posted on July 22, 2001 02:27:45 PM
I would be very grateful for any help or insight that some of the more experienced eBayers here might have. On June 26th and 28th, my husband was the winning bidder in two auctions held by the same seller. This seller states in her auction listing that she combines on shipping for multiple auction wins. My husband responded to the second notice on the 28th, and requested a revised total with shipping in light of the fact that he had won two auctions. He specifically indicated which auctions he had won, and cited both their names and auction numbers. We did not receive a response to his e-mail.
On July 3rd, he wrote the seller again, requesting the same information. Again, no response. He wrote again on the 10th, with the same (non) result. The seller in question is a very high volume seller, who has a great deal of positive feedback, but also quite a few negatives for failure to respond to e-mail.
Today, he received two non-paying bidder notices (not warnings, but I assume those will follow in 10 days). My question is...what can we do? He does not feel comfortable requesting her telephone number, as that would involve her receving our telephone number. I don't think it is fair for him to receive a warning in light of the seller's indifference to answering her correspondence, and he cannot send her the amount due if he doesn't know what that amount is. Any thoughts on how we can resolve this?
posted on July 22, 2001 02:32:00 PM
It sounds like she is not getting your e-mails.
Try sending her one through "ask seller a question" from one of the auctions you won.
posted on July 22, 2001 02:32:34 PM
i am assuming the 2 notices had shipping amts for the single items, if so just suck it up and pay that. yoiu could also pull his user info and call...it sounds like he is poor in the cust. ser. dept. based on his feedback, he probably won't answer the phone either. Pay it an move to the next counter please...
[ edited by skeetypete on Jul 22, 2001 02:34 PM ]
posted on July 22, 2001 02:40:48 PM
emails can easily be lost in the shuffle,if she is a high volume seller,she may overlook your husband's emails .
or she may have no time to go back and combine shipping,sellers have different mode of operations.
combined shipping is not mandatory for the seller,most will do it but it is not against the law to charge separate shipping fees.
one shipping fee per item-handling,packing,postage,insurance etc.
depending on what item she is selling,it could come ready to ship individually .
i would just pay and move on.
posted on July 22, 2001 03:51:28 PM
The seller is NOT abiding by his own terms. It's unethical to entice people to bid on multiple auctions by offering combined shipping and then "overlook" buyers who fall for the "bait."
If the seller sent 2 NPB notices then he has to know you won multiple auctions and qualify for combined shipping. Isn't it strange how he can find the time to send warnings, but not combine shipping per his own terms.
posted on July 22, 2001 04:07:53 PM
Quick follow up: We know that my husband's e-mails have at least been opened, if not read, as the seller also uses AOL as her ISP. By clicking on the "status" tab we can see when they were opened.
Greatlakes, you make an excellent point. I think we will at a minimum file an appeal to what looks like two inevitable non-paying bidder warnings, and hope for the best. And if negative feedback should result, I think we can phrase a response in such a way that future sellers will know that we are still reliable buyers.
posted on July 22, 2001 04:19:22 PM
Greatlakes gave some GREAT advice. I also think you should file a complaint with rules and safety. If nothing else it will help show Safe Harbor that you did indeed attempt to contact this seller.
BTW - Save all the "sent" email to this seller, and any further email that you send or receive.
posted on July 22, 2001 08:44:59 PM
I'd try another note but make the subject line something like "CAN'T PAY UNTIL WE GET TOTAL!!' or something like that.
(Don't start off with 'IMPORTANT' because 99% of the time these are spam - I usually delete them myself.)
posted on July 23, 2001 12:39:03 AM
I would pull her information. This should cause an alarm to go off for her. If this doesn't get a response, I would try calling her.
She definitely is going against eBay policy if she is not complying with her own terms.
posted on July 23, 2001 05:56:56 AM
If the TOS didn't STATE the combined shipping was ONLY for items purchased the SAME day, then they should have honored your request.
posted on July 23, 2001 07:27:21 AM
The seller has the same basic language in all of her auctions regarding shipping costs. She states the price for shipping, for the individual item, and then adds (I will paraphrase, as perhaps a direct quote is against the rules here) that successful multiple-auction winning bidders can save on shipping as she combines on shipping costs for all auctions ending within FIVE days (emphasis added). Therefore, since the two auctions my husband won closed within two days of each other there was no need to write to her beforehand to ask.
Though it wouldn't bother me, my husband is still adamant about not wanting to pull her information as that would reveal OUR information. However, we wrote her one MORE e-mail last night with a subject line similar to what barbarake suggested. It hasn't been opened yet, but if the seller opens it and STILL doesn't respond, then we will write to rules and safety at eBay first and then protest any non paying bidder warnings that will result.
I think we will at a minimum file an appeal to what looks like two inevitable non-paying bidder warnings, and hope for the best. And if negative feedback should result, I think we can phrase a response in such a way that future sellers will know that we are still reliable buyers.