E-Bay Advice

Just wanted to get some input on this. I've been on e-bay for 3 years or so. Close to 50 transactions and never a significant problem. Last week I put a bid in on a used board, and won the auction for a pretty good deal. Prior to the auction I mailed the seller and asked how much to ship to my Postal Code (in Canada, he is in Utah). He stated that he checked for another guy in Canada and the shipping would be $17-$19. A couple days after I had sent payment of the bid price PLUS $20 for shipping, he comes back and tells me that shipping is now going to be about $76. When I pressed him about where he got the original quote, he said that "I am not the one who got the original shipping quote for 17-19 dollars, I gave another ebayer my zip code and he found it out and sent that quote to me"

Nevertheless, his e-mail to me about the shipping said "I checked for another guy in canada and it should be around $17-$19."

I did some searching and found some quotes for about $25-$35 dollars and told him I would give him and extra $10 or $15 if needed (I thought it was generous) but he is now telling me that the board has too much rocker and wont fit a 60x20x4 box, only a 60x20x5 box and this is oversized, raising the price.

I'm not really concerned about getting my $$ back as I think he will probalby give it if asked, and if not, I can certainly get covered through Paypal/Ebay. I dont know for a fact, but I wonder if maybe he didnt get the $$ he wanted in the auction and is trying to make up for it. I'm waiting to hear from him if he will pay the extra shipping above the $35, barring that, any other suggestions? Am I being unreasonable in suggesting that he pay a portion of the shipping?

I think he should have posted what shipping was going to be.. and if he under bid the shipping it's his responsibility.

I agree with Paul; but, I must add that you should not bid unless the shipping price is posted, just for this reason.

I have only shipped a couple things, and have only bought from Ebay twice. When I sold my wakesurfer (W coast to E coast), I could not find anything under about $68 because it was "oversized". I was accused of trying to ripp the buyer off, etc, which certainly was NOT the case. While there were a few that said they could have the board shipped for under $20, no one was able to come up with a shipper that could. I cheched with the major shippers, and when I put in my box dimensions on their web site, I was given a different price each time, but always pretty expensive ($68 was the cheapest). I took it into a UPS, Fed Ex, and DHL location, and they were all the same story, because it was oversize. I ended up taking it to a friend that does a lot of shipping, and they sent it as "regular" size, not oversize, and it went through fine. Lucky I guess.

I am sure he is padding the board good, but even with a 3" rocker, it should fit in a 4 inch box. That would probably take care of the size issue. If the board has more than a 3" rocker, let me know what board it is. I want one!!

Good luck.

You should have checked on the the shipping yourself before you bid on it. I have shipped over 300 items from e-bay sales and shipping oversized packages to Canada is almost not worth the hassle. I can ship a 40 lb bike across the us for $35 fed ex but to ship a set of 4 lb Bike wheels to canada cost over $50.

If I were you I would get the exact dimentions of the box and go on each shipping website and find out the exact cost .

yea i got lazy the other day and paid $16 for small bottle of binding lube. not knowing the shipping can make or break whether i bid on something. if he can't make it work for 10-15 more dollars from you, I would consider letting it go. unless you just can't live without it.

I did check. I found quotes for $25-$35 on USPS and UPS based on a 60x20x4 box of 12 pounds, which is the same size as the board I bought a month ago. That is why I e-mailed him to find out what HE would charge.

when you punch that size box ( 4" vs 5" ) into the shipping calculater does it change the price.

good luck.

WOW!!!
A lawyer getting screwed out of some money vs. the other way around!!!!

Sorry Duncan.. I just had to!!!!!

Yeah, it goes from about $25 to about $55 for the same service.

Haw haw! Reeeeeal Funny. :-)

The last time I got a board shipped to me, the guy put foam on all the edges and wrapped the s**** out of it with shrink wrap. It was cheap to ship and there were no issues with shiping damage.

people charge high shipping to get out of ebay fees, i do the same thing,

I recently sold two board and binding sets on ebay. I took the bindings off the board and shipped it all in one box and padded all sides quite well. Finished size was 6x17x50. Both shipped for under $20 from San Diego to the mid west via UPS.

It cost me like 50 bucks to ship a board UPS from west coast to east coast not including a box. If If were to pack it at UPS they would have charged me an additional 30 dollars just for the box. So I went and packed it myself and it cost me like 60 bucks total.

tell him to put it in the smaller box. the box will bend with the shape of the board.

AL

ships USPS

its way cheaper, unless u have a ups accoutn

I've never shipped a board that cost me more than $20. Have him go to his local board shop. They should be able to ship it for cheaper.

the seller is correct. if it wont fit in a standard sized box(though i believe it will) he is probably correct in his quote. the surcharge is pretty substantial for oversized packages. he just gave you a quote that someone gave him. i dont really find him at fault. the board should fit in another box if it doesnt and you dont want to pay the shipping then i would just ask for my money back and call it a wash.

Great post E Double U.

I buy lots of stuff off eBay, but never anything that doesn't have the shipping charge listed. IMO, it's the sellers responsibility to know what it costs to ship. If they don't take Paypal or credit card and state the shipping, then I don't bid.

I shipped a wakeboard to Canada a year ago and I found the cheapest place was the United States Post Office. It was $46 if I remember right. That took 4-6 weeks, it was more for "expedited shipping". The buyer wasn't in a hurry so it worked out okay. I took some large pieces of flat cardboard and formed them into a triangle and made them fit the board and bindings. Arrived in Canada with no damage. Hope that helps.

Chris

BTW. I don't like auctions that don't list the shipping. Lots of people run up the shipping, so they take less $ for the selling price, then their ebay fee is less because it's based off the sale price. At least when they post the shipping, you subtract that off the max amount you will pay, and that's your bid. No gray area.

Shipping to Canada cost a lot more than shipping within the states. Most ebayers don't include shipping costs for shipping to Canada. Heh, smart ebayers will refuse to ship out of the US just because it's a hassle. Anyway, $40 - $70 sounds reasonable for international shipping.