shipping cost higher than in listing ???

[kkmm]

Hi,

I offered 50$ for an used instrument, the listing ask for 60$ with 15.50$ shipping cost.
The seller agreed to my offer and gave me an invoice for 50$ + 26$ for shipping cost !!!
Why suddently the seller increases the shipping cost by 10.50$ ? is this to compensate for the 10$ reduction in the price ?

Do I have to pay the amount on the invoice ? IMHO, I don't think so but just want to ask to be sure.

[Theo W.]

No. You should pay the original shipping price and the agreed price for the instrument. That's very backhanded of the seller. For shame.

[kkmm]

Thanks for the suggestion, I sent a question to the seller as to why a higher shipping cost.
I will wait for the answer of the seller then. I like to hear what the seller says.

[kkmm]

The seller replies: he made a mistake in the invoice, re-issued a correct one with 15$ shipping (50 cents reduction on shipping cost). I happily paid for it. Issue resolved.

[kkmm]

Well, it's resolved a different way now, the seller cancelled the transaction and refunded me in full.
I kind of guess this will happen. Second time this happens to me on eBay. First time was a happy ending for me as I found on CL, same day, an AS NEW instrument, exact same brand & model, with an expensive hard case for just 50$ more.
This time, I missed a good deal. Oh well.

[kkmm]

I am curious to know whether the seller had to pay eBay fee and Paypal fee in this situation.

[OldGus]

Not if he refunded you...

[barney 59]

I think sometimes sellers who maybe don't do it a lot find they underestimate the real shipping costs. I also think that a lot of people dealing on ebay think it's a game ---as in "I WON It! on ebay !!!!" It's a transaction, someone sold and someone purchased at auction. If part of the transaction is "buyer pays shipping" then that should be enough,the buyer pays--the real cost. If seller pays shipping then they pay. When sellers ask an unreasonable amount for shipping even if it looks like it might turn out to be a good deal that is often enough to get me to lose interest in the thing. Too many people involved think that what they are trying to do is "get over" on someone else and it's not, it's a way for a buyer to get something possibly at a good price and a seller to get a fair payment for the thing they have to sell. No one should "lose"! Once there was a case listed on ebay --free shipping-- I managed to get the thing super cheap and when it arrived I could see that the shipping was more than the purchase price. I got in touch with the seller and offered to give him some more money but he waved me off. I still thought that it was unfair that he got nothing or actually less than nothing. If the real shipping costs were more than previously stated but the thing was still a good deal I probably would have paid it allowing for a possible mistake by the seller. I've done it myself --taken something to the UPS store and gone "How much? Really!!!"

[MoreMando]

Last year I bought a mandolin on eBay and, if I remember correctly, it was $18 shipping, which is less than most shops will quote. When I sold a mandolin on eBay it was about $28 including the price I paid for the box and styrofoam stuffing. I believe I sent it Priority Mail, with insurance and proof of delivery. Unless the seller is sending it FedEx, anything more than that indicates the seller is profiting from shipping and handling.

$26 sounds like a fair amount if the seller wraps it properly and includes insurance. If you really wanted the mandolin I wouldn't quibble over $10 or so.

[kkmm]

In my situation, 26$ for shipping a guitar is still cheap as this is a NEW instrument. I recently ship a guitar for around 55$ (from South West to North East, with insurance and boxing materials). The point is the seller asks for 15.50$ for shipping.
At the end, even if I paid the full asking amount (75$ total), I believe the seller would cancel the transaction. I would if I was the seller. I made my offer simply because of the attractive price. Yesterday, there was an exact one (USED) sold for 120$ total.

[Petrus]

I'm glad it worked out for you (if I read the whole story correctly ... got a bit confusing there) but I don't like the idea of cancelling a sale after the fact, either from the p.o.v. of a seller or a buyer, both sides of which I frequently play on eBay. It's unprofessional. If you list something and it sells, that deal should hold good. Occasionally I've underestimated shipping costs and ended up breaking even on a sale or even losing a few bucks when you count fees, but if it's my fault it's not fair to pull the rug out from under the buyer. Also, I still get an extra sale to my credit and hopefully an extra positive rating, so it's not a total loss.

The only time cancelling a sale would be acceptable is if the product turned out to have a previously unnoticed flaw or breaks during packing, or something like that.

[kkmm]

The first time the seller cancelled my buying and refunded me was due to: the seller accidentally shipped it in a case he sold previously, without knowing the instrument is in it. Whoever bought the case got the instrument for free, a broken one for 40$ !!! That's was the explanation he gave.

I am asking myself what would I do if I was this buyer:
1) quietly keep the instrument ? I doubt I could do this and still have peace of mind
2) contact the seller and ask his opinion: ship the instrument at the seller's expense, or keep the instrument and pay him an amount that both sides agree.

[Jeff Mando]

Accidents do happen and sometimes it is difficult to "undo" the deal. My buddy was a big seller on eBay, then got cancer and tried to keep up with his business but accidently managed to send two rather expensive instruments to the wrong locations, one in Europe, one in Australia, due to his medication. Fortunately, both buyers were honest and even arranged to help him by sending the instruments directly to each other, rather than back to the USA. Of course, he was out a lot of money in shipping. But it shows that people can be nice and understanding.

I ordered a camera part from a huge retailer in Toronto, got great service, but the wrong part. They said it was out of stock and refunded me immediately and told me to just keep the part they did send me, no need to send it back. I had no use for it, listed it on eBay auction and it brought over $200! I can deal with inconvenience like that--ALL DAY LONG!

[Colin Lindsay]

I am asking myself what would I do if I was this buyer:

I’m asking myself what I would do if I was the seller - maybe come up with a better excuse?
I’ve had more than a few lame excuses when eBay items failed to realise the price the seller hoped, and so they’ve withdrawn from sending me the item I won with some excuse or other. I’ve had one item (Apple software) that was on its’ way to the Post Office when the car was apparently stolen; unfortunately I did an Internet search for the seller’s user name and found him posting on a forum about how it failed to reach a good price so he just kept it. Keep watching and see if this one appears again.

[Mike Arakelian]

What kind of rating did the seller have on EBay, and how many sales to his credit? I never purchase anything on EBay unless the seller has both sufficient transactions and a great rating. I've been burned twice and have learned my lesson. At least you got your money back!