Can a seller charge a buyer more money for postage on top of the Global Shipping Program?

[9647ian]

So I purchased an item from the United States. The ad clearly stated that the item will go through the Global Shipping Program. The postage cost was also clearly stated in the ad as $23.05 for postage through the Global Shiping Program.

Three days later the seller advises me that there has been a mistake and ebay gave him the wrong price on postage. He says he took the item to the post office and it will cost him $79.95 to post it to me.

Am I missing something? Surely he only has to post it to Pitney Bowes who then take care of the international shipping and handling? Perhaps he is just confused about how international shipping works through the GSP?

I am of course concerned that he may be trying to get more money out of me. However the seller has offered me a refund, I presume for the full amount. But if he does give me a refund, will I receive the full refund on postage that was forwarded to Pitney Bowes?

Is he correct in presuming there has been some kind of mistake with calculating the postage? I really cannot understand how this could happen.

Does anybody have any advice or suggestions about how I should proceed with this?

[lyndal1838]

How did the seller get your address to be able to post to you through USPS?

He should have been given the address in Erlanger KY to send it to Pitney Bowes.

Did you received 2 receipts......one for the item and another one covering the shipping cost.

[brerrabbit585]

It's possible that an ebay glitch of some sort caused the wrong postage to show. Not saying this is the case but I've seen lots of people complain that the calculator doesn't work correctly in Australia.

Does the postage amount seem extreme for what the item is? I don't like leaving sellers way out of pocket (on postage) even if it's their mistake so I'd be inclined to decide whether or not I want the item enough to pay the extra, and if I don't, I'd ask the seller to cancel the sale. But that's just me.

[9647ian]

Hi, Yes it does seem extreme. I have purchased larger items for around $20-$35 postage. What the seller is asking seems extreme.

[9647ian]

Thank you for replying. I contacted him first to let him know I live in Australia and to make sure he would definitely post here. He said yes, so I went ahead and purchased the item.

[9647ian]

Here is the notification I received from ebay, showing that both the seller and GSP have been paid.

Your order has been confirmed.

We will update you as soon as your order is posted to xxx xxxxxx xx via the Global Shipping Program. PAID : US $xxx.xx with PayPal

Your PayPal account will show two transactions for this order: one for your payment to the seller and one to the Global Shipping Program. Learn more.

The Global Shipping Program will prepare your purchase for its international journey to you. If you have additional questions about your order please contact eBay Customer Service. Plus you can always visit the View Order Details section for detailed tracking of your parcel.

[lyndal1838]

Tell the seller that he only has to post the item to Erlanger KY and you have already psid the postage to Australia.

Did the seller by any chance have Free postage within the USA?   A lot of sellers do.   If he has then he should not be asking for any more money.

[9647ian]

Yes, he offered free postage for sales in the US.

[brerrabbit585]

As Lyndal has more or less said, the seller might be thinking they have to charge you for postage to Australia, but you pay that amount to PB.

[9647ian]

Turns out the seller was confused as he was new to the Global Shipping Program. He was getting messages from ebay about sending it to an Erlanger address with my name on it. He could not understand how it would ever reach me when he is shipping it so many miles in the opposite direction. lol! I can see it from his point of view. It must have seemed quite bizarre.

Problem solved!

I must say that some people come on to these forums complaining about being ripped off by the Global Shipping Program. Have they ever actually compared the prices between shipping USPS and using the GSP?

In the case of my item there was a huge difference in price. If the seller had shipped it to me by USPS priority, the postage cost would have been $US79.95. But through the GSP it only cost me about $US28. Of course in this case the seller was offering free shipping within the United States, so he had to send it to Erlanger at his expense and was fully aware and agreeable to this.