posted on January 13, 2001 12:04:42 PM
I noticed on an auction, that I almost bid on, a shipping charge of $21.00. The starting bid was $5.00. I emailed to ask if this was a typo. He replied and said no it was not. Then said that he hoped this did not discourage me. It discouraged me so much that I didn't log on for a few days. Unbelievable.
posted on January 13, 2001 12:26:00 PM
Was it a large item and where was the item located?
The new postage rates to the US from Canada are very high now. 500 grams to 1kg (2.2lbs), the cost is $6.25 US -average hardcover book. 1 gram over a kilo and its $17.33 US. Theres nothing in between. A pottery vase with proper packing goes over the 2.2lbs easily and $17.33 may seem excessive.
I try to build as much of the shipping cost as possible within the item bid and then eat some on top of it.
posted on January 13, 2001 12:27:44 PM
I probably should have mentioned that it was a box of cards. The seller was located in California. My experiece is usually $5-6 will cover the shipping.
posted on January 13, 2001 12:39:45 PM
Wow! Good thing you read the TOS. It's too bad that buyers can't block seller IDs to avoid wasting so much time looking at this kind of stuff!
posted on January 13, 2001 12:54:39 PM
I just ran into one of those about an hour ago. It's a data CD for a device I have. The bids were a little on the high side of average but I decided to look at the auction. It had 18 bids and was closing soon. I thought about putting a bid in until I read the terms. Their price for shipping the CD without any insurance was $12.95.
I said, "Yeah, right," and hit that trusty back button.
posted on January 13, 2001 12:58:20 PM
What they are doing is against Ebay rules, and called fee avoidance. This occurs where there are auctions with low starting bids, but unreasonably high shipping costs.
Should Ebay become aware of it, they will end the auction.
