Over charged for shipping

[berrreb-qcxp6jrt]

I bought 5 items from a seller at the same time. I contacted him asking if he would combine the shipping, his response was "shipping is what it is" then proceeded to combine the shipping without refunding me any of the shipping cost. The total amount was $30 but according to the envelopes it only cost him a little over $9. Is this against Ebay policy and would I have grounds to file a claim against the seller?

[acrc3113]

The time to ask the seller about combining the shipping is before purchase. A lot of sellers do not like to combine shipments as each one is a separate transaction, unless you are buying multiples from the same listing. On the rare occasion that I buy multiple (different) items from a vendor that I have bought from before, I let them know that I have made prior purchases and that it is OK to combine the shipment if they wish, for their convienence. I never ask for a refund of the shipping.

As a seller, you know that sellers are charged a fee on shipping on each transaction. i.e.: On 3 different listings : M8 bolt $4 +$3.00 ship. M8 washer, 1.75 + $3 shipping, M8 nut, $2 + $3 shipping. Seller pays .90 eBay fees on the total $9 listed shipping, plus pays for postage, boxes, envelopes, bubblewrap, gasoline, etc.

[swenson8781]

No, sorry, although it stings, the seller hasn't done anything wrong, and at least they were upfront with you about NOT combining the charges.  There are no policies stating that a seller HAS to discount/lower shipping simply because a buyer purchases more than one item.  

Also, for future reference, when you ask a seller about shipping charges for multiple items, you want to ask them if they 'discount' shipping charges for multiple purchases.  Combining is simply putting the charges together in one.  And many sellers will offer a discount for multiple items purchased, you just came across one that doesn't.  If you contact & ask the seller prior to purchase, you can then decide if you want to purchase from a different seller.

[takikawa4]

@berrreb-qcxp6jrt

Were you charged more than the stated shipping? If so, then the seller should refund you the overage. If not, then you weren't overcharged.

[lja440]

You were not overcharged unless;

1. The seller requested more money to ship.

2. The seller downgraded the shiping method.

3. The seller short paid the postage. (Postage Due)

The time to ask for a discount is BEFORE you bid or buy.

Tell me, would you have the same complaint if the items had Free Shipping?

If you say no then consider that Free Shipping just means that the shipping costs are rolled into the items price.