Shipping charges over the top

[briankeith]

I use EBay to locate needed parts like most everyone here. And I get lazy sometimes and order die-cut turntable felt from time to time. Without mentioning the seller, I ordered extra felts to stock up in case I need them. A couple sizes and colors and the quality and feel is very good and the cut is perfect. BUT what I did not catch was the shipping per felt - NO combined shipping! I purchased 10 turntable felts and paid shipping on each felt although they were all mailed in one rigid cardboard package. I feel that was a little over the top making so much profit on the shipping. Live & learn I guess - ugh EBay annoys me sometimes. The seller does not offer combined shipping and I didn't catch it - my bad. Even on turntable felt ugh....

[Ripduf1]

That makes no sense to me. Next time order them on consecutive days, that person would have to use more mailers, tape and postage etc. That way they might come to their senses and offer a positive business environment - COMBINED SHIPPING which is better for everyone! Wow! I don't get it. John

[DGPros]

Either that or email him before you purchase. My guess is he will combine. If he doesn't, well, then move along. I learned the hard way too.

[Cody K]

Something like this happened to me recently, too. I was in need of a few packs of needles and a pair of tiny reproducer parts that weigh almost nothing. I messaged the seller asking if he'd mind just slipping the parts into the package with the needles, thus saving me the two and a half measly bucks shipping on the parts. Somehow this couldn't be worked out, so I just went ahead and got the parts and the needles from other sources. It wasn't so much the two and a half bucks that irritated me, but the unwillingness to be helpful with a small matter like that.

Mostly though, I've found that as DG suggests, an e-mail asking for combined shipping before ordering will usually work out well.

[cleveland1996]

You should email the seller and tell him that you understand that he does not combine shipping,however, since he combined the products to be shipped to you, then he should refund the difference.. Otherwise, why didn't he ship each one seperately?.

[startgroove]

The seller doesn't calculate the shipping, Ebay does it automatically. It is possible the seller didn't check, just processed the order. However, I would ask that seller to voluntarily combine shipping in the future, or you'd take your business to someone who would. For now, it would be a good idea to message that seller and give him your opinion of the unfairness of his practice, and ask for a refund on the excess shipping.

[Orchorsol]

Many times I find a seller does not appear to combine shipping costs as per their eBay settings - i.e. a message appears to that effect when you click "ask seller to combine" at the invoice/payment stage - but I then send a separate message to the seller (via one of the item pages) and they always have.

Except - three infuriating experiences with the global shipping program, under which combined shipping has always been impossible despite sellers trying their best to get round the problem. I had to cancel those orders (all three sellers were totally understanding and just as exasperated). Nowadays I avoid sellers using that service.

[epigramophone]

The seller doesn't calculate the shipping, Ebay does it automatically. It is possible the seller didn't check, just processed the order. However, I would ask that seller to voluntarily combine shipping in the future, or you'd take your business to someone who would. For now, it would be a good idea to message that seller and give him your opinion of the unfairness of his practice, and ask for a refund on the excess shipping.

When listing an item for sale on UK eBay their suggested postage charge appears on the listing form. If you are not happy with it, all you have to do is click on "calculate postage myself" which enables you to choose which service to use and how much to charge.

As others have pointed out it is always worth asking for combined postage, and as a seller I always offer it where appropriate WITHOUT being asked.

As for the Global Shipping Programme, I opted out of it as a seller and would not touch it as a buyer either.

[audiophile102]

The seller doesn't calculate the shipping, Ebay does it automatically. It is possible the seller didn't check, just processed the order. However, I would ask that seller to voluntarily combine shipping in the future, or you'd take your business to someone who would. For now, it would be a good idea to message that seller and give him your opinion of the unfairness of his practice, and ask for a refund on the excess shipping.

Ebay takes sides with the buyer which means most sellers will do their best in order to avoid an unhappy customer. Email the seller and you might find a quick refund coming.

[Raphael]

This is an interesting topic and one with varying views depending on one's perspective, i.e. buyer or seller.

I think that a well-intentioned seller would never intentionally charge 10x the shipping costs in this situation. Perhaps, as is frequently the case, eBay's settings confused the seller or he made a simple mistake in setting up the listing.

On the other hand, maybe he has an assistant filling these orders and that person needs a little knock on the noggin.

Most of my buyers (on or off eBay) want a fully delivered price. That means I have to enter a shipping cost on eBay that is the same for shipments 100 miles or 3,500 miles away. And foreign delivery costs that are the same whether or not they are in Canada or Australia. So, the guy in the state of Washington gets a relative bargain, while the buyer of the same item going to a Florida address gets screwed, so to speak. What to do? I simply address any complaints and try to make the buyer happy - it is the next sale that is more important and the only way to do that is to try to make the customer smile. No sense explaining to the guy in Florida that the shipping costs were clearly stated on eBay, and if he goes to the local buffet restaurant he can't ask for a discount because he's skinny and doesn't eat much.

That being said, I myself buy parts on eBay and have never found any seller to be unreasonable or unscrupulous in the shipping end of things. There may be a basic misunderstanding or lack of communication in the turntable felt order.

Raphael