A little Ebay help....please

[sticknrun]

I won a BM770 and a Camillus EDC 154cm off ebay for $89. The BM is new and the Camillus is in good condition. I think I got a pretty good deal. Anyway, the seller did not list a price for shipping. I cannot paypal him until he gives me a total for shipping. The auction ended yesterday around 4:45pm. How long should I wait to hear from him? I emailed him twice.

Also, I noticed in his feedback that he charged someone $8 for shipping and they refused to pay that. This was after the auction ended. I also noticed that someone said they tried for 3 days to get a "total" and never received an amount, so they didn't pay. There are only a few negatives on his feedback, he has quite a few positive remarks.

(Just a thought)...Could this be a way for the seller to back out of an auction if he feels that he didn't come away with enough money?

Thanks in advance,

Mike

 

[Balislinger]

Just relax and wait a few days before worrying about it. In the meantime request his contact info through eBay's form (look in the site map under fraud prevention) so you can also give him a call if you don't hear from him in a couple days.

 

[faramir]

IIRC eBay allows up to 3 days or so for buyer and seller to get in touch with each other. The problem is that sometimes sellers refuse ti reply entirely for some reason (i've ran into some a-hole who ran a hotline number and expecte me to make international call to his hotline just to discuss shipping arrangements ?!). ANyway, give that guy a couple of days, repeat your request for total quote, again repeat it the next day and state clearly that you'd like to pay but you can't until he gives you the total and all - if you don't get a reply after third try and ~5 days of waiting between them combined contact the seller one last time informing them that'd you REALLY would like to get the total but should they fail to reply withincertain timeframe (say 24 or 48 hours) they'll be leaving you no alternative but to give them negative feedback and that you'd rather see it sorted out instead.

Being polite usually works best but when it fails put your money where your mouth s (don't post idle threats and let them get away with it).

 

[sticknrun]

OK, sounds like I need to be patient. :grumpy:

Thanks for the info.

Mike

edit: seller emailed me. Lesson learned. I just need "a little patience"...sung with my best Guns and Roses voice.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Lesson learned. I just need "a little patience"...

Another lesson learned: check out all the details before you get involved in bidding.

Why doesn't he list s&H right from the start?
1) You have a right to be suspicious.
2) It was an oversight.
3) Shiping can vary and he wants to be equally opaque to US and foreign buyers.

 

[commodorewheeler]

I've learned that if the seller doesn't list shipping in the auction, make sure you get a quote from them before you bid. I've been screwed over by high shipping charges when I didn't read an auction closely enough, and I think that if you back out because you don't like the shipping charges, the seller has a right to file a non-paying bidder report on you.

If the seller can't be bothered with quoting a shipping charge for you before the auction ends, they don't really deserve your business anyway.

 

[Keith Montgomery]

Why doesn't he list s&H right from the start?

I have only sold one thing on eBay and did not list the shipping charge. What I stated was that I would charge exactly what the shipping company charged me. The reason I did this was so that the winning bidder could choose how he wanted the item shipped. I took the item to three different shipping companies and got pricing for all their levels of shipping and then left it up to him as to how he wanted it sent.

The winning bidder on the above mentioned auction contacted me right away. I got back to him within a few minutes, but I didn't hear back from him for almost another week. It seems he had to go out of town on business and had neglected to send me an email informing me of this. It can be frustrating, but when getting involved with eBay auctions it is best to be a little patient. One day is nowhere near enough time to give before becoming concerned.

 

[RGRAY]

Another lesson learned: check out all the details before you get involved in bidding.

Why doesn't he list s&H right from the start?
1) You have a right to be suspicious.
2) It was an oversight.
3) Shiping can vary and he wants to be equally opaque to US and foreign buyers.

Normally shipping is $100 if it's not listed.

Just kidding.

You should have asked before you bid.

Do not do anything until you hear from him and be patient.

I don't like the idea of the negative feedbacks.

 

[faramir]

Usually sellers specify shipping within a region (say US seller will specify flat rate for continental US shipping, minus Alaska) - for shipping elsewhere one has to contact them, it's best to do so prior to placing the bid. I understand that no eller can list shipping rates for each and every place in the world, it makes sense that the rest is left up for inquiry. I live in a country most of you prolly never heard of so obviously sellers need to look up shipping rates for me. Just about everything i buy online is shipped by regular mail (USPS, etc.) and not one of those curier services such as DHL or UPS so i have pretty good idea as to what the shipping should cost anyway when seller is flexible enough to ship any way the buyer wants.

If they don't list shipping rate at all (stating that "buyer will pay actual shipping" is fine by me) i rather avoid them - been burned by those before and probably would be again.

 

[jsciii]

When a seller does not list his shipping charges I "Assume" they will be reasonable. A few times when the seller contacted me they asked outrageous shipping and I wrote them back and told them if they planned on gouging on shipping they should have put it in the description. I refuse to pay it and offer them a shipping charge that's more in line. So far, I've been able to work it out with every seller that's done that.

JC III