Combined shipping: shall I rate this eBay transaction "neutral"?

Hi, I'm having second thoughts about rating a transaction positive, opting instead for neutral. Here's why.

I bought two Record Store Day LPs from an eBay vendor.

The items arrived on time, in excellent condition and very well packed. Clearly this guy knows his trade and how to ship vinyl so that it doesn't suffer damage during transit. In that respect I have no complaints.

My problem is that I placed two separate orders. I payed for the individual shipping of each LP and I assumed two different First Class Mail USPS costs. The vendor on his listing did not make any specific mention of combined shipping, whether he offers it or whether customers buying from him can expect any savings.

Since there was no mention of combined shipping I didn't ask. All I was expecting were two separate boxes arriving, which is what I payed for.

Had he shipped two boxes with two separate tracking numbers I wouldn't doubt rating both transactions as positive. But since he evidently combined the orders, used only one box and one only tracking number, that's my problem right now. He actually merged what were two separate eBay transactions into one.

The shipping savings from combining two orders into one may be minimal, negligible maybe (out of an order of $100 dollars value) but that is not the point. In my opinion, good customer service is where the buyer or the consumer is offered alternatives, The vendor could have said: "I noticed that you purchased two items from my store, I'm suggesting that the two of them be shipped together to save on shipping costs. But if your wish is to have the two packages individually shipped I have no problem with that either, it's your choice".

Before I proceed with the neutral rating I wanted to hear your opinions, thank you.

 

I wouldn't leave a neutral. In retrospect, obviously, you should have asked about combined shipping before bidding. If they don't mention it, I wouldn't assume that they would reduce the shipping cost. And honestly, I wouldn't "knock" a seller for combining two items in this case. I would probably just leave no feedback at all in this case.

 

Why don't you just contact the seller directly...as opposed to asking people here? They just might take care of you.

 

My thoughts exactly.

 

If all else is fine you should leave positive feedback.

It was your fault not to ask for reduced shipping costs for combined shipping in time.

By combined shipping the seller did himself/herself and the environment a favour. ;-)

 

A seller's worst nightmare.

 

Yep. Sellers need to have the ability to foresee every possibility, every different way a buyer may take the horror of having two items in the described condition combined in a single package.

 

You got both records in the exact condition you expected and when expected. Leaving neutral feedback here is a crap move.

 

Why would you even want two separate packages? That is double the risk of loss or damage in my opinion.

I did this exact same thing within the last few weeks, ordered two RSD items from the same vendor in two different transactions. One happened to have free shipping and the other cost me $3.50. I actually sent the seller a message advising of the two orders to the same address in case he didn't match it up on his own so that he could send them in one package. He thanked me and did just that. I was happy as can be and left positive feedback.

In my case, cost of shipping wasn't a factor. The prices were more than fair regardless of the fact the seller saved a few bucks by being able to send the free shipping item with the one I paid for. But at the same time, had both been tagged with a shipping charge, it'd have been my responsibility to inquire about or negotiate for combined shipping beforehand.

 

It's occasionally really difficult to follow the logic of some people. Maybe if the OP explains himself a bit better, there's a chance this might make more sense but right now, with nothing else to go on, it sounds like some pointless nitpicking.

 

Agree. It also should be mentioned that properly packaged vinyl is highly unlikely to have a weight under 16 ounces to make it eligible for first class shipping. Perhaps a 7" single but 12" LPs, not so much. These would have most likely have been sent by way of media mail regardless of two packages or one.

I reuse LP mailers, perhaps OP was expecting two mailers to reuse out of this transaction. Kind of far fetched but I can't think of any other reason right now,.

 

I don't think the OP necessarily wanted two packages, but he is thinking that if the seller saved money by combining shipping, the savings should be passed on to him. I can see where he's coming from, as there was no combined shipping discussed. If I had ordered something on Amazon and then ordered something else, it would be shipped in two separate packages.

Contact the seller and talk to them about it.

 

Thank you for making it clearer and explaining it better than I did, that is precisely my concern.

The fact is that when I placed the order I was willing to assume the cost of individually mailing each package. My problem is that the seller then proceeded to merge two different orders without consulting me (and if he had asked me I wouldn't have objected) it's this lack of communication (lack of trust indeed) which I find difficult to assimilate compounded by the fact that he augmented his profit margin by reducing his shipping costs.

Everything went correct and without worries but what if there had been a problem? How would he explain to eBay that he merged two purchase orders which were independent of each other? Is a vendor even allowed to fulfill orders as he sees fit ignoring customers' instructions?

 

I'm sure all the sellers reading this thread are thinking the same ... regading you. ;-)

Please relax, take it as a lesson learned, and discuss all questions with the seller before paying or at least before leaving non-positive feedback.

 

I wish Sellers could still leave feedback for buyers

 

They can, but only positive feedback ...

 

eBay actually has a mechanism to combine orders such as yours so I dare to say they encourage it. As for the now-apparent root of the issue, if you didn’t ask for a combined shipping discount, there should be no expectation as such.

That said, had I been the seller, I’d have automatically provided a partial refund of the unused portion of the shipping less the additional PayPal fee for two separate transactions but again, there is really no basis ring a seller for not doing so. If this still bothers you, I’d recommend contacting the seller now to ask for a partial refund rather than firing off less than positive feedback without contact.

 

This is why I don't sell anymore.

 

True and still disappointing.

 

Except that's not the case. I've had plenty of separate orders combined by Amazon for shipping purposes.

 

Buyer's only obligation is to timely (if not immediately) pay for their online purchases. Beyond that point, they should refrain from returning stuff for the most trivial of reasons. Nobody likes returns.

 

What instructions? Do you mean to tell us that you specifically emailed this seller and told them that while you realize both LPs are going to the same place, for some reason, you want them shipped separately? Obviously not because you also say you had no problem with merging the orders. And "lack of trust"...seriously?

One thing I do hope is that whatever you decide to do on this, you somehow let the seller know so the seller has fair warning to add you to the blocklist and avoid the "what ifs" of the future.

 

Thank you but at this point it seems as though the only way I'm going to relax is by rating either neutral or negative. In my opinion whatever the vendor does differently than what the buyer instructed, whatever he does should always be to the benefit of the customer (not at his expense). That's good customer service in my opinion.

Thank you for the suggestion it's actually very helpful. My problem is that I probably don't have the patience. This is why I avoid eBay, discogs, I don't have the patience to exchange mails (while days or weeks are passing by) and prefer to just hit a purchase button and expect my package afterwards. But this was Record Store Day which restrained my available options.

 

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

Sorry you lack patience to see things from the other side. We had the patience to provide what I think is good advice and insight, as requested I might add.

Sadly, you may be right.

 

Your instructions were ... what exactly?

You ordered 2 products and both times gave the seller the same shipping address?

You received 2 products in the specified quality.

You had the opportunity to contact the seller before shipping and after receiving the goods.

And now you are considering neutral or even negative feedback?

Please get more realistic expectations before ordering anything from me! ;-)