Advertised no combined shipping , but 5 items arrived in the same box with individual shipping chged

[bob11443]

A seller advertised some items individually and would not accept combined shipping.

I knew this and went ahead with the purchase.

All five items arrived in the same box , weighing 0.616kgs postage was over $50.00.

Not international.

It seems I was chged for postage that I didnt receive.

Any thoughts on this

[pierrelebel]

" postage was over $50.00."

Is this the amount you actually paid?

Or the amount of postage shown on the box when it came in?

[reallynicestamps]

Combined shipping and discounted shipping are not necessarily the same thing.

But most sellers will pass on the savings in combining a shipment to the buyer.

If any, of course, sometimes putting several items in one box moves the shipment into a higher rate.

You have 60 days to leave appropriate feedback. The most effective feedback is calm and factual.

You cannot mention feedback in your discussion with the seller about a postage rebate . You could send him to this thread.

When you leave feedback you will also be asked to leave Detailed Seller Ratings. A pleasant normal transaction would get Five Stars.

The lowest Rating is ONE Star.

If a seller's DSRs drop below 4.3, his account may be restricted in the number and value of the items he can list, his customers' payments may be Held against his service, or his account may be closed.

[00nevermind00]

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@reallynicestamps wrote:

Combined shipping and discounted shipping are not necessarily the same thing.

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We see this point being made on the boards every now and then. IMO it doesn't hold water.

Buyers expect combined shipping to bring them a discount. Why else would it be advertised as a feature? I "combine" shipping so you only have to open one package instead of 5? It makes no sense. Buyers see this as trickery and who can blame them?

[mater721]

It would seem prudent thing for seller to charge you what they pay for shipping and not make a profit on it.

A number of times I received a partial refund in pay-pal from seller when estimate was off. These honest sellers get good ratings and feedback.

Unfortunately, not all sellers are like that.

Having said all that... you did agree to the shipping charges at time of purchase.

Also - do you know what the actual cost of shipping to seller was?

Could it have been ~ $50 for the "larger" package?

If you can verify the combined shipping was significantly less than what you paid, you could contact the seller and ask for a partial refund on shipping cost.  But if they only charged you the amount you agreed to, they are under no obligation to refund anything.

Whatever you do, don't use feedback as leverage in any contact with seller. Deal with feedback only through ebay when all avenues are exhausted.

[femmefan1946]

Buyers expect combined shipping to bring them a discount.
I agree.
But I spent many years working as a writer and editor and get very fussy when words are used as synonyms when they are not.
See also: No Returns/ No Refunds.

Putting my imagination into overdrive, and with tongue firmly in cheek, a combined shipment of five $20+ items could save $50 in Canada Post service fees for processing duty and sales taxes, even if there were no discount on the S&H charged.

And yes, that is a very very unlikely thing to happen.

Next time we smuggle stock, let's make it somethin' smaller.-- Zoe Washburne

[bob11443]

This is what I was chged , for 5 items billed seprately . And when I asked for combined shipping the label came up that this seller does not offer combined shipping. So I paid for seperate shipping on each item about 10.25 each.

That would be the minimum small package rate. When the single parcel arrived  it would have been no more than $20, from experience.  Yes I accepted the individual shipping at 10.25 for each item as there was no other shipping option. 

Then a single box arrived with all 5 products, shipping cost would have been at the most $20.

I just think it wrong to have no combined shipping advertised , and yet when paying for individual shipping at a minimum price you end up with combined where the savings go to, the seller.

[pierrelebel]

" it would have been no more than $20, from experience"

" shipping cost would have been at the most $20"

The question is how much postage - exactly - was shown on the parcel?

[snoopwiz]

The question is how much postage - exactly - was shown on the parcel?

Most likely stealth postage,

Unless I am wrong,

Which, has happened.

[maggiebvintage2010]

Look up on Canada Post the actual shipping charges for the service provided from the originating postal code to you.  Figure out the difference between that and what you paid.  Then you can contact the seller to ask for a partial refund.  Do not mention any threat of negative feedback at this point.  Most good sellers are anxious to please, and will agree.

If the seller doesn't respond after 3 days or so, or denies any refund, then you can leave appropriate feedback - calm and to the point - eg. "seller charged $51.25 for shipping, actual cost $10.25, and refused partial refund".  Then give the appropriate detailed seller rating of 1 for shipping charges - not filling this in does nothing to affect the seller's ratings.

[pjcdn2005]

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@bob11443 wrote:

This is what I was chged , for 5 items billed seprately . And when I asked for combined shipping the label came up that this seller does not offer combined shipping. So I paid for seperate shipping on each item about 10.25 each.

That would be the minimum small package rate. When the single parcel arrived  it would have been no more than $20, from experience.  Yes I accepted the individual shipping at 10.25 for each item as there was no other shipping option. 

Then a single box arrived with all 5 products, shipping cost would have been at the most $20.

I just think it wrong to have no combined shipping advertised , and yet when paying for individual shipping at a minimum price you end up with combined where the savings go to, the seller.

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Are you saying that you asked the seller for combined shipping and they said no or are you saying that when you clicked on "Request total from seller" you got a message that the seller does not offer combined shipping? If it is the second one, that message does smetimes come up even when the seller will give you combined shipping...it's a glitch with the program. Assuming that you were charged much more than what the package cost to send, it's possible that if you write the seller and explain what happened and ask if you can receive some of the shipping back..that they will agree to do that. They really should have done that on their own but sometimes sellers do not realize that their was a problem with the system and that is why that no invoice was requested.

[dutchman48]

Ebay's whole system with buy it now, cart, and discounts is a joke. Micky Mouse could set up a better cart system that works as it should, where it should, and how it should. This one works her, this one does not, this one have to log into a different site to work, and on and on.

All Ebay does is line their own pockets and Paypal's at buyers and sellers expense.

And yes, it is getting ridiculous

[hocotatefreight]

Would you rather have received five packages or one?  I would rather receive one myself.  If you purchased all 5 items with shipping added to each one, those items must have been worth it to you at the time?  You were charged postage you did receive imo.

[maximus7001]

Did you compose and send a message to the seller asking about combined shipping? Did the seller personally respond to you saying no? If the answer to these questions is no then you are being unfair to the seller and bad feedback/dsr would be dishonest and malicious.

[mater721]

"Ebay's whole system with buy it now, cart, and discounts is a joke. Micky Mouse could set up a better cart system that works as it should, where it should, and how it should. This one works her, this one does not, this one have to log into a different site to work, and on and on."

I agree.  Cart with Buy Now items goes to Pay Now immediately.

Does not seem to allow for an intermediate stage where seller can do a combined invoice that offers discounts.

[femmefan1946]

Did the seller personally respond to you saying no?

Cart with Buy Now items goes to Pay Now immediately.

And with the GSP, American and UK sellers cannot offer combined shipping. Another triumph of bad programming from the point of view of the buyer and seller.

[mater721]

Was a GSP listing.

Seller offered a number of Buy Now items, with choices on "custom" items.

So, trying to combine in a Cart and then get an invoice on the 'choices" was impossible.

Cart just took me to paypal to pay the final cost, which was way more than combined "choices".

Seller was willing to send an updated invoice, but with this GSP set-up it was impossible without me actually paying the higher price through paypal.

Had to decline.

[reallynicestamps]

It's not actually impossible, but it can be tricky.

Basically the seller makes a Paypal invoice for all the items, with combined and discounted shipping. The buyer pays.

The seller ships directly to the buyer using USPS First Class International Parcel, which gives her Confirmation of Delivery.

The seller manually marks the listing manually as paid and shipped.

The buyer takes a chance that CBSA and Canada Post will not select that parcel for their occasional assessment for Candian duty and sales taxes plus CPOs $9.95 service charge.

It requires some trust.