eBay

johdevas · ‎09-27-2022

I had recently sold a drybox cooler and it included free shipping. Based on the buyer's location it was going to cost me $100 for Priority mail or $37 for UPS, I couldn't afford either so I chose the media mail option which was like $8.50.

Now the customer is emailing me saying USPS wants to charge them $120 for him to get the item? I checked the shipping and it's almost as if they shipped it priority cause it was saying initially like a week for it to get from Orlando to NV and it only took 3 days?

The label said Media mail, not priority and had all the proper dimensions and weight when I placed the order so what's going here?

The only odd thing here is that when I checked the tracking it said that the item was undeliverable at the buyer's address. Could that have something to do with it?

soh.maryl · ‎09-29-2022

Very sane and reasonable response. Thank you. Wish I would have dropped out of this discussion a few pages ago.

1786davycrockett · ‎09-29-2022

"He hasn't came back so I assume this was all a joke now..."

His site states that he will be away through October 3.

I'm sure that that refrigerator will be waiting for him at his post office, along with a hefty USPS unpaid postage bill.

nobody*s_perfect · ‎09-29-2022

@aproudparent2010 wrote:
He hasn't came back so I assume this was all a joke now...

He really did ship the item that he mentioned; it sold last week and the listing offered Free shipping in a Medium Flat Rate box, even though the item clearly could not fit into one.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/185533475009?hash=item2b32a828c1:g:G3kAAOSw1kVi8-VX

This seller operates a marine supply business at a location just outside Orlando FL, so IMHO it's possible that he really never has had occasion to think about MM before. The reason for his absence from the thread (he hasn't signed into the Community today or yesterday) could be (1) weather related; (2) he took us seriously and is too embarrassed to show up; or (3) he dug in his heels and abandoned the discussion because we kept blaming him for his error.

johdevas · ‎10-02-2022

I was dealing with the results of Hurricane Ian, my house has had no power since early Thursday, family members have lost their homes due to flooding... not much of a joke.

I had never used media mail before and made a dumb mistake. It was probably the size of the box that killed the deal not necessarily the weight.

That brings me back to my point, ebay knew the dimensions when I made the label, why did it allow me to make the label? Why wasn't it grayed out as other options that wouldn't be available for the shipment? But it's a moot point now.

johdevas · ‎10-02-2022

Thanks, I appreciate that. I wasn't able to reply because I've been dealing with the aftermath of the hurricane. I still don't have power at home.

Up until this point I had shipped only First class, Priority, UPS ground and the next day options. I had tried this item at a lower clearance price with the customer paying shipping and had no biters, so I tried the higher rate with shipping included. I was excited to have finally sold this thing which had collected dust on my shelves for years.

The size of the box was probably the problem here not so much the weight. I was just flabbergasted by the shipping price $100 for priority, or almost $40 for UPS? In hindsight I should have canceled the order cause I couldn't pay that but I tried to be cheap and took the media mail as a lifeline and didn't know how it would turn out. I thought media mail was just a cheaper ground shipping option. I didn't know much about it.

I think it was wrong on ebay's part to create the label that knowing the dimensions of the box, that option should have been grayed out and not available to me but it's a moot point now.

donsdetour · ‎10-02-2022

@johdevas wrote:
Thanks, I appreciate that. I wasn't able to reply because I've been dealing with the aftermath of the hurricane. I still don't have power at home.
Up until this point I had shipped only First class, Priority, UPS ground and the next day options. I had tried this item at a lower clearance price with the customer paying shipping and had no biters, so I tried the higher rate with shipping included. I was excited to have finally sold this thing which had collected dust on my shelves for years.
The size of the box was probably the problem here not so much the weight. I was just flabbergasted by the shipping price $100 for priority, or almost $40 for UPS? In hindsight I should have canceled the order cause I couldn't pay that but I tried to be cheap and took the media mail as a lifeline and didn't know how it would turn out. I thought media mail was just a cheaper ground shipping option. I didn't know much about it.
I think it was wrong on ebay's part to create the label that knowing the dimensions of the box, that option should have been grayed out and not available to me but it's a moot point now.

Never was eBay's problem you as a seller are responsible to KNOW what you are doing.

eBay is not your mom. Never was never will be.

As for damage to your place: sorry to read that part... Good luck.

stainlessenginecovers · ‎10-02-2022

Has NOTHING to do with the size of the box. You can ship 1000 Books in 1 giant box; as long as it does NOT exceed the Maximum Size of Media Mail (70lbs 108" LxWxG)- it can ship Media Mail.

The size of the box was just a clue to the Post Office Folks who have the right to 'open' the box to see if what is inside is actually Media.

johdevas · ‎10-02-2022

But it wasn't that big. We're not talking about a giant cooler here. This thing can barely hold a 12 pack in it. It's a small box and it wasn't anywhere near that size or weight.

stainlessenginecovers · ‎10-02-2022

Then it was way too light for the size; another dead giveaway to 'check it out' because if that size were full of books, would've weighed much more.

Bottom line; ebay is not responsible for how a seller ships something. They simply give all the options and it's up to the user to know each carrier's rules.

nobody*s_perfect · ‎10-02-2022

@johdevas wrote:
But it wasn't that big. We're not talking about a giant cooler here. This thing can barely hold a 12 pack in it. It's a small box and it wasn't anywhere near that size or weight.

USPS applies a "dimensional weight" to any box that's over 1 cubic foot (i.e., 1728 cubic inches).

In another post, somebody looked up the dimensions of the cooler and even before boxing it's 16 3/4" x 11" x 12 3/4", which is about 2400 cubic inches, so the final outer box clearly would be way beyond that. (FedEx and UPS have their own rules and formulas for larger boxes.)

USPS applies their rules for dimensional weight to Priority Mail, Retail Ground, and Parcel Select Ground. They don't apply it to Media Mail packages, which is why the postage rate for MM looked so reasonable. Regular MM rates (based only on actual weight) are applied to any package within the size limit, which is a length-plus-girth not over 108 inches.

I hope your family's recovery from the storm is as smooth as possible.