Is this allowed on Ebay? What happened here?

[thesugarpuppie]

Pierlala, a reason it might have gone up is because she's trying to figure out shipping.

From a seller's perspective it is a bit irritating to have people ask if you're making a profit on shipping.  I've had people ask me to send them back what I didn't use and had to explain to them that there is no extra.  Ebay has assumed what shipping will cost and may not be accurate, only to take fees off of that price meaning that shipping has to come from the cost of the item after fees if there is enough, or out of pocket.  Oftentimes people seem to overlook the fact that there are costs for shipping materials, postage, and then triple fees.  Ebay charges a fee on both items and shipping and paypal charges a fee,  Then after that ebay may not release the funds to the seller right away as part of some weird policy that affects sellers and allows buyers free reign.  So then the seller must ship before they even receive their funds and wait.

I'm not going to say you're trying to make anyone look bad, but I will say that there is a lot more to ebay on the seller side of things, and most definitely when it comes to international shipping.  The states have bumped up the prices so much over the years that selling overseas is not cost effective.  To retain paypal protection, avoid holds, and receive the (required for seller protection/proof of shipping) tracking it can cost anywhere from $30-$60+ priority depending on how quickly a buyer wants a package.  And some people are incredibly impatient despite what a seller's terms are regarding shipping.

[Pierlala]

I understand. I merely wanted to hear you guys view on it. Thanks for awnsering all.

[brighteyes]

Hi,  I am the seller in this case.  Your first offer was rejected because it was below my automatic cutoff for best offer.  EBay noticed me that an offer had been made and that you if subsequently made another offer.  I checked and according to my auction page I hadn't even enabled global shipping and the shipping price I was seeing from you was very low.  I adjusted the auction to accept global shipping and messaged you asking about the shipping.  As soon as I found out the shipping on your end was showing a reasonable amount I accepted your offer.  I told you via eBay that your first offer was rejected because it was below the amount I would accept for Ringlets. 

When you asked me about the shipping cost for the Tales Bright Eyes auction I checked and found that the weight of the pony was listed as 10 ounces not five ounces as is typical.  I fixed that and was going to let you know on Monday.  If you would have bought bright eyes and over paid on shipping I would have found out when I went to ship her and refunded the difference.  I always have the cheapest possible shipping and frequently pay out of pocket for shipping because I undercharge.  I have great feedback on eBay and the Arena because I really care and want to make things right for people who buy from me.  I frequently put little extras in for people and refund shipping if it takes me more than a few days to get to the post office. 

 This Sunday is Farther's day and I have been busy with my husband and our daughter so I did not respond to your message about the price difference in shipping for Bright Eyes.  I had intended to do so today.

Edited to add:  I am really not sure why it seemed to take a few minutes for eBay to reject the offer.  I did have it set to that option.  I really am not trying to scam you and again I am happy to cancel the order of you would prefer.  I am not upset or anything, just a bit sad and perplexed.  I really do try hard to be a good seller and make shipping as cheap as possible. 

Post Merge: June 19, 2016, 03:40:47 PM

I wanted to clarify too, why I messaged you the first time regarding the shipping.  The offer was show to me as offer + u.s. Shipping.  Something like 2.63$.  I had planned to go in and just reject your second offer but I wanted to message you first to let you know why I was doing that and to let you know that I had gone in and adjusted the auction to accept global shipping.  I was in the middle of canceling the order when I got your reply.  When I found out that you were seeing an accurate Netherlands shipping I accepted the offer. 

If I were to accept an offer of 13.00 or whatever plus 2.64 in shipping I would not even break even after paying eBay and PayPal fees because shipping international is so expensive.  I wanted to make absolutely sure that shipping was correct because I have been in that situation before- paying more in shipping and fees than I made in an auction. 

Post Merge: June 20, 2016, 06:51:01 AM

I've re-read this thread with a cooler head and I can see how this misunderstanding could happen.  I hope we can go forward with this transaction with no hard feelings.  It has definitely taught me to be more detailed in my replies on eBay so my thoughts are clearly communicated.  That means I need to stop replying on my eBay app on my phone lol

I did print the shipping label this morning and will take her by the post office this afternoon.  You paid 13.50 USD in shipping and the actual cost was 12.83 so I will refund you the difference via paypal. 

[Pierlala]

I am very sorry that it came off rather offensive. I'm quite new to Ebay. I am not experienced with selling on Ebay either. I tried to sell some G3 Ponies once but they never got sold. I just want you to know that I don't think bad of you as a Ebayer or MLP Arena-er . I feel bad now that I made this topic. I hope you can forgive me, I didn't mean to be rude. I look forward to receive beautiful Ringlets! 

[shelvesofwhimsy]

I know whenever I am sending something for international shipping I am losing money The calculator on the USPS isn't always correct so I do end up having to pay out of pocket sometimes from ebay and on my IG toy sales. Luckily many of the buyers are very reasonable and are ok with my overcharging and then refunding once an item is shipped
I know for me personally I always buy new padded envelopes for my items, and boxes. So I don't ever make any money from shipping, if I'm lucky I'll break even

I'm glad that this was worked out and that both the seller and buyer were present.

[brighteyes]

I am very sorry that it came off rather offensive. I'm quite new to Ebay. I am not experienced with selling on Ebay either. I tried to sell some G3 Ponies once but they never got sold. I just want you to know that I don't think bad of you as a Ebayer or MLP Arena-er . I feel bad now that I made this topic. I hope you can forgive me, I didn't mean to be rude. I look forward to receive beautiful Ringlets! 

Oh my gosh, don't feel bad at all    That's what this forum is for- asking questions when you aren't sure if something is right or not.  After I read through everything again in the morning I really saw how the misunderstanding happened and I'm glad you posted about it rather than being worried and unsure if you had been cheated.  I'm fairly new to shipping international on eBay so it's a new process for me too. 

[bluerose9978]

So glad the buyer and seller have worked this out amicably. It's nice to have a forum like this to express doubts if we are new to an online experience.

[plushroo]

I lost out too on sending overseas as well because ebay has to have a shipping amount added when listing worldwide shipping. It's hard if you're not a full time ebay seller and just getting rid of extras.

[Ringlets]

I'm so glad you could both talk this through and resolve it  . It was just a misunderstanding and you could  sort it out once you both explained what happened - it can be easy to get confused when this sort of situation happens on ebay, but  you were right to post here, its not causing anyone trouble, its just asking advice and it meant that both of you could talk it through more easily and resolve the situation with no bad feelings

Enjoy your new pony - you know she is my favourite !

[LadyMoondancer]

I lost out too on sending overseas as well because ebay has to have a shipping amount added when listing worldwide shipping. It's hard if you're not a full time ebay seller and just getting rid of extras.

Do you mean it wanted you to put in a flat shipping price?  Just so you know, there is an option for "calculated shipping", where eBay will calculate shipping (including international shipping) based on the buyer & seller's locations, the dimensions of the package, and the weight of the package. 

[bluerose9978]

I lost out too on sending overseas as well because ebay has to have a shipping amount added when listing worldwide shipping. It's hard if you're not a full time ebay seller and just getting rid of extras.

That's actually not true. I ship overseas and only have the shipping calculator available for Canada. Otherwise I ask that all other countries contact me for a shipping quote.

[Taffeta]

It looks to me as though you're trying to find a reason to vilify an innocent seller because she didn't take your $11 offer.


In fact, she'll be losing money because she has to pay 10% fees on whatever it costs to ship to YOU.  By shipping internationally. The seller is making less money. 
and


... When sellers are put through the ringer with international sales, especially when they're unfamiliar with the process, I can start to see why many are refusing to do international shipping at all.

I'm really glad this whole thing has been settled and ended up happily I just wanted to pick up on this, not as a reason to start more controversy but just as a point of note.

People who do not live in the US have been doing all those things for a very long time. Back before paypal we had to take US cash and change it at our own cost. I think there are still conversion costs meaning we lose money we take in a currency not our own. There are no US sellers who take £Sterling or Euros that I know of. We also often have to sell at a loss because of shipping costs, because we can't compete with a domestic US shipping market.

We also haven't had the option of printing shipping labels for abroad until more recently. That means we also added cost to travelling to the PO as a matter of course. Maybe twice to get the right quote.

What was said about the fees counts for all international shipping. And by that I mean the actual meaning of international - selling to a country outside of your own, not selling to a country that isn't the US. We all pay fees on shipping outside of our country. Most of us just consider that part of the transaction, but it isn't a US-specific hardship. It affects us all.

The point that I think should have been made in the above quoted is not that US sellers are taking a much harsher burden than anyone else (which is not the case), but that international shipping incurs burdens for all sellers shipping outside of their own country. I've been selling since 1998, and it has got a lot easier. But there are additional costs and hassles. Although on the flipside, you might make more money on a sale if you widen your market, so it's probably a negligible cost in real terms.

I think it important to clarify this because I hear a lot lately reasons not to ship abroad and reasons not to ship to x country. And I think the community has come a long way in making its trades and sales more global. I think it would be very sad if that was lost because of a few misunderstandings.

[silverdawn]

It looks to me as though you're trying to find a reason to vilify an innocent seller because she didn't take your $11 offer.


In fact, she'll be losing money because she has to pay 10% fees on whatever it costs to ship to YOU.  By shipping internationally. The seller is making less money. 
and


... When sellers are put through the ringer with international sales, especially when they're unfamiliar with the process, I can start to see why many are refusing to do international shipping at all.

I'm really glad this whole thing has been settled and ended up happily I just wanted to pick up on this, not as a reason to start more controversy but just as a point of note.

People who do not live in the US have been doing all those things for a very long time. Back before paypal we had to take US cash and change it at our own cost. I think there are still conversion costs meaning we lose money we take in a currency not our own. There are no US sellers who take £Sterling or Euros that I know of. We also often have to sell at a loss because of shipping costs, because we can't compete with a domestic US shipping market.

We also haven't had the option of printing shipping labels for abroad until more recently. That means we also added cost to travelling to the PO as a matter of course. Maybe twice to get the right quote.

What was said about the fees counts for all international shipping. And by that I mean the actual meaning of international - selling to a country outside of your own, not selling to a country that isn't the US. We all pay fees on shipping outside of our country. Most of us just consider that part of the transaction, but it isn't a US-specific hardship. It affects us all.

The point that I think should have been made in the above quoted is not that US sellers are taking a much harsher burden than anyone else (which is not the case), but that international shipping incurs burdens for all sellers shipping outside of their own country. I've been selling since 1998, and it has got a lot easier. But there are additional costs and hassles. Although on the flipside, you might make more money on a sale if you widen your market, so it's probably a negligible cost in real terms.

I think it important to clarify this because I hear a lot lately reasons not to ship abroad and reasons not to ship to x country. And I think the community has come a long way in making its trades and sales more global. I think it would be very sad if that was lost because of a few misunderstandings.

I suppose I should clarify that I mean international shipping, not just from the US abroad, but from any country to another country.  I'm a Canadian myself and moved to the US a couple of years ago. (Let me just say, the US postal system is a glorious thing compared to Canada Post!!) I remember the hell of trying to convince international sellers (US ones especially) to ship to me in Canada.  I'm down to just a few international ponies left, and now I'm facing the same trouble trying to convince German/UK/Dutch sellers to ship to me.  Whenever I attempt to buy from anyone internationally, I try to make it as easy for the seller as possible, because so many of them won't ship to the US for the exact reasons you mentioned Taffeta   I know that postage is high, and the inconvenience is real.  The sellers are often very hesitant and apologetic, (sometimes terrified almost) when asked to ship to me.  There's nothing I like more than when an international sale is complete and the seller is happy and willing to sell to me again.

I've also had UK sellers outright refuse to sell to me because they didn't want to deal with currency conversions, international shipping, etc.  And when they're unfamiliar with international sales, I definitely understand where they're coming from.  Especially when I see the backlash from international  buyers claiming shipping overcharge, slow delivery times, and in general being unwilling to work with their sellers.  I came from Canada, I remember all of that   So no, I don't think US sellers in particular are taking a harsher burden than other countries, I think ALL international sellers, regardless of what country they're from, have a greater burden those who only sell domestically.

As for my personal opinion, I LOVE to ship internationally.  A majority of my sales now are international, around 40% according to my paypal summaries.  Like I said, I remember being stuck in Canada and how hard it was to get things shipped to me, so I want to make sure I can help fellow international collectors and make it easier to get the items they want for the most affordable shipping price possible.

[Taffeta]

That was kind of why I wanted to clarify it, because I am certain I have traded/bought from you before, and its' been no issue, and we're both in opposite places. I've just sensed a general depression brought on about international shipping lately because of the meteoric rises in US postage and I didn't want this to become one of those situations.

I think we're lucky we're no longer putting cash in fakies. That's all I have to say about it

[Stormy31685]

I personally think your seller is a little newer herself, and therefore is responding based on what she can see.  eBay is rather confusing to both buyers and sellers these days.  I would not jump to the conclusion that she is being difficult, but by the same token, you may want to reconsider dealing with her if she seems to be difficult to you.  The pony you are after is not all that uncommon, and you may be able to get a similar deal from a more experienced (and willing to work with you) seller.

That being said, I will absolutely restate a thousand times over that International shipping has become extraordinarily high for US residents - doubling with the last price increase.  And I also feel that buyers need to be aware that eBay does not offer shipping discounts to every seller, and the discount some of them get, not only fluctuates with performance, but is also subject to change constantly.