Ebay *****, need some advice
Posted by: Bas V on 12 November 2004
Hi guys,
About a month ago I won an auction at Ebay. I had won 4 pieces of silver cable for use as jumpers on my biwire terminals for E 4,50. The seller was located in Germany, so I knew I would have to pay some costs for transport, but to my experience it would be about E 5,-. What happened: the guy told me it would cost E 9,- to ship. I told him I found that very high, but he told me again that these were the costs. Then he adviced me to pay via IBAN (a direct transfer via the bank) in stead of Paypal because that would cost me nothing. Okay I thought, E 13,50 is still not that expensive.
Today I received the package. The sticker on it says that the shipping costs were only E 3,05. And even worse, my bank has charged me E 14,76 for transaction costs. So I had to pay E 29,26 for an auction I won for E 4,50!!! I replied to the seller that I don't understand that and that if he can't give a good explanation I would give him a negative feedback. He replied that he doesn't do this for free and that my bank is wrong. If I give him negative feedback he will have that withdrawn at my costs (E 500 he says) and that I can never deal via Ebay again.
What would you do?
Regards! Bas
Posted on: 12 November 2004 by Martijn
Is it possible to have a negative feedback withdrawn??? On what grounds??? And why would it cost 500 euro???
Posted on: 12 November 2004 by Tarquin Maynard - Portly
I think he is a bluffer.
Plus, eBapy prohibit people profiting from postage and packaging.
Tell him refund or you will complain to eBay and leave negative feedback.
Regards
Mike
Spending money I don't have on things I don't need.
Posted on: 12 November 2004 by Hawk
ah the joys of ebay....
It's a tough call Bas, unless you agreed the postage costs before bidding then its a difficult area to agree as the seller can contend that the cost also includes the packaging...
The bank charge comment could also go either way, there would be no way he should comment on your bank charges, that really is a matter between you and the bank.
The sellers threat re the feedback doesnt sound right to me at all and i think he is just intimidating you into not leaving neg feedback..
If your feedback is factually correct there is nothing that ebay can or will do about it.. Your real issue will be that the seller will undoubtably leave you neg feedback in return!
Posted on: 12 November 2004 by Bob McC
Negative feedback can only be removed by mutual consent and is free! Tell him to take a hike. The bank problem is yours though it isn't anything to do with him.
Bob
Posted on: 12 November 2004 by hungryhalibut
I believe it is sellers that pay to use paypal and that is free for buyers. The amount the seller would have been charged on such a small transaction is miniscule.
Overcharging on postage is not a resonable thing to do, and many sellers list their postage charges up front - ebay encourage sellers to do this.
The bank seems to be making more than anyone else, and it's always wise to check their charges first. If they didn't make their charges clear to you, you may be able to obtain a refund from them.
I think it's the seller that sucks, not ebay itself, and they fully deserve negative feedback if they don't refund the excess postage charges.
Nigel
Posted on: 12 November 2004 by prowla
1. The seller can charge for "S&H", which is "shipping and handling", not just the cost of the stamp. It does seem slightly high, but not extortionate (some sellers make their profit from the S&H rather than the product!). And ho-hum - you agreed to the amount...
2. The bank charges are nothing to do with the seller - your bank has ripped you off. I've previously had a cheque from a US bank ($10, I think) and gone to pay it into my UK bank only top be told that their charges were more than that. Wherever possible, I use Paypal - it doesn't cost the buyer. In fairness to the seller, he may not have realised that you would have to pay extra costs for the bank transfer, but nonetheless I would've stuck with Paypal.
3. As stated above, negative feedback can only be removed with the consent of both parties. There is no way that he can have your feedback removed and charge you for it - that is just a threat! However, based on the facts, I would suggest that neutral feedback would be appropriate - you got the product, S&H was a wee bit high, and your bank fleeced you.
Paul
Posted on: 12 November 2004 by paul_g
Prowla's reply sums it up nicely.
Unfortunately, banks levy a minimum charge on international transactions, irrespective of the amount involved - Paypal is a useful way of avoiding these.
Paul
The last time I was wrong was when I said "I have made a mistake" but I hadn't
Posted on: 12 November 2004 by Geoff P
Bas
I agree entirely about the negative feed back thing.
On the Bamk thing I use ABN AMRO and pay by internet banking. Until last weekend the fill in screens made no mention of charges on IBAN transfers. Suddenly they have added an extra screen which includes a summary of the transaction and an area where they ask which bank is going to pay the charges. The charges for a transfer in Euros of a 4 figure number are 4.50 for reference.
regards
GEOFF
"Just trying to make a NAIM for myself"
Posted on: 12 November 2004 by Bas V
Geoff, I use ABN AMRO like you do. I saw an amount of E 4,50 when I made the transaction, but it turned out to be a lot more. I have asked them for an explanation, but untill now have not got an answer I can live with. So do be careful!
I know I can't blame the guy for these banking costs. However, I told him I wanted to pay via Paypal but he strongly asked me to pay by bank. I should have checked better, I know.
Regarding the shipping costs, I checked why these were so high and he didn't mention anything about profit he wanted on it. If he would have been honest I would have had the chance to think about it. Now I felt obliged to buy. It's not fair, he should have given me the choice if I would still be interested in this article if he added an extra amount for profit. I think that € 6 profit (€ 9 - € 3) on a € 4,50 auction is not very decent.
I am still tempted to give the guy negative feedback, especially because of his threat! I could also contact Ebay of course...
Regards, Bas
Posted on: 12 November 2004 by prowla
Of course, he might've had to walk 50 miles to the nearest post office and so had to factor in the cost of a new pair of shoes...
Fortunately, you transaction was within the EU, or you might've had to pay even more.
I have had occasions where I've purchased things from the US (eg. DVDs) and got stung for import duty, which has resulted in the damn thing costing more than full UK list price!
Anyway, it's a shame it's not gone as smoothly as you might've liked, but I hope they sound good!
Paul
Posted on: 12 November 2004 by David Stewart
quote:
I think that € 6 profit (€ 9 - € 3) on a € 4,50 auction is not very decent.
I don't think it's right to look at this amount as being all profit.
Shipping stuff inevitably involves costs other than just the postage stamps. For instance the packaging itself (e.g. a Jiffy bag might cost €1.5 if purchased from a local store). A seller who is registered for VAT has to pay a %age of the S&H costs to the VAT man. There is then the sellers time to pack the item, take it to the local Post Office and post it (I always get a Certificate of Posting to protect buyers in the event of loss in the post).
All these things represent costs to the seller and I believe the seller has a right to charge them on to the buyer providing they are not grossly unreasonable.
Posted on: 12 November 2004 by Willem van Gemert
Bas,
I'm afraid you can't do much about shipping costs, once you have won the auction. In case of doubt, I always contact the bidder before the end of the auction. That way you avoid misunderstandings.
As for the bank transfer, normally when you transfer money abroad inside the Euro-zone using a so-called Euro-transfert (IBAN-number and BIC-code), there should be no or minimal charges. There are some restrictions, check out your bank's site for more info. E.g. Costs should always be Shared, maximum amount is 10.000 EUR if I recall correctly, IBAN and BIC number should be correct, etc. If one of the above is not true, it is no longer considered a Euro-transfert and your bank will charge you the usual rip-off tariff.
Still have a nice weekend!
Willem
Posted on: 12 November 2004 by Rasher
I sold a camera to a guy in Italy a month ago on ebay, and I had to find a box, buy a huge roll of bubble wrap (to use for future sales too of course), box it up, take it to the post office to have it weighed, come back and email him the cost, get the payment, go back to the post office and queue to have it sent. It isn't just about the price of a stamp. There was at least a couple of hours sodding around in there. I charged him the postage cost, but I won't do it again like that.
Posted on: 12 November 2004 by Bas V
Just for clearance, I got the stuff in a standard envelop.
Posted on: 12 November 2004 by Willem van Gemert
Bas,
Here's a link to the
ABN AMRO site with info on international payments.
Ciao!
Willem
Posted on: 12 November 2004 by Rockingdoc
The thing with this e-bay feedback is that if you give him negative feedback, he is likely to do the same to you in retaliation. This will only matter if you intend to continue to use e-bay.
I was unhappy with the goods I got from one seller, but kept quiet as I wanted positive feedback from him (which I got) and therefore preserved my 100 % positive profile.
