Seller kept shipping overage

[otterhareandflower]

Seller said he would return any shipping overage. I paid $16 he gave me back 4.22 so that leaves approx 12.  Package arrived. It weighed 10 ounces and would have cost 5.26 to ship. Reused box and newspaper.  Seller listed the weight at 5lbs 10 ounces. He uped the weight by 5lbs which doubled the shipping cost. I emailed but no reply.  Do i have any recourse other than neg feedback?

[ladybugmls]

Why would you think this warrants negative feedback? Sellers aren’t required to refund any shipping “overage”. It seems like this seller was kind to refund any amount. 
And keep in mind that sellers pay final value fees on shipping. 

And why the issue with the “reused box and newspaper”? 

[albertabrightalberta]

@otterhareandflower 

You saw the shipping price when you made the purchase, presumably before you completed the transaction and could have hit the "back" button if you didn't like the price. 

Having made the purchase, you agreed to the price. This is on you. (Additionally, sellers have other overhead that they are allowed to add to the shipping price and/or to the item price.) 

Negging a seller (or even thinking out loud and posting about it) is apt to find yourself being added to sellers' best buddies lists. 

The seller didn't earn a neg and shouldn't get one. JMHO.

ETA: For someone who is also a seller, I think it's shameful that you'd do this to another seller. Feedback shouldn't be used to punish someone for your mistake.

[kibble-net]

While the shipping does seem a bit high, it's something you agreed to when buying the product, just like the price of the product itself. It was not something forced upon you.

That being said, the cost of shipping doesn't end at the postage value. Maybe this seller has to make a long trek to their closest post office, I don't know. But it seems unfair to neg them rather than give them the benefit of the doubt, especially since they were already kind enough to partially refund you.

[pastimpressions]

One reason the seller would "oversize/weigh" the overall parcel for the calculated shipping model would be to build-in the excess shipping overheads without taking a huge loss in shipping.

They apparently did this, as they refunded you the "excess" excess leaving the additional amount they calculated as necessary to cover the hidden costs the buyer does not see.

This may include (but is not limited to):

1. FVF directly attributable to shipping cost

2. Packing materials

3.  Cost of labor

I surely can understand the OP's concern with the shipping charge. 

Any concerns are fair concerns unless/until they are reasoned through to a logical conclusion.

I cannot, however, understand leaving negative feedback for a shipping amount that was fully disclosed prior to purchase & adjusted with an overage refund post-transaction as promised.

What seems to be happening here is a simple misunderstanding of terms.

Both parties heard & understood "shipping overage discount"

It appears that the buyer heard: " a reasonable amount beyond my actual expenses"

whilst the buyer heard:" the precise amount over the actual cost of the shipping label"

My only advice to the OP would be in future transactions, precisely define your terms. Find a seller that will commit, via ebay messages, to the exact amount they will be refunding.

[otterhareandflower]

A little judgemental are we. I asked the seller about the shipping cost before i bought the item. He told me originally the shipping was for two  items. I was buying only one.  He said he prefered to refund the difference than adjust the listing. I have had this happen before and never had an issue. But he didnt. He added 5lbs to the weight of a 10 ounce item and charged me $12 shipping. I guess it is my fault for  believing him when he said he would return the difference.  After reading his feedback i am just one of several people he has done this to. 

[christworks]

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@otterhareandflower wrote:

A little judgemental are we. I asked the seller about the shipping cost before i bought the item. He told me originally the shipping was for two  items. I was buying only one.  He said he prefered to refund the difference than adjust the listing. I have had this happen before and never had an issue. But he didnt. He added 5lbs to the weight of a 10 ounce item and charged me $12 shipping. I guess it is my fault for  believing him when he said he would return the difference.  After reading his feedback i am just one of several people he has done this to. 

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@otterhareandflower  Thank you for adding some context, but with all due respect the seller did refund you the difference. As others have said there are costs beyond the postage paid. Fees, supplies, and overhead. We also do not know what you paid for the item and whether you got a good deal overall, even if the shipping was higher than you prefer.

Unless the seller told you they were going to refund you a specific amount, I think you are being completely unreasonable by wanting to leave the seller negative feedback. You could have always asked the seller what the exact amount would be since that is apparently important to you, but you didn't do that. Now, you want to read their feedback and say others have had the same issue. Seems like you should have done that before you bought. 

[bdmh-enterprises]

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@otterhareandflower wrote:

A little judgemental are we. I asked the seller about the shipping cost before i bought the item. He told me originally the shipping was for two  items. I was buying only one.  He said he prefered to refund the difference than adjust the listing. I have had this happen before and never had an issue. But he didnt. He added 5lbs to the weight of a 10 ounce item and charged me $12 shipping. I guess it is my fault for  believing him when he said he would return the difference.  After reading his feedback i am just one of several people he has done this to. 

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The USPS retail price to ship a 10oz 6x6x6 box from east coast to an urban zip code on the west coast is $11.10... I don't know what you're going on about adding 5lbs or overcharging..

[mamacassidy]

I always offer to combine shipping and then refund any difference to buyers. And when I send the refund, I include a message saying something like "I combined your items into one 5lb box for a shipping cost of $15. You paid $20, so I am refunding you $5.00"

With that said, I always send the refund based on USPS retail counter prices, not the ebay discounted prices. I do this to cover my packing materials, handling, and fees.

Without looking at the zip codes it went to-and-from, I don't know what your package actually cost. But my guess is he gave you the refund based on retail prices and not the ebay discount. (You're looking at basically $9-11 for a 10oz package to ship in continental USPS with retail rates) 

[fern*wood]

Where did the seller list the weight as 5 lbs 10oz?  Do you mean on the label they paid for? 

[wastingtime101]

You paid (after refund) $11.88 for shipping.

USPS retail cost for a 10 oz package range is $8.55 - $11.10 (depending on distance between buyer/seller)

Seller pays eBay fees on shipping.

Unless the seller said specifically they would refund you (for example) $8 and only gave you $4 then I don't see a reason to  complain. Seller refunded you the difference based on the retail cost / eBay fees. I understand it's more than you hoped to pay, but you made an inaccurate assumption the seller would refund you strictly based on the online label cost. In this case "the difference" the seller agreed to was refunded just as they said.

Take this as a learning experience @otterhareandflower for more clear communication upfront about exactly how much the ship cost will be before you commit to purchase based on vague info.

[wastingtime101]

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@otterhareandflower wrote:

Do i have any recourse other than neg feedback?

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Neg feedback isn't the way to go. You agreed to ship cost upfront. Seller said they'd refund the difference and they did. You got what was advertised. Neg FB because you're unhappy with ship cost would fall under eBay's abusive buyer policy. So yeah, technically you can leave the neg, but if the seller asks eBay to remove it your account can get flagged with buyer abuse. Think about that before you proceed.