Shipped 1st class mail vs Expedited Shipping (USPS Priority Mail®) as stated in the ad

[trurut0]

Question for anyone:

I just recived an item that had the only available shipping method was expedited shipping and charged a fee... shipping &handling stated the fee was for Expedited Shipping (USPS Priority Mail®) service. The Item was shipped 1st class mail.
This would be considered a downgrade in shipping by anyone's definition in 2020 even ebay from what i could find out about shipping policies.

so, I politely messaged the seller and asked it a mistake had been made and if they could refund the amount I paid for shipping. the message received from the seller basically stated that the definition of expedited shipping is determined by them. I sent on more message showing in their listing that Expedited Shipping (USPS Priority Mail®) was part of their listing....their last replay was send it back.

eBays policy states that a seller can not down grade shipping methods.

Let me just say the item was as described and have no problem itself and didn't thing requesting a refund for shipping was/is unreasonable.

Thoughts???

[corvettestainless]

Was there a separate shipping fee, or was it 'free'. 

In reality, although not great customer service, by far- the seller can go to the 1 avenue- Return for refund. They are not required to give you a 'partial' refund. 

You can always give them a negative for not shipping properly, if that is what you feel. Stick to the facts in the verbiage. If the seller has 'free returns', meaning they pay for returns, they could have that negative removed (just be aware). 

[trurut0]

The seller charged extra for shipping it was not listed as  free shipping

[corvettestainless]

What did you pay? 

[trurut0]

I didnt pay much a few $$ ... i tried not to mention how much it was or how long it took for the item to arrive.... only because other question of this nature go way off topic ... im not trying to be misleading.

[corvettestainless]

I understand; 

1st Class is typically $3-$5. Priority is $7+. 1st Class can get across the country in 2 days, same as Priority, so it's a 'who's to say what is 'expedited' vs 'standard' shipping anymore. 

Some listings show 'fast & free' and the concept was that ebay would put this on sellers listings for those that sent it 'expedited' (along with free etc.) but that is now shown on both 1st Class & Priority. 

Bottom line, if you paid 1st class and got it in 2-3 working days, same as Priority (2-3 days) it's hard to 'complain', but in reality, the seller should simply change their listing to match- admit they made a mistake and apologize to you and if they charged 'correctly', that's probably all they would have had to say- 

"I'm sorry, we did ship as was paid for, we just inadvertently had that listing listed incorrectly". 

[a_c_green]

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@trurut0 wrote:

I just recived an item that had the only available shipping method was expedited shipping and charged a fee... shipping &handling stated the fee was for Expedited Shipping (USPS Priority Mail®) service. The Item was shipped 1st class mail.
This would be considered a downgrade in shipping by anyone's definition in 2020 even ebay from what i could find out about shipping policies.

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Yes. First Class Package is classed as Standard shipping; Priority Mail is classed as Expedited. While a package qualifying for FCP (i.e. 15.999 ounces or less) will travel just fine as such, it is possible to buy Priority shipping for that weight class if desired. You apparently paid for that, but the seller purchased FCP instead and pocketed the difference. 

[trurut0]

I agree with you about 90%.... the only thing i would disagree with is "so it's a 'who's to say what is 'expedited' vs 'standard' shipping anymore"  here is the definition from stamps .com (image). but, like i stated the listing itself defined it as priority mail.

[corvettestainless]

I meant from a 'reality' that 1st class can get there just as fast as Priority. 1st Class is standard, I never said it wasn't, but if it gets there in the same time and you paid 'less' than expedited, then you got what you paid for- except the sellers listing is 'incorrectly stating expedited'. 

Some sellers also believe 'expedited' to mean 'they ship in 1 day'- as sellers can choose their 'handling' time. My listings ship in 5 business days (1 week) but on the larger items, they go Priority. Am I expedited? 

[trurut0]

that is my thinking however, I thought id ask because the boards answers are all over the place and ebay seems to make it impossible to find any consistency about how shipping is classified and focused and the seller.

[trurut0]

I understand what you are saying..... my point is that I paid more... received less... not directed at you but, shouldn't sellers have defined definitions?  I think this is an ebay issue not so much the sellers, other than at least say sorry.

also, the you received the item in a timely manner is just a straw man argument and is irrelevant. once again not directed at you I see the argument in many off the discussions.

[imakesugar]

I think sometimes that the difference between First Class and Priority is not that much between time of arrival and cost. The question is what was the difference between Priority and First Class costs? What was the difference between the time of arrival? 

Many times I look at the days it takes to get an item and then I chose. I usually pick first class as it is only a day or two difference. Incidentally, most of the time the cost difference is only a dollar or two. 

eBay has started a new program where they only put down the cheapest and the Highest priced options. The other options the Seller listed won’t even show. 

Best thing for You to do is weight the package and check the price at USPS commercial and seeL what the difference is. If You like the items the Seller sells then I’d just ”Shine it on”.  I don’t want to offend a Seller I could want to buy from again.  After all... one or $2. Is not that much these days.

Even though Amazon states fast shipping I don’t see much difference between the speed of either site. It makes a difference if you live on a large City but most of us live in rural areas and that makes it decidedly the same. 🙂 

[a_c_green]

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@trurut0 wrote:

that is my thinking however, I thought id ask because the boards answers are all over the place and ebay seems to make it impossible to find any consistency about how shipping is classified and focused and the seller.

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No, eBay is pretty specific with the Shipping terms, and when the seller is setting up a listing, the choices of Shipping methods are grouped by specific titles:

Shipping Options (partial list)

If the seller offers First Class Package as the default, it will be shown as Standard shipping. If Priority is the default, it will be Expedited shipping. If  you paid for Priority Mail shipping, you should not expect to receive First Class Package instead.

(This would extend to Free Shipping as well, since of course the shipping is really rolled into the purchase price, so you're still paying for the Shipping one way or another, and if it says you get Priority or "Expedited" Shipping, then First Class Package is not what you should expect to receive.)

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@trurut0 wrote: ...  ebay seems to make it impossible to find any consistency about how shipping is classified ...

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You can see eBay's definitions right on the listing form or in the shipping and handling section of a listing: First Class package fits eBay's definition of "standard" shipping.  

Originally when eBay established its categories, First Class package was under "Expedited". Then a few years ago USPS issued  a memo saying that First Class package would have a standard shipping time of 4 days, so eBay felt they had to demote FC package to the "Standard" category.  That 4-day expectation seems to have vanished, but eBay hasn't re-re-categorized it.

Regardless of Expedited vs Standard (based on shipping time), IMHO if the buyer paid for a service that costs $10 but the seller used a service that costs $3, then the seller owes him a partial refund.

[a_c_green]

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@imakesugar wrote:

eBay has started a new program where they only put down the cheapest and the Highest priced options. The other options the Seller listed won’t even show.  

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They won't show an upgraded Shipping option where the estimated delivery date is no earlier than that of a cheaper method. If its estimated delivery date is sooner than that of a cheaper method, then it will be shown.

My listings mostly show free First Class Package shipping, but I always include Priority Mail shipping as an optional upgrade for those who live further away and might want it in a hurry. I never actually see that option myself when viewing my own listings, because I could get the fastest possible delivery to my own ZIP code with the cheapest Shipping method already.