kiara
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posted on July 27, 2001 08:02:47 PM new
No doubt that this has been discussed before but this is the first time it has happened to me and I am wondering how others deal with it.
I won the bid on an auction and the seller quoted me a shipping rate so I sent payment that same day. He has received it and shipped my package but says he misquoted the rate and he was charged extra at the post office.
I am also a seller and I have misquoted rates but I have never asked the bidder for more afterwards. I "eat" the extra cost. A couple of times the cost was about $15 but I blamed myself for the error and never mentioned it to the bidder. His mistake will cost him $4 if I don't pay.
He wrote a very nice letter and said it was his fault and he would leave it up to me whether I would send additional funds but that he would appreciate it if I did and he would accept a check. He says he will leave positive feedback. This puts me on the spot.
Do other sellers do this also or do you just chalk it up to the cost of doing business and not mention it to your customer? If you were the bidder would you send additional funds?
[ edited by kiara on Jul 27, 2001 08:07 PM ]
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mrpotatoheadd
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posted on July 27, 2001 08:06:38 PM new
Depending on how the transaction is going so far, I'd probably send the extra money. If I was the seller, however, I would never have asked.
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captian23
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posted on July 27, 2001 08:09:33 PM new
No, you shouldn't pay anything additional. I would send him an email reminding him that you folloed the terms of the auction and expect the proper feedback. One responsibility of a seller is to cover his/her costs. It is not up to the customer to make up for their mistake.
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mrspock
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posted on July 27, 2001 08:10:21 PM new
I would wait to receive the goods and if it did cost him more I would send him the difference
you did agree to pay auctual ahipping and had he quoted you the correct price you would have paid it right ?
so why it should it be any different now ?
That said I have never contacted a buyer for the difference and I have refunded shipping a couple of times where I grossly overestimated.
If I overestimate shipping by more than a couple of dollars I send a refund less and I figure it makes up for sales i underestimated.
spock here......
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wbbell
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posted on July 27, 2001 08:16:03 PM new
It's the seller's responsibility to ask for the right amount of money. You would never have a retail business come back and ask you for some more money after you've already been given a total and paid.
I have misquoted the price several times. I have eaten it every time. I feel it was inappropriate of him to ask you, especially for only 4 dollars.
As to whether you should pay, I guess if I thought I was still getting a good buy, with the 4 dollars added, then I would pay it. Or if I felt the guy didn't make much money on the deal. 4 dollars is my entire profit on many sales.
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ashlandtrader
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posted on July 27, 2001 08:23:08 PM new
I guess it depends on whether or not you believe in karma. It would be a genuinely nice thing for you to do.
Personally I would have just absorbed the cost and never mentioned it my buyer either, but if you want to be nice-- then do so. :0)
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dman3
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posted on July 27, 2001 08:33:33 PM new
I have made this Error Before giveing shipping rate on larger Items where it ends up cost one time $7 more to ship then I asked for.
When the buyer got the package they wrote me and told me they were sending payment to make up the differnce.
I know all dont see it this way but if I under estimate shipping cost I concider it my loss if the buyer wants to make up the difference I wont refuse but never ask.
http://www.Dman-N-Company.com
Email [email protected]
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kiara
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posted on July 27, 2001 08:56:19 PM new
Thanks for your replies. Yes, I do believe in karma and when I read his letter I did decide that it would be nice to send the extra money when the package arrives. As mrspock noted I would have paid the additional money anyways if it would have been quoted right away.
I talked with two other sellers who disagreed with me and told me that I didn't always have to be so "nice" so I wanted to hear other opinions even though I had made my decision. These sellers were adamant that the guy should just suck up the loss like everyone else does.
It is good to hear that others do not ask their customers for extra money afterwards.
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barrelracer
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posted on July 27, 2001 09:00:31 PM new
As a seller I chalk it up to mistake.
But I also ship out the bidder's stuff when they "forget" to send the right amount of money too. 19.00 instead of 19.50,
or my favorite, "I know it only costs 3.50 to ship so I sent that" instead of the 3.95 I ask for.
As a bidder in this position I would send the money. Every body makes mistakes.
I once did have a bidder write to correct me when I didn't add right and was too low. That was a nice thing for him to do.
~Not barrelracer on ebay, don't pick on them!~
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victoria
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posted on July 27, 2001 09:18:27 PM new
As a seller - I absorb the cost of my mistakes.
As a buyer - I've never been asked, but then, I rarely am asked for exact postage, so I suspect that it's rare that my sellers ask for too low a shipping cost.
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kiawok
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posted on July 27, 2001 09:29:27 PM new
Seller's mistake--should I pay more?
No
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roadsmith
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posted on July 27, 2001 09:54:14 PM new
I agree with those who suggest you send the extra shipping (if, when it arrives, the shipping did cost that much more!). It's a karma thing with me, too; I would have some negative, sad feelings if I refused to send the extra money. It wouldn't be healthy for me. Others can do whatever they wish, though!
That being said, as a seller I have never asked for the difference when I underestimated the shipping costs.
And if someone owes me $6.74 but sends $7 (this happened recently, too), I tape a quarter to a card and enclose it in the item.
My life just works better when I stay on the straight and narrow!
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kiara
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posted on July 27, 2001 11:26:47 PM new
roadsmith, you walk a much straighter road than I do.  I have never returned a quarter. But I would send it if the customer requested it.
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twinsoft
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posted on July 27, 2001 11:55:04 PM new
Seller's mistake--should I pay more?
Yes
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twinsoft
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posted on July 27, 2001 11:57:01 PM new
Unless you still live by the playground credo of "finders keepers, losers weepers" you should honor the seller's request.
(And BTW, I ate about $15 in shipping fees this week.)
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ecom
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posted on July 28, 2001 12:02:15 AM new
This is tooooo easy.
If the auction terms said that the buyer was responsible for shipping cost . . . then you are responsible.
They can neg you for not meeting the terms of the auction, should they desire.
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kiawok
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posted on July 28, 2001 05:19:23 AM new
Ok, new twist.
What if the buyer asks BEFORE placing a bid, seller emails exact shipping/handling/etc quote, and they realize after the fact they screwed up.
Should buyer still pay extra in the end?
I think not, and I always ask before I place a bid. My max is determned by the TOTAL cost of the item, and if the seller decides after the fact that they need more, that's their problem, not mine.
Next .......
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NothingYouNeed
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posted on July 28, 2001 05:23:06 AM new
As a seller, if I make a mistake, it's my problem and I never mention it to the buyer.
As a buyer, if the seller mentions that it cost more to ship, I will make up the difference. Also, when the item arrives, if I notice that postage was a significant amount more than I was charged, I will send the difference to the seller.
Buyers (including myself) whine and complain about high "handling" fees and being overcharged for shipping. But fair is fair...if a seller underestimates we should do the right thing.
It gets a little more complicated if the seller has stated the shipping amount in the listing itself and then comes back with an EOA notice quoting a higher shipping price with no explanation. Then I get cynical and think the seller might be deliberately quoting a low shipping rate in the listing as a variation on the "bait and switch" routine. Usually I just know that the shipping rate quoted is too low. In that case I email the seller, ask for a confirmation of the shipping charge to my zip code and, if the seller confirms and then comes back with a higher quote I politely, but firmly, refuse to pay it.
Gerald
"Oh but it's so hard to live by the rules/I never could and still never do."
[Edited for confusing buyer and seller]
[ edited by NothingYouNeed on Jul 28, 2001 12:10 PM ]
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toke
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posted on July 28, 2001 05:51:04 AM new
Frankly, I'd be far more likely to send the additional money, if I weren't asked...especially after I'd already paid the stated price. This sort of coercion is kind of slimy...particularly when he mentions feedback...apparently to make you feel guilty. I would probably send it, while feeling foolish and manipulated at the same time. "On the spot," indeed. 
Like the other posters here, I've made a few big mistakes on postage...but, certainly never asked my buyer for more money, after having made an agreement. Determining shipping costs is part of the seller's responsibility.
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kiara
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posted on July 28, 2001 08:00:14 AM new
This auction stated that buyer pays actual shipping costs. I just remembered that after I sent my address at the end of the auction he gave me quotes for two different shipping methods. I chose the more expensive one.
He could have contacted me before sending the package and he could have given me the option of choosing the lesser rate. He didn't do this.
Yes, I will send him the extra money. I just checked and he hasn't left me feedback though he has posted feedback first for his other recent customers. So in a way I do feel like I am "on the spot".
Sometimes there is a fine line between trying to be "nice" all the time and not being walked all over or as toke put it "feeling foolish and manipulated at the same time".
[ edited by kiara on Jul 28, 2001 05:44 PM ]
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Eventer
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posted on July 28, 2001 08:49:19 AM new
First, I would never ask a buyer for more money once I'd quoted a shipping charge even if I have to eat it. And I do refund overpayments of shipping even if it's a quarter.
I don't think you are "obligated" to pay it but if you choose to, that would be a very nice gesture and I'm sure, greatly appreciated by the seller. I don't recall a single buyer ever offering to pay me for the additional amount I spent on their items.
In a slightly difference situation, I had a woman win 3 auctions & ask me to combine them for a single amount. I did & told her what the combined shipping would be. She then wrote back & asked me to send her an email w/the 3 sales shown plus the new shipping plus a final total.
What I sent looked something like this:
3 Items = $76.00
Combined Shipping = $11.50
Total = $77.50
Obviously, I'd typed the wrong number for the total, shorting it by $10.00. (Now remember she got 3 different EOA from me w/each of the prices & shipping shown in them AND a separate email that the shipping would be $11.50).
Anyway, I get a check for the $77.50 and email her than she's short $10. She emails me back my response showing the above & says she doesn't owe me anymore but if I insist she'll mail me the additional $10.
However, since I made the typo, I agreed to ship & eat the loss. But I have to admit, I was a bit "miffed". I save her considerable $$$ by combining the shipping to begin with and the typo was an easy one to spot. But I honored the amount since it was my mistake.
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Linda_K
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posted on July 28, 2001 09:06:51 AM new
When I receive a package that cost the seller more to ship than they charged me, I always send the additional funds. If I've paid via PP I even add their 'acceptance' fee to it.
I've never had a seller ask me to pay the difference.
As a seller I've never ask for a buyer to pay the difference and never will. That's my job to correctly calculate the cost and if I didn't....it's my mistake.
I have emailed ahead of bidding to ask shipping/hand/ins. costs and been quoted one price only to have the EOA email ask for more.
It's the sellers that charge $7.00 and the postage cost was $2.50 that boil my blood. 
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mrpotatoheadd
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posted on July 28, 2001 09:06:54 AM new
I save her considerable $$$ by combining the shipping to begin with and the typo was an easy one to spot.
No good deed goes unpunished.
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Eventer
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posted on July 28, 2001 09:10:48 AM new
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NothingYouNeed
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posted on July 28, 2001 12:16:46 PM new
Eventer - I would block that bidder from ever bidding on another one of my auctions again. She'd probably be the first to scream if you overcharged her by a quarter. She probably doesn't tell a sales clerk about a mistake if she is given too much in change. When she reluctantly said she would mail you the $10, I would have said "please do" and THEN blocked her from ever bidding again.
Gerald
"Oh but it's so hard to live by the rules/I never could and still never do."
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