Ebay shipping question...

I won an auction on ebay for comic books. Comic Books are, by rules of the US Postal Service, not considered Media Mail and shouldn't be shipped media mail. Buyer has economy shipping listed and charges $5.90 to ship the item in the auction that I won. Proceeds to ship the comics through Media Mail which at it's lowest is $2.66 and at the 1 - 2 pounds (The package weighed exactly 1 pound according to the paypal label on the outside of the package) $3.17 at it's highest. The seller makes an extra 2 - 3 + dollars on shipping. My question is this : would you be pissed off or just accept the fact that the seller may be padding the sale for unaccounted for "handling" fees? I probably wouldn't have been pissed if the seller made 50 cents to a dollar...but $3 + is stealing in my opinion. Any thoughts?

 

It might not be the seller padding the sale though. eBay has "automatic" messed up shipping rates from what I recall.

 

^^^ Sellers set their own rates and method for shipment.

The seller listed "economy" shipping which doesn't imply anything more specific such as first class or priority mail. Seller also listed the price which you agreed to by making the purchase. I would therefore let it go as it would appear that he was pretty much up front about the terms and you were in full agreement.

Had he stated first class but then shipped by media mail, that would be a reason to complain.

Had he shipped something by media mail which was against USPS rules for that class (which he apparently did in this case), then I'd imagine that it would be on him if there was a USPS inspection that discovered the inappropriate item inside. The other scenario would be a postage-due charge to you as the buyer which again would be on him to make it right.

 

The second scenario is what would have happened, they would boost the postage cost up to Priority Mail and @Apollo C. Vermouth would have had to pay about $5 more if he wanted to receive the package. He could refuse the package or take his chances on getting that back from the seller. I just don't buy when the postage is stupid high, but do remember that the seller pays 10% of that postage cost to eBay and another 3% to Paypal, so those two stole about a buck of that $6 postage fee. If the guy used new purchased packing materials (another buck), took some care in packing and got it out quick that would make a big difference. Near the top of what I'd pay for domestic postage, but if you would add a buck or two to what you paid and still feel OK, it's all OK.

 

Thanks for the responses so far. Anyone that has dealt with me here knows how I package CD's and I only charge what it costs to ship. I do re-use material if I have to when packing. If a CD costs between $2.66 and 3.17 I normally charge $3.25. I just think that $3 + over what it actually costs to ship is wrong. Again, just my opinion and I really do appreciate the other angles of shipping...but I personally would never even think of an overcharge like what was done to me to anyone. I think the convenience of having 3 Post Offices within a 3 mile radius of my house may have spoiled me when it comes to shipping. BTW, I didn't give the seller any feedback at all. Just messaged and him and told him why I wasn't giving him feedback. Thanks and keep the responses coming.

 

Lots of eBay sellers pad shipping costs. I usually don't complain unless it's particularly egregious, figuring that they're already getting hit with both eBay and Paypal fees, expenses for shipping materials, etc. (although these kinds of things should really be factored in when the opening bid amount or BIN price is set, they rarely are).

One that stands out in my mind was a seller in Switzerland who'd listed a book that I was high bidder on. I'd gotten it for about half what it usually sold for, after messaging the seller before the end of the auction to ask how much shipping to the US would be. After the auction ended, I got invoiced at a shipping rate about 40% higher than he'd previously quoted. I wasn't happy, but figured since it was a heavy book he'd likely underestimated the rate. When it showed up, the postage label clearly indicated that the shipping cost was what he'd originally quoted. Several messages later, he wound up refunding most of the difference, and I opted not to leave any feedback.