Home › Forums › Customer Issues › Doesn't it just make our day sometimes!!
- This topic has 49 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated 3 years, 7 months ago by
Linda Shields.
-
AuthorPosts
-
-
01/10/2018 at 2:46 pm #30257
Had a low offer on an item a little while ago along with request for free shipping. It came via e-mail insted of the regular “Make an Offer” function.
I made a counter offer. Said his 57% offer was a little low, so considering we have a 15% off sale running, how about 25% off.
This is what I got back within minutes:
What are you saying just be direct how much you want me to pay you with free shipping for this item I don’t understand all the different percentage okay it’s use and I don’t think you should hold on to something or try to get rich off and use item no disrespect intended 😒
As a matter of fact I just went through your store you have all this other stuff and you have these ridiculous price and then you won’t shipping me and you both know $25 with free shipping is a decent offer I mean I can go somewhere else so you take your stuff and sell it to somebody else you being greedy I live in New York born and raised and I know a good discount or good offer when I make one you’re just trying to get rich and it’s not happening at definitely not with me no disrespect intended you take my 25 as a matter fact I’m not interested no more goodbye 😡
Then, of course, I blocked his ID immediately and did not reply.
Sometimes, things like this just make the day. Another great example of the “Dumbing down of America” [NO DISRESPECT INTENDED!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 lmao].
Wonder what he would say about the merchandise in the Nordstrom, Tiffany or Cartier stores.
OK, onward and upwards.
mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art in Atlanta
-
This topic was modified 3 years, 8 months ago by
MDC Galleries & Fine Art.
-
This topic was modified 3 years, 8 months ago by
-
01/10/2018 at 3:49 pm #30266
I wonder how he got your email address.
I also wonder what he does for a living. Definitely doesn’t have anything to do with mathematics.
-
01/10/2018 at 4:43 pm #30270
We all have an email address attached to our account. I think buyers can contact us by clicking on Contact Seller on the right of the listing instead of Make Offer. It sounds like he really wanted the item, got frustrated with the percentage concept and then just decided to vent and dump. I am glad you shared this. I think these stories help remind us that selling online can be challenging and it is not just made up of finding an item, taking a picture, making a sale, and sending the item with both the seller and buyer singing a happy song.
-
01/11/2018 at 8:51 am #30298
Mike, that is hysterical. And sad. Yes, America has been incredibly dumbed down. I won’t comment further. But I totally get it. No point in trying to reason with anyone so far gone. 😜
-
01/11/2018 at 10:08 am #30304
But he was born and raised in New York! That’s gotta count for something, right?
I had a similar experience with a set of vintage Tupperware cups that I have listed for $20. A guy was absolutely appalled that I would try to price gouge him when he just knew for a fact that he could get these anywhere for $6 bucks. I’m so glad eBay has the block buyer option. -
01/11/2018 at 3:28 pm #30320
I had one the other day on a remote control toy. He made a low offer and wrote a novel in the “terms” section. Basically told me how crappy my item was and how he was doing me a favor. DECLINE. Next offer $1 higher, same speech – “You’ll have this forever, doing you a favor, take it or leave it”. DECLINE again. Basically at this point he has set off enough flags that even if he uses Buy it Now, I would not sell to him.
Yet another offer $1 higher, a little more desperate in the notes, same “take it or leave it” closer. I decline again and couldn’t resist putting in the notes “I don’t know how to make it clearer that I’m “leaving it”.He burns through all 5 of his offers being incredibly insulting the whole time. As expected, he sent me a long winded message still going on and saying how he already found another for less, and that I should “Enjoy my paperweight because no one will ever buy it”.
I responded thus:
“I will. Currently have it holding down some papers on my desk as we speak. Works great. Have a great day.”I suppose the bully route works on some sellers, but what a crappy way to go through life. I pity this poor person.
Just remember that it is a blessing when a potential buyer does this. They out themselves as someone you DO NOT want to do business with before the transaction is final. Just decline, block, and move on with life….and maybe have a little fun in the process. 😉
-
01/12/2018 at 1:23 am #30365
You run into these types of bullies in so many places. I ran into one at a public library kid’s program yesterday, of all places. In the past, I would have felt uncomfortable and tried to placate this person. Now I just nope the heck on out of there.
-
-
01/12/2018 at 2:00 pm #30375
I had a similar situation with a t-shirt. Auy was really nasty and sent low ball offers. I blocked him after two times. Sold the T-shirt at full price a few says later.
Had a guy that kept sending low ball offers on a pair of really amazing Harley boots. Once a month, he would send an offer, always up by 5.00 or so from the last offer. And he would always decline my offer which was way below market value but I was willing to let them go. Sold them this week for full price 125.00.
And today, had a guy send me an offer on an antique tray. Said if my item does not sell he will give me 33.00 including shipping FINAL! I thanked him for his email very politely and let him know that if the item does not sell, I will donate it to charity. He instantly paid full price. (c:
-
01/22/2018 at 10:50 pm #31120
I’m selling a pair of hiking shorts for $19.99 plus $7.25 shipping…
I received this message from a buyer.. “I’m trying to get my self to purchase these bad boy shorts but I just can’t handle the shipping fee…if it were 2 or 3 bucks lower like the whole ball of wax for 25 I would…so what are you gonna do about it”
I’m just about to send the offer for $17.75 when I decide to check his feedback. 0f the last 7 Feedbacks he left, 3 were neutrals with smart remarks about price and shipping.
BLOCK BLOCK BLOCK.. Done.. I feel like a dodged a bullet.
-
01/23/2018 at 7:19 am #31125
When I come across these dodged bullets now, I actually send them a message stating that their track history of unfair feedback is why I am not accepting their offer. These folks need to be aware that what they are doing has consequences and that sellers can (and do) check this stuff.
-
01/23/2018 at 12:58 pm #31160
I thought about doing just that.. and maybe I should have. I also thought about reducing the shorts to $9.99.. now that he’s blocked…
Instead I sent this..:
“While I appreciate your interest in my item and the kind message, I don’t feel this pair of shorts is going to meet your needs, otherwise, I would have extended an offer.
Good luck with your search.”
Whether he figures it out or not is up to him.
Thanks
-
-
-
01/25/2018 at 10:53 am #31267
Now I wish I had told him exactly why I blocked him. He managed to buy it from another account for full price.
Should I just send it and go silent? Should I communicate first, or should I find a way to cancel the sale.?
I’m guessing I’ll just send it.. Any ideas?
-
01/25/2018 at 11:23 am #31271
If you have blocked a buyer and you are sure that he has bought them from another account, you might be able to call Ebay, explain the situation, and get them to cancel the sale. I’ve heard of someone else going that route; I’ve never done it myself. I guess depends on how strongly you feel about this buyer and his probably negative feedback.
-
01/25/2018 at 11:23 am #31272
This way a cancelled sale would not be counted against you.
-
01/25/2018 at 12:37 pm #31283
I would definitely see if there was a way to cancel the sale especially since you blocked him. I do think you are risking a return and/or negative feedback. That is on eBay because there needs to be something in place that doesn’t allow that.
-
01/25/2018 at 9:49 pm #31321
Well I thought about and and called Ebay.. after speaking to three different people, the sale was cancelled. Hopefully, that’s the end of it.
By the way, after speaking with each rep, they had me wait while they entered comments in the computer.. Maybe things are changing.
-
01/25/2018 at 9:58 pm #31322
I had the same thing happen to me just last week. Blocked a guy because he kept messaging me saying my price was unreasonable. He then created another account (same username with some random numbers at the end) and bought it for full price. I knew he was going to cause trouble and sure enough, I got an email from eBay saying that he requested money back for overcharged shipping…a couple bucks and some change. I should have contacted a rep like you did before even shipping the item.
-
01/26/2018 at 12:55 pm #31341
I’ve never heard of ebay sending a message regarding overcharging on shipping. Did they force you to refund him? How exactly does this even work. Ebay gets their fees on shipping so I don’t see why they would even care.
-
-
01/26/2018 at 2:57 pm #31353
I got this message from him first. “I was charged $6.65 shipping for this item. The actual US Post office confirmed shipping cost for this item was $3.46. Please refund $3.19 excessive shipping cost.”
Then this message came through from eBay (spelling and grammar mistakes left in):
eBay is contacting you I behalf of your buyer perpeto-ldy9ggx regarding the item Vintage Woodcroftery France Salad Serving Fork & Spoon Utensil (302081376670). Your buyer is asking you to reimburse him for the overcharged shipping fee . Your buyer said ,after checking the tracking # 94004109699939611920216 in the post office , he foudd out as post office told him that shipping for that is only $3.46. Now you buyer is asking you for the reimbursement for the remainder of the $6.65 that he paid for the shipping fee.eBay is suggesting to communicate further with your buyer to settle things out. Your action to the mentioned concern will be highly appreciated.
Thanks for staying in eBay.
Thanks,
eBaySounds kinda fishy, doesn’t it? Well I refunded the guy just to keep from stirring the shit pot.
-
01/26/2018 at 4:24 pm #31361
What I don’t get is I thought that the seller can charge whatever they wish for shipping. If the buyer agrees to the price then they agreed to the price.
-
01/26/2018 at 4:34 pm #31363
Technically the buyer does agree to the shipping but ebay will always side with the buyer. EBay does monitor shipping. Remember they don’t care if you sell your stuff for a penny with free shipping as long as they get paid any fees due to them. If you read the agreement when you create a sale, you will see that it automatically goes to cross promotional in which they stipulate that they may change/limit the shipping fees at some point.u
-
01/26/2018 at 5:18 pm #31365
Doesn’t all of this back and forth with the various customers just make one want to take the weight of the item plus estimated packing and then throw on the cost to ship it to a 3,000 mile zip destination, mark that up 30% then tack it on to the item price and OFFER FREE SHIPPING. That way they can never say shipping is a rip off again.
I have been reading lately that a lot of sellers are going to Free Shipping and doing exactly that. We have started going toward free shipping on most items that are less than 3 to 4 lbs. and building in the shipping to a Cal. zip and rounding it up. [We are in Atlanta]. So the Cal. customers pay about the right cost, those in the mid-USA pay somewhat more and locals pay a lot more, but we are about at the point we don’t care any more. Our item prices are probably a touch low and this makes up for it. Also unusual, vintage, hard to find or unique, ecletic items who is to say about it’s total price. Every item has a buyer sooner or later.
There is a lady “Danni Ackerman” who does YouTube videos. Look up her couple on free shipping and see if you change your mind.
With the free shipping scenario the customer doesn’t have a clue as to the weight, final packed size, as opposed to what you are charging for the item. We even throw in room for Sales and Offers.
Example. I have an item we paid $3.50 for and $6.75 will get it anywhere in the USA. We sell it for $60 free shipping. Now the customer is in the dark. If they want to return they pay to do so. Conceptually in their minds they never paid for shipping anyway.
We have been talking with a lot of people and as long as it isn’t a competitive, current commodity item, I think this may just solve the issues.
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 7 months ago by
MDC Galleries & Fine Art.
-
01/27/2018 at 8:39 pm #31408
Mike, your comment about free shipping weighed on my mind for the past day. So I decided to run my own experiment. I chose my oldest ~400 items under a pound and applied free shipping while bumping the price of each by $5. It’ll be interesting to see how the free shipping will entice the buyers… or not. I’ll create a new post to report my outcome after a couple months.
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 7 months ago by
-
-
01/26/2018 at 5:42 pm #31368
Exactly my thoughts on free shipping. However on some items it really puts us out of the competitive range because we are in CA and shipping across the US can be pricey. If we were in the center of the map than it would not make much difference and we can go with free shipping across the board.
For first class items and media mail, I have opted most often to go with free shipping but on the larger items, it’s been hard to do. I noticed that I get more watchers on items that are calculated shipping where as before, when I had them on flat rate shipping, they were not being looked — our flat rates were calculated on 3000 miles shipping as you stated above but it was too high.
And if we price the item with the shipping included (3000 miles) then it make the item look really high in price. Where the price looks lower on calculated shipping for those closer to us.
It’s been a real mental battle to get it right.
-
01/26/2018 at 5:46 pm #31370
PS: there was a person on this forum that said they put handling fees on their listings and they have never had an issue with it… there is a thought.
-
01/26/2018 at 6:37 pm #31375
Food for thought from MDC galleries. I haven’t often been challenged on shipping, and I seem to sell quite a bit to California (I’m on the East Coast) so I could end up eating a lot (or not, if I built in CA shipping!) but it’s something to consider.
-
01/27/2018 at 12:21 pm #31397
I probably do about half/half free/calculated shipping. When checking comps, if it seems the vast majority of similar sold items had free shipping, I’ll generally up the price and do the same. If it’s a clothing item (4% return rate category for me), I charge a 20% restocking fee for items with free shipping.
Another part of the equation, if you’re a TRS, is that the 10% FVF discount is not given for the FVF on shipping, only the item price.
Last night I was messaging back and forth with someone about some boots I was selling. The package will weigh 5 lbs. and I listed with calculated shipping. Item didn’t have best offer on it, but he contacted me and asked if I would take an unusual figure which included dollars and cents. I realized that he was basically subtracting his shipping cost from the listing price and using that as his offer. It was a big sale, so I was happy to work with him, but instead of taking the lower item price offer amount, I told him I’d change the listing to “free shipping”. That way I get the 10% discount on that $20 shipping, since it’s rolled into the item price.
Doesn’t make a huge difference on one item, but if you’re a TRS with a large volume of sales (not me), it would add up.
-
01/27/2018 at 1:53 pm #31398
If the shipping cost is stated in the listing, I don’t see that the buyer should be able to make an issue out of it. The listing doesn’t say “this is what I’m paying the Post office”. It is the cost of shipping, which may include boxes, packaging etc and handling fees.
The obvious work around is free shipping, which doesn’t always benefit the buyer. Of course each item can included a handling fee, which just complicates the listing process even further. In the end the buyer is going to pay for the shipping ,one way or another.
Doublythumbs is dealing with the classic unreasonable grumpy buyer. The buyer probably called Ebay and badgered the representative into sending that message. It was an easy way to hand off the problem to the seller.
You have to remember, this buyer was blocked and created a second account to buy the item. If not the shipping, he probably would have found another reason to request money back.
I’m not changing anything, based on these type of buyers. They are out there and will exploit the system any way they can.
-
01/27/2018 at 4:41 pm #31403
That’s my feeling too. Grumpy buyer would have found something to harass me about since he didn’t get his way initially. A part of me wanted to fight it, but I suppose $3 was a small price to pay to not have to deal with his crap.
-
01/28/2018 at 12:15 am #31419
Yes, you made a smart move. For $3, let the guy have his day.. It’s not worth the time and hassle to fight it and probably end up paying anyway.
-
-
-
01/27/2018 at 9:15 pm #31410
I think that because ebay is pushing free shipping, the cost paid for shipping is going to become more and more of an issue. I think this is going to become especially apparent when ebay enacts their clause (as noted in the cross promotional legal jargon) of being able to control shipping costs. Some sellers will find that a change has been made without realizing what happened until they go to purchase a shipping label. Ebay has made shipping charges so important that they have worked with the post office to set up a process where sellers can be charged for underpaying on shipping and reimbursed for over paying.
Some sellers specifically note in their listing what shipping charges entail because their shipping charges are based on more than just weight and dimensions. Even at that, I think if contested, ebay will side with the buyer because seller’s including other costs in their shipping charges do not coincide with how ebay calculates shipping costs.
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 7 months ago by
AdventureE.
-
01/27/2018 at 9:25 pm #31412
eBay tried five years ago to push Free Shipping, but many sellers didn’t bite because there’s no such thing as free shipping. $10 + free shipping is the same as $7.50 + $2.50 shipping.
If a seller wats to play that game, go for it. I assume it makes sense on commodity items with huge competition.
So I’m confused by your statement. If a seller charges the postage which is automatically calculated through eBay and USPS, how or why would eBay change the cost of shipping after the sale?
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 7 months ago by
-
01/27/2018 at 10:41 pm #31414
Free shipping is alive and well. Not only does ebay promote it with sellers, but it is one of their main promotions on the main ebay page. They are setting the tone of free shipping letting customers know what to expect and making it clear that they are competative in the world of online business (due to the fact that free shipping is the current trend which is continuing to grow). They even have a search feature that allows one to find items based on free shipping.
Ebay would be able to have a say in shipping amounts by simple programming. They would be able to see what the weight and measurements are and have been documented as and then compare it to what they expect it should be. For example, it is easy to see that something has gone wrong when two sellers are selling the same thing and yet their shipping costs are totally different when the same starting and ending point are entered into the calculator. Since ebay is already coordinating with the post office, if they choose to go further with it, they can have packages spot checked to make sure the calculations (and therefore the costs) were correctly charged. We saw that this week with a customer having a postal agent weigh the package to determine what the shipping costs should be and then asking a seller for a refund because the amount determined by the post office was different than the seller’s amount. The post office and the buyer saying the shipping cost was wrong is a pretty powerful voice which ebay will listen to.
On another note, if you read the agreement signed when craeating a sale (which is now cross promotional only) noted under the link titled Terms and Conditions which is next to the Launch button, it specifically states that ebay may have a part in determining and/or restricting shipping costs.
http://pages.ebay.com/promo/terms/pricingpromotions.html#prmngr
All items sold as part of a cross-promotional offer that provide the same
shipping service should be grouped together as a single order. eBay may, in the
future and in its discretion, limit the amount that sellers may charge for
shipping and handling of items when they are sold as part of a cross-promotional
offer. For Related Items Offers, eBay may, in its discretion, choose not to
display related listings as part of a Related Items Offer when the related
listings do not offer free shipping. For items sold as part of an Order Size
Offer, the shipping costs of individual items will be aggregated.“eBay will have the right, but not the obligation, to change the features or functionality of Promotions Manager at any time in its sole discretion, with or without prior notice.”
-
01/27/2018 at 11:00 pm #31417
Sure, buyers like free shipping. Cool if eBay promotes it. I guess I don’t see the slow conspiracy to turn all eBay sales into free shipping. Maybe I’m misunderstanding what you’re saying. Calculated shipping is alive and well.
From my POV, USPS has simply updated their systems to automatically check and correct size/weight on packages. Why? Because at best, sellers make mistakes on judging their weights. At worst, USPS saw a lot of purposeful manipulation to cheat the system. Why would it be an issue for USPS/eBay to make sure packages are sent by the correct price? This isn’t a slippery slope to free shipping. It’s just enforcing the current rules that have always existed.
-
01/28/2018 at 11:13 am #31434
It seems that there are some less than favorable terms in the fine print of the promoted listings agreement. From what I read here it also appears to cause problems, like what has happened with Linda Shield’s store.
I am going to avoid using promoted listings for the time being. I may reconsider later when the dust has settled.
-
-
01/28/2018 at 1:06 am #31422
Jay,
It is not a conspiracy but a reality of the times. In order to stay afloat, the key factors eBay must pay attention to is being at or above their competitor’s level, their image and how they are perceived by others, what practices they have and/or reinforce as a part of their business, and most of all being customer oriented and customer friendly. While calculated shipping is alive and well, that is not what eBay will promote because that is not the current online business practice at play. Free shipping has been around for a while and has become a mainstay for many companies who do business online. For some shoppers, free shipping will be the breaking point when deciding which platform to shop on. A company cannot have sellers successfully selling unique costly items if they do not have buyers come to their platform. eBay leaves it up to the seller but strongly promotes even calculated shipping be turned into free shipping because that is what is best for them as a company.Yes, I do think USPS and eBay are reinforcing practices that have already been in place, but I think it is because it was negatively affecting the bottom line – their revenue and their image. If shipping costs being charged to customers was not such a huge problem, they would not have addressed it with such rigor.
-
01/28/2018 at 5:44 am #31423
Uh, things are working differently than you’re saying.
USPS is now better checking packages to make sure sellers are charging the correct price. So in most cases, USPS will find that sellers are UNDERCHARGING for shipping and are retroactively punishing the seller by charging more for shipping.
This will now push sellers to make sure buyers are paying the true cost of shipping. In fact I’d say more sellers will round up more frequently. This means shipping will be MORE EXPENSIVE than before when sellers could undercharge.
So how does this push anyone to ship for free?
-
-
01/28/2018 at 11:16 am #31435
Jay,
I disagree. I think USPS and ebay have been crunching numbers on the number of sellers who have been underpaying and overpaying for awhile which is what has lead both entities to take such a strong stance and enforce the shipping rules, policies, and costs. We do not and will not have access to any historical data they have gathered, but I do not think that undercharging (while a possible problem due to sellers intentionally mailing items using the wrong service -i.e. sending something that is not media mail as media mail in order to avoid paying the real shipping charge- or making mistakes in shipping choices and/or charges)is the only problem. I think there have been and are sellers who overcharge for shipping possibly because what they charge for shipping is more than weight and dimensions.As for free shipping, it is a seller’s choice on ebay right now and highly promoted by ebay because it is a social, economic, and market trend. Some buyers make their choice as to whether to browse and/or purchase based on shipping amount regardless of the item. Many sellers are taking part in free shipping (which is evident by just doing some browsing on ebay) in order to try to increase sales. We all know that there is no such thing as free shipping so sellers are having to find someway of assuming the costs in order to offer the service which they are hoping will lead to sales. Changes in policy, practices, and costs for shipping only gets passed onto customers if the seller charges for shipping. Otherwise, sellers will have to take any shipping costs, practices, and policies into account as they create their listings in order to avoid losing money.
-
01/28/2018 at 12:25 pm #31437
Ah, I see where you’re confused. Or maybe I am. Let’s clear this up because its important.
When USPS re-weighs items, the difference in shipping costs never goes back to the buyer. So your hypothesis of eBay/USPS getting between what the seller charges the buyer is incorrect. If you charge a buyer $10 to ship an item, you can send it for $7 as long as you follow the USPS rules.
USPS is simply trying to stop sellers from abusive the system (like sending 8lb items first class).
-
-
01/28/2018 at 1:00 pm #31439
Actually Jay,
It was just identified by a seller this week that a buyer had the package weighed by the post office and then contacted ebay to get their money back because they were charged 3 dollars over the amount identified by USPS. Ebay then sent a message to the seller requesting that they refund the buyer’s money. It was identified by another seller that a customer told them ahead of time that they would be having USPS weigh the package when received to make sure the postage was correct. There was also a seller who identified a buyer getting upset and leaving negative feedback because the seller used a different shipping option than the buyer paid for (and the package wound up taking longer than expected to be delivered) and ebay would not remove the negative feedback because of that.Yes, the money can go back to the buyer if somehow it is identified that what the buyer paid for does not match what was used or if it is identified that the buyer was overcharged. If ebay wishes to, they can simply contract with USPS to spot check packages and then inform sellers when there is a discrepancy and ask them to return the money to the buyer. It will then go on the seller’s record and if too many instances are documented, ebay can restrict a seller’s account and/or selling rights. With the advancements in technology today, what used to be imposssible, highly costly, and/or take way too much time to do can now be done in minutes and tracked by multiple entities.
-
01/28/2018 at 1:25 pm #31440
Okay, sounds like you’re just worried. None of what you say exists today. Could eBay take all the shipping profits? Sure. Are they doing it now? No.
-
01/28/2018 at 1:47 pm #31444
Jay,
It seems that there is a clear communication difficulty that is occuring. I am not sure what it is that is making you say that none of what I say is in existance. A clear difference in perspective. I am also not sure where you got that I am worried or that I think ebay is going to take the shipping profits. Shipping is obviously important to ebay. If not, they would not have taken the measures they have taken with USPS, pushed free shipping in their advertising, refused to remove negative feedback based on shipping, and contacted a seller on behalf of a customer due to the customer identifying that they had been overcharged based on the USPS calculations.-
01/28/2018 at 2:15 pm #31445
I should just let this die, but I guess I’m stubborn like you.
You said:
“If ebay wishes to, they can simply contract with USPS to spot check packages and then inform sellers when there is a discrepancy and ask them to return the money to the buyer. It will then go on the seller’s record and if too many instances are documented, ebay can restrict a seller’s account and/or selling rights. With the advancements in technology today, what used to be impossible, highly costly, and/or take way too much time to do can now be done in minutes and tracked by multiple entities.”This currently does not exist. eBay or USPS is not taking anyone’s shipping income as long as items are weighed and sized correctly.
Doublythumbs (great name) clarified that eBay did not force him to give a refund to the buyer:
He did so just to make the grumpy buyer go away.I swear I’m done now. Please have the last word.
-
01/28/2018 at 2:46 pm #31447
Before the last word, I just want to make one point. I don’t particularly want to be part of the discussion, but I want one thing to be clear.
The reason that the USPS is weighing and measuring packages is because many sellers short-change the post office by sending items first class or media when they should be sent parcel or priority.
The USPS is supposed to be a semi-private company, but their budget is controlled by Congress. They have been having financial issues for the past 10 or so years because Congress wouldn’t allow them to raise stamp prices to the amount needed, and, at the same time, they had to overfund their pension plan. Not that properly funding a pension plan is a bad thing, but they weren’t making enough money to both fund their pensions and pay their expenses & payroll.
Part of the solution is that the USPS has managed to make their service more efficient with technology and streamline their operations. They have recently added the ability to get back money that they deserve from unscrupulous sellers that try to underpay for postage (or honest sellers that mistakenly pay too little).
While I don’t know exactly how it came that Ebay got into the tangle of this, but the USPS probably said something like “we will continue to give you discounts if you allow us to charge back your sellers any underpayments”. So, Ebay agreed to it.
My point in all this is that Ebay is not working with the USPS to make sellers give money back to buyers when the postage is overcharged. This is all the USPS trying to keep solvent and operate within their financial budgets.
Some buyers have taken advantage of the new USPS technology to get money back. Many buyers do different things to pay less, and this is just a new one.
-
01/28/2018 at 2:54 pm #31448
Jay,
It is only in the sharing of thought, perspective, and experience that we advance in life, practice, wisdom, and understanding, so I truly appreciate opportunities like these to dialogue with another on a topic that is rich, deep, and relevant to the practice at hand – being an eBay seller.You noted that USPS is not taking the shipping income as long as it is done correctly which I agree with. But it is due to the fact that there have been so many errors in shipping that USPS now checks shipping and either returns money to sellers for overpaying or charges them for underpaying. USPS and eBay are not going to implement fixing a problem that does not exist with veracity. This flood gate of checking has been opened. Once a flood gate is opened, it is impossible to close unless a major revision is done (by eBay) causing the flood gate to be sealed shut.
You noted that Doublythumbs stated “that eBay did not force him to give a refund to the buyer.” Of course, they would not. Unless they have some kind of concrete evidence that he did something wrong, they are not going to force any action but instead use their corporate voice (which holds weight and power) to communicate the concern with the seller. eBay’s normal statement for resolving an issue with a seller is to tell the buyer to contact the seller. It is very interesting to note that they stepped in. They know they could not force an action or accuse the seller of anything at first because that would get them entangled and possibly set them up for legal action down the line. Instead they simply stated the facts and asked the seller to work it out. If the seller had not worked out, they would have had to engage in more specific terminology and action. In my opinion, because USPS is considered to be the shipping expert and because they have a strong partnership based on necessity and economic benefit, they would not side with the seller when it is an employee of the USPS noting what the shipping cost should be.
-
-
-
-
01/28/2018 at 1:29 pm #31441
Maybe I should chime in. It was my customer that you’re talking about who asked for a refund for the difference in shipping costs. The message I got from eBay didn’t insinuate to me that they would force a refund. It just said that my customer has a problem and I should work it out with him. I feel like I could have gotten away with not refunding the guy, but it would open up a possible negative feedback that I wouldn’t be able to fight.
-
01/28/2018 at 1:46 pm #31443
Makes sense. $3 is a cheap way to make someone happy.
But you could absolutely get eBay to back you up since the buyer agreed to the shipping charge at purchase. eBay would remove the negative as well if the buyer mentioned shipping.
If the buyer didnt want to pay $x to ship the item, then they can buy from someone else.
-
01/28/2018 at 3:27 pm #31449
The problem with a buyer like this is that he was savvy enough to open another account to bypass being blocked. He might decide to open up a INAD claim for who knows why.. or he might leave a negative feedback and never mention shipping…
We all pick our battles, but sometimes being right is not enough of a reason to fight these guys.
I’m just so glad these situations are the exception to the rule.. Most sales are just money in the bank.. not a headache like this.
-
-
-
-
01/28/2018 at 5:23 pm #31453
Just wanted to share that I had a buyer today that was super nice, she was very polite and said that the shipping seemed high and asked if I would reimburse her on any overages on shipping. I told her that I would be happy to but that I reserve the right to keep my ebay discount. In other words she paid the retail rate of the Post Office and I got to keep my profit/discount on the shipping. She had no problem with that. I refunded her $2.25
-
01/28/2018 at 8:47 pm #31466
I think ebay likes it if we offer calculated shipping with 3 choices of methods, so I do that a lot now.
-
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.