Late Shipping Question

[tay_7967]

I recently had an item sell and got in touch with the buyer. However, we realized that the package dimensions listed in the ad were entered incorrectly and the shipping price was likely off. The buyer agreed to pay the new shipping cost but has not yet responded or sent an updated shipping label.  Ebay keeps hounding me to honor the shipping deadline policy. Is the ding I will receive for late shipment a significant downside? The communication with the buyer is taking longer than expected and I have been told that I cannot extend the shipping deadline. I simply need more time. Any info would be appreciated.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

You cannot extend the shipping deadline.

Buyer does not have to pay any more shipping than was in the listing.

Ship or cancel the order and take a metrics hit.

[12345jamesstamps]

Take a hit on the extra charge for shipping and ship it out.

Getting a 'ding' and maybe more are the 'kiss of death' here.

Sometimes it takes money to make money.

Knowing you won't see the money for this sale for 30+ days I can understand the situation.

[chevymontecarlo88]

How much exactly is the shipping under charge?

[tay_7967]

I would do this, but the buyer already had me send a refund on the original shipping price so that he could get a new shipping tag with the new price. There's no garuntee that I would receive payment for the shipping afterwards.

[tay_7967]

I am unsure. The item being shipped is a full size bike, so the shipping rates can vary drastically.  I would just enter the correct package dimensions into the shipping calculator but there seems to be a glitch where it says the shipping is only 8 dollars. This can't be correct because the box dimensions at 67x35x12 inches. Ebay automatically selects an envelope as the method of packaging. I am unsure what to do at this point besides suck up the ding on my account or cancel the order. 

If I cancel the order can the buyer just redo the sale once everything is figured out with the new shipping price? What is the punishment for cancelling the order?

[stainlessenginecovers]

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@tay_7967 wrote:

I would do this, but the buyer already had me send a refund on the original shipping price so that he could get a new shipping tag with the new price. There's no garuntee that I would receive payment for the shipping afterwards.

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Doesn't matter- and now 3 things are wrong

1.) you cannot ask for more $$

2.) you cannot NOW get more $$ from the buyer (even after you refunded, which you should NOT have)

3.) you are now late and no reason is a good reason

So, just buy the correct label and ship it asap and learn from all those mistakes.

Check your listing with NOT being signed in- then change the zip code to the furthest (90620 for Cali, 10001 for NY) to see what cost is being shown; then, go to usps website and check that price (ebay may calculate you with a 'discount' (small) but you'll get an idea)

[albertabrightalberta]

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@tay_7967 wrote:

There's no garuntee that I would receive payment for the shipping afterwards.

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It doesn't matter. You have two issues with this transaction. 

1. You asked the buyer to pay more for shipping than you charged. (Your mistake and you have to eat it.)

2. You are at risk for not shipping on time. 

As the seller, YOU set the dimensions and shipping cost. If you err, that's on you and is a violation of policy to ask the buyer for more money. 

YOU also set your handling time and if you don't ship within that timeframe, that's a ding on your account.

[powell-collectibles]

Please don’t sell anything else on eBay.   Thanks!

[12345jamesstamps]

Somewhat complicated...buyer gave you the seller a refund of original shipping price.

You might take a hit on shipping where you pay total on shipping...without getting the money from buyer.

Buyer knows item has to be shipping when stated...so ship it.

It's a learning experience. We all made mistakes at some point.

And I wouldn't cancel the sale...that's a 'ding' as well. Also the 'kiss of death'

A cancel order is like an 'out of stock' order.

And the buyer can leave an unhappy feedback as well.

[tay_7967]

Well at this point Im better off just cancelling the order and taking the ding. 

Shipping is going to be around 300 dollars and the bike is only being sold for $425. Im simply not willing to ship the bike out for that much without the buyer paying shipping.  The buyer seems to be pretty lenient which is why I am hoping for a response from them soon.  I have other buyers who are interested in the item and would rather fix the shipping issue and try again. This would be my first eBay sale so one ding is likely not to create a massive difference.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@tay_7967 wrote: ...  The buyer agreed to pay the new shipping cost but has not yet responded or sent an updated shipping label. ... had me send a refund on the original shipping price so that he could get a new shipping tag with the new price. ...

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What?  Buyers don't purchase shipping labels or "tags"; sellers do. Or are you trying to say that you thought you needed to refund before you could bill him for the new shipping price? No, it doesn't work that way.

You should have taken responsibility for your error, and shipped the item without asking for extra shipping money from the buyer, but that ship has sailed. Now you have a double mess: one error based on asking too little for shipping, and then a second error in apparently  issuing a partial refund.  IMHO you should just cancel the transaction, relist the item, and try again.

[mtgraves7984]

"... but there seems to be a glitch where it says the shipping is only 8 dollars. This can't be correct because the box dimensions at 67x35x12 inches."

@tay_7967 

I see the cost to ship the bike as $126.28 to me in Tennessee. It's not like you only charged $8. I'm confused... 

[reallynicestamps]

the buyer already had me send a refund on the original shipping price so that he could get a new shipping tag

Why is the BUYER purchasing the shipping label?
You are sending it from your address to their address.

At this point, the best bet is to cancel the transaction.

You made the error in the dimensions.

You take reponsibility for your error, whether that is by paying the difference in shipping or taking the hit for ending the listing.

[albertabrightalberta]

@tay_7967 

JMHO but if you don't hear back from the buyer, cancel as OOS (out of stock). 

As a new seller of expensive bikes, you are likely to attract scammers. I'd suggest you sell those bikes locally for cash on pickup. (I do see that you've also listed them on CL.) You won't have to worry about shipping, shipping prices, packing them and the best part: If you sell for cash, you won't have to wait for your funds to be released by ebay, which can take over a month.