Would you pay the extra postage on an Ebay purchase?

Question

I bought something and received an email from the seller saying the item had been posted but that the postage was twice as much as he quoted. He is hoping i can pay the difference. Would you? Should i show goodwill and compromise splitting the difference?

His mistake of course so.....

Answer 1

If I believed that it was truely a mistake on his part, and he wasn't trying to rip me off then I would offer to split the extra part of the shipping with him...he should have to pay something for his mistake. Now, if you read his feedback and he's done this before then he should pay it all and report him. But I say let him off a little easy, if this is his first time doing that, those kinda mistakes do happen.

Answer 2

Some ebay'ers offer lots of things for sale at any given time, so it is certainly possible that an honest mistake was made. If the seller's rating shows that he has sold more than 100 items and has a 99% or higher feedback rating, then it's probably "legit".

On the other hand, there are some miscreants who will "stiff" a winning bidder by doing exactly as has happened to you. Many people will just nod their head and pay the amount without complaint, figuring the seller made an honest mistake, which, certainly, may very well be the case. Some ebay'ers purposely punch up the shipping and handling costs in the ad, itself, so that they can make money, even if the item doesn't sell (e.g., selling a sheet of paper starting at 1 cent, but the s&h costs are $999.999! That's an exaggeration, of course, but you can see what I mean; it's a very common occurrence on ebay).

You have a decision to make:

Either trust that the person is telling the truth AND that the item is "heavy" enough to merit the higher shipping costs (can he ship it to you cheaper by sending it ground or parcel post or media mail (if it's considered "media"), etc, which may take longer, but may also save lots of money?),

or, call the guy's "bluff" and say that you entered into a "contract" (I'd print out the ebay item's page, if I were you!) and that you expect him to hold to his side of the agreement (ebay is very particular on this; both sides must abide by the posted terms, unless it says something like "shipping costs subject to change", though one would expect it to be "reasonable");

or, contact ebay about it (be forewarned: it leaves a bad "taste" in legit sellers' "mouths", if you take this to ebay without communicating with the seller, first).

FWIW, I had purchased a travel package from an ebay'er, which clearly stated that he accepted credit cards. When I attempted to pay for it with a credit card, he said that it was a horrible mistake, and that he only accepted only Paypal cash/bank accounts! I could get some protection with my credit card, but none with cash, so I figured he was scamming me. However, I played it "cool" and tried to get him to explain how he could make such an error, and asked what we could to do resolve it. After a few e-mails, where neither of us was making headway, he had become belligerent, and, IMHO, was not trading in good faith, so I contacted their "Safe Harbor" (I don't think they call it that anymore), and they took my side (if I didn't mention that I wanted the protection that the credit card afforded, they might not have sided with me). The seller was offered an opportunity to accept the credit card or to abort my bid; he went for the latter. A few days, later, the seller had abandoned ebay, at least under that name! Of course, your situation may be completely on the up-and-up.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I would ask for a comprimise if i wanted the item very much. I think if he didnt have the time to check the postage charges while the item was listed then i dont think now when he has gone to the post office and found it was more expensive than he thought that you should pay the difference.

Answer 4

Most retailers require the purchaser to pay the real time postage / shipping charges .
The seller does not have any control of shipping costs except to choose the lowest priced shipper .

(except amazon which ships free over $25 , crazy people !)

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Answer 5

No. Report him to ebay. If the shipping listed was originally one price and you bid on the item based on that, he cannot just randomly change the shipping amount after you win the auction.

Answer 6

Mistakes can happen.

If the item is heavier than expected, sometimes shipping can be innacurate.

Answer 7

Yes. I have had it happen to me. I did not mind because it was the true cost of shipping the package,