Help! Shipping problem (ebay)

I recently won an invisible stand on ebay after looking for quite a while for one that would ship outside the US. I got a quote from the seller for shipping of $34.60 and won the auction at $122. I sent the total via paypal the following day. Now the seller tells me that the stand is too large for that quote (needed to be less than 75 inches) and he quotes me $234 or $195 depending on the carrier (UPS and USPS), as its 85 inches. It makes absolutely no sense to me.

Should I demand that he stick to his original quote or just forget the whole deal and ask for my money back? Or maybe get him to cut the stand down in some way???

Grrrrrrr:mad:

Get your money back. That's bull{censored}.

He knew what the quote was before he gave it to you. And if not, then he's not a very good eBayer and I would not do business with him. That's a HUGE cost difference.

The new quote might be correct.

If you have the dimensions of the box and its weight, you can calculate the postage:

http://www.usps.com/tools/calculatepostage/welcome.htm?from=home&page=0061calculatepostage

http://wwwapps.ups.com/calTimeCost?loc=en_US

Many of the keyboard stands are long and can be very expensive to ship. With many shippers, once you reach a certain length or total dimension value the prices can rise sharply.

Another issue relates to the packaging itself. Unless the seller already had a box, his shipping fee may include the cost of going to a local "pak and ship" store and buying a box (which can also be expensive).

With any bulky item, I will not bid unless:

-- the shipping price is fixed

-- there is a shippping calculator

I think you are well within your rights to ask for a refund. I personally would not buy something that costs 2x as much to ship as its value.

That's BS! I've screwed myself on shipping a couple of times but I paid it because that's what I quoted the buyer. It's not your fault that he screwed up the estimate. Now on the other hand, if you feel like being a really nice guy, you could offer to split the difference with him.

I don't think that quote is wrong. I sold a really light keyboard case on ebay. The thing weighed like 10 lbs. but because of the dimensions, they wanted $200+ to ship to AUS. I notified the buyer and I refunded his money. I don't think this seller is jerking you around, he probably just didn't realize how rediculous it is to ship larger items to AUS. Ask for a refund.....

I'm not saying that the new quote is wrong, I'm saying that the seller made a mistake on the original quote and he's got an obligation to either honor the original quote or at the very least, refund the money.

Thanks guys, nice range of responses. I'll probably just ask for a refund. I'm tempted to leave negative feedback but its probably not worth it. I note that despite my request and quick payment, he has not left me any feedback.

John

Nah, work it out with the seller first. Never leave negative feedback until you completely lose communication with the other end or things get really messed up. If he's willing to give you a refund, take it, and just give him a positive for doing that.

I just bought a PC game (small cardboard box,) from an Australian game store. (because it's a rare old game, and they're selling it cheap) The game was $9US, the shipping ended up being around $25US for standard postal service. It doesn't surprise me that the shipping is insane for something as large as a keyboard stand.

The guy still should have given you the correct quote in the first place though. Like most others have said, just ask for a refund, and leave positive feedback if he accommodates you.

As a Ebay seller, I have sometimes short changed myself on the shipping as well, and would just eat the cost... A lesson learned indeed... International shipping is indeed absurd, plus an additional charge for taxes on top

I don't necessarily think negative feedback is warranted, especially if he refunds your money. He could have made an honest mistake.

I don't think that is unusual. With eBay, the only thing that protects Sellers is their feedback. When I sell something, I will tell the Buyer that I will post feedback after they do, since I don't consider the transaction complete until they post feedback:

-- they buy an item

-- I ship the item

-- they post feedback stating everything was OK about the transaction.

he {censored}ed up, you didnt. Period

you shouldnt have to pay.

I dunno how he got a quote for $34.60 but there's no way you're gonna ship a keyboard stand overseas for that. In my experience (have bought gear occasionally from the US shipped to Oz) His newer quotes sound pretty on the mark. Yeh he got it wrong, {censored} happens, you should have no problems getting a refund based on his misinformation.

Update:

I suggested to the seller we call the whole deal off and I resigned myself to never owning one of these stands. He suggested cutting off the bottom and then me re-welding it. I've decided to go with that option. Anybody with one of these stands and welding knowledge think this is dumb?

John

Rewelding does not feel like a good idea. I would forever be afraid to put any synth of value on it. Not sure what it is made of, some materials due not weld well or can become very brittle.

Yes, I agree, but then I figured it was welded in the first place so it should be possible. Besides, I've got a good mate who is a welder so i should be able to get him to do a stronger sort of weld.

You know - for all this buggering around and then ending up with a chop job - you may as well get a local welder to just make the thing from scratch...

Stands are sometimes indeed welded, but the welds are not usually taking the full weight of a keyboard or two...

I wouldnt stick an expensive heavy synth on a chop job unless a) I made the chops, or b) someone else with a sound sense of mechanical engineering and stresses did it.