posted on October 8, 2001 08:39:35 AM
I recently had 2 auctions end.
The combined totals were 26.00. The S/H came to $7.50. But when I typed the total, I guess I messed up and typed 23.50 instea of 33.50. I didn't notice the goof and now I get a money order for $23.50 today. Do I ship and lose the money, or should I write and tell them they need to pay the true total.
Personally, if a seller messed up like that with something I bought, I would tell them and send them the right amount.
I don't know what to do. He paid with a TravelersExpress International Money order even though he is a US resident and he sent money order UPS next day air.
posted on October 8, 2001 08:45:41 AM
Tough call! Double check your email to the buyer and make sure that you made the mistake. If it was your mistake, I'd venture to say that you might have just received a $10.00 lesson. Reply with an email stating that you've received their $$, will ship promptly, and then perhaps mention the discrepancy. If you're dealing with a stand-up buyer, they might send you the difference and everything works out. If they don't offer, I'd let it drop and just eat the difference.
Now, if you stated the correct amount in the original email, then definitely ask for the difference.
"Who's tending the bar? Sniping works up a thirst"
posted on October 8, 2001 08:53:23 AM
I had that same problem last week with an auction that ended. I sent my EOA with all the information and my buyer wrote back saying I made a mistake and said even though I said what I wanted he was going to send the right amount. That is a heads up buyer. More like that. I forgot to add in the S/H charge and I even have a calculator. Back to math basics for me.
posted on October 8, 2001 09:12:28 AM
My advice is to eat the shipping a buy a calculator.
It was your mistake. You can't very well go back to the buyer and say, oops, I screwed up, please go buy another money order and pay to send it to me.
Chances are your buyer knows he way underpaid on shipping and if his ethics were in the right place he would have pointed this out or sent the right amount.
If by so chance he didn't realize that there was a difference in the price then he probably will when the package gets there and, again, if he has any ethics he will quickly make up the difference. Just don't count on it.
posted on October 8, 2001 09:24:07 AM
atari2600: I've caught a mistake or two, JUST before hitting the send button! That is soooo easy to do!
I have to agree with koto1. I would double check the email I sent to the customer. If you find you made the mistake, I would send the item.
You could email and explain it was an error....you could even offer to deduct the cost of another MO.....but chances are, this customer already KNOWS there was an error made. (Since the items alone total $26.00 and you charged them only $23.50 which includes the shipping!) (I hope that's not the case though)
I hope your customer will want to do the right thing but if he/she does not want to, then you would have to own up to your mistake.
Atari2600, I would have done the same as you and let the Seller know about the error and pay the full amount owed.
Hope you will let us know what happens! Best Wishes!!
Libra63: I'm glad things worked out for you! I hope atari2600 will have the same type of a customer!
posted on October 8, 2001 09:37:05 AM
I use a form that does most of the math for me, but you do need to check and make sure everything is ok. I'd eat the cost on this one. Just be more careful in the future.
posted on October 8, 2001 12:27:20 PM
As far as whether the customer knew or not, I think there was a reason he sent the payment next day air. He wanted it to be on it's way to you before you could correct the amount. If you do ask him for the extra amount, I would deduct the cost of the PO money order, to give him one less complaint. BTW, do you think he realizes he spent the same on shipping the payment then he did on the amount difference?
[ edited by kckckc on Oct 8, 2001 12:28 PM ]
posted on October 8, 2001 12:31:33 PM
i've done the same thing, just hit the wrong key. so far, i've caught it before hitting 'send.'
recently i got a money order from a buyer for the bid amount, no shipping. she'd paid a healthy amount for the item, so i decided i'd spring for the shipping myself, which was only $4, rather than wait for a $4 money order. emailed and told her. my bet was she was in a hurry and just glanced at the bid amount when she was getting the m.o. never did hear back from her. it would have been nice to get a 'thank you,' but oh well.
your buyer could have just been in a hurry, maybe even getting a number of money orders at the same time. i'd go with what koto suggested.
posted on October 12, 2001 09:21:29 AM
I appreciate all the responses from everyone!
I am pretty sure he realized the error since he provided a copy of my e-mail with the total highlighted. Funny thing is, I checked the UPS site and used his address and mine and it would cost almost $15 dollars to send to me. And he used MBE so it might have been more.
I am waiting for him to e-mail with a complaint. I guestimated shipping to be $7.00 and actual USPS Priority was like $5.60. I always try to have my S/H to be $.50 or so over actual to help pay for bubblewrap, tape, etc etc. Since I don't sell much, I am usually paying 13-16 cents for a foot of bubblewrap. But $1.60 is a bit much.
On a positive note, recently topped 100 feedback rating. WooHoo!
One a negative note, I think I am not cut out for ebay sales. I always hear that you should sell stuff you like, that interest you, etc etc etc. Well, I like video games, comic books, toys, movies, etc. Sounds like a great thing but the markup on 90% of that stuff is not much, the competition is think, and haven't decided if the auction format is right for that type of product. So I may be leaving ebay for the most part. I made the most money on my old toys from the 80's that I had from when I was a kid. But I got 4 cases of a current line of toys sitting next to me that just won't sell, even for a loss.
posted on October 12, 2001 09:39:50 AM
As a matter of law and ethics, seller is not obligated to follow through on such a mistake, and it would be unethical for buyer to insist that the seller do so given the obvious nature of the mistake.
As a business matter, sometimes it makes sense for seller to absorb the loss.
posted on October 12, 2001 10:11:04 AM
I guess I should have mentioned that I did mail his package without a word said. It was my fault, lesson learned.
posted on October 12, 2001 11:41:39 AM
The fact that your buyer highlighted the amount on your email doesn't necessarily mean that he "knew about the error." Many buyers, including myself, always mail a copy of the seller's email with the payment, & circle or highlight the amount given as due by the seller to show that the payment sent matches what was asked for.
posted on October 12, 2001 12:01:55 PM
I think I would have tried to recoup here.
I would have emailed the buyer, and apologized for making a stupid error. Then I would have requested the additional funds.
If the buyer responded positively, all ends well.
If the buyer responded negatively, I would have thanked them for their input, then sent their payment back. The worst thing you face is a negative feedback - to which you could have responded: Buyer wanted item at $10 less than actual bid + shipping.
It's hard to believe that the buyer wasn't taking advantage of your typo. If I bid $26.00 on something and the seller charges me $23.50 for the item AND shipping, and I know the total is supposed to be $33.50, I don't have to be a rocket scientist to see the error.
This isn't like being off a pound or two on shipping and eating your error. We've all done those and of course you suck it up.
It was admirable of you to ship and lose this money, but unfortunately, IMO you were taken advantage of.
edited to add: in the second paragraph, I don't mean you're stupid - that's just the way I'd have worded it to the buyer.
posted on October 12, 2001 03:27:44 PM
I always charge 20.00 shipping for my auctions, given the nature of the items I sell. For canada, I charge 30.00. I just had an auction end a couple of weeks ago and when sending my EOA email, stated the amt due was the bid + 20.00. In my email, I request they respond with their address within 3 days so I can get the item packed and addressed. I never heard back from the bidder PRIOR to receiving his payment...which was a CANADIAN money order (they are in canada and sent a canadian address to ship to), and it was for the amount I stated in the email. So, I was 10.00 short. I ended up shipping the item out anyway, and emailed them back to let them know their payment was 10.00 short because I never heard back from them so I did not know they were in canada. I asked them for the courtesy of sending the additional 10.00 and let them know that a personal check would be fine, no need to purchase another money order. In my ads, it says quite clearly that canadian bidders are charged 30.00, not 20.00 for shipping. I believe this bidder realized they could get by with cheaper shipping by not responding back before I received the payment. I have not heard back from them, nor have I received my 10.00. This is the only bidder to ever pull something like this. I have made a couple of mistakes in my EOA emails and every other bidder corrected me and paid me what was due.
Since this was YOUR mistake, however, I would eat the loss or tell them you would take a personal check, that you would not expect them to purchase another money order.
posted on October 12, 2001 04:28:13 PM
Once in awhile I make a gross error on shipping. Charged a buyer $7.50 when it actually came to $13.70. I sent the low priced but HEAVY microscope to LA by priority, as agreed, then emailed the buyer with the conf. # and the following note. "The actual postage turned out to be ---- which can be confirmed on the box when it arrives. You owe me nothing more, the mistake was wholly mine but if you'd like to contribute to the shortfall I wouldn't hold it against you.:>"
posted on October 12, 2001 04:32:25 PM
It's $10. Sure, he should have done the ethical thing, but that's the way it goes. I'm sure none of the sellers here have NEVER done anything unethical like lie to customers, or advise other sellers to lie.
posted on October 12, 2001 10:28:54 PM
There's an eBay seller that I've been buying items from for over a year. This seller recently opened an eBay store, so I bought a couple of things from it a few days after it opened.
Well, when she sent me the invoice, there was no shipping charge. (Actually, she sent two invoices, I deleted one of them because at first glance they appeared to be identical emails.) I didn't think twice about there being no shipping charge, because another eBay store seller (of the same type of items) had free shipping for her first month, and I figured this seller was doing the same thing.
When she received my check, she sent me an email saying I hadn't included the S&H. I pointed out that I had sent the amount specified on her invoice; she said it was on the second one, which of course was the one I had deleted. No problem, I said, I'll send you a check in the morning for the shipping.
All well and good, right? Despite having bought items from her for so long, and sending payment to her the morning after her invoice every time, she didn't ship the items until after she'd received my second check ... as I recall, I was under the impression she'd even waited for it to clear the bank. Makes me think twice - just a little bit - about buying from her again, ya know?
posted on October 13, 2001 06:19:31 AM
If I make the mistake, I eat it.
However, I do not send grand totals until I get buyer's address... and if they send payment based on auction info (US addresses only) and they are international... I will not ship until they cough up the extra.
(Unless I made a killing on the item, then I will ship anyway.)
Sniping works up a thirst"
I hope atari2600 will have the same type of a customer!
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