assertion that she pocketed $7 is wrong as she had to pay the eBay fees from the proceeds.

[flyinhawaiiangirl]

The PayPal return shipping would come into play if you returned something for a remorse reason and had to pay return shipping. After your return tracking shows delivered, you can submit a request for shipping refund. Your scenario doesn't apply to PayPal return shipping refund. 

If your seller wanted to send you a partial refund to compensate for the shipping change, they could send a partial refund from PayPal. 

You could challenge the charge with your payment method provider. Mine asks if I challenge the entire charge itself or the amount. You could select amount and state what it should have been. Idk how that investigation would go though. 

If you return the item on principle, you wouldn't have to pay for return shipping and you'd be refunded in full. 

[cadbury0007]

So sorry for your terrible experience with this seller.  I've had a few of those types of transactions too, but we've always worked it out.  According to a google search: A business transaction is an event involving an interchange of goods, money or services between two or more parties.    Your seller may not consider themselves to be a business, but they most certainly entered into a business transaction.  The bottom line that some may choose to ignore, is that in order for it to be a successful business transaction, all parties need to be satisfied with the outcome.    So... what any seller is REALLY selling is happiness.   If the buyer isn't happy, then that's a failure and there should be some type of consequences.   One thing for sure: the person you bought from is not concerned with creating repeat customers, or they would try a little harder.  I remember something that my dad used to say: "you can't reason with an unreasonable person."   Good luck.

[redmodelt]

"One thing you should know is that all sellers are charged fees on the shipping portion of the transaction. If this was a book or DVD the minimum fees collected on shipping charge is 14.55% for Managed Payment sellers. Other sellers will pay 15% in fees for shipping on books. If the purchased item was another non-book or DVD category the minimum fees for the shipping would be 13% for non Managed Payment sellers. The point I'm trying to make is your seller failed to charge enough to cover the Priority Mail postage even with eBay's shipping discount. Therefore your assertion that she pocketed $7 is wrong as she had to pay the eBay fees from the proceeds."

Fees are besides the point for the buyer.

A transaction was entered into for X and X. The seller has to provide X and X, not X and Y (unless Y is an upgrade).

It is up to the seller to sell for enough to cover both and make a profit and mail at the specified shipping level, not send something using a lower service to cover the difference of the fees.

So yes the seller did pocket the difference. Which may go to cover fees because the seller valued the items too low and needed to make up the difference by changing the shipping to a lower value, but that is on them not the buyer. 

[lightlily_arts]

I wasn't disagreeing that the seller shipped Media Mail instead of Priority as stated in the listing.  The seller should have considered refunding a portion of the money. However, I  the amount that should be refunded back to the buyer should be less the fees charged by eBay.

[no_zero369]

The plain and simple explanation is that Shipping Method IS part of the listing.  So if item was listed and sold with Priority Mail and was instead shipped via Media Mail, then what was received was not as described and indeed fits the criteria of SNAD!  Might take an eMail to CS with detailed explanation to get that fixed if the seller somehow gets the SNAD reversed, but SNAD is the correct direction.

Also, what the seller did is a policy violation and once the transaction is finished, your should Report the Seller.

[tdrake]

First you need to give her a NEG so others know what they're dealing with if they buy from her.

Second, I'm in the Not As Described camp and you need to open a case.

Third, quit communicating with her. Open the case and deal with eBay.

[wild-wild-wests]

Late here but redmodelt is exactly right. Even if the seller didn't pocket anything it was her mistake if she didn't charge enough, her mistake for downgrading shipping regardless if it arrived on or before time and her mistake for getting the negative feedback she rightly deserves. 

[cardsforauction]

What the seller did was wrong, but I would just say "Hi, For this item, I paid for Priority Mail Service $12 and I got Media Mail service.  I should get a small refund since I got a slower mail service than Priority Mail.  Please send a partial refund of about $ 4.  I think that would be fair amount.  Thank you " I probably would not ask for the full difference since some sellers do have other fees and maybe they made a mistake on the other expenses or wanted to make a little off shipping so I can see why one would not give all the difference back (even though your not suppose charge for packing, gas, and such in shipping cost)  I don't think it's something to go to World War 3 over, but the seller should come through and give some money back for the excess charge in shipping.  If the seller still refuses after asking for a reasonable partial refund, then I would file a complaint.