RickHarrisMaine Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Shhesh..... I win 2 auctions for 3 Saturn games, loose...meaning disc only of course. Now yes, they were cheap, but the shipping price on each of them was a flat-rate $6. The guy says no can do, you can't combine the shipping, you got a good deal as it was..... (yes, I know I should have read that, but in the heat of things, these things happen...) I figured a person with his feedback wouldn't get that way by being a douche, but au contraire..... It will be the last time I buy anything from Sargonious on eBay..... I made him ship one game to my office, and the rest to my house. At least this way he has to ship them separately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christophero Sly Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 (edited) What kind of feedback does this guy expect from you? Edited January 20, 2010 by Christophero Sly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+thegoldenband Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 This happens a lot with items available for a low Buy It Now and exorbitant shipping. The sellers are padding the shipping charge in order to get around Ebay fees, which are lower on a $1 BIN with $4 shipping than a $3 BIN with $2 shipping. I recently bought a rare-ish loose cart which matched the first case ($1 BIN and $4 S/H). Ironically (and unfortunately), the guy sent the cart in an unpadded, homemade envelope that didn't protect it at all. Unsurprisingly it was badly damaged, though still playable. We worked something out, but still -- if you're going to charge $4 S/H when real postage is no more than $2, I expect the item to at least be properly protected. (I would've been within my rights to ask for a full refund + return postage, after all; I don't understand the mindset that thinks it's worth saving a quarter worth of bubble wrap and postage, when you're likely as not to end up out the item itself, plus shipping both ways.) On the other hand I've dealt with several great sellers who were happy to combine shipping, and I really appreciated it. The classiest thing is always to charge real shipping costs, IMHO, and to trust that the auction process itself will compensate you (or to set a higher BIN or reserve price). But I understand that Ebay fees are onerous (not to mention the newish rules which heavily favor buyers in a dispute) and am willing to cut a good seller some slack, especially if they combine shipping or charge less S/H for additional items. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 I always assume that if the auction description doesn't state a seller will combine shipping, then the seller is not going to combine shipping. It's always best to ask the seller before the auction ends if he or she will combine shipping and by how much so there are no surprises when you win multiple items. Many sellers definitely pad their shipping charges to make more money, so it's not surprising when sellers won't do so (especially with low-price items). ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickHarrisMaine Posted January 20, 2010 Author Share Posted January 20, 2010 What kind of feedback does this guy expect from you? I don't think he's going to have his 100% feedback rating much longer..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEFF31 Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 For the last few years on EBAY I have always asked about shipping (and handling) on multiple items BEFORE the auction has ended.... Some do - some won't... I bid accordingly... On a recent auction I emailed the Seller about shipping and was told that I could get lower shipping for 7 items.... I won all seven auctions and was charged FULL shipping and handing for ALL items... I emailed the Seller and 'he' agreed the 'excess' shipping was wrong and agreed to refund the excess. BUT as ALWAYS "BUYER BEWARE!!" I guess I'm always inclined to say 'BUYER BEWARE"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari_envy Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 For the last few years on EBAY I have always asked about shipping (and handling) on multiple items BEFORE the auction has ended.... Some do - some won't... I bid accordingly... On a recent auction I emailed the Seller about shipping and was told that I could get lower shipping for 7 items.... I won all seven auctions and was charged FULL shipping and handing for ALL items... I emailed the Seller and 'he' agreed the 'excess' shipping was wrong and agreed to refund the excess. BUT as ALWAYS "BUYER BEWARE!!" I guess I'm always inclined to say 'BUYER BEWARE"... Agreed. Even if the seller states they will combine shipping, if there is no price set (e.g. $2 for each additional item), ASK what they rate would be to ship # of items to zip code 99999. I have also been burned by "combined" shipping by getting terrible combined rates. One time from Canada the "combined rate" discount of $8S&H per item turned out to be a whopping $2 off for each item. So for 5 games, I paid $32 S&H. Another time, a seller stated in his description that he combined shipping, but then billed everything individually at the full rate even though I used the "Ask Seller for Total" feature twice. Both times there was no discount given, so I refused to pay. He opened a failure to pay dispute with eBay. I responded to the dispute stating that the description said "combined S&H" but did not receive it. A few days later, I received a decent combined rate invoice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldjd Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Like everything else on Ebay,if your not sure ask....and do it before auction ends. If I see a seller with several items I am interested in,I always ask about combined shipping. If they dont respond,thats usually a sign,that they dont.Or they are not going to respond in the hopes that they can bong you after the fact. The other thing,I noticed in this discussion,is padding shipping costs,and while that is usually true with sellers that are just out for a buck,there are some cases,myself as an example,where I use new boxes,new shipping material,which cant be itemized,so it has to go in shipping. I state that in my auctions,so the buyer will know his product wont arrive in a used walmart bag,thats taped and stapled. The other thing I have noticed lately is the "free shipping" that gets the seller a more desired selling position,but then you start reading the ad,and at the bottom they say will ship with "whomever" at a cost of $xxx. When I saw this on one sellers ad,I asked whats the deal,he stated he entered it wrong,but couldnt get it to show what he was charging,so he puts it at the very last sentence....,and then he said I am working with ebay to correct it. B.S Ebay is just like any other place you vist to buy items.Assume the worst,hope for the best,and read the fine print Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the.golden.ax Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 I charge actual postage, and combine, and get crap feedback on my shipping price anyways. Maybe I should stop allowing people to combine and be an ass too... since being nice gets you absolutely nowhere. AX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tisaperfectdayelise Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 What kind of feedback does this guy expect from you? I don't think he's going to have his 100% feedback rating much longer..... I'm not sure it's something you can screw up his feedback rating over, but I'd definitely leave a comment about in his feedback. Although, I'm not entirely familiar with eBay's new, elaborate grading system... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThumpNugget Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Shhesh..... I win 2 auctions for 3 Saturn games, loose...meaning disc only of course. Now yes, they were cheap, but the shipping price on each of them was a flat-rate $6. The guy says no can do, you can't combine the shipping, you got a good deal as it was..... (yes, I know I should have read that, but in the heat of things, these things happen...) I figured a person with his feedback wouldn't get that way by being a douche, but au contraire..... It will be the last time I buy anything from Sargonious on eBay..... I made him ship one game to my office, and the rest to my house. At least this way he has to ship them separately. Overall I have had pretty good luck with combining shipping on eBay - in general most everyone has been good about it but I almost always ask about it before hand. The one time a guy did refuse to combine shipping I had him ship the packages to three different locations (moms and brothers house along with mine) to make sure he did not profit as well... which was immature but I sure felt better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 I charge actual postage, and combine, and get crap feedback on my shipping price anyways. Maybe I should stop allowing people to combine and be an ass too... since being nice gets you absolutely nowhere. AX I charge actual ship cost, pay for all the packing materials out of my own pocket and ship within 48hrs of purchase and I still only got a 4.8 on shipping & timing DSR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariLeaf Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Yep I always ask if they combine (if its not listed in the auction) and I usually get a friendly reply of "yes". If they say no I move on. I've never had anyone agree to combine and then change their mind after I've won. And realistically, there is no reason not to combine shipping unless they are trying to pad their bottom line and avoid ebay fees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanhq Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 No it's not too much asking for a seller to combine shipping, but if it's not stated in the auction description that they combine shipping and if you ask them "will you combine shipping?" and the answer is no, you really shouldn't get upset. Yes it sucks, but if you are going to ask a question, you should be prepared for a yes or no answer. I'm sure some people might call me an ass for thinking this way, but that's just me and if they won't combine shipping, you can always try and find the item from another seller who will combine shipping. eBay has made it so hard for sellers to conduct business by adding fees for everything (listing fees, final value fees, PayPal fees, etc.) so sellers have to try and make up for it some how. I stopped selling on eBay around October 2008 when eBay started messing with polices, fees and the feedback system. I seller should be able to leave a negative if a buyer doesn't pay. Now sellers are at the mercy of the buyer, which is probably another reason why some sellers have bad attitudes or have higher shipping fees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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