Now if I were to break up this Great Wall of Text,
peace-and-prosperity wrote:
I just came across this post and subsequent comments, and although it is many years old I am going to offer my feedback because this situation is still happening all over eBay.
When a Seller states on their listing one price for shipping but when you receive your item it shows a lesser post office shipping price you can indeed ask the Seller to refund you the difference if it's more than a few dollars. If they do not you can contact eBay.
[eBay] will advise you to open a "Does Not Match Description Case" and state your reason for opening the case by saying that you 'do not want to return the item, but simply want to be refunded the difference in the shipping price.' You can upload any photos you have showing proof of what the actual shipping cost was. eBay takes this seriously and will help you resolve it and be refunded the difference.
Not all eBay staff are trained well, so make sure you are speaking with a knowledgeable rep. - and if not, ask to speak with their supervisor who is always present to take calls.
Sellers' 10% fees to eBay are not the Buyers' responsibility. That is the cost of doing business as an entrepreneur. Any of the Sellers' business associated costs will show as expenses against their revenues when they do their taxes anyway.
I don't expect my boss to pay me for my travel time to and from work, or for my transit fare, so Buyers' can not be expected to pay for the Sellers' time to go to the post office to commit to their end of the transaction, which is to ship the purchase you paid them for. Sellers do not run to the post office every time someone buys an item, but rather they go once or twice a week to ship multiple orders at once. Again, this is the cost of doing business as a self-employed individual (a title which comes with many perks and financial breaks).
I have been refunded on shipping discrepancies for as little as a $3 overcharge without my even asking the Seller to refund me. They just refund me on Paypal and then notify me to let me know they've done so. I didn't even ask for it.
Other Sellers have forwarded to me the Seller shipping discounts eBay gives to them. They told me that they forward the discounts they get from eBay back to their Buyers as a 'thank you' for buying with them and as a customer service gesture. These two type of Sellers are gold. They are the ones that get repeat business and loyal customers.
The other type of Sellers who nickel and dime a Buyer into paying for the Seller's own online business expenses are to be avoided because these type of people 9 times out of 10 put the least amount of care, time, work, effort, or package the goods properly than the type of Sellers who refund extra shipping charges. It really shows you the kind of person they are and how they go about their life in general.
Just know that eBay takes these extra shipping charges seriously because the cost of shipping on a listing should reflect the actual cost to ship the item. That's the bottom line.
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