eBay

alpinestars91 · ‎09-01-2016

I had asked the seller for the cheapest possible shipping with tracking. He sends me an invoice for $59.99 USD (over $70 CAD) to ship something smaller than 10x6x6 inches from mainland USA to Ontario.

Okay, so I am expecting some crazy express shipping but he messages me a few days later and says sorry there is no tracking and a picture of a receipt that says he paid $17.xx USD....He's trying to tell me the difference in shipping cost I paid and what the postage paid is for customs (was not a GSP transaction)....I have purchased hundreds of times from the USA...I don't buy it.

What course of action can I take at this point?

silverpinups · ‎09-01-2016

Ask the seller for a refund for "shipping over-charge" so it reflects 17.00USD + Packing Materials.

The US Seller could have easily shipped it Priority Express Mail (insured) for 59.99USD.

If the seller excepts returns you could send it back for a full refund.

You can also open a "item not received" claim through eBay if you don't receive it or an "item not as described" claim through eBay if he hasn't described the item accurately.

If everything goes well but he doesn't refund you, then leave the appropriate feedback that reflects the overall transaction.

femmefan1946 · ‎09-01-2016

I had asked the seller for the cheapest possible shipping with tracking.

It is up to the seller to set the shipping rate at one he feels is fair and secure.

His security as well as yours.

In this case he billed you for a service that is not the cheapest but gives him the security he wanted.

https://ircalc.usps.com/

It sounds as if you bid BEFORE asking for a firm shipping quote from a seller who does not normally ship to Canada.

He could have Blocked your bid if he did not want to ship to you.

If you had asked before bidding you could have made an informed decision based on the total cost.

I gather you paid the invoice including the $59.99 shipping charge.

EBay will tell you that once you paid the amount he charged, you agreed to the charge. In fact, once you bid without knowing what the shipping charge would be, you agreed to whatever charge the seller feels is fair.

The seller did find a cheaper way of shipping. It did not include his most basic Seller Protection of tracking. (Actually the price sounds closer to First Class Parcel International which does include Confirmation of Delivery , although a lot of sellers don't know that).

This is a seller who rarely sells to Canada, and I have a feeling he has now Blocked all Canadian bidders.

TL;DR

Don't bid until you have a firm quote on shipping.

silverpinups · ‎09-01-2016

"He's trying to tell me the difference in shipping cost I paid and what the postage paid is for customs (was not a GSP transaction)....I have purchased hundreds of times from the USA...I don't buy it."

I don't buy it either... explain to him that Canadian Customs will assess any duty (if applicable) and taxes when it crosses the border.

alpinestars91 · ‎09-01-2016

EBay will tell you that once you paid the amount he charged, you agreed to the charge. In fact, once you bid without knowing what the shipping charge would be, you agreed to whatever charge the seller feels is fair.

The seller did find a cheaper way of shipping. It did not include his most basic Seller Protection of tracking. (Actually the price sounds closer to First Class Parcel International which does include Confirmation of Delivery , although a lot of sellers don't know that).

This is a seller who rarely sells to Canada, and I have a feeling he has now Blocked all Canadian bidders.

I have no issue with the $59.99 shipping charge, I paid it after all. My issue is him telling me it costs $59.99 minimum for tracking and then telling me after I paid that there is no tracking and it only cost $17 at the post office.

I have personally shipped to Europe and Asia and South America before. With Canada Post's ridiculous rates you can expect I paid top dollar, sometimes over what the buyer paid, to get their package tracked to them...I have never had a shipping quote for a similar size pack even approach $40 USD and that is Canada Post, he is using USPS.

I suspect he is overcharging me to cover his seller fees, which as a seller myself, I find unacceptable.

momcqueen · ‎09-01-2016

If he or she promised you a fast shipping service with tracking and then sent it to you slowly and without tracking, I consider that an Item Not As Described because the service did not meet the standard of what I was promised and for which I paid.

But I don't think USPS offers any untraced services. I highly doubt he prepaid your import fees but it is possible that he or she did. You'll know if and when you get the customs documentations.

If I pay for premium shipping service, I expect to receive premium shipping service, regardless of whether I'm buying from Uncle Phil on ebay or an online mega-seller.

pjcdn2005 · ‎09-01-2016

First class international, priority small flat rate box and priority flat rate envelope do not have tracking if the postage was bought at the post office.....only if purchased online.

The package should have a customs number though and sometimes that is scanned within Canada but it isn't a requirement.

momcqueen · ‎09-01-2016

Oh, that's where the e-Delcon service comes in, with online purchase, does it? Thank you for the clarification.

marnotom! · ‎09-01-2016

@alpinestars91 wrote:

I have no issue with the $59.99 shipping charge, I paid it after all. My issue is him telling me it costs $59.99 minimum for tracking and then telling me after I paid that there is no tracking and it only cost $17 at the post office.

I have personally shipped to Europe and Asia and South America before. With Canada Post's ridiculous rates you can expect I paid top dollar, sometimes over what the buyer paid, to get their package tracked to them...I have never had a shipping quote for a similar size pack even approach $40 USD and that is Canada Post, he is using USPS.

I suspect he is overcharging me to cover his seller fees, which as a seller myself, I find unacceptable.

If you visit the USPS online rate calculator, you'll find that First Class International rates are pretty buried. If you can unearth them, it's not easy finding the appropriate sub-classification of FCI for an item, and it's also not easy finding information on the e-DELCON add-on for online postage.

I'm guessing what happened is that your seller researched the postage rate using the USPS online rate calculator, found the rate for a Priority International (parcel post) large box and ended up purchasing First Class International (oversized letter mail) when he got to the post office. At this point, he probably felt that the time and effort he put into getting the item to the post office and off to you was worth $43 of his time.