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Buyer Beware - Shipping Costs on eBay !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Post subject: Re: Buyer Beware - Shipping Costs on eBay !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PostPosted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 10:14 pm 
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£8 for across the pond really is about what it costs if you send it signed-for.


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 Post subject: Re: Buyer Beware - Shipping Costs on eBay !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PostPosted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 11:09 pm 
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That might cost more than the items purchased !!!!!!!!!!!! :o ::) ;) :D ;D

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 Post subject: Re: Buyer Beware - Shipping Costs on eBay !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PostPosted: Thu Sep 23, 2010 12:47 am 
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Try living in Australia (the best country in the world :) ).

We get stung outrageous postage way too often.
I've reported fraudulent postage costs to Ebay (as per their rules) but it has never helped (indeed, one seller just refused to sell to me after that which was fine as I found what I wanted locally in the end for about 1/2 the price of the Ebay seller).

I HATE inflated postage costs.

*******************************************************************

*Edit - Here's an example of terrible postage costs... LINK GBP 15.00 Standard Int'l Flat Rate Postage (to Australia) for 2 stands of infantry. I'm sorry but the seller's a crook.

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 Post subject: Re: Buyer Beware - Shipping Costs on eBay !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PostPosted: Thu Sep 23, 2010 5:59 am 
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Quote:
GBP 15.00 Standard Int'l Flat Rate Postage (to Australia)

To germany too :D


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 Post subject: Re: Buyer Beware - Shipping Costs on eBay !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PostPosted: Thu Sep 23, 2010 8:53 am 
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I think that seller charges £15 for all countries outside the UK... Which leads me to suspect that it is just a flat-rate "say" figure. If you contact them and ask for a more specific quote, I'll be surprised if you don't get an improved shipping quote.

This happens all the time to me when I buy stuff from US sellers - usually though any serious seller will give me a proper actual-cost re-quote.


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 Post subject: Re: Buyer Beware - Shipping Costs on eBay !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PostPosted: Thu Sep 23, 2010 2:32 pm 
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I usually try to estimate high then make it clear that the winner should get in contact before paying for an accurate quote. The no. of times people don't and I have to refund them some of their postage.

And easy on the Crooks, there aren't many of around you know!


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 Post subject: Re: Buyer Beware - Shipping Costs on eBay !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PostPosted: Thu Sep 23, 2010 7:27 pm 
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I think part of the problem is that Ebay offers to "auto calculate" postage when you post an auction. And those calculations are often very off. I have had cases where I listed something with a reasonable postage to Canada and the US, only to find that Ebay "filled in" some insane numbers for other countries. It actually takes a bit of fiddling to set all the countries to the appropriate numbers.

Setting proper combined shipping rates is even higher. I used to curse sellers who sent me invoices with $50+ in shipping charges (i.e. adding up all the charges for the individual items). That was until I found out that some of my auctions generated invoices like that too. Lots of times I send money back to my buyers because they used the "auto check out" button right after they won an auction and before I had a chance to manually generate an invoice for them. Last week I even had a case where somebody somehow combined a several auctions for one invoice and then paid a single item separately with a new shipping charge (same batch, same time). I only notices after packaging all the parcels when filling out the customs forms (I just print the labels from the website). Not only a pain in the butt to unpack, repack, refund, it also left me stuck with excess Ebay/Paypal fees after the refund.

No doubt there are gauging crocks out there but I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of these issues are the result of amateur listings like mine. A quick note before paying is always a good idea.

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 Post subject: Re: Buyer Beware - Shipping Costs on eBay !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PostPosted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 1:23 am 
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There are many Ebay sellers who don't list an overseas postage price because of the variable nature of costs. They always put a note in to contact them before bidding to find out postage.

I respect that and I'll contact a seller for the information (always recommended as mentioned above).

A seller that puts down £15 for postage of 2 infantry stands isn't going to get my money (especially when they list that as their Standard Int'l Flat Rate Postage.
I have contacted other sellers before about exorbitant postage and have been told often, that that is the cost and that's that.
They often forget that most of the time, the buyer can see the postage cost when the item arrives. On occasion, I have pointed out their overcharging on postage and I often get a refund to cover the difference (even if it means going to Ebay or Paypal to get it).

That doesn't just go for Ebay sellers. I was massively overcharged for postage on an order from Armorcast (a year or two ago). When the item arrived I found the postage cost was half what I had been charged. They refunded me the difference.

My point is, don't be afraid to ask for a refund on the difference if you have been overcharged on postage.

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 Post subject: Re: Buyer Beware - Shipping Costs on eBay !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PostPosted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:25 am 
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Onyx wrote:
My point is, don't be afraid to ask for a refund on the difference if you have been overcharged on postage.


Great point.

With eBay taking a ever-increasing chunk out of the back end of every sale, it's not surprising that people are trying to make up for it by boosting postage.

Truthfully, I've shipped out minis all over the planet for very little. $2.50 or less will land a mini on some UK doorstep and I've even received some of the old lead Great Gargants posted out of the UK for around £4.50.

While I understand some sellers using the more expensive signed-for postage, it is not the norm on most eBay sales. Anything into the £15 range is just highway robbery that you don't have to bid on. ;)

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