Postage and Handling Rip Off?

The problem with Kelkoo & its Price Runner rival is that they offer a very limited selection of retailers. The bargain they offer is not infact what it seems - its the cheapest from a few.

Many of the sites offered up tend to be uncompetitive multiples, or increasingly these days, the internet names of high street shops (Drill down to the bottom of terms & conditions and note ownership - then go onto the Companies House Register and check who really owns them!)

For example digital cameras on ebay offered new from Hong Kong come in with an extremely attractiive base price. However, add their often expensive postage costs, the fact that VAT (duty is a very small percentage, contrary to what most people think) is added to the original cost PLUS the postage & duty, then the Post Offices levies what is laughingly called an "administrative fee" (£8 - £20) and the bargain suddenly vanishes.

Couple that to the fact that the importers won't touch the good with a barge pole (why should they - British law says the retailer is responsible!)and the disadvantages of buying new through overseas channels is diminished. Another problem is the exceedingly short life cycle of goods, the unavailability of spare parts within six months of purchase and suddenly, a conventional sshop that retains your right of legal redress becomes increasingly attractive.

Me? I now go in to major retailers like Jessops, brandish the cheapest ad I can find for the product and they normally match it!

My feeling is that the only true bargains are the ones you create for yourself.

Agreed - this seller was in the UK - so the base price looks attractive he heaps on profit etc as handling (I guess that lowers his ebay fees too) - a pain if you get too excited and buy without realising! I don't...

R2

I see a lot like that and it grinds on me!

quote:

Originally posted by Serenity:
I see a lot like that and it grinds on me!

I just figure that if the seller wants to charge more than I'm willing to pay, I just move on and not let it bother me. "Life's too short" and all those kinds of clichés. Anyone agree with me?

This past week I won an auction for a heavy item. It's cast iron and weighs 58 pounds. I e-mailed the seller before EOA and he quoted me $46.48 to ship it (within the US). I put in a snipe even though the shipping was a little steep. After the auction closed he told me shipping would be $120.72!! I've shipped big heavy car parts across the country for much less than that. I refused to pay that much for shipping and the seller said he'd send it for what he quoted earlier, but he wasn't happy because he didn't think he'd made enough money off of the item.

Then a few days after he thanked me for the quick Paypal payment in the positive feedback, he e-mailed me to say he hadn't gotten the payment (non-paying bidder). I e-mailed back saying I have the Paypal e-mail receipt and the payment shows as claimed on his end, and I planned to open a Paypal investigation. Within minutes he found the payment! Hopefully it'll arrive soon.

The $120.72 would have brought the price up to what he'd originally paid for it new so that he could get all his money back on it.

Sellers who try to make their money on shipping are a reeeal pain.

Wow.Falcon!!! That is unbelievable!!! I hope you get it ok. My son had a case like that with some candles and when they finally arrived, the 10" candles were smashed in a 6" box!

Falcon,

Sounds more like the guy is incompetent, or unorganized, then some kind of crook.

Ten inch candles in a six inch box is really, really bad. He wasn't expecting positive feedback, was he?

The widget is here! (doing a happy little tap dance) It's something I've been wanting for a long time. Two of the bolts holding the base to the baseboard are missing, but that's hardly even worth mentioning. I probably have replacements in the shed.

He paid $32.42 to ship it USPS and used small empty used boxes and scraps of styrofoam inside the main box for padding, so he didn't spend anything on packing materials. I'm debating whether or not to e-mail the seller and tell him it got here. If I do he might ask for feedback, and after the shipping charge situation I'd rather just forget about leaving feedback.

I would not say a thing, Falcon. I don't personally think he deserves the courtesy. At least, I am glad you got it!

quote:

I'd rather just forget about leaving feedback.

Sounds like you already know what's best.

Christine - wouldnt you at least leave him a Neutral, with an outline of what happened?

If for no other reason but to save some other poor bugger from going through what you did?

I mean, there is no risk, he has already left you positive.

Hi Lexie,
I probably should, but am just glad that the transaction is over and the item is here. If I do decide to leave feedback, I'll wait 90 days so that a fairly low feedback seller can spend three months wondering if his perfect feedback is safe. (It's payback time for all the stress he caused me!)

This forum really needs to add an evil smiley face to the selection.

You can borrow one of mine if you like Christine...

Same problem - like Falcon Gal I think the answer is to try & take a strong line!

Wanted $22 for international shipping on a camera. I wrote and politely asked if he could send it economy surface from the US (Price under $10 - probably $8.70) I then tried to take away any sort of "bad feelings" by saying it was directed at excessive mail charges by the USPS and not at depriving him of his "handling" charge and I would pay a reasonable amount.

Back came the reply - sure no problems, I'll post it surface - my standard shipping charge is still $22 as I have to spend time "queuing for the green customs slip"

I then went into overdrive, as you do, saying $22 - $8.70 = $79 an hour if you just spend 5 minutes queueing.

After several fairly heated emails, he's come down to $18 (as he had just spent 40 minutes queuing in his post office) so I don't really have much more choice other than grin & bear it.

Final equation - $12 camera + $9 postage + $9 "packing charge" + (& this is still to come) - what HM Customs & Excise levy on top!

Ah well I could go back to collecting match box labels!

quote:

I'll wait 90 days so that a fairly low feedback seller can spend three months wondering if his perfect feedback is safe.

I’m of the opinion that members (people in general) aren’t really looking for opinions, but confirmation of their own opinions. But, if that opinion is wrong, here are some opinions that you might find as inspirational as I did:

quote:

Originally posted by bjones9942:
Even if the other user had been nasty to me, I should always try to take the high road. My mother always told me that if I didn't have something nice to say, say nothing at all.

quote:

Originally posted by Chatter:
"You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar"

quote:

Originally posted by Serenity:
I am very happy most of the time. I try very hard to stay away from stressful situations and not worry about what I cannot change.

quote:

Originally posted by Serenity:
I don't like to fight with anybody about anything! Life is so short. I think sometimes we need to sit back, take a deep breath, and decide what really is important.

quote:

Originally posted by Serenity:
You can't get ahead if you're trying to get even!

quote:

Originally posted by Camera Collector:
... like Falcon Gal I think the answer is to try & take a strong line!

https://community.auctionsniper.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/985608021/m/7021073301

Advice is usually easier to post than to follow.

quote:

This forum really needs to add an evil smiley face to the selection.

This is one that’s on Infopop’s forum:




Infopop also has the following ways of expression:




Maybe these are Infopop’s Summer fashions for the Northern hemisphere?

quote:

If I do decide to leave feedback, I'll wait 90 days

Be careful there; I once tried the same thing, only I used 89 days for my target date. When I went to post the feedback (negative in my case), the auction had already disappeared off of the radar screen.