eBay

mpit7628 · ‎10-08-2012

Happy Thanksgiving to all in Canada! I recently purchased a rather large brick cell phone complete in the box from someone in Florida and the shipping charges were $16.75. Two days ago I messaged a seller in New York about a vintage flip phone that they had listed and was up for bid. They graciously allowed me to bid and were willing to ship to Canada. Shipping within the States was $10.00 and so was somewhat shocked when I was quoted $50 to $60 to ship here. The shipping was to be the same as the seller in Florida and so I was wondering why such a big difference? Thanks for your time!

dmil8030 · ‎10-08-2012

Hello 'mpit',

The cost may depend on how the item is being shipped, - and it is always important to find out how the seller plans to ship it, not just the cost. It probably goes Priority state-to-state, which is comparatively low cost. Priority over the border costs much more. If you know what the packed weight of the item is, the following link will show you those differences:

http://ircalc.usps.com/?country=10054

So you can always ask a seller how he justifies that amount. Prepaid couriers over the border are expensive, but again, state-to-state don't cost much at all. Either way, a seller is not allowed to charge excessively for shipping. It is against ebay policy, which is very clear about that. See the following:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-practices.html

where it says "It's against our rules ... to charge unreasonable fees for shipping and related services." If they are really overcharging you can report them to ebay. But find out how the item is being shipped. If it comes Express Mail, that's a costly one. But if it comes First Class International, well, because overcharging is against ebay policy you can comfortably leave a low DSR for that, because it is one of the acceptable reasons for doing so, as evidenced by ebay's feedback question, "Did the seller: Charge more than the actual costs for mailing, packaging and handling?" Ebay wants buyers to feel comfortable spending, - not being ripped off by sneaks and cheats.

But first thing to do is always find out by what method the seller plans to ship it. That is the seller's choice, and Delivery Confirmed services over the border will cost more. Some sellers will not ship without, and that is their right.

Best of luck. 🙂

View solution in original post

scifan57 · ‎10-08-2012

A seller can ask whatever they want for shipping, you don't have to buy if you think the shipping cost is too high.

Maybe the seller wants the extra search visibility he gets if he offers international shipping, but doesn't really want to ship to Canada. He does this by quoting a very high shipping amount For shipping to Canada.

hereiam87 · ‎10-08-2012

Could be shipped FEDEX, or UPS...all brokerage fees paid

?:|

Don't let a little thing like fear or common sense stop ya'

dmil8030 · ‎10-08-2012

Hello 'mpit',

The cost may depend on how the item is being shipped, - and it is always important to find out how the seller plans to ship it, not just the cost. It probably goes Priority state-to-state, which is comparatively low cost. Priority over the border costs much more. If you know what the packed weight of the item is, the following link will show you those differences:

http://ircalc.usps.com/?country=10054

So you can always ask a seller how he justifies that amount. Prepaid couriers over the border are expensive, but again, state-to-state don't cost much at all. Either way, a seller is not allowed to charge excessively for shipping. It is against ebay policy, which is very clear about that. See the following:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-practices.html

where it says "It's against our rules ... to charge unreasonable fees for shipping and related services." If they are really overcharging you can report them to ebay. But find out how the item is being shipped. If it comes Express Mail, that's a costly one. But if it comes First Class International, well, because overcharging is against ebay policy you can comfortably leave a low DSR for that, because it is one of the acceptable reasons for doing so, as evidenced by ebay's feedback question, "Did the seller: Charge more than the actual costs for mailing, packaging and handling?" Ebay wants buyers to feel comfortable spending, - not being ripped off by sneaks and cheats.

But first thing to do is always find out by what method the seller plans to ship it. That is the seller's choice, and Delivery Confirmed services over the border will cost more. Some sellers will not ship without, and that is their right.

Best of luck. 🙂