How to file a complaint against Ebay in relation to International shipping

[kensd83]

I live in Canada.  The seller lives in the US.  The seller uses International shipping via Ebay.  I purchased 4 Canadian Silver dollars.   The seller charged $4.95 shipping for the first coin and $1 per shipping for each coin after.  The seller was credited for that shipping cost and shipped to Ebay international shipping site.

Ebay charged me $16US per coin or $64US to take the package he put together and ship it to me.  It is a single parcel that at best should cost the $16US to ship one coin.  Ebay does not allow for combined shipping and so overcharged me $48US.

How does the Ebay community stand for this - is questionable business practice.  Ebay pays the seller for him shipping at a cost of $7.95 but charges me $64 - keeping the difference for basically doing nothing.

How do I complain about this so something is done?

[kensd83]

I just communicated with Ebay support and I was wrong - the seller was playing me for a fool - sent me certain screen shots implying it was Ebay.  I'm not a fan of the inability to combine shipping but now I understand better how the system works so if it ever happens to you, it's not Ebay.

[pjcdn2005]

@kensd83 

eBay customer service does not always understand how shipping works, especially international shipping, so I would tend to believe the seller unless I see proof otherwise. If the seller used ebay international shipping, what they are saying doesn't make sense.  Assuming that the seller used the EIS, the seller only receives what they would charge any buyer within the US. All of the international portion  goes to eBay so the seller did NOT receive $64 for the shipping. If 4 items are paid for at one time, the EIS may combine shipping but there are times when they don't. There doesn't seem to be an obvious reason when they do combine. 

When items are paid for separately by the buyer, EIS does not ever combine shipping.

If the seller had domestic combined shipping set up and it was $4.95 for one coin and $1 each for the other  3, that's what they would have received from you for shipping. If they didn't have domestic combined shipping set up they may have received the full domestic shipping charge from you but not the international shipping portion.  I would have to see the listing to be able to tell for sure.

If you want to make multiple purchases from an EIS from a US seller in the future, first put all the items in the cart and go to checkout to see what the total shipping will be.  If the shipping hasn't combined, then you can ask the seller if they can make one listing for you with all of the items. They can't see what is in your cart but you can let them know so they could make up a listing. Before you pay for that listing,   delete the separate listings from your cart.  That way, both the domestic and international shipping costs will be combined for sure.

[flipistics]

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@kensd83 wrote:

I just communicated with Ebay support and I was wrong - the seller was playing me for a fool - sent me certain screen shots implying it was Ebay.  I'm not a fan of the inability to combine shipping but now I understand better how the system works so if it ever happens to you, it's not Ebay.

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If you run into it again in the future, contact the seller and ask them to put together a custom bundle for you. That will avoid most of the mess. Just make good and sure ALL of the items are okay to ship across the border.

[marnotom!]

Can you just clear up the subject of the shipping charge, @kensd83? Is that $4.95 the seller’s shipping charge to Canada or the seller’s shipping charge for shipping within the US?

Also, where did the coins get sent?