eBay

007steveb16 · ‎02-02-2013

Ugh!! Why do people have to be like this!!

I have a nOOb Canadian buyer who started bidding on a bunch of my .99 cent auctions. After bidding on about 6 or 7 and even though my combined shipping information is stated in every ad, he messages me to ask me if I combine shipping. I give him the info and he proceeds to go on bidding on more items. He's now at 20 items.

He hasn't bid on anything in 6 days, still hasn't paid and had not responded to multiple messages for a week, until today. FYI, he bid on his first item Jan 21 so I have been incredibly accommodating with him.

So now after a week of not communicating with me and not bidding on anything else, he's now accusing me of overcharging on shipping and is threatening that when he gets the package he's going to have Canada Post give him the exact quote.

Now I admit I don't charge EXACT shipping on my combined deals and see it as a combined deal, as a whole. He's going to be getting 90% of his items for $2.00 each! Oh yeah, shame on me for being so GREEDY! I sell hundreds of combined deals a year and have never had anyone do this. I feel that my prices are incredibly reasonable.

I want so bad to open UIDs on this guy because right now all of his items apply for it. I've been so lenient and accommodating with him. I mean this is going on 12 days since his first bid.

A part of me says to just give in and give him an EXACT shipping cost but another part of me just says to go ahead with it the way it is because my prices are so CHEAP!!!...like he is....I also feel like just taking the potential negs so that I can respond to them with the facts. Although that would be a lot of negs!

I know in a way I've made my bed on this because the shipping will not be exact but I also feel that this buyer is being unreasonable and cheap. Like I said, no one has ever done this to me before.

What would you guys do in this situation?

pierrelebel · ‎02-04-2013

Pocomo - "If a buyer purchases multiple items from a seller with Free Shipping, are they entitled to a shipping discount if you combine shipping into one package? If the seller combines shipping into one package and saves shipping costs, does a seller keep the extra profit? Since it is Free Shipping and the buyer agreed to the item price, the seller keeps the extra profit."

You may have missed my post a few weeks ago on that very question.

I offer "free shipping" in all my listings. I have for several years. It works for me.

It does NOT mean that the full packing and shipping cost of each individual item is included in each listing. If it were, then your comment would be valid.

What I do, and many others who sell items with relatively low shipping cost and multiple purchases from most buyers, is average how many items will be sold and how many shipments will be necessary and at what cost. I then simply use a percentage in my gross margins to average all transactions. Everybody wins, including purchasers of multiple items.

In the "good old days" I used to charge a flat $2.00 per transaction (anywhere in the world) and ALL additional items combined on the same payment would be shipped for free. That is really free shipping. My overall subsidy cost was about $3,500 a year (in addition to the $2.00). At that time, I also simply averaged the cost as a small percentage in my overall margins. In other words, "shipping subsidy" became "marketing overhead".

I have also seen many sellers (again that only works with items with low shipping cost) charge a flat fee ($2.00 or so) and an extra $0.25 or $0.50 per item. Many customers seem to be pleased with that approach unless the total shipping charge gets way out of line when a large quantity is purchased and paid at one time. Regardless of what the listings state, no buyer wil be happy to purchase 50 stamp sets, pay a shipping charge of $0.50 each for a total of $25.00, and find the seller only put $2.30 stamp on the envelope! "Combined shipping" means a bargain of some sort for the buyer, not an excuse to maximize profits. That would be short-sighted.

bb_cool_stuff · ‎02-04-2013

What I do, and many others who sell items with realatively low shipping cost and multiple purchases from most buyers, is average how many items will be sold and how many shipments will be necessary and at what cost. I then simply use a percentage in my gross margins to average all transactions.

It has been years since you last posted that statement. Same advice we were all given when we were Newbies.

This is a method that really works & one can easily notice when doing month end books.

pjcdn2005 · ‎02-05-2013

Pocomo - "If a buyer purchases multiple items from a seller with Free Shipping, are they entitled to a shipping discount if you combine shipping into one package? If the seller combines shipping into one package and saves shipping costs, does a seller keep the extra profit? Since it is Free Shipping and the buyer agreed to the item price, the seller keeps the extra profit."

I buy on many sites that have free shipping.The price of each product is the same whether I buy 1 or a dozen item even if they ship them all together. It has never occurred to me to ask for money back because they are saving in shipping. I suspect that they too average their shipping costs as Pierre mentioned

Steve, I agree that it is wrong for the buyer to complain about the price now as you did tell him what you charge.These days most people do seem to look at the shipping price as a separate entity regardless of how inexpensive the items were.

Since you have had this problem before, you might want to lower your extra item cost if more than x number of items have been purchased or as someone already suggested, don't charge for shipping at all after a certain number of items.. It could save you from having the same sort of problem in the future.

nuvistors · ‎02-05-2013

Stevie , my boy, will you be happy when the buyer gives you a negative ?

i*m-still-here · ‎02-05-2013

Stevie , my boy, will you be happy when the buyer gives you a negative ?

That's just it. Isn't it?

I read the original post and a bit here and there.............

Analyzing to ship multiple purchases and the like.................

But what really does all that logic have to do with this particular buyer. Nothing IMO.

As stated in the original post """""I sell hundreds of combined deals a year and have never had anyone do this."""

This thread has been going on for 3 days.

Is it really worth all that for the type of buyer you have never encountered before and since the past is the best predictor of the future.......

never will again?

007steveb16 · ‎02-06-2013

I do regret making this thread and need to work on not being such a "reactionist"

20 UIDs closed against the buyer tonight and he is blocked.

His 7 threatening and abusive messages saved on file.

brandeentertainment · ‎02-06-2013

Only going to happen to me for 1 more year yaaaaaaaaaaaa .. M ywife laid down the law with the new kid coming I have to close my store ...

Sad to so but atleast I will pay my morgage in full when I am done yaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ...

Steve buddy I have looked at your stuff many times and as far as I am concerned the buyer should be writing you and saying WOW thank you for offering such amazing deals we need more canadian sellers like you ...

Brand-entertainment only has 10 more months then I Will be done or wholesaling but won't be on here anymore ...

I had 21 Items not show up in December which is about 21 times the amount I had all year so this helped me agree with my wife LOL

dipmicro · ‎02-06-2013

Steve, you did nothing wrong. All this negativity against you and lectures how you are running your business wrong, don't mind it. If it works for you and 99% of your customers are happy, you must be doing something right. The handling from $26 after taking off postage and fees would end up what, $0.40-$0.50/DVD ? Anyone who thinks this is excessive is just plain ridiculous.

007steveb16 · ‎02-07-2013

Only going to happen to me for 1 more year yaaaaaaaaaaaa .. M ywife laid down the law with the new kid coming I have to close my store ...

Sad to so but atleast I will pay my morgage in full when I am done yaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ...

Steve buddy I have looked at your stuff many times and as far as I am concerned the buyer should be writing you and saying WOW thank you for offering such amazing deals we need more canadian sellers like you ...

Brand-entertainment only has 10 more months then I Will be done or wholesaling but won't be on here anymore ...

I had 21 Items not show up in December which is about 21 times the amount I had all year so this helped me agree with my wife LOL

LOL...man my wife JUST came on board this year with being OK with me doing this since I opened the store!!

Congrats on everything 🙂 We'll be having our 3rd child sometime in the next few years and my mom and I are looking to expand our seasonal Gardening/Landscaping business so who knows what will happen for me on here.

Thanks for the kind words. I know my customers are happy 🙂

007steveb16 · ‎08-07-2013

Unbelievably, 2 weeks ago I had to deal with this buyer again. He became incredibly abusive through messages and even threatened to come to my house.

He was of course blocked on the original account from back in Feb. Came back this time under a woman's name with a new shipping address and started pulling all the same "games". When he made payment though he gave himself away as his old name came up as the "payment from" name.

Got eBay on it right away and they were all over him. Had signature confirmation on his parcel and he even signed under a different last name on that.

It really bothers me that he was able to circumvent eBays system and I wholeheartedly believe his intention were for revenge but he was thwarted (he's not the sharpest tool in the shed lets just say). I'm glad eBay had my back though and the customer service people I dealt with were very helpful and accomodating.