Are You Kidding Me???

[thebarterersdog]

I'm a real big collector on Mother of Pearl Items, I have a house full of many antiques, collectibles and I absolutely love old MOP jewelry and buttons. 

I found this beautiful brooch online and wanted to purchase it. The auction started low at $7.00 and I thought great. Shipping for an item that was no bigger than 2" = $46.00

Really? What is this seller thinking?? Wish I could find more MOP items on .ca or .uk 

Ok vent over lol 🙂

[pierrelebel]

What is the listing number?

[old.crows.nest]

Totally understand the vent and bet that the item is in the USA and shipping is the most expensive shipping option available that offers full tracking and signature confirmation.

[i*m-still-here]

I agree: What are they thinking when they do that?

Are they trying to get items higher in the search by including international shipping but at the same time making the cost so high that no one will buy?

It's become very common during the past few months.

You can email the seller and ask to have it shipped via FCI for $8, and I've found that it's unusual for a seller not to agree to do that.

But it is so tiresome, and I do it less and less as I cut my buying down to almost nothing.

U.S. sellers have become too difficult to deal with and if they don't stop soon they'll be the only buyers left on ebay.

[adela_b]

Why don’t you contact the seller and ask about an alternative and cheaper shipping method? I have done so on several occasions, once I got firm “no”, once I got a rant basically accusing every Canadian buyer to be a scammer, filing Item Not received but most sellers were happy to sell.

[adela_b]

"U.S. sellers have become too difficult to deal with and if they don't stop soon they'll be the only buyers left on ebay."

Totally agree. Some are awesome to deal with but sometimes you get so much attitude… Over 14 months ago I ask a question about an item. The seller never acknowledged me. I moved on, bought similar item from eBay.co.uk and the U. S. seller still has his listed. Way to do business.   

[aqyera]

U.S. sellers have become too difficult to deal with and if they don't stop soon they'll be the only buyers left on ebay.

That's one bold statement considering Canada population and economy is 1/10th of USA. Ebay was designed for US consumers, international buyers including Canadians are just tagging along.

About the shipping cost - CanadaPost has gotten so bad, that many US sellers simply refuse to ship without proper tracking. Everyone says "just give me cheapest shipping, I will wait, no worries" but after 2 weeks they start harassing the seller about the whereabouts of their order and arguing that one time their China order came in 1.5 weeks so now they expect everything come in under 1.5 weeks or else.

[adela_b]

@ aqyera

I am not a fan of Canada Post but here is how USPS is doing with a Priority shipment:

Priority Mail International Parcels

Dispatched to Sort Facility

February 25, 2013, 5:31 pm

ARDEN, NC 28704

International Parcels

No sign of it yet. I still have not contacted the seller, I’m well aware that there is nothing he can do.

As for the economy and population – due to the fact that most Canadians live at somewhat isolated areas with little choice where to shop from, they turn to online shopping. All the big ones (BG, NM, NS) are now gladly shipping to Canada so there must be some dough to be made from Canadian customers. BTW all high end designer items are cheaper even with the duties and shipping compared to what you have to pay here at HR.

[thebarterersdog]

Everyone says "just give me cheapest shipping, I will wait, no worries" but after 2 weeks they start harassing the seller about the whereabouts of their order and arguing that one time their China order came in 1.5 weeks so now they expect everything come in under 1.5 weeks or else.

And that is the fault of the buyers not educating themselves on the policies and shipping conditions between countries before buying, that has nothing to do with the seller.  I agree with the posts. As a buyer, I would not go near anyone who lists shipping as high as this seller does for one, small item no bigger than 2".  There are other options. If she didn't want Canadians or International buyers, then she needs to specify this in her listing and that way, her listing would tell buyers like me that she only ships to US customers. 

I looked for the item, found it 300879174060. The other item I would have bid on is now 11.99, as a collector, I would go as high as $50.00 to acquire it, if not more.

[pierrelebel]

US $4.00 United States Standard Shipping

US $45.00 Canada USPS Express Mail International Flat Rate EnvelopeTM

Some sellers may not really understand the options available for shipping to Canada.  He may be one of them.

[thebarterersdog]

"U.S. sellers have become too difficult to deal with and if they don't stop soon they'll be the only buyers left on ebay."

Totally agree. Some are awesome to deal with but sometimes you get so much attitude… Over 14 months ago I ask a question about an item. The seller never acknowledged me. I moved on, bought similar item from eBay.co.uk and the U. S. seller still has his listed. Way to do business.   

Yes, this can be true, but there are good sellers out there that really want the sale. They're just afraid of being "scammed" or have been and don't want to be again.  I've also met up with attitude, where a US seller gave me flack for what another Canadian buyer had done as if they lived in my house with us lol. You have to let that all slide off you if you can. 

But the seller I referred to in my original post would like me as a buyer lol I'd spend money on her things if she did things differently. 🙂

[thebarterersdog]

US $4.00 United States Standard Shipping

US $45.00 Canada USPS Express Mail International Flat Rate EnvelopeTM

Some sellers may not really understand the options available for shipping to Canada.  He may be one of them.

Well, I would normally agree with you about that Pierre, except back in 2012, I did buy something from her and the shipping was nowhere near what she/he has posted now. Shame really. 

[pierrelebel]

The seller received 29 negative feedback this year, mostly from the same buyer.  Possibly she changed her shipping policies.

[thebarterersdog]

29! Yikes! Hopefully, she reported that buyer? And yes, probably why. Still a shame 😉

[pierrelebel]

"Hopefully, she reported that buyer"

Actually, there is nothing to report.  It is a case of "he said she said".

eBay does not arbitrate.  Unless their specific rules and policies are broken, they will do nothing. eBay has no way to determine who is right in this dispute: the seller or the buyer or both or neither.

Incidently, that buyer (who left all those negative feedback) has a clean record of always leaving positive feedback (hundreds of them).

[thebarterersdog]

ahhh, well perhaps there was something behind the negative comments then. I know many sellers are frustrated and fed up with many policies and especially the changes coming up. It would be great to see more realistic shipping charges though.

[pierrelebel]

"It would be great to see more realistic shipping charges though."

I agree but I think the online world is moving away from shipping charges.

Last week, we were at Chapters looking for books for one of our granddaughter turning five next week.  Mary - who always buys books for the grandchildren at Christmas and their birthday - found something interesting but they only had book #1 and 5 in a series.

OK, I go to Chapters online looking for #2.  The book is available at the same price as in the store.  Chapters offers me a choice: "free shipping" (it may take up to two weeks to get the book) or "premium delivery" for an extra $6.00.  Needless to say, "free shipping" it was! (we are frugal). Chapters confirmed mailing the book the next day!

The point is that the shipping policy at Chapters and many other online retailers has been moving over the years towards "free shipping".  Not so many years ago, one needed to purchase a minimum of $30 to get "free shipping".

I see the same thing happening on eBay for many (not all) items. When the shipping cost is low relative to value, many sellers are now absorbing the shipping cost in their selling price (for many, it also means lower FVF).

This is a huge problem for many Canadian sellers competing with Americans where domestic shipping costs are generally much lower.  Buyers do not care about the seller's problems.  They only want the best deal possible.  If they cannot get it from Canadian sellers, they will stick to American suppliers when a similar item is available much cheaper.