Seller shipped with a different service to keep the money

[simplynightbird]

Bought an item with $15.00 shipping cost and it was canada post regular parcel offered by the listing

I received the item and at my surprise the seller shipped lettermail for $3.19

I got totally exploited and this is very dishonest from the seller. Anything to do in a situation like that?

[femmefan1946]

Polite, accurate feedback is always appropriate.

"Charged $15 TRACKED  parcel rate shipping. Sent letter rate UNTRACKED for $1.94. Interesting business plan."

For example.

A foolish move on the seller's part since tracking as Proof of Delivery is one of the few Seller Protections eBay offers.

[lucitabby]

I have had this happen a couple of times in the past. 

Both times I have sent a really nice email to the seller stating that there had been a mistake on the shipping price charged and could they please look into it.  Both sent me a refund.  It's worth a try.

[musicyouneed]

I wouldn't necessarily jump on the seller.   This may be a brand new seller, or they estimated the cost, it could be a number or reasons.  He would have never received $15 as eBay takes a cut, for me that is 15%, so the seller only received. $12.75.   Also with shipping, it is more than just postage, you have to take into account that although it shows as $3.19, with tax it was $3.35.  Each envelope cost me $.50, so he/she probably paid that much, so we are now down to $8.90.   He had to drive 5 miles to get to the PO and back, so take another $3.00 for gas, that leaves $5.90. Or maybe he hired someone to do his shipping for him and they charge $5.00 per item, you just don't know.  Before you leave negative/neutral feedback, I would email the seller and ask why did they charge so much for shipping, keeping in mind he may have overcharged you a few bucks.  Sometimes a seller undercharges and loses each time they ship out an item, that has happened to me.    Many years ago, I remember when I bought something for 1.00 and the shipping the seller charged was $10, when it actually was $2.  When I contacted the seller, they told me that was the only way he could make sales was charging more for shipping.  

[femmefan1946]

item with $15.00 shipping cost -- yes that sounds like an estimated shipping cost-- or at least a Flat Rate

eBay takes a cut, for me that is 15%, so the seller only received. $12.75.

We also get a discount on many rates.

I was at a Stamp Show today and overheard a guy complaining that he was going to sue a publisher for charging him $82 for shipping three hardcover books from Toronto to BC.

His basis for anger was that he used to be able to ship 20 lbs of wool from Halifax to PEI  for only $2.00.

Others were trying to persuade him that prices had gone up.  I chimed in since I sell books regularly. National rate for well over a kilo?  No service identified.

Turned out he was shipping wool in the 1970s.

[simplynightbird]

Shocking answer. That's a lot of assumptions to defend something undefendable. A lot of sellers exploits shipping costs. But most importantly you seems to forgot that it was stated to be shipped as regular parcel in my case

[flipistics]

This looks horrible on the seller, but the reality is that if you got the item in the timeframe, overall price, and condition that you expected, that's probably what matters in the end. If it hadn't been sent lettermail and you were charged $15, but the seller had some steep discounts and only paid $10 to ship it, you'd never know and would presumably be happy.

You should probably just leave neutral feedback. Say you got the item, it was as described, but the seller charged you for an expensive shipping service and sent it with a lesser one.

[femmefan1946]

If the Seller thought he was saving money by charging for an upgraded service, he was fooling himself since eBay has been charging the same fees on selling price and shipping price for over a decade.

[marnotom!]

As eBay does not get involved in situations like this, your options are limited to working it out with the seller or leaving appropriate feedback.

I think someone else with a situation much like yours posted a month or so ago and suggested that their credit card issuer was willing to go to bat for them for a partial chargeback but the buyer hasn’t followed up to let us know if they were ultimately successful.

And, of course, this wouldn’t be an option if you didn’t fund your payment with a credit card.

[zee-chan-jpn-books]

How much was the item? Was it still a reasonable price with the $15 shipping? If it is, then I would let it slide and just leave a feedback that says "advertised $15 parcel shipping but was shipped with $3 lettermail". When you bought the item you "agreed" to the total cost already, so how it was shipped should be irrelevant since the bottom line should be that the item arrived in as-described condition.

Years ago many sellers would list their item as $1 with $20 as shipping (as an example), since eBay back then did not charge final value fee on the shipping portion. It was one way for sellers to offer competitive prices. Perhaps your seller was one of them and just never updated their listing? 

[simplynightbird]

It is not irrelevant how it was shipped because it was stated to be shipped as regular parcel. As you said when i paid i agreed to total cost, i also agreed to listing terms for this cost. Listing terms were $15 for regular parcel shipment. I agreed to terms and once i agreed, seller did not respected them, and put the money in his pockets. You can't say i'll ship this way for X, and once buyer paid, ship the way Y and keep the money. Not sure why most everyone defend the situation.

[musicyouneed]

Even with my selling discounts, I still pay 15% and that is a good month, I have paid higher.  I do get discounts as I am a top seller. 

[flipistics]

I was trying to figure out why it was 15%. Then I remembered the 30 cent order fee, which on lower value purchases is non-trivial. My media store is also 15% if you exclude the store fee and promoted listings fees (21% last month if you include them)