eBay question

[Goathead]

Should I give somebody negative feedback for over charging me on the shipping. I find this to be highly dishonest. He charged $5 for shipping something that was only $.95 to ship, then it took forever to get to me because he sent it bookrate. Might just give him neutral rating.

[AllegroRondo]

1. did he disclose the shipping cost in the auction?

If the auction said "shipping cost is $5", then he is not doing anything illegal. UNETHICAL, yes, but not illegal. Its VERY common, I have seen software sellers regularly say it will cost $16 to ship priority mail.

If you are upset, go ahead and leave negative feedback saying exactly why. "Charged $5 for shipping but shipped 95cent book rate and took xx days to deliver" or something like that. Let future buyers know exactly what they are getting into.

[KurtNYC]

2. If he disclosed the $5 fee in advance

and said it would be media rate then "no".

The other consideration is YOUR ebay feedback. He may retaliate and neg you.

[Goathead]

5. I don't see how he could

I was nothing but accommodating with him. I even canceled one payment that I sent him by credit card because he had sent me the wrong paypal email address. Something that really screwed with my nearly maxed out CC because it was basically charged twice and one charge canceled down the road.

[KitchenWitch]

8. No matter how accomodating you have been

the seller could still neg you because you negged him. If the shipping cost was listed in the auction description itself, I would choose not to leave feedback at all.

[pf99]

3. Not necessarily

In the items description did he or she tell you shipping would be $5?

If so I would say no.

Before bidding I always ask or look for shipping charges.

Overcharging on shipping is a common pratice on e-bay. Seller does not have to pay ebay commission on it.

If you thinks sellers was dishonest, then give negative feedback and notify ebay.

Hope that helps.

[Goathead]

7. I find that to be highly unethical

It's like their own private surcharge. I suppose you could mark it up to "handling" charges but that is a stretch.

[salvorhardin]

4. That's a common practice with eBay.

People who are trying to make a living on eBay do it because eBay's fees have gotten out rather outrageous. However, eBay doesn't charge fees on shipping rates so they move part of the cost into the shipping. Many eBay sellers also markup the shipping to cover packing fees and such.

Usually though it is stated quite clearly in the auction what the seller is charging for shipping so if your seller didn't then negative feedback would be appropriate, although $5 shipping doesn't seem out of line with standard practices for eBay sellers.

[BillZBubb]

6. If the shipping charges are mentioned in the listing then NO!

A deal is a deal. You've got to remember that the seller has eBay listing fees to pay based on sales price, but not shipping. So, a lot of sellers make their margin on the shipping, while practically giving away the goods.

If the seller kept his end of the bargain in the listing, you should give positive feedback--even with really high shipping. Just be more careful next time.

[Cadence]

9. A lot of people are now transferring the

actual cost of the item to the shipping charge because the fees have gone up so much. It's pretty common. If you're unhappy with that portion, but satisfied with the actual item, I would leave neutral with an explanation.

[cags]

10. Not if it was clearly stated in the listing.

Shipping charges can also cover packaging and transportation. It would be rude to give negative feedback if the cost was stated in the listing. If it wasn't then no rating or nuetral is probably in order