Pay or ignore?

[lizd160904]

I won 2 separate auctions through 1 seller who clearly says they do combined postage. Their singular postage costs are quite high so I only bidded on the premise I'd get cheaper postage.

So I mail the seller asking for a revised invoice to reflect combined..... and they won't respond. I did win both auctions cheap, but only because postage is so high. Do I just suck it up and pay both sets of postage or just not pay until the revise?

[curraone]

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@lizd160904 wrote:

This is pasted from their ad:

※※※※※ Shipping ※※※※※

1.We are more than happy to combine shipping your order, so feel free to browse our listings to save on postage.

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hmmm;   looks like a China seller;    although their postage is only $9.99?  

[lizd160904]

postage was $20 each item

[digital*ghost]

Poor form on the seller's part. I have seen auction listings where they clearly state the items aren't eligible for combined shipping rates, 99c start ones usually, so at least bidders know up front.

I would have been very tempted to pay for one, wait until it was posted, then pay for the other...

[michellebartley]

Just because you got the items cheap has nothing to do with the postage cost whatsoever. The seller has a nerve.

[*tippy*toes*]

I agree that it's a bit rough of the seller to advertise combined postage discount then not follow through. Either way, you got one for $1.25 and the other for $1.75, so even with the $20ea postage, you still got them cheap. That's not the point though. The seller looks to be new, so probably aren't aware they should start their auctions at the lowest amount they're willing to accept.

They're all over the place. The one you got for $1.75 also sold about 3 weeks ago for $1.29 but only had $9.99 postage. Maybe that's why they upped their postage on stuff because it was going for less than what they wanted. Although, they've had a few buy it now sales that went for a reasonable amount.

It's also possible that while this is a new account, they might have other established accounts and not realise they are paying fees on postage as well as the sale price. Before they brought in the postage fees, a lot of sellers would list a $100 item for 1c with $99.99 postage, so they'd only pay fees on the 1c (of which there are none). Even though it's been in for a few years now, a few sellers seemed to have missed the announcement and are still listing that way.

The Chinese government subsidises their postage to encourage export. Sellers in rural areas still have to pay to get it to the city where it can then go at the subsidised rate. That's why you'll see lots of Chinese sellers have items for $1 and free postage. Something we here could never do. I have bought quite a bit from Guangzhou Province and it's a city region, so your seller is making their profit from their postage. There is no way it would cost $20 to send even one of those items from China unless it was being sent express.

At the very least I'd ding their stars for postage cost IF it comes from China. The reason I say if is because one of their feedback shows as being fast delivery from NSW and others have mentioned fast delivery. Very few people would say fast delivery from China unless it was being sent express. There is a possibility that despite what it says in the listings, they may have a warehouse here. If that's the case, then while $19.99 is a bit steep for 1 item via Aust Post, it's more acceptable than being sent via China Post. In that case I'd probably give them 2 stars instead of 1.

[lizd160904]

I did get great auction prices but like the PP, I buy a lot from China and $20 per item is excessive. I would much rather them have say a starting price of $10 and 10 postage with them saying no combined postage than saying they do it, then reneg when the auction doesn't go high enough.

Let's face it, as buyers we are here for a bargain. Seller 101 - if you have a baseline price in mind..... set that price. Don't complain when an item goes for a small amount when you have the ability to set a starting bid. It doesn't sell? You don't pay a fee. But nothing worse than a dishonest seller.

[digital*ghost]

The reason I'd take issue  - primarily with the seller's response - is because if two different people had won the items, they'd presumably be worse off nett profit-wise. If combined postage was going to cost the same, or it was cheaper to send the two items separately and thus accounting for the full $20 charge for each package, I'd think the seller would have said so. Instead, their response clearly indicated they're not prepared to honour their listing advertisement in order gain benefit they otherwise wouldn't have (i.e. maximise profit), hence - while I don't generally take sellers to task over their postage costs and/or policies - my dim view of their reply. 

[springyzone]

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@lizd160904 wrote:

After another message they replied to say I got the items cheap enough so they won't do combined.

I paid promptly and won't be using them again. In my mind a good seller doesn't pick and choose after advertising they do combined. Set a minimum price on auctions? Either way we don't do business again.

thanks for the replies 🙂

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Absolutely unacceptable, given what they had in their ad.

I would give them one star for item as described, one star for communication, one star for postage costs. In fact i might be inclined to give a neg & explain why.

And if there is the slightest thing not quite right about the product-the slightest thing-I would be making a not as described claim.

[phorum_junkie*]

I would have been very tempted to pay for one, wait until it was posted, then pay for the other...

That is exactly what I would have done, or have paid separately and had them sent to 2 different addresses. Not only will they be paying more for posting they will have 2 flat rate Paypal fees, not a lot but a minor annoyance for them.

Of course they could just have discounted you 5 cents then you wouldn't have had a leg to stand on as they would have done exactly as promised.

[lizd160904]

I always try to give positive feedback, and if I'm not overly happy but not really unhappy I'll just not leave any at all. I think I've left maybe 3 neg feedbacks in 340 transactions and they were well deserved. But I'll be leaving neutral feedback. More as a warning to other buyers on what to expect. When I'm looking at buying I go straight to neg and neutral feedback not positive to view.

Also, I didn't know the Chinese govt pays for postage. Is this across the board for straight China post items? (obviously not including express, e packet etc).

This thread has been a wealth of info from very experienced buyers and sellers. Thanks everyone, you've been very helpful.