The MLP Arena
TCB => Trader & Shipping Support => Topic started by: babystarz on March 04, 2012, 03:11:37 PM
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First things first, does anyone recognize this eBay user's picture as being a former Arena member? http://myworld.ebay.com/aaa41583/?_trksid=p4340.l2559 (http://myworld.ebay.com/aaa41583/?_trksid=p4340.l2559) An Arena username immediately popped into my mind when I saw her picture, but I'd like outside confirmation on that as I can't be sure I'm remembering right, and I certainly don't want to be pointing fingers at the wrong person.
I'm asking because I was just ripped off by this seller. Based on the ponies I bought, I know she's a collector either way, which makes my interaction with her more upsetting.
I bid on two auctions of baby ponies and won them, totaling over $160 not including shipping for 19 baby ponies, some baby accessories and a couple of back cards. I sent a message right after the auction ended; asking if I could possibly get a combined shipping quote, because I knew that the cost of shipping them would not cost the $34 she was asking. I didn't hear back from her. A few days later I checked to see if she had changed the shipping price on my invoice and saw that she had lowered it to $20, so I went ahead and paid, although I was surprised by her lack of communication.
When I received the package, the sticker with the shipping price was for $10.56. Additionally, there were no packing materials in the box. She put the ponies in ziplock bags (a total of 4 baggies) and put them in a cardboard box with the back cards and accessories. She didn't include any padding or anything. So charging $9.50 for a cardboard box seems pretty excessive to me, not to mention the extra space in the box was worrying, but thankfully nothing was damaged during shipping. Also, a very cancery pony was put in a ziplock with a bunch of minty ponies, which I thought she should have known better than to do because even if she isn't who I think she might be, it's clear to me that she is a collector selling off her collection who was knowledgeable enough to identify the cancer in the description.
It looks like I'm not the only person she's done this to; she has bad feedback from someone else for overcharging on shipping by $20 (and for not accurately describing the condition of ponies). I'm holding off on leaving feedback myself while I explore my options, but I wanted to let people know about what happened because I don't want anyone else to have to deal with this.
At least I got some really good ponies, but I would not deal with her again.
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I'm sorry you had this bad experience :(
I don't know the seller. Your story makes me sad, though! :hug: Mostly because it's so unfair she overcharged you by that much.
I'm also not a big fan of seller with lack of communicating. I can totally understand you'll never do business again with this seller.
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It's your $9.50!!!
I'd open a claim to get the 9.50 and leave neutral feedback stating over charge and poor quality. :)
(Edit)
On further inspection, her feedback looks pretty solid.
And her shipping on the rest of her ponies and current listings looks normal.
I'd message her and explain that you're entitled to the $9.50 back because it went into her pocket, not into shipping your ponies. If she doesn't comply, then open up a claim and leave either neutral or negative feedback. (Depending on if the seller acknowledged the over charge or not).
I personally believe that one bad feedback isn't enough to condemn the seller as.
She's had 10 positive feedbacks since then.
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Darn, I was watching one of their items, now I don't think I'll bid. XD
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I'm sorry to hear this hun :hug: the face looks familiar, but at this time of the morning my memory is not working so well - I'll have to get back to you on the ID. Either way, thats a heck of a lot of money to charge for the box, without even any packaging materials... and yes she should have known better than to mix a cancerous pony in with mint ones :(
I think I would contact the seller again, let them know that the parcel has arrived safely and say something positive about the transaction( - like that you are happy with the ponies, the item was sent quickly etc ) , but there were a few things you found a little disappointing - the cancerous pony in with the mint ones, and also that you noticed that the shipping only came to $10.56 rather than the $20 you were charged. Then see how the seller responds before leaving honest feedback. Obviously if the seller will not give a partial refund on the postage, or ignores you, then mark down the star rating on those catagories.
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Thanks for the heads up. I hope you are able to leave honest FB!
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I agree with Ringlets; you should definitely try to contact her!! Charging you that kind of money for those kinds of shipping packing is just flat absurd!!! And I won't even GO into the cancerous pony mixed with the minty ones! :mad:
At any rate, I can't say that I recognize her but my Memory is worse than Ringlets All Day, Every Day!! LOL :P Good luck with getting your shipping fees back and boil those Minty babies right away!!!!!
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Thanks for the heads up. I hope you are able to leave honest FB!
Me too, but she's only left me feedback for one of the auctions. I guess she's waiting on the other to see what I do. I wouldn't put it past her to leave a bad comment in retaliation even if she can't technically leave bad feedback. She hasn't exactly shown that she has scruples.
Edit: I have opened a case with eBay, since she never responded to my message about shipping. I figure she'll respond now since I alerted eBay about it. I remained pleasant and asked if I could please have my $9.44 in unused shipping money back.
2nd Edit: She responded
After you sent me the message, I promptly sent you the invoice at your request with a combined shipping discount, also at your request. You can check the invoice I sent you - in the messages section it said "combined shipping discount applied." I was able to fit them both in the same box, so hence the $14.00 combined shipping discount. You have to remember that the cost includes handling and materials, not just what the post office charges. I give a flat rate for my shipping and handling, which makes it easier for my lovely customers! Because it is a flat rate, I estimate the cost based on the most it could be, such as NY to LA. You live in MN, so the post office cost of shipping was less. Do you like the ponies? ~Alexis
Ok, so she did send an invoice in the box with the ponies, but I do not consider that a reply to the online message I sent on eBay? Also, I do not understand her explanation about the "flat rate." If it's a flat rate, wouldn't it be the same price to ship the box anywhere? And even if it's not, she just gets to keep the money that she didn't spend because it was cheaper? And I'm really irked that she had the nerve to claim the $9.50 was for "handling and materials" when she didn't use any materials. Not even a little bubblewrap. She used 4 plastic baggies and put them in a box, which she taped. Let's round the cost of that up to a dollar. She paid herself $8.50 to pack a box. :argh:
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:crazy: :blink: ok.. I fail to follow her reasoning here - I guess I'll have to come back and re-read it in the morning :blush: . It does sound like she has decided to keep that extra money as a handling and packaging materials charge, but how can she justify that much, when she hasnt used anything except a box and a few bags?
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She had an ID at the old Arena under the same name as her ebay but that's all I could glean. She hasn't been active for a few years.
Don't back down. As a collector, she knows better.
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A lot of sellers have a flate rate that they issue for a certain type of item
For example, my parents sell a lot of shoes on ebay. Shoes, obviously, vary in size and weight. And the costs vary based on weight and on how far they are going, like your seller said. To my things easier, my parents charge a flat rate for shipping shoes - they do not weigh each pair individually and calculate individual prices. Because they do this, sometimes they end up overcharging by a couple of dollars and sometimes they actually end up undercharging.
That is the kind of "flat rate" your seller is referring to. However, I feel that as the price diference in significant (I think anything over $5 is significant and outside the margin of error) I think your seller should do the decent thing and refund at least part of that.
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I am concerned that ebay will not force a partial return since by paying for it you agreed to the charges. Some people do charge outrageous shipping fees if they live in the country and have to drive far to fedex, or they just plain hope to bump up the final sale price of their auction. I don't think there is an actual rule that states you have to combine shipping at all. I agree you were grievously overcharged, I just don't know if there is really much you can do at this point other than give her bad marks and stars.
Edit: Ok looks like "Also, keep in mind that sellers aren't allowed to charge a separate fee for things like insurance, mileage, time spent at a shipping carrier, employee wages, or eBay and PayPal fees."
"Sellers can charge reasonable shipping and handling fees to cover the costs for mailing, packaging, and handling the items that they sell. However, charging excessive fees for shipping violates our selling practices policy (http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-practices.html)."
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I do think that it's against eBay rules to charge anything but actual postage?
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Unfortunately there is no way for you to receive any sort of refund or reimbursement (unless the seller willingly agrees to this). But there are other actions you can take to let eBay and it's buyers know that the seller overcharges.
I just posted this on another thread:
"You can report her to eBay for abusing the shipping and handling costs.
Click the following link and Report the Seller to eBay (http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-practices.html) -
scroll to the bottom of the page where it says "Contact Customer Service" -
report the seller for "excessive shipping" or "circumvention of eBay fees". "
And I recommend leaving a negative/neutral feedback comment (be sure to state that the reason for the negative/neutral is related to the shipping cost).
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How did the seller respond?
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After her initial response, I asked if she could explain how the money was spent. She hasn't said anything. I'm not really sure what to do at this point.
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Ebay does allow sellers to charge a handling fee, however, it has to be reasonable. Even for local pick ups, there may be a handling fee involved. This however should be reasonable, and not ridiculous.
I do hope that the seller tries to do the right thing for you!
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Just wanted to update and say that it has now been 5 days with no reply from the seller so I've escalated the case for a final decision from eBay. I know I probably won't get anything but I figured it was worth a shot.
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Good Luck babystarz and I do hope they side in your favor.
I am just curious though when you opened the case, where you able to open a case for the excessive shipping charges? Or did you have to file an item not as described case?
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I had to file an "item not as described" case. Since the shipping price was not as described, that seemed like the closest option. I will definitely look into filing a report for excessive shipping costs too. I can't believe the seller has stopped responding again, what a nightmare to deal with. You would think she'd care more about defending herself now that eBay is involved, to say nothing of her reputation being on the line.
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Good luck, babystarz! :lovey:
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http://reviews.ebay.com/Report-excessive-shipping-step-by-step-guide?ugid=10000000001894527 (http://reviews.ebay.com/Report-excessive-shipping-step-by-step-guide?ugid=10000000001894527)
Here is a link to the step by step to report excessive shipping. Seems outdated though (even though it says it was updated this month).
I tried to poke around to get at a menu that was similar. And this is what it says in the customer support for the search 'excessive shipping' :
"Also, keep in mind that sellers aren't allowed to charge a separate fee for things like insurance, mileage, time spent at a shipping carrier, employee wages, or eBay and PayPal fees. See the shipping and handling costs section of our selling practices policy (http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-practices.html) for more information. [/size][/color]
If a seller is breaking the rules, report it to us (http://contact.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ContactUs&wftype=2023&rcode=LP%25P10077&subject=Selling%20practices%20policy&bcrumb=%20Home%20%3E%20Help%20%3EMembership%20%26%20account%3ERules%20%26%20policies%3ESelling%20practices%20policy&instruction=&expirationDate=)."[/font]
[/color][/size][/color][/size]report it to us, is a link, that sends it to a form to email them. What happens beyond that....... who knows. [/color]
I am curious to know if a not as described case would work in your favor . Mostly because not as described is not your issue. (And it never seems like they believe in partial refunds, only full refunds with returns).
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I tried to poke around to get at a menu that was similar. And this is what it says in the customer support for the search 'excessive shipping' :
"Also, keep in mind that sellers aren't allowed to charge a separate fee for things like insurance, mileage, time spent at a shipping carrier, employee wages, or eBay and PayPal fees. See the shipping and handling costs section of our selling practices policy (http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-practices.html) for more information. [/size][/color]
If a seller is breaking the rules, report it to us (http://contact.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ContactUs&wftype=2023&rcode=LP%25P10077&subject=Selling%20practices%20policy&bcrumb=%20Home%20%3E%20Help%20%3EMembership%20%26%20account%3ERules%20%26%20policies%3ESelling%20practices%20policy&instruction=&expirationDate=)."[/font]
[/color][/size][/color][/size]report it to us, is a link, that sends it to a form to email them. What happens beyond that....... who knows. [/color]
Thank you! A good link to have on hand. :) My biggest complaint with ebay recently though is that we sellers are not allowed to charge for insurance. It's either included in the shipping cost, or it's not. I wish it was an option - I understand why they've changed that (to protect the buyer), but honestly it's very off-putting to a lot of bidders seeing that the shipping cost is nearly $2 more to cover insurance. I liked it better when it was an option.
I mean, I ensure packages $50 and over, but I'm not going to spend $2 extra on insurance when the pony I sold was $4, and shipping itself was $2. :drunk:
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ARGH! I'm so fed up with sellers overcharging for shipping. This seems to be a growing trend. Sellers claim that by offering you a combined shipping total, they can give you a few bucks back and expect you to be happy about it. I've had two major cases recently and have posted here about them.
ajbgames - I bought a BUNCH of single auctions after getting confirmation she combined shipping. In the end, I paid $60+ for about $30 worth in shipping. Old boxes were used and the only packing materials were the zip lock baggies the ponies were in.
klicic1986 - International seller. I bought a handful of single pony items and was given a discounted combined shipping rate of 20GBP. I figured the high cost was for it being sent insured or registered, but no. The items arrived dirty, loose in in one of those thin plastic mailer baggies with a postage stamp of 6.50GBP.
Both sellers defended their overcharging and were extremely difficult to work out a solution.
Leaving a low rating and reporting excessive shipping charges to ebay sounds good, but I have a hard time doing that before letting the seller know I have an issue with them. But it's been my experience, no matter how nice you are about it, they will probably get defensive. Just a warning.
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So eBay decided in the seller's favor, no surprise there. I'm still hesitant to leave feedback because she hasn't left my second feedback. I will file a report on the shipping overcharge though.
I'm going to update the thread title to include her username as well so people are aware from a glance who I'm talking about.
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Sellers cant leave buyers negative feedback, so you're fine.
What irks me as a seller is that follow the rules and yet I'm charged fees on shipping! and the wakos get away with profiting from it. I usually charge $3.00 for an adult and $2.50 for a baby, yet someone actually left me a 1 star for shipping costs so I'm just switching all my auctions over to free shipping.
My best advice is leave negative feedback and ding her stars. When she finds out she cant sell anymore because of low ratings, maybe she'll get it.
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I would leave honest feedback at this point. :huh:
Also she can not leave a false positive on your account, ebay will remove it at your request if she does.
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Sorry they didnt find in your favor *sigh* :( its not fair that she got away with this. Thanks for updating the title of the thread as well :bigups:
My best advice is leave negative feedback and ding her stars. When she finds out she cant sell anymore because of low ratings, maybe she'll get it.
This is what I would advise too. ^^
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Ok, I'm going to go ahead and leave the negative feedback, but I'm trying to figure out how to fit everything I want to say in the space allotted. It's difficult! Edit: I just complained about the shipping overcharge and not the poor communication, I figured the star rating I left would say enough about that.
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I'm glad you stuck to your guns babystars. As a collector, with the overcharge she should seriously know better to use (some of) the excess money to pad your ponies. over $160 worth- it makes me cringe! If I was paying that invoice, I would have assumed they had protection in that box. I'm glad to see you're reporting the overcharge.
ashlyne, I have found the opposite since the stars were introduced. Maybe it's because I'm in Canada and before us international peoples tended to get overcharged more before? I know some places that additional fees not seen on the postal sticker are applied to that shipping purchase. (mailing within Canada there is tax applied after).
Anyway, before I had complained a couple times about shipping. If it's a few dollars I didn't care. I did care if there was no padding, or otherwise packed in a way that should have caused damage. when it was $20 and I was charged $40 (and sometimes on top of it they counted that $40 towards the customs declaration so I was paying 15% on that converted too). I would complain. and get nothing from it.
Now a few times I had had an issue with being overcharged, so I'd write and ask what's up. something like "Hi, I getting ready to leave you some feedback and I notice I was charged $15 on my invoice for shipping, the label on the package said $7.88 I did notice you used a sturdy box, and packing materials inside. I don't mind the additional to cover that, and didn't want to leave any ratings yet if this wasn't intentional, or there were additional charges from the post office the label doesn't reflect. Other then that, everything was perfect. Awaiting your response. :)" and normally, before a response I'd get a partial. and then a response with something like it's easier for them to overcharge and refund after, which they forgot to do before hand for me, then make an error that favors the buyer and eat the difference in shipping.
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Thanks for the info, Firefly.
Just wanted to say be extremely careful saying ANYTHING about feedback or the star rating when contacting a seller to see if they'll do something for you. I very vaguely mentioned the star system rating, not even in a direct way, when asking ajbgames about the shipping overage and she reported me to ebay. Ebay saw it as extortion and dinged my account for 3 months for a "Policy Violation". They take it very seriously, so I would avoid any mention of it.
That's interesting about Canada's postal tax. Can anyone verify if the UK has such a thing? I believe I've heard that the postage stamp cost is the actual cost. I did re-weigh the whole package and calculated the shipping price on Royal Mail and it came out exact. There were no extra services on there like registration or signature. Plus, if there were, I'm sure klicic1986 would've mentioned it.
It seems to me ebay won't go after excessive shipping charges on multiple item buys. And there's no standard on combined shipping that says the seller has to send a certain amount back. So if you buy 10 ponies, and the shipping is listed for $5 each, the seller can charge you $50 (or even just $45 and call it a combined shipping discount) and send it in a flat rate box for $14. It's quite a scam!
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Wow, thanks for letting me know. Huh. Now I'll make no mention of it, just ask if an overage gets corrected. Those stars are the reason I mention a more minor (more then a couple bucks) difference to a seller in the first place. I don't want to leave someone a lower rating, when they fully intended to refund an overcharge but forgot.
Adding to this.
If I mail something within Canada, there are some additional charges. A fuel surcharge (I don't think is reflected on the label) is added and sales tax is applied on all charges, in BC it's 12%. This ONLY applies to mailing within Canada. If I mail to the USA, the price you see on the package is the price I paid.
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Of course Ebay doesn't care about people who over charge on shipping- they get their fees from them anyway, why should they?
Sorry, I keep ranting about that fact, but it's an unfair practice to honest sellers XD
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Of course Ebay doesn't care about people who over charge on shipping- they get their fees from them anyway, why should they?
Sorry, I keep ranting about that fact, but it's an unfair practice to honest sellers XD
It totally is, because it makes me so much more wary about bidding. From now on, I'll have a hard time justifying a bid with a seller that has any bad feedback regarding shipping costs, whether or not it was deserved (it's not like I can tell). Your auctions are great though, I'm never hesitant over yours :P I have some favorite sellers that I always check first and that I know will be upfront about any flaws and only charge at cost shipping. You're one of them ^^ But unfortunately, for sellers I don't know or who are just starting out, I'm not willing to give them the benefit of the doubt any longer, or wait for a shipping refund since there are clearly people who are more than happy to pocket the unspent money.
I think eBay has gotten so big that the company doesn't have the resources to deal with this stuff, so everyone loses out.
And what really ticks me off more than anything is that this seller outright lied about the "materials" thing. It's offensive to me because I pay out of pocket for pretty tissue paper and stickers for every sale I make within the US, so that the buyer can have the joy of unwrapping a "present" upon receiving a package from me. And the only reason I don't do it is if an item is too oddly shaped or shipping internationally (in which case customs may very well unwrap it). I do this for free because I want buyers to have a good experience with me, and know that I care about them and the item.
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I pay out of pocket for pretty tissue paper and stickers for every sale I make within the US, so that the buyer can have the joy of unwrapping a "present" upon receiving a package from me.
I want to buy something from you now, just for that.
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I pay out of pocket for pretty tissue paper and stickers for every sale I make within the US, so that the buyer can have the joy of unwrapping a "present" upon receiving a package from me.
I want to buy something from you now, just for that.
Same here xD I love presents!!
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Hehe thanks guys :P As you can see, doing things that build customer loyalty and satisfaction is better in the long run than ripping someone off to make a quick buck and losing them as a customer forever anyway. So being unscrupulous happens to be bad business sense! My grandpa and dad grew their family business from the ground up (twice, because it burned down in the 70's), and they have people that will come from 6 states away just to deal with them even though there are closer businesses that will give them the same deal. They even have the entire Hutterite community (50,000 people) dealing exclusively with them because it's an insular community that only deals with outsiders if they know they can trust them. Some of them come from as far away as Canada to do this. One colony invites my dad to their children's Christmas pageant every year. I guess that's why I feel so strongly about this subject - I have seen the fruitfulness of building strong connections with customers, because they keep coming back year after year and pass on those connections to their kids, and they recommend you to others. And frankly, it's much more pleasant to deal with happy people!
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I completely agree on the strong ties :) my grandmother who is crop grower and a supplier of stew tomatos etc. Dealt with this one family for decades and within the last 3 years she had to sever ties because the children took over and messed everything up. To the point they're having to file bankrupsty. And the parents begged but she said no she would never deal with them again. Once a honest family goes bad its all over. :( that's why I check the bad trader list now so I don't get screwed over :(
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Okies, I've just logged onto this subject, so please forgive me back-tracking a little...
Firstly, I'm really sorry to hear you've gone through this, but I'm really glad you've shared your experience as a warning to all (I've watched many of her auctions with an expectant drool, but never dealt with her) and it affirms to myself, not to deal with this seller - no matter how good her ponies look!
In regards to shipping over-charge - I've actually had this happen before with a seller from Hawaii (trembly3054) who said she would ship my ponies (a MIB Sparkler in a mangled box & a Mummy Sunbright) priority mail and I paid around $44 for it. When it arrived, it was sent first class for $12.50... I did open a 'item not described' after she promised to refund me $30... which she didn't do and I made out to paypal that the ponies weren't in the condition as described on ebay and I got my $30 back! Mind you, this was back in December, 2010!
If you DO have this experience again, you can either do that or make out the ponies never arrived and ask for a partial refund...? The latter may not be the honest way, but the more I deal with ebay sellers (this isn't really directed at sellers in the realms of pony buying though) the sneaker you've got to become, as they simply don't care they're ripping you off... Sorry if that sounds like a rant, but I've been though some awful, devilish ebay sales lately! AND it seems to be getting worse! :mad: