micmic66
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posted on December 9, 2005 01:28:06 PM
I sold an oversize item
I gave all dimensions in the item description along with weight.
The auction ends and the winner goes to UPS.COM with the dimentions I gave him and quickly emails me telling me the cost - $30
Without checking I agree that sounded right and got a Paypal pay from him
Today I go to ship at UPS and discover the cost is $63, not $30
I run home and email him explaining the situation and profusily appolagize and offer to pay $10 of the remaining $36
Here is a copy of his return email
We have a contract and I followed through with my end, I expect you to do the same. In the past when this issue has come up I have payed the extra cost and had the seller pay the extra cost. I'm not willing to negotiate on the price of this product that I won in a bidding process. If you choose not to send me this product then I'll take appropriate action with E-Bay.
Thanks, Jeff *******
I KNOW I made a mistake by not checking for myself when the auction ended. I refunded his payment and added him to the blocked bidder list,,,
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dblfugger9
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posted on December 9, 2005 01:35:01 PM
MicMic..go to Fed Ex. Guarantee the rate will be cheaper. Better delivery time for home delivery too than UPS ground!
I had an oversize box, too. UPS wanted like 60 something to ship. Fed Ex quoted almost half that.
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ebayvet
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posted on December 9, 2005 02:10:42 PM
You are wrong here. Why didn't you check the rates yourself on the item? It would take 2 minutes online. Once you agreed with him on the shipping charge, that is the rate. If I were the customer, I would take the same course. You can try another company to see if they are cheaper, but if not, I think you need to ship, and file it under lessons learned the hard way.
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replaymedia
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posted on December 9, 2005 02:49:49 PM
I had the same problem just yesterday. Quoted $7.50 shipping and it came to nearly $16.00 for real. I guess I read the Media Mail rate when I should have been looking at Parcel Post.
I paid the difference and sent the package. I ended up losing money on the transaction. I grumbled for a few minutes and then got over it. It happens sometimes.
Yes, it's your responsibility.
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Quidquid Latine dictum sit altum sonatur.
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sanmar
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posted on December 9, 2005 03:02:19 PM
More than once I have quoted a flat rate for shipping only to find out I was too low. I always eat it as the fault was mine.
Life Is Too Short To Drink Bad Wine
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sparkz
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posted on December 9, 2005 03:20:38 PM
Be very careful about what you commit yourself to combining for shipment. Sometimes, combining 2 or 3 items to save on shipping can cause the box to go oversize and result in a charge 3 or 4 times higher than it would be to ship them individually. It's absolutely essential to get the weight and package dimensions, especially on larger items, and ascertain the correct shipping charges before you quote anything to the customer, unless you like surprises.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
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ladyjewels2000
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posted on December 9, 2005 03:44:36 PM
Micmic - Did the weight or the dimensions change? If not, didn't he lie to you?
If you go to the UPS site and put in what was in the listing - what do you get?
What I think everyone is missing here is that he could have lied to you. If so, you quoted a total based on his lie?
If it had been your error or you just under quoted - well that's different - we've all done that and had to pay the extra ourselves.
I don't think you should have it eat it in this case. JMO
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sthoemke
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posted on December 9, 2005 03:48:26 PM
I'd politely require the buyer to give a simple explaination for how he found the cost to be $30.
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tOMWiii
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posted on December 9, 2005 03:50:28 PM
"Am I WRONG Here?"
"Without checking I agree that sounded right and got a Paypal pay from him..."
As Ralphie would say:
"Some days ya get the EVEVATOR, and, some days ya get the SHAFT..."
 
"We look forward to hearing your vision, so we can more better do our job. That's what I'm telling you." —George W. Bush, Gulfport, Miss., Sept. 20, 2005
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micmic66
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posted on December 9, 2005 04:06:36 PM
THANK YOU ladyjewels2000!!!!
He sure did lie. Working with this guy has all the charm of working with a 3 year old. He already NEG'D me and got one back as well.
The reason I did not check myself to be sure of his figures is a matter of simple trust. Never again will this happen....
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ebayvet
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posted on December 9, 2005 04:08:20 PM
"What I think everyone is missing here is that he could have lied to you. If so, you quoted a total based on his lie?"
It is irrelevant whether the buyer lied or not - How could you possibly prove that anyway? I think what you are missing is that it is the SELLER'S responsibility to quote a shipping price. This seller apparently abdicated that, told the buyer to look it up, and when the buyer came back with a quote, the seller just said that sound fine and went with it without verifying it was correct. The seller basically made two errors here, first to let the buyer get their own rate, and second not to double check it. Had the seller looked at the $30 rate and saw it would be more, then at that time they would have been correct to indicate they needed the higher rate. It is irrelevant if the buyer lied or not, what is relevant is that the seller didn't check the rate themselves.
I think it is a good idea to never allow the buyer to set the rate. That's something that should come from the seller.
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micmic66
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posted on December 9, 2005 04:23:07 PM
"It is irrelevant whether the buyer lied or not - How could you possibly prove that anyway?"
Ebayvet, in case your not up with the times here, I have a collection of little things called "Emails" That's how I would prove it.....
[ edited by micmic66 on Dec 9, 2005 04:26 PM ]
[ edited by micmic66 on Dec 9, 2005 04:29 PM ]
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ebayvet
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posted on December 9, 2005 04:28:51 PM
Really, email will prove he lied? How do you know it wasn't a typo on the UPS site. Your "email" collection doesn't prove intent, it just proves that he gave you a total amount, and you said it sounded good.
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micmic66
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posted on December 9, 2005 04:34:05 PM
What I can prove is that he calculated and supplied me with inaccurate shipping information.
Am I guilty of not doing my own calculation of shipping??
You bet
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ladyjewels2000
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posted on December 9, 2005 04:36:35 PM
ebayvet
I agree that the amount should have been checked out and I'm sure that Micmic has learned a great lesson from that error.
But I also don't think the winner should profit from his lie. That's just not right.
If he made an error when he did the calculation - why not agree to split it or something. His reply makes it sound like it was a "plan" I bet he does this all the time.
Have him copy and paste his ups quote to you Micmic - bet he can't.
Better yet add something like this to your description "Shipping quotes on large items are estimated as they sometimes have not been weighted or packed - winner is responsible for additional shipping cost should the estimate not be correct" I have it in all my listings just in case I quote $50.00 for a chair and it ends up being $150.00.
[ edited by ladyjewels2000 on Dec 9, 2005 05:07 PM ]
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sparkz
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posted on December 9, 2005 04:47:59 PM
There are a couple of rare occurrences that could enter into the picture and the customer may be absolutely correct. 1/4" can make the difference between os-1 and os-2 which could easily translate to a difference of $30.00 vs $60.00. You need to fully understand the way they measure these packages when you bring them in. I once sold a sign that was of a size that if the box were measured standing up, it would be an os/2, but by laying it on its side, it came out os/1. It was simply a matter of where the label was placed on the carton so as to identify length vs width vs height. This is common on mirrors or pictures. Entering the dimensions of the packed carton into the FedEx rate calculator in different ways can produce dramatically different results.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
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ebayvet
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posted on December 9, 2005 05:25:41 PM
It is a lesson learned hopefully.
So the lowlife already negged you on the transaction? I would block them, and refund them their money. I wouldn't take a loss with a negative already given. He can follow up saying you didn't perform, but sellers do lose things from time to time...
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replaymedia
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posted on December 9, 2005 06:06:26 PM
"I wouldn't take a loss with a negative already given."
Yep. Over and done. No point in wasting money on it now. Send him a Neg and an NPB for his troubles.
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Quidquid Latine dictum sit altum sonatur.
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micmic66
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posted on December 9, 2005 06:12:50 PM
He has been promtly NEG'd.....
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cashinyourcloset
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posted on December 9, 2005 08:12:31 PM
sparkz,
I think the longest dimension is considered the length, no matter where the label goes. Unless shipping was computed by the brother of the butcher who puts his thumb on the scale 
Regarding the combined shipping, I always add a caveat to my answer when I get asked about combining shipping, along the lines of "I am happy to combine shipping for you when it is financially feasible and the items can safely be packed together."
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sthoemke
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posted on December 9, 2005 08:20:56 PM
Now file for mutual feedback removal to get rid of the neg...
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sparkz
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posted on December 9, 2005 08:29:55 PM
Claude...That is possibly true at a Pack and Ship or UPS store, and possibly with some UPS staffed centers. That has not been my experience at FedEx. On two different occasions, the orientation of the label has saved me big bucks. These were boxes that I couldn't safely cut down any further.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
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irked
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posted on December 9, 2005 09:43:58 PM
Sparkz, explain your thinking on how to place label label shortes side up or talest up mid package or what???
I find Fed Ex cheapest of the 2 and they deliver faster too.
**************
 I'm making a list and checking it twice!
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sparkz
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posted on December 9, 2005 09:58:02 PM
Irked...It's impossible to explain, it's just something you have to do, if that makes sense. You start by getting the exact dimensions of the package, rounding UP all fractions to the next highest inch. Then you enter the L+H+W into the FedEx ratefinder three different ways to begin with, switching the values between the boxes until you come up with the one that favors your wallet. This only works on certain shaped packages that are borderline OS, but when you hit one, you can save a bundle.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
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cashinyourcloset
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posted on December 10, 2005 06:43:47 AM
I don't know how FedEx does it, and maybe I've got this confused, but AFAIK, USPS and UPS compute dimensions as length + girth. So, you want the longest dimension as length, because otherwise the longest dimension counts twice.
For example, if you have a box that is 40 x 20 x 10, the right calc is 40 + (20 + 10 + 20 + 10 (the girth is measured around the box, so each side counts twice)) = 100.
If you "held" the box the other way, it would be 10 + (40 + 20 + 40 + 20) = 130.
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