Seller lied about postage service and overcharged by $11.60. Paypal won't do anything?

[libertyandwhimsy]

So I'm an experienced buyer and seller on eBay so I don't need to be told obvious things, but what I don't get at the moment is people who think it's A) justifiable to lie about postage methods and B) think it's morally OK to do so.

I purchased 6 small items of clothing from a seller and she "combined and discounted" postage to $25. When I clarified how the items were being posted (e.g. is it a 3kg satchel) she said some items were "bulky" and would require thorough packaging and a larger satchel. I was skeptical, as I've been ripped off more in the last year by newbies than any other year out of the 13 I've been on eBay. So I paid for it, trusting her, and of course, everything arrives in a 3kg satchel. I requested honesty from her and reimbursement of the extra, overcharged postage and she had the nerve to tell me her "stuffed went too cheap" - yes, that's how it was worded - and that her postage fee was "accurate".

I opened a dispute via Paypal knowing full well they don't cover the postage side of trading but hoping she'd still do the right thing. In the resolution centre, I asked her to address why she lied about the cost, fully intending to make a profit off me and circumvent eBay fees. Instead, she escalated the dispute to a claim and it was instantly closed. I'm still $11.60 out of pocket.

I left appropriate feedback and then I get this feedback tonight: Thanks for the entertainment, mcdonalds is on you tonight!

Reading between the lines, she's gloating that my extra money is paying for her dinner.

Is there NO protection for buyers at all against low-lifes like this? 'Cos eBay is becoming less and less enjoyable these days. And it is a totally unsatisfactory consolation that I got to leave 6 negative feedbacks.

TIA. 

[jensmanchester-australia]

The postage fee is for postage and handling. Around $2.00 per item handling fee would not be considered excessive.

[egglesdtp]

$2.00 handling fee per item not excessive???? What, for putting 6 small items of clothing into a satchel?  I'll bet they weren't individually wrapped or bubble wrapped.

I agree with the OP - your seller was morally wrong to charge you $25 for a 3kg satchel.

[cq_tech]

Judging by the seller's appalling DSRs (didn't you check them first?) I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that yours was far from being an isolated incident.

As an aside, I understand that multiple negs from the same buyer within the same week only count as one neg for the seller, but does the same apply if the buyer staggers their feedback and leaves one neg each week for 6 weeks?

[zo_bella]

The negatives all count  even when left on same day, Mcdonalds might not taste so good when they realise the negs are there for 12 months

we had 4 negs on selling account from a delightful buyer all left on same day  &  they sat for 12 months. It was all a  result of unpaid item dispute.....& I  wish they had never paid.......

As far as overcharging for the post.......I do not agree with sellers charging excessive handling charges. I do however look at the purchase as a hole &  say fair enough if I still got a bargain

[extra-keen]

A more experienced seller would have refunded you the difference, and yes I agree that it sours the ebay "ëxperience". Sadly every not so good seller makes those of us who strive to make the "ëxperience" worth while and enjoyable suffer at the hands of this type of seller.

[chameleon54]

I have had exactly the same experience. Purchased several items from a seller who advertised "combined Post "  At the time I only had a twelve feedbacks on this account, so seller thought he was trading with a newbie novice. He charged $65 for $21.05 in actual post cost. When questioned the seller became very agressive and tried to bully this little "newbie " into submission. The seller also said the items sold cheaply so he was making it up in the postage. Like you I was livid and left the negative feedbacks. ( only Negs ever on this account ) In this case the seller was not happy to recieve the Negs. and he contacted ebay to have them removed. They refused so he requested a revision from me. ( along with abusive emails ) Also refused. I responded to the emails by politely winding the guy up until his messages crossed the line and then reported his emails. Case upheld, strike one against his account.  I then contacted ebay and lodged a complaint under the postage policy and included the fact that buyer was circumventing ebay fees by charging excess postage. I recieved an email saying the case had been upheld and unspecified action had been taken against sellers account.  Strike two on his account. In this transaction the seller had used file photos of new items for excessivly worn items which where not accuratly described. ( all round con artist ). I filed an "item not as described" case being carefull to only list the faults with the product, Not the post rip off. I sent the items back ( at my expense ) and recieved a full refund. End result, I lost $21 postage, ( worth every cent to get a result ) seller had two strikes recorded against thier account, lost $21 postage and recieved 5 negs. Everyone battleworn and a bit wiser. One good result, that particular seller did not sell anything again for a number of months, so must have learnt something. I know some regulars on the boards proffer that combined post is simply placing all items in one parcel, not offering postage discounts for multiple purchases.  I believe that does not tally with ebays policies on charging excessive postage, and does not alighn with the expectation and understanding of what most ebayers regard "combined postage" to mean.

[springyzone]

I agree with you she wasn't as honest as she should have been, but do you really think she should only chanrge cost price for the satchel and not a cent extra for postage and handling?

Most of her items sold for around the 99 cent mark. That's her fault, she's a blithering idiot for putting it on at such a cheap starting price, if she wasn't happy to sell at that price.

But given she made so little on the items, a small sum to cover petrol and time for her to post would seem reasonable.

What was the total postage cost for the items individually?

Was $25 a fair bit lower than that?

I have to admit, $11.60 extra was a bit excessive, but I think a few dollars extra would hav been perfectly reasonable, she shouldn't have to charge cost price.

Her response to you was rude, designed simply to annoy you.

[phorum_junkie*]

Why do you think $2 per item is exsessive? I would consider it perfectly acceptable. The seller is not obliged to give a discount when they are combining items into one parcel and ebay only count it as excessive postage if the individual cost is excessive.

I think it was completely wrong to question the seller about their postage after the items were purchased, you should have asked before buying if you weren't prepared to pay whatever they were charging.

[diecastcarsvicki]

you have destoyed a sellers feedback with 6 negitives over $2.00 per item handling fee.

wow not something ill brag about concidering you won the 6 items at very low prices and more than likely be on your listings very soon with a much higher price on them as a buyer ill be turned off from dealing with you.