FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO THINK THIS IS BLACKMAIL... you need to understand that it is a standard business practice to state up front your intentions when there are irreconcilable differences. The other party needs to understand that there are consequences for wrong behaviour. That is why we have a feedback system on Ebay in the first place. Do you consider every negative feedback ever left to be blackmail? If so, well then, good luck with that because you are wrong; at least, that is how Ebay sees it.
I'll tell you what blackmail is. Blackmail is when one party is SCARED to leave legitimate negative feedback because he fears retaliation from the other
I was agreeing with Steve!
I was also suggesting that, as nothing was broken (it would appear more by luck than judgement), then the $25 was OK for P&P (i.e. you agreed to it and you got exactly what you paid for - postage and packing resulting in delivery of undamaged items).
Here in the UK, a can of Coke costs 35 pence in the supermarket and 80 pence at a motorway service area. Everytime I buy a can I feel like berean01 - p*ssed off!
These guys are obviously ripping me off!
How dare they!
But then I swallow my pride, drink my drink and accept that I paid the price they quoted on the shelf - the decision was mine. Next time, I'll know what to expect and bring my own from the supermarket or cough up! I'll also tell all my friends and they will be able to make an informed choice the next time they travel our pleasant little roads...
On Ebay I once paid $10 P&P for a $6 CD that cost $5 to ship to the UK. The P&P was as quoted in the advert and my complaining also got nowhere. Nowadays (I'm up to 64 feedbacks!) I shop elsewhere if I judge the P&P to be too high.
Can I humbly suggest that you decide to accept that we all feel 'ripped off' from time to time but then benefit positively from the experience gained?
Here's my quote - sadly not relevant but amusing all the same: -
It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it." J Danforth Quayle
I was also suggesting that, as nothing was broken (it would appear more by luck than judgement), then the $25 was OK for P&P (i.e. you agreed to it and you got exactly what you paid for - postage and packing resulting in delivery of undamaged items).
Here in the UK, a can of Coke costs 35 pence in the supermarket and 80 pence at a motorway service area. Everytime I buy a can I feel like berean01 - p*ssed off!
These guys are obviously ripping me off!
How dare they!
But then I swallow my pride, drink my drink and accept that I paid the price they quoted on the shelf - the decision was mine. Next time, I'll know what to expect and bring my own from the supermarket or cough up! I'll also tell all my friends and they will be able to make an informed choice the next time they travel our pleasant little roads...
On Ebay I once paid $10 P&P for a $6 CD that cost $5 to ship to the UK. The P&P was as quoted in the advert and my complaining also got nowhere. Nowadays (I'm up to 64 feedbacks!) I shop elsewhere if I judge the P&P to be too high.
Can I humbly suggest that you decide to accept that we all feel 'ripped off' from time to time but then benefit positively from the experience gained?
Here's my quote - sadly not relevant but amusing all the same: -
It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it." J Danforth Quayle
"That seller defrauded you and I would have (and have) pressed the issue with him to either make it right or refund all my money or else get negative feedback. Most sellers have been very cooperative and I leave very positive feedback stating so. But there have been a few who believe that dollars are more important than people and were hard to work with. But I eventually 'persuaded' them to come around or face the consequences, which they did. In the end, it was worth the extra effort to win the fight." - berean01 - 10/02/02.
"Beware of men who always hide behind the words of others for they have no original thoughts of their own nor do they fully understand the author's original intent and will often quote him out of context."
quote:
In light of these facts, don't you think I had a right to ask for, at least, a partial refund of the excess? Are you absolutely comfortable with her pocketing $18.29 -- a 273% overcharge? If I were a seller, I could not, in good conscience, do this to a buyer even if I did state it up front. I would not be able to sleep at night. There is no way that anyone can call an $18 over-charge reasonable and fair.
Actually you have a right to ask, but the seller isn't required to grant your request. It all boils down to ethics here. The terms were stated and you agreed to them (you've read that many times in this thread). Your unreasonable and unfair seller was lazy in the packaging but unfortunately this is becoming oh-so-common on eBay these days. I'd chalk it up to a live-and-learn experience.
If I see an item I really want and the shipping is ridiculous, I ALWAYS email the seller and try to negotiate shipping before bidding, sometimes it works sometimes not. If not, then I let it go (hard as that can be sometimes). However, I've purchased more than a few items from auctions that didn't close with a bidder and the sellers came back with offers.
You are right in that she does not have to grant my request. And, likewise, I don't have to like nor respect her decision. Thus, I have the right to post a complaint and expose what she did to the public as a warning for future buyers.
There has been a lot of talk about negative versus neutral. I think the size of the over-charge plus her less-than-polite attitude more than justifies Negative feedback. Neutral feedback is mostly ignored. However negative feedback catches one's attention. She will continue to receive positive feedback in spite of my warnings -- so long as things go smoothly. But just wait for one bad sale with another customer and see which personality of hers surfaces. She is not customer-oriented and will not do what it takes to make things right
There has been a lot of talk about negative versus neutral. I think the size of the over-charge plus her less-than-polite attitude more than justifies Negative feedback. Neutral feedback is mostly ignored. However negative feedback catches one's attention. She will continue to receive positive feedback in spite of my warnings -- so long as things go smoothly. But just wait for one bad sale with another customer and see which personality of hers surfaces. She is not customer-oriented and will not do what it takes to make things right
... feedback is mostly as a buyer anyway, only having 9 feedback comments as a seller out of 20-something overall.
As an inexperienced seller, this has hopefully sent a message to him/her about more carefully packaging any future items. Maybe another buyer won't have to go through the same aggravation that you have.
As an inexperienced seller, this has hopefully sent a message to him/her about more carefully packaging any future items. Maybe another buyer won't have to go through the same aggravation that you have.
You're not doing a buyer any service... any buyer who is not an idiot can determine the shipping charges (inflated or otherwise). Any time you buy something on the Internet, ebay or otherwise, you have to figure how much it will cost to ship versus what you could get it for locally and add that to the price.
All you're doing is opening your self up to being neg'd (which you can't retalliate for since you've already neut'd the guy).
All you're doing is opening your self up to being neg'd (which you can't retalliate for since you've already neut'd the guy).
>>any buyer who is not an idiot can determine the shipping charges (inflated or otherwise). Any time you buy something on the Internet, ebay or otherwise, you have to figure how much it will cost to ship versus what you could get it for locally and add that to the price.<<
I would disagree here, as eBay shipping charges can vary wildly. I have had one seller charge $1 shipping for a comic book because that it what the actual postage was, while another charged $5 because he wrapped it in cardboard to keep it flat, wrapped that in newspaper, and charged $1 for the manila envelope. eBay permits packing materials to be included in the shipping charge.
Similarly, some sellers list a fixed shipping price in the auction (which I think is clear and easy for a bidder to evaluate at the outset, even if it is slightly higher than the actual postage). Others compute the final shipping based on weight and postal rate to winning bidder's ZIP code. Some even require insurance be purchased for certain items.
A few sellers, when asked by me during the course of the auction, have responded with outlandish shipping charges, which meant I did not bid. The point here is that I take nothing for granted when it comes to shipping, and always check it out in advance. In the case of the OP, as we all know by now, he did check it out ($25) and decided to bid, anyway. The fact that the item was not well-packaged and did not really justify the high shipping cost, was after the fact. Fortunately the item arrived intact.
I would disagree here, as eBay shipping charges can vary wildly. I have had one seller charge $1 shipping for a comic book because that it what the actual postage was, while another charged $5 because he wrapped it in cardboard to keep it flat, wrapped that in newspaper, and charged $1 for the manila envelope. eBay permits packing materials to be included in the shipping charge.
Similarly, some sellers list a fixed shipping price in the auction (which I think is clear and easy for a bidder to evaluate at the outset, even if it is slightly higher than the actual postage). Others compute the final shipping based on weight and postal rate to winning bidder's ZIP code. Some even require insurance be purchased for certain items.
A few sellers, when asked by me during the course of the auction, have responded with outlandish shipping charges, which meant I did not bid. The point here is that I take nothing for granted when it comes to shipping, and always check it out in advance. In the case of the OP, as we all know by now, he did check it out ($25) and decided to bid, anyway. The fact that the item was not well-packaged and did not really justify the high shipping cost, was after the fact. Fortunately the item arrived intact.