ExecutiveGirl
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posted on January 12, 2001 04:06:56 AM new
I had bought a video this week and the seller lived about 2 hours from me. The auction did not state anything about S&H.
When the auction ended, I received an email that said "This is for priority shipping and delivery confirmation. Thanks for the bid neighbor!
I was charged $4.05 for shipping w/DC. I didn't try to break down the costs, I just went ahead and paid the invoice through Billpoint.
Today I was going over some paperwork and found the "invoice" they wrote up for the video.
Video.........................$9.99
Priority Shipping w/DC........$3.70
Billpoint Fee.................$0.35
It's not the 35¢ that bothers me - it's the fact that they (1) did not mention it in their ad, (2) did not mention it in their email and just went ahead and charged me for it.
Maybe it just bothers me because I'm a seller who believes in being 100% upfront with the customers and expect the same in return when I buy from a seller.
[ edited by ExecutiveGirl on Jan 13, 2001 07:08 AM ]
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celeste
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posted on January 12, 2001 04:22:36 AM new
I do believe that is a Billpoint NO-NO! You cannot pass along the fee's to your buyers (I'm pretty sure that is in the user agreement terms when you sign up as a seller). I would report this person to Billpoint right away.
How low! Charging your customer the measly 35 cent fee!!! Is this person not making enough on eBay??? CHEAPO!!!
[ edited by celeste on Jan 12, 2001 04:24 AM ]
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snowyegret
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posted on January 12, 2001 04:38:46 AM new
I think celeste is right, and that's why it wasn't mentioned in their ad.
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abacaxi
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posted on January 12, 2001 05:14:44 AM new
eBay specifically PROHIBITS passing along Billpoint fees.
I would let the seller know that, and CC the email to [email protected] with a copy of the invoice.
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psyllie
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posted on January 12, 2001 06:41:06 AM new
The whole thing makes no sense--how did he/she send it this week priority with DC for $3.70? Even if the video fit into the 1# category, priority with DC would have cost $3.90 after 1/7/01. If the package weighed more than 1#, then it would've been $4.30 with DC. If a 1# package, the Billpoint charge was less than 35 cents--still illegal, but goofy. If a 2# package, the seller lost on shipping. Weird.
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on January 12, 2001 08:12:27 AM new
I emailed the seller this morning and just received a reply from the seller.
[b]Thank you for contacting me. I'm sorry I did not realize that this is illegal or even wrong. You must know, I certainly was not trying to be deceitful. I am rather new to ebay (just over 2 months) and I am trying to
make every effort to be honest in every description of every thing that I sell.[/b]
[b]I just recently(past week) started charging this fee because I was talking to another e-bayer and they said that they charge the fee plus the listing fee. Then, right after that I had a customer automatically include the credit card fee and e-mailed me to tell me they did so, on thier own. I did not ask them. I know I have purchased things and this type of fee has
been added unto my purchases before (under a handeling fee). I just assumed that this is what people do. I had no idea that it was wrong.[/b]
Thank you for letting me know. I really appreciate it, as I said before I was not trying to be deceitful. I will not charge this fee any longer. I want you to know that I will gladly refund your fee you paid. Please let me know if you have a paypal account as I do not see a place to return money on billpoint.
Once again, I am sorry. I am also greatful for your letting me know. I hope that you will accept my apology and continue to do businees with me in the future.
I'm glad I didn't report them to Ebay, I actually feel bad that I thought they did on purpose.
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weiszantiq
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posted on January 12, 2001 09:20:11 AM new
I pass along the paypal fee of 30 cents for all purchases under $10.00. However, I let them know before they choose to use the service. Many vendors will not take credit card purchases under a certain dollar amount for the same reasons. The cost is just too high as a percentage of the profits. After you pay Ebay, Paypal (or Billpoint) and then pay taxes on an item less than $10, it's just not worth listing. Collectors of items never exceeding $5 are happy to see someone taking the time to offer them something for $1.
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on January 12, 2001 09:22:40 AM new
Well if you are going to lose money to accept those payments why accept them at all? It's also illegal to charge your customers fees to use their credit cards.
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horizonod
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posted on January 12, 2001 11:50:28 AM new
If it said in the AUCTION there would be $4.05 for S+H and they charged you $3.85 plus .35 (which equalls $4.05 by my calculations) I don't understand what the problem is. It didn't cost you a cent extra.
IMHO it just goes to prove that some people will complain about anything.
That's half the problem with EBAY. Micromanaging buyers that want EVERYTHING EXACTLY as it was written in the auction. ANY deviation results in a complaint.
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on January 12, 2001 11:59:40 AM new
horizonod:
Did I state that it said in the auction that high bidder was to pay $4.05??? No I did not. The auction did NOT state a dollar amount for shipping.
Their EMAIL did not state that I would be paying for their Billpoint fee.
Perhaps you should read my other thread regarding people not bothering to take the time to read so you can get your stories straight next time:
http://www.auctionwatch.com/mesg/read.html?num=2&thread=313102
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horizonod
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posted on January 12, 2001 12:37:08 PM new
Execgirl
Any way you slice it your are belly-aching about .35.
$4.05 TOTAL seems like a perfectly acceptable S+H fee. If the seller had just said $4.05 S+H and didn't say anything about billpoint you, nor anybody else, would have thought anything of it.
Do some of you people WORK at finding trivial little knit picky things to complain about??
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Lisa_B
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posted on January 12, 2001 12:45:37 PM new
Weisz, charging for Paypal is also illegal and against eBay policy.
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on January 12, 2001 02:16:22 PM new
horizonod:
Looks to me like you're belly-aching about something I said.
Looks like YOU are working at finding trivial little knit picky things to complain about what I'M saying!
I'm not "belly-aching" over 35¢. I believe in being upfront with my customers and I let them know where their money is going when I ask for Shipping. I don't charge my customers to pay with credit cards.
Are you one of those people who rip off buyers with outrageous shipping and "handling" fees? What other kind of person would call this belly-aching.... Hmmmm.....
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pattaylor
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posted on January 12, 2001 02:23:05 PM new
Ahem!
Please remember to discuss the subject, not the individual.
TFYC. 
Pat
[email protected]
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vargas
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posted on January 12, 2001 02:47:09 PM new
charging for Paypal is also illegal and against eBay policy.
Charging for PayPal is against eBay policy, but there is no law against it.
It's not even against PayPal policy.
(Unless PayPal has added this to its TOS in the last 24 hours.)
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mzalez
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posted on January 12, 2001 10:39:32 PM new
Exec Girl...the seller sounds sincere with their apology. You probably did them a favor by bringing it up without bombing them off eBay.
As a seller, just build these fees into the opening bid price!
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amy
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posted on January 13, 2001 12:33:05 AM new
Although in this case the seller didn't mention their s/h fee in the ad, so it MIGHT be against ebay policy (but not the law because the seller is not the contracting merchant..billpoint or paypal are)...but
if the seller stated in the ad that the s/h was $4.05 and part of that $4.05 included the billpoint fee AND the seller did not break the fee into its componants...the seller is not breaking ebay's rules. Since all buyers will pay the same s/h there is no ebay rule broken. No different than building it into the opening bid.
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abacaxi
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posted on January 13, 2001 05:17:15 AM new
"Many vendors will not take credit card purchases under a certain dollar amount for the same reasons."
And many vendors are BREAKING their agreement with their CC company. None of the CC companies allow a merchant to set a lower limit on charge amounts.
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ExecutiveGirl
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posted on January 13, 2001 07:02:39 AM new
AMY: ONCE AGAIN, (how many times do I have to repeat this?) It did NOT STATE in the ad how much S&H was!
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sg52
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posted on January 13, 2001 09:48:01 AM new
And many vendors are BREAKING their agreement with their CC company. None of the CC companies allow a merchant to set a lower limit on charge amounts.
No credit card company allows credit card orders to be placed by telephone or over the internet. Vendors which do so are BREAKING their agreement with their CC company.
Some CC company rules are self-serving for CC companies to the point that the CC companies themselves are embarrased to publicly enforce them.
sg52
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amy
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posted on January 13, 2001 09:57:54 AM new
Executivegirl ONCE AGAIN, how many times do I have to say this..READ MY POST...especially the opening paragraph!! In that first paragraph I said "Although in this case the seller DIDN'T MENTION THE S/H FEE IN THEIR AD"
PLEASE, if your going to get uptight with a post AT LEAST READ AND COMPREHEND IT FIRST!
[ edited by amy on Jan 13, 2001 10:01 AM ]
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marc923
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posted on January 13, 2001 10:01:35 AM new
The way I see it is, as a seller I lay down a flat fee for S/H. Instead of listing an item for a dollar, list it at two dollars. Then when it gets one bid only, you're covered.
Marc
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