posted on May 5, 2002 08:00:14 AM
Bought some jewelry, paid $4.95 shipping/handling. I paid via Paypal, she shipped the next day and the package arrived very promptly in a small padded envelope with 80 cents postage. I have 600 feedbacks (seller and buyer) and have never charged this excessive of an amount as a seller and this is the first time it has happened as a buyer. I don't want this thread to turn into a discussion of everything involved in packing, etc. The person put the jewelry back into the original box, taped it shut on all four sides, slid it into a padded envelope, ripped the strip off and sealed it. Wrote an address label. Three minutes max? My question is what kind of feedback to leave. Having three options, I could leave a positive with the overcharge; leave a neutral with the same note; or leave a negative (which I don't think is appropriate in this case.) So this really boils down to TWO options, doesn't it? I have emailed the seller but have yet to receive a reply from three days ago. I have learned so much from this board and appreciate all opinions!
posted on May 5, 2002 08:07:48 AM
Did the auction have the shipping stated? Was it ever discussed as to how it would be shipped? Yes, I am one of those people who really can't understand why shipping is such an issue with so many people.
I almost always ask the seller how the item will be shipped before I bid only because I like mine sent priority/insured and don't mind paying for that. If the ad says $5.00 and after asking I find it is going in a bubble mailer 1st class, then I ask how much to ship priority/insured. If the answer is prompt I just factor that price into my bid.
I really don't see why anyone would put "excessive" shipping in their FB.
What you consider "excessive" and what I consider "excessive" may not be the same. It really is a very subjective term.
If it is that big a deal to you, I suppose you could still give a positive and state:
Shipped fast, arrived safely, but paid $4.95 shipping and postage was $.80.
posted on May 5, 2002 09:04:21 AM
The reason that shipping is so excessive is because Sellers are not getting the price they want for their items so thay tack it on to the shipping and then try and mail the cheapest way that way they can to make more and pay less ebay fees. That is my take on excessive shipping. I think the feedback that was stated by sulyn1950 is a good one and maybe someone will read it before they bid and not get stuck like you did. I hope so. I am sorry you got stuck by that and I think that in their TOS they should have stated jewelry to be sent in a bubble envelope. By the amount they charged it would seem like it would be sent priority but now a days you can never second guess. If you bid on my auctions they are as close to actual that I can get and sometimes I end up paying.
posted on May 5, 2002 09:14:31 AM
You stated "shipping and handling", so anything over the 80c is handling. This may or may not be excessive, depending on the item and the final cost. It is interesting how many of us talk about "shipping" and fail to mention that it was "shipping and handling". The OP properly identified the charge. In some cases we are asking the seller to make 50c or a buck profit on an item which costs him 50c to pack and handle, ebay fees, and 20min to 1/2 an hour of his time. It is just not realistic. IF the charge was clearly stated to be "shipping and handling", I don't see the problem.
posted on May 5, 2002 09:52:08 AM
Shipping and handling seem to be a major sore spot for a lot of buyers on eBay. I frankly think that buyers should be as responsible as the seller. If you don't ask questions before you bid, you can't complain unless the seller doesn't deliver as promised, especially when it comes to things you assume. You assumed something that was never guaranteed.
The seller stated that S&H was $4.95; they didn't say how they would ship and you made assumptions, based on the fee, that were wrong.
Sounds like the seller followed through as promised with the auction.
posted on May 5, 2002 09:53:01 AM
I figure $4.95 shipping and handling is a very good deal. How much do you value your time. (1) To list the auction (handling)
prepair the item for shipping (handling)going to the post office (handling) answering email questions from buyers (handling) buying the padded envelope (handling) Plus the $0.80 for shipping. This person is getting for less than minimum wage for their time. How much do you get paid for your time on the Job.
[ edited by wwtraders1 on May 5, 2002 09:54 AM ]
posted on May 5, 2002 10:00:22 AM
She wasn't asking for why she shouldn't have bid only what to put in a feedback. This question will never be resolved until we all start asking questions. I guess that is why eBay put the option in "ask the seller a question" so that if there is something we need to know all we have to do is click the sentence.
posted on May 5, 2002 06:49:17 PM
OK GUYS! You are right and I was wrong. The merchandise was outstanding and exactly as described and was shipped and delivered within two days. Left some glowing feedback. The seller contacted me via email and offerer to refund the difference and I told her it was my fault for not asking questions beforehand and that lift was too short for stuff like this.
I STAND CORRECTED AND YOU CAN EVEN TELL MY HUSBAND
posted on May 5, 2002 07:48:48 PM
A quote from your post)
*******************************************
OK GUYS! You are right and I was wrong. The merchandise was outstanding and exactly as described and was shipped and delivered within two days. Left some glowing feedback. The seller contacted me via email and offerer to refund the difference and I told her it was my fault for not asking questions beforehand and that lift was too short for stuff like this.
I STAND CORRECTED AND YOU CAN EVEN TELL MY HUSBAND
Thanks for putting my head back on straight!
*******************************************
Good for You JinkiesVelma You are one great person. The world needs more people like you.
posted on May 5, 2002 07:55:41 PM
whoopdedo!!! If you so called bidders can not figure the overall price INCLUDING shipping is worth the item, then DO NOT BID! All this nitpikin and expecting sellers to run their business AS YOU SEE FIT with NO IDEA as to what is involved timewise and FEES....STILL payable whether sellers get a bid or not! You probably won the jewelry bid for next to nothin anyway...why not just ask for the stuff for free??? I AM SICK OF THE SHIPPING BS FROM BIDDERS! Just figure the OVERALL total amount and stop trying to split hairs...sorry...YOUR WHINING MAKE ME SICK!!! O MY WHAT SHOULD YOU DO...try using your head and growing up! OR DO NOT BID!
kiddo2
[ edited by kiddo2 on May 5, 2002 07:56 PM ]
[ edited by kiddo2 on May 5, 2002 07:57 PM ]
posted on May 5, 2002 08:39:28 PM
the author said,
. The person put the jewelry back into the original box, taped it shut on all four sides, slid it into a padded envelope, ripped the strip off and sealed it. Wrote an address label. Three minutes max? //////////////////////////////
how do you decide it is 3 minutes max,are you god???
there are many sellers who are disabled and physically handicapped.
posted on May 5, 2002 08:58:17 PM
sellers are getting burnt out and quick to anger,quick to react/short fuse i guess.
but this can be an issue to be taken up with the seller,and spare us of another gripe like seller rip me off on overcharging shipping and handling.
most members on this board are sellers,so this may not be a sympathetic forum for buyer gripes against seller.
compliments yes,gripes please take them somewhere else.
posted on May 5, 2002 09:32:33 PM
STOPWHINING and KIDDO2.... If you read the entire thread, my original question was what kind of feedback to leave. If you read further, you will see that I saw the other side of the coin and made things right with the seller. You refer to me as "you so-called bidders" and you have no idea if I have ever sold anything. I have close to 600 feedbacks and 90 percent of them are from sellers. I figure the cost of posting the auction in my bid price just as many of us do. Other sellers figure the the labor involved in the shipping and handling. Always two sides to a coin. I asked a question and got my answer and made a decision based on opinions. I felt good earlier in the evening when I emailed the seller back and told her I was wrong. Now I am angry because you guys are cramming your stuff down my throat. Sorry for asking. For all of you who saw the nature of the question and stuck to it, MANY THANKS! For the rest of you who have dumped on me, well, now it is MY turn to assume that you think it is fair to charge $4.95 for 80c worth of postage and a padded envelope that costs 50c at most and that you do this with your auctions. Your remark "how do you decide it is 3 minutes max,are you god??? there are many sellers who are disabled and physically handicapped." is so immature. That is so childish and immature. Let's just leave this alone. Once again, I asked an opinion and corrected a mistake on my part.
I think you made the right decision about leaving positive feedback here. If the seller had said something like they ship via priority mail or insure, and did not, then I feel you have a legitimate complaint.
I don't know how much the auction ended up at, but if it were say $20, then it cost the seller at least $1.30 in Ebay fees, and then another 93 cents in paypal fees. I don't know if they had image hosting fees, but they probably have to pay to list the images somewhere. Add packaging, other fees for running the business (i.e. electricity, computer, internet access, printer cartridge, paper, etc.) and then 80 cents to ship the item, and it looks like $4.95 is not that unreasonable.
posted on May 5, 2002 11:26:24 PM
I'm wondering, how do you get 600 feedbacks, 90% as a buyer, and still not understand how this whole shipping works? Should sellers not ony sell their stuff 80% off retail, but also give you free labor in packing and shipping out your stuff?
When you sent the payment you agreed to the final price, did you make sure that meant the item was to be sent priority, or was the seller to read your mind?
Seems you are fully liable and are in error. Too bad you can't give yourself a neg, maybe you should demand the seller give you a neg.
Stopwhining is just annoying most of the time so don't pay him any mind.
I appreciate people who can see both sides of an issue and are not stuck with a 1 track mind. It sounds like you and the seller both handled the situation well.
posted on May 6, 2002 04:09:59 AM
I am glad that everything worked out fine. If the people posting in this message board would read the whole message, then they would have figured out that you weren't complaining but only asking for what to say in your feedback. See, I guess it is just like buyers who don't read the whole TOS. Some people in here don't read the whole message.
posted on May 6, 2002 04:14:16 AM
if someone states $4.95 for shipping and handling in their auction if you dont like the price for S&H dont BID or EMAIL the seller before hand and ask method of shipment and if there are cheaper options.
posted on May 6, 2002 04:16:39 AM
It was a no brainer..you leave GOOD feedback for good mdse, good service, packaged and shipped well!..Color it whichever color you want, but you were bitching about shipping charges...and you a seller...pshshame on you!And goody two shoes adds all fees to opening bid? Oh well, on which ever end the horse tail swishes, the horse weighs the same...
kiddo2
posted on May 6, 2002 06:25:39 AM
it is not CHiLDISH AND IMMATURE to ask how can one person decides the other person should do certain tasks no more than 3 minutes??
we have no right to decide for another person how much time it takes for him to do
his job??i guess you dont mind him standing in line for 45 minutes mailing your package??
may be thats why he charges 4.95,the difference between 80 cents and 50 cents padded envelope goes to standing in line.
may be you should whip up a cup of expresso and bring it to him while he is standing in line,it should take you no more than 2 minutes.
you then need to look into it further how long does it take to get to the PO? if i go after work it takes me 5 minutes however means i get stuck in traffic longer therefore true cost of time is minimum 30 minutes if someone got 30 minutes of my time for $3.00 they got one hell of a bargain
posted on May 6, 2002 07:33:20 AM
"If the people posting in this message board would read the whole message, then they would have figured out that you weren't complaining but only asking for what to say in your feedback. See, I guess it is just like buyers who don't read the whole TOS. Some people in here don't read the whole message."
If you read our messages, you will see we were telling you that since it is the buyer in error, only a postive given to the seller is appropriate.
posted on May 6, 2002 07:33:32 AMShould sellers not ony sell their stuff 80% off retail, but also give you free labor in packing and shipping out your stuff?
The people who are instilling this idea in bidders are some sellers, I'm afraid.
Like the one I saw the other day who will ship 7 days worth of auction wins to you, the lucky customer, for just $2 in shipping. Don't tell me this person is actually making any money, because I know what her items cost and what she's selling them for. This is just a fancy way to go broke slowly.
posted on May 6, 2002 08:09:30 AM
if the author is just asking what feedback to leave,then she may want to consider not saying like it takes 3 minutes to do this and that.
yes,if you are caught in the traffic,you need to add that to the 3 minutes of packing, and 45 minutes standing in line at post office.
by then,the expresso coffee wil be stale,buyer needs to whip up another cup.///////////////////
but then it would be nice if seller used a box instead of padded envelope,anyone can feel the envelope and think there is the hope diamond inside.
Why the heck are you still ragging on this person who admitted she was wrong in the first place? Can you not read or are you just a hostile troll who can't let anything go?
posted on May 6, 2002 08:53:22 AM
I would not take this to feedback, considering the charges were stated up front in the ad. However, if you have an issue, I would recommend emailing the seller and stating your feelings, as in, "For $4.95 shipping I expected the item to be sent by priority mail." If the seller is concerned with customer satisfaction and repeat business, he may think about revising his policies.
Then again, he may not. Jewelry is one of those categories where it's advantageous to offer a low minimum bid, and then tack on an extra $5 bucks in "fees."
I add a handling fee. I don't feel bad about that because I sell stuff at less than half of retail. If I can't at least recover my selling costs, then what am I doing on eBay? (Rhetorical question, no response required. )
