I'd like to point out one thing here. There seems to be a huge disconnect with people regarding different shipping methods. If a seller states that he/she ships USPS First Class Mail that means that they ship using plain old postage stamps folks. What that means is that you can pay whatever amount you agree to pay for shipping, but if the seller tells you directly in the auction that you are paying that amount for First Class Postage then you have absolutely no complaint when the item shows up with a .44 cent stamp on it; that IS First Class mail. In this particular case the buyer entered into the contract knowing the terms.
The main problem here, Is people expect what ever the shipping Charges are that is what is suppose to be used for shipping and when There not people tend to get upset and feel cheated !!:crying:
Would you feel better if E-Bay renamed it and called it "Service Fee". That way sellers could include the cost of both E-Bay & Paypal fees and you wouldn't feel cheated.
Hi, everyone! I'm new here, and this is my first post. I agree with everyone that the buyer knew the terms up front, and the only thing the seller lacked was good common sense as a businessman. Five years ago, before I used a PO Box, I won an auction on eBay, and the shipping was $2.00. All I knew was that the seller lived in the same state. I live in a city that has a population of 150,000 or so. Within an hour of the end of the auction, I received an e-mail from the seller suggesting that I could save the shipping charges if we could meet somewhere because we only lived about 5 blocks apart. I learned that he has had a sign shop in our city for the last 20 years, so I invited him to my home to deliver the "package". We have been friends ever since. Pat is a long-time collector/dealer who used to travel the circuit to all of the shows in our state, and he spent many, many hours at our home telling me about all of the other dealers.....the good, the bad and the ugly. I learned a lot from him about coins, too! He doesn't play the "coin game" too much any more, but he is very active helping the elderly. If someone had a problem, he'd drop what he was doing at the shop and help them. Through all of the friendships he has developed, he is often approached by an elderly person, knowing that he has knowledge of coins, to help them sell their collection. Most of the time, he will purchase the collections outright rather than hassle with the eBay procedures. I've made a number of purchases from him since that first chance meeting, the last being an uncirculated roll of 1882-CC Morgans at MS60 Bid. There was only one coin in that roll that graded MS62. All of the rest were MS63-MS65. So you see, that first meeting was a good move for both of us. The seller who refused to deduct the shipping charge and deliver the coin face-to-face didn't take the time to think about the opportunity he was passing up. Chris
You're probably right and he may know who you are as well. I wouldn't take his not meeting you personal or anything as it's strictly business. It's his choice and if he don't want to save you $3.50 in shipping fees well I agree and he sux. That said, what was in it for him? You live in his town and you are most likely his competition, I'm just sayin'. Good customer service or not, it was only a $7 coin and to be honest with you he probably don't want to do business with someone in the same town. You got your coin and he got his money so all went well. Oh and you know who he is and you already avoid him.
Again, this was not so much about the S&H as it was Courtesies. Also do see below. The envelope does cost money, as sad as this transaction was, it is however true. I agree, but again it was about courtesies. Not the actually price of the S&H. I think that would eliminate some of the complaining, but not the fact that there are some shady sellers out there that simply are going to get what they can in means of over charging for S&H. Chris, First welcome to CT! This is an amazing site, and we are glad to have you aboard. I love the story, and this seller could have had similar experiences, if he had handled this in the same manner but chose not to. His loss I suppose. Your friend sounds like an upstanding individual. Concerning feedback, I would not leave negative feedback, as what was stated was done, I think. However the stars do come in handy in this case to let other buyers know he does not exactly follow perfect procedures. Kind regards, Stan
Yes and the courtesy was to be shown by the seller but not if he knew who the buyer was. Personally I think the seller knew who the buyer was and the OP already said that he avoids the seller. Heck, they live in a small town and it's usually fairly easy to know everybody's business. I think the seller figured out who it was and thought, (oh that's that dude who avoids me all the time, hell he's the last person I would meet to save him money). just my 2 cnts
Very well could be the case. Plain and simply, this is HOW NOT TO DO BUSINESS, if anyone needed any think to take from this. :whistle: Regards, Stan
Stan, First, thanks for the welcome. Before you think about leaving "less than stellar" ratings, you might want to consider another alternative. Successful businesses "develop" their clientele by going "the extra mile". They benefit from word-of-mouth advertising from existing customers as a result. The same philosophy can be utilized by the customer. You might want to keep in touch with that seller and "nurture" him to consider the opportunities he may be missing. Rather than alienate him, you could turn it into a "WIN-WIN" situation for both of you. Chris
I think i need to remind people that the seller lived less then 5 minutes Away!! By what the OP said about the seller being so cheap!!! And not Wanting to reveal his self by not including a return address speaks volumes!! I cant believe this thread has gone to the 8th page (AMAZING!!)
One more point, Can someone tell me how much handling costs?? Really what Does it take to put something in a envelope and mail it 1st class with 44 cent Stamp!
I think I need to remind people that the only reason this wasn't a flawless E-Bay transaction was because the buyer decided that the address of the seller entitled the buyer to change the terms that both parties agreed to in the auction. To be honest, I don't want either you or the OP ever bidding on one of my E-Bay auctions. If either of you want to PM me your E-Bay username, I would be happy to add you to my blocked bidder list.
Chris, :bow::bow::bow: Well said! Now if everyone thought this way, think of how nice things would go. Naturally not everyone is going to feel the same way. However I like your way of thinking Kind regards, Stan
This thread is facinating. I still can't believe how many people posted that they would be upset that it had a stamp on it. If the shipping was less, people would have bid more......the bidders take into account the shipping cost. I have no problem with what the seller did, some of you did. At this point, I don't think anyone mind is going to be changed. "Service Fee" might be better.....lol.
Lehigh, I agree with your assessment of the transaction. However the OP only was asking, if we can remember that far back, if we thought it was fair. Regards, Stan
This has become one doozy of a thread... :rolling: Like flipping the channel back to the same bad TV movie that you know will still be airing without end... To the resolved OP, "No Free Pokemon cards for you!" ...while the Seller of your item fulfilled every aspect of the terms of the auction agreement in a timely and professional manner, and perhaps because of your special request after bidding/winning the item, the Seller decidedly removed their address from the envelope, so that you (an unknown local to the Seller) don't have their location but they certainly DO have your address. Now, if this were a malicious Seller, which I have no reason to believe that they are, this might be cause for alarm as we previously discussed the inherent risks associated with such transactions, in-person meetings and divulging home addresses... And all you have now is your $7 half as promised and delivered upon, your responsibility to post decent feedback for said services rendered in a timely and secure fashion, your preconceived notions about who he/she may be and what he/she may really be like in person based on some skewed assumptions of your own and no new local dealer relationship on which to build trust and reliability, because of your caustic preconceived notions of this stranger plus some odd idea about geographic distances owed to you forthright. meh! "All of human unhappiness comes from one single thing: not knowing how to remain at rest in a room." -Pascal
I never considered that, the reason for no address. Though I do not agree with that practice, you make a valid argument I am glad the OP started this. As far as it being a longer thread then most feel it should be, I will quote from Macdonald's "I'm Lovin' it" Regards, Stan
Stan, I am not going to go back an re-read the entire thread, but I will go out on a limb and say the OP made it clear that the seller should have agreed to meet in order to save the money on shipping. BTW, my comment about blocking people from bidding on my E-Bay items is my ridiculous way of responding to what I feel is ridiculous in this thread.:headbang:
