Sorry guys and gals, I just need to vent. Maybe this should be in off topic but since it's a 1210 I put it here. I just had a 10 day listing be canceled by ebay at the last moment. I responded immediately since I was upset, and I just wrote them this as well with all my points seperated. I wonder if they will even read it. So what do you think? Was I wrong, was eBay? What should I do next?
*********email to eBay*************
I don't know what the problem was with my auction. I have read the "Excessive Shipping Charges Policy" and do not find where I violated it in any way. I attached the policy text to show that I indeed read it and complied with it.
1)This was a 10 day listing, why on earth did you wait until the last day to tell me you thought I was charging too much for shipping? Why not say so on day one, then I could lower it to what you consider is reasonable and move on.
2)The item was already at $1525 with 60+ people watching it, might have went to $2000. How can you even consider a $59 shipping and handling fee excessive for a $1500-$2000 item?
3)$59 to ship a laptop computer, all the cds, cables, manuals, 2 x power supplies, 2 x cd cases, docking station and cables, a sleeve style case and a briefcase style case, in 2 boxes, via UPS ground is NOT unreasable at all. Shipping fees, plus the boxes (I would have to buy at least one at the store for packing both of the cases), plus the packing material, plus the insurance, plus handling it to nearest UPS place is reasonable. That is GOOD deal for the buyers, if anything I undercharged.
4)Please tell me what YOU consider is reasonable so that if I relist I don't have this happen again. $55? $50? The policy gives absolutely no direction. If I was charging $200 for UPS ground I would agree with you that it would be unreasonable, but $59?
5)Now if I do relist all those interested parties might have moved on, and wonder if I'm a scammer. I've already had one accuse me of that and I'm simply trying to sell my stuff! Heck I've been paying my ebay fees and reporting spoofs and scammer, I should be shown as the model member, not the crook. It looks bad and hurts my reputation. Those 60 may tell thier friends and before you know it that's hundreds of less people looking at it.
6)The last few items (the four plates I have sold I have severely underestimated shipping), I lost $2 each in eBay fees and $2 each in shipping charges, that's $16 loss on 4 items! That is not your fault but it shows that I'm doing the best I can at estimating size and weight of the final packed boxes to get a reasonable shipping fee.
7)It takes days to get any answer and most of the time the responses look automated, and not even answering my question. Where is the phone number I can call to speak with a customer service person? I can can't seem to find anyway to contact a live person to handle these issues. This is not the way to run a business.
I am very disappointed with eBay's performance with this issue.
***not sent to ebay, just my thoughts***
(I would have liked to been able to use the "relist" feature, now I will have to start all the way over with creating an ad and getting all of the info I had in there by the end of the auction. People were asking good questions that I did not have in there initally. I could have at least done a "second chance offer" but with no record of who bid on it I can't even do that. Funny that eBay would even do all of this because the fees they would have gotten on the $1500-$2000 would have eclipsed the fees on the $5 or $10 they thought I was screwing them out of!)
************* ebay policy copied directly form web page for reference *****************
Sellers may charge reasonable shipping and handling fees to cover the costs for mailing, packaging, and handling the items they are selling. While eBay will not prescribe exactly what a seller may or may not charge, eBay will rely on member reports and its own discretion to determine whether or not a seller’s shipping, handling, packaging, and/or insurance charges are excessive. Shipping and handling fees may not be listed as a percentage of the final sale price.
Sellers who want to be sure they are in compliance with this policy may charge actual shipping costs plus actual packaging materials cost (or less).
In addition to the final listing price, sellers are permitted to charge:
Actual Shipping cost: This is the actual cost (i.e. postage) for shipping the item.
Handling Fee: Actual packaging materials costs may be charged. A handling fee in addition to actual shipping cost may be charged if it is not excessive.
Insurance: Sellers offering insurance may only charge the actual fee for insurance. No additional amount may be added, such as “self-insurance”. Sellers who do not use a licensed 3rd party insurance company may not require buyers to purchase insurance. This is a violation of state law.
Tax: Only actual applicable federal, state, country, city, VAT, and equivalent taxes may be charged.
For cross border transactions, sellers may not collect tariffs and duties. However, buyers may be responsible for actual, applicable tariffs, and duties as requested by respective country laws.
Violations of this policy may result in a range of actions, including:
Listing cancellation
Limits on account privileges
Account suspension
Forfeit of eBay fees on cancelled listings
Loss of PowerSeller status
*********email to eBay*************
I don't know what the problem was with my auction. I have read the "Excessive Shipping Charges Policy" and do not find where I violated it in any way. I attached the policy text to show that I indeed read it and complied with it.
1)This was a 10 day listing, why on earth did you wait until the last day to tell me you thought I was charging too much for shipping? Why not say so on day one, then I could lower it to what you consider is reasonable and move on.
2)The item was already at $1525 with 60+ people watching it, might have went to $2000. How can you even consider a $59 shipping and handling fee excessive for a $1500-$2000 item?
3)$59 to ship a laptop computer, all the cds, cables, manuals, 2 x power supplies, 2 x cd cases, docking station and cables, a sleeve style case and a briefcase style case, in 2 boxes, via UPS ground is NOT unreasable at all. Shipping fees, plus the boxes (I would have to buy at least one at the store for packing both of the cases), plus the packing material, plus the insurance, plus handling it to nearest UPS place is reasonable. That is GOOD deal for the buyers, if anything I undercharged.
4)Please tell me what YOU consider is reasonable so that if I relist I don't have this happen again. $55? $50? The policy gives absolutely no direction. If I was charging $200 for UPS ground I would agree with you that it would be unreasonable, but $59?
5)Now if I do relist all those interested parties might have moved on, and wonder if I'm a scammer. I've already had one accuse me of that and I'm simply trying to sell my stuff! Heck I've been paying my ebay fees and reporting spoofs and scammer, I should be shown as the model member, not the crook. It looks bad and hurts my reputation. Those 60 may tell thier friends and before you know it that's hundreds of less people looking at it.
6)The last few items (the four plates I have sold I have severely underestimated shipping), I lost $2 each in eBay fees and $2 each in shipping charges, that's $16 loss on 4 items! That is not your fault but it shows that I'm doing the best I can at estimating size and weight of the final packed boxes to get a reasonable shipping fee.
7)It takes days to get any answer and most of the time the responses look automated, and not even answering my question. Where is the phone number I can call to speak with a customer service person? I can can't seem to find anyway to contact a live person to handle these issues. This is not the way to run a business.
I am very disappointed with eBay's performance with this issue.
***not sent to ebay, just my thoughts***
(I would have liked to been able to use the "relist" feature, now I will have to start all the way over with creating an ad and getting all of the info I had in there by the end of the auction. People were asking good questions that I did not have in there initally. I could have at least done a "second chance offer" but with no record of who bid on it I can't even do that. Funny that eBay would even do all of this because the fees they would have gotten on the $1500-$2000 would have eclipsed the fees on the $5 or $10 they thought I was screwing them out of!)
************* ebay policy copied directly form web page for reference *****************
Sellers may charge reasonable shipping and handling fees to cover the costs for mailing, packaging, and handling the items they are selling. While eBay will not prescribe exactly what a seller may or may not charge, eBay will rely on member reports and its own discretion to determine whether or not a seller’s shipping, handling, packaging, and/or insurance charges are excessive. Shipping and handling fees may not be listed as a percentage of the final sale price.
Sellers who want to be sure they are in compliance with this policy may charge actual shipping costs plus actual packaging materials cost (or less).
In addition to the final listing price, sellers are permitted to charge:
Actual Shipping cost: This is the actual cost (i.e. postage) for shipping the item.
Handling Fee: Actual packaging materials costs may be charged. A handling fee in addition to actual shipping cost may be charged if it is not excessive.
Insurance: Sellers offering insurance may only charge the actual fee for insurance. No additional amount may be added, such as “self-insurance”. Sellers who do not use a licensed 3rd party insurance company may not require buyers to purchase insurance. This is a violation of state law.
Tax: Only actual applicable federal, state, country, city, VAT, and equivalent taxes may be charged.
For cross border transactions, sellers may not collect tariffs and duties. However, buyers may be responsible for actual, applicable tariffs, and duties as requested by respective country laws.
Violations of this policy may result in a range of actions, including:
Listing cancellation
Limits on account privileges
Account suspension
Forfeit of eBay fees on cancelled listings
Loss of PowerSeller status
When bidding for anything, you should read carefully all that has been listed & proceed according but if you won the bid & the seller charged any sort of extra "hidden" shipping costs, I'll call that unfair. In that case, you'll have every right to complain!
