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Need advice - Ebay related problem

Stereo Joe

Stereo Joe

Jun 29, 2007
980
48
Ontario, Canada
#1
Here's the situation:

I put in an offer on one of those 'Best offer" auctions. My offer was $250US and in the 'Terms' section, I included this note:

ME: "I can offer $250 US if you will include shipping to Postal Code K1L 7N6 in Canada"

Well, my offer got accepted and I received a request from Ebay to pay the total (like normal).

Except that when I went to check out, there was a $22.95 shipping charge. So I emailed the seller:

ME: "Hey, thanks for agreeing to the offer. Under the 'terms' section,
I stated that my offer of $250 US would included shipping costs.
Yet I see a shipping and handling charge of $22.95. I just want
to make sure that we are in agreement for $250US total cost.
(including shipping).
Thank you! "

To which the seller responder:

SELLER: "We actually did not notice that we accepted an offer that
included shipping. Additionally, you are an international buyer
and the size of the packaging required would make it very
expensive for us to ship the guitar to you. We are trying to find
a way to include the shipping in the $250 offer but it may not
be possible for us, we will know for sure on monday, thank you."


So now I'm wondering what to do. I get the impression that they want to call off the deal. I'd really like to get this bass, but I don't want to make such a huge stink of it that they'll get pissy and send it poorly packaged or damage it or something. I never tell off a waiter at a restaurant who is about to bring me my food and this situation has a similar feel to it.

Any advice??
 
#2
I've had similar dealings and it really is their responsibility as the seller to read through ALL of the terms in the offer. I have included free shipping and other such terms in the "Additional Terms" (or whatever it is) field before and had the seller either give a counter offer or accept. Saying "oops we missed that" is rather weak, and if they don't honor that I would leave them negative feedback.
 
#5
You should be able to hold them to the terms of the offer. I had to fight E-Bay for days to get out of a deal where a guy (with '0' feedback) bought my bass for international shipment without checking with me first. The terms of my auction clearly stated for Int'l buyers to contact me first. It was clearly a scam as he tried to take the conversation off E-Bay and never tried to pay for it. It still took a couple of hours on the phone with E-Bay to get out from under it.

Having been on the seller's side, I know that E-Bay greatly favors the buyer. If the seller tries to cancel the deal, you can decline it. The buyer accepted your offer, so the buyer is on the hook.

Contact E-Bay and let them know what happened. Keep all communication with the seller via proper E-Bay channels. The buyer must complete the deal or face bad feedback and potentially other action from E-Bay. He will have to pay the final value fee + insertion fees anyway.

Good Luck!
 
#6
Since they seem to have made an honest mistake by not considering the shipping it across the border issue, and your getting a fair deal either way, why not just offer to have them pack it appropriately and split the difference?

You're right in that they accepted your terms and you should not be responsible for thier oversight. So ok, you win on moral grounds. Now decide if you wanna get the bass you bid on, or bust balls over 11 bux.

EDIT:
Hmm, in re-reading that it sort of looks like they used your post code to figure shipping of $22.95 but maybe neglected to realize that that rate is for a normal sized package. The part where they say "very expensive" is worrying. $22.95 isn't very expensive. Are they now inferring that the shipping is going to be even more than that?

This is all to common on ebay. So many sellers willing to take money before realizing what they are getting in to. I like offering to split the difference, but if the costs are actually more than $22.95 I'd get steamed. They accepted the offer, they have to make the deal and if they don't I'd use everything ebay has to offer to make my point.

The above poster is right, Ebay is heavily tilted in the buyers favor.
 
#7
Cool, thanks for the advice guys! I read the policies regarding best offers on Ebay and it looks like I am definitely in the right. There is even a section mentioning that the seller should look for offers that INCLUDE shipping if a shipping cost wasn't specified in their auction (it wasn't for international shipping).

I emailed the buyer and said that I would really like it if they honored their deal, but that I would pay the $22.95 shipping costs if it meant the difference between getting the bass or not.

My worry is that $22.95 seems awfully low for shipping and I'm guessing that was a mistake on their part as well. They are probably going to say that shipping is much more...
 
#8
I think $22.95 is very reasonable for shipping. I would check reviews of this seller and if they are all good, then there's a good chance he's a safe bet.

There are, however, obvious red flags when a seller is sketchy, so maybe if you post the link (assuming it's still out there), those of us who have purchased from eBay can vouch for its degree of trustworthiness.

I have had two very good experiences with eBay but I think I'm through for now unless the seller is obviously some kind of actual music store or pawn shop. The risks are just too many from a private seller who could flake out on you.
 
#9
Stereo Joe said:
Cool, thanks for the advice guys! I read the policies regarding best offers on Ebay and it looks like I am definitely in the right. There is even a section mentioning that the seller should look for offers that INCLUDE shipping if a shipping cost wasn't specified in their auction (it wasn't for international shipping).

I emailed the buyer and said that I would really like it if they honored their deal, but that I would pay the $22.95 shipping costs if it meant the difference between getting the bass or not.
Click to expand...

I think you handled it well.
You are more likely to get this issue resolved to your satisfaction, without having to "go through channels" with that attitude.

Stereo Joe said:
My worry is that $22.95 seems awfully low for shipping and I'm guessing that was a mistake on their part as well. They are probably going to say that shipping is much more...
Click to expand...

I was thinking that $22.95 seemed awfully cheap as well... but I highly doubt they would try to push the issue even if it WAS a mistake, since they already screwed up once!
 
#11
+1.

Classy move.

Good Luck!

Stereo Joe said:
I emailed the buyer and said that I would really like it if they honored their deal, but that I would pay the $22.95 shipping costs if it meant the difference between getting the bass or not.

My worry is that $22.95 seems awfully low for shipping and I'm guessing that was a mistake on their part as well. They are probably going to say that shipping is much more...
Click to expand...
 
#14
kazuhank said:
I've had similar dealings and it really is their responsibility as the seller to read through ALL of the terms in the offer. I have included free shipping and other such terms in the "Additional Terms" (or whatever it is) field before and had the seller either give a counter offer or accept. Saying "oops we missed that" is rather weak, and if they don't honor that I would leave them negative feedback.
Click to expand...

No, that is not true. If any of you guys actually read the terms and conditions related to the best offer action, you will see that shipping costs are not allowed to be negotiable. That simply means, shipping cost can not be included in the "Additional Terms" section of that offer. Being trigger happy solved nothing in the past and will not solve anything in the future. But judging from your tone, I don't think me saying that would even matter.
 
#20
The cheapest way to ship a bass is to remove the neck and ship without a case. Then the shipment will be below the combined length and girth of X inches (which I can't remember off the top of my head) for international shipping. I was able to ship a Marcus Miller to Australia for about $90 that way. The neck *just* made it in the box. If the length/girth were just an inch or two more it would have cost me over $300 to ship. I will never ship an instrument internationally again.
 

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