The MLP Arena

TCB => Trader & Shipping Support => Topic started by: Icicle on December 21, 2012, 03:50:47 PM

Title: -No more help needed-
Post by: Icicle on December 21, 2012, 03:50:47 PM

Spoiler

My fiance just recently purchased an item on eBay. Pretty routine for us, really. Seller messaged saying "Hey, are you sure you want this Parcel Post (the option the seller had had)? It might not get there in time for Christmas..." to which my fiance responded "So long as it has tracking and I get it, I really don't care. Because if you were looking to charge me more I'd be very against it, especially considering you are charging me almost $10 in shipping." Seller responded back saying they realized they had accidentally overcharged, and could send out priority and refund the extra shipping. All cool.

Messaged my fiance today with the tracking number, saying they refunded $2.40 then commented with (and this is taken directly from the message)

"Part of the listed shipping total includes  EBAY'S 11% FEES charged directly on shipping costs. "

Now, if I remember correctly overcharging in shipping in an attempt tp circumvent eBay/PalPal fees is against the rules, correct? We just don't know what we should do, should we go to eBay.. let it be..? I know the seller cannot leave us negative feedback (and if they left a negative comment we can have eBay retract it), but my fiance would very much like this item and we aren't exactly looking for a refund just find this to be a bit shady. Any advice would be much appreciated!

Title: Re: Bit of an eBay.. I guess moral dilemma?
Post by: Em_L._Pea_Customs on December 21, 2012, 03:57:02 PM

It isn't regular ebay/paypal fees that they are trying to recoup.  It is the actual fees that ebay now charges on the amount you charge for shipping.  I can't see why this wouldn't be okay to do, but I'm not sure what ebay's actual rules are on this.  I have since changed all of my auctions to free shipping and just roll estimated shipping costs into the price.  Ebay just wants to keep people from circumventing fees by having auctions end low with super padded shipping costs. 

Title: Re: Bit of an eBay.. I guess moral dilemma?
Post by: Icicle on December 21, 2012, 03:59:35 PM

Well, that's troubling. I guess this was something my fiance and I missed when reviewing things (as we sell the occasional item). I guess it now bothers me a little more they didn't just explain that at first or anywhere. Stupid eBay.. thanks I guess :/.

Edit: Hm, doing a bit more research I see this has been a while. I guess, even with us selling as usual this hasn't been an issue. But I would imagine charging more in shipping still hurts you as a seller..? Unless I missed something in my research. I guess it would be best to leave it be..

Title: Re: Bit of an eBay.. I guess moral dilemma?
Post by: HoustonCollector72 on December 21, 2012, 04:08:37 PM

the seller gets charged on both the shipping and the item price, so either way ,ebay gets  11 % on both values , you can buy something for 5 dollars and pay 10 shipping , or pay 15 and free shipping, ebay gets the same amount at the end .

Title: Re: Bit of an eBay.. I guess moral dilemma?
Post by: nhal039 on December 21, 2012, 04:13:44 PM

I blame ebay I think its terrible honset sellers get charged fees in shipping, I don't see why the seller should have to cover this from there on pocket so yes I personally think it will/ should have to come out of the buyers pocket.
Quite frankly ebay is just greedy and should have never charged  a fee on postage in the first place, buyers should simply not to bid if shipping is over priced! At the end of the day only ebay is winning by enforcing this fee

Title: Re: Bit of an eBay.. I guess moral dilemma?
Post by: Em_L._Pea_Customs on December 21, 2012, 04:26:58 PM

Quote from: Icicle on December 21, 2012, 03:59:35 PM

...But I would imagine charging more in shipping still hurts you as a seller..? Unless I missed something in my research...

Any shipping cost, even actual costs, can hurt you as a seller.  How you may ask?  Because a buyer can rate your shipping costs with lower stars, EVEN if you charge ONLY actual shipping.  This happened to me a couple of times.  I charged only actual shipping costs, I mean down to the penny, with no additional fees for anything or to recoup ebay fees, AND printed ebay USPS labels that showed the buyer the shipping costs.  The lower stars can affect you in a host of ways.  In the end, I decided to just go the free shipping route with the costs rolled into the price.  That way ebay gets their fees, I can't be dinged on stars and the buyer feels good about free shipping. 

And I agree that it is ridiculous that you can be charged for actual shipping fees.  I get that ebay wanted to make sure that people weren't circumventing the system, but this wasn't the best solution to that problem.  It was just the best solution for THEM. 

Title: Re: Bit of an eBay.. I guess moral dilemma?
Post by: ClosetAvalanche on December 21, 2012, 04:53:37 PM

Honestly, I would let it go but I am speaking from a seller's stand point. A lot of buyers don't realize all the fees we have to pay. %11 of the final sale, %11 of the total shipping charged. Not to mention the paypal fees. What item was it? Something to remember, you agreed to the shipping before you bid, so it makes no sense to complain about it afterward. If you don't like the shipping price, move on to the next auction.

Title: Re: Bit of an eBay.. I guess moral dilemma?
Post by: Icicle on December 21, 2012, 05:07:47 PM

Quote from: ClosetAvalanche on December 21, 2012, 04:53:37 PM

Honestly, I would let it go but I am speaking from a seller's stand point. A lot of buyers don't realize all the fees we have to pay. %11 of the final sale, %11 of the total shipping charged. Not to mention the paypal fees. What item was it? Something to remember, you agreed to the shipping before you bid, so it makes no sense to complain about it afterward. If you don't like the shipping price, move on to the next auction.

I sell too, so I know about the fees. The only reason I was seeking advice was the fact they admitted they were trying to cover the fees (which I thought was against policy, even overcharging in general).

It was a Transformer that, my fiance and I have sold numerous before and knew that the parcel post price wasn't outrageous. The seller admitted to the overcharge and could ship priority. We never had a problem with the shipping cost, my fiance simply commented on the shipping being already $10 in response to the seller asking if we wanted it faster (because we didn't want to pay more, thinking it was going to be a heavy box).

I think I have all the information I wanted, so there's no need to get any more information, I guess. Thanks.