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. 

[cq_tech]

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@ausflylady wrote:

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 

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That's not quite true. Sure, the seller now has 6 negs to go with their 31 positives, but although they all appear in the seller's feedback stats, they still only count as one neg because they all apply to the same transaction, and even staggering the negs and leaving just one every 8 days would make no difference to their feedback percentage.

That is why she is still on 96.9% but had the negs been from different buyers, she would be on 83.8% instead (as explained below)...

[digital*ghost]

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@libertyandwhimsy wrote:

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.

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McDonalds is hardly something to gloat about, it's not fine dining and a meal only costs a couple of dollars, maybe her point was something else entirely.

[libertyandwhimsy]

Or maybe she's a bogan and that's fine dining for her ?

Suggestions of other meanings are welcome!

[libertyandwhimsy]

Thank you @egglesdtp! I totally agree! They weren't individually wrapped and these newbie sellers just make things up as they go along.

[libertyandwhimsy]

@cq_tech - Their DSRs are probably appalling because of me now lol but I did check their positive feedbacks and all seemed OK.

These new sellers seem to think that selling on eBay is like having a garage sale where they don't care about reputation and integrity. They are just "clearing out" their wardrobe.

[libertyandwhimsy]

@ausflylady - I used to think that I should just be grateful that I got the items for what I did, then I started seeing a pattern emerge and wondered where the attitudes came from and the blatant circumventing of the rules.

Sorry to hear about your 4 negs 😞

[libertyandwhimsy]

@extra-keen - It's interesting to read the responses fro those eBayers who have more than 200 or so feedbacks. Those who are "newer" think anything goes. Thanks for your reply 🙂

[libertyandwhimsy]

Oh goodness @chameleon54 - I've had that experience many times as well and it doesn't get any easier / less nasty each time. I'm glad you questioned the seller regarding postage costs - and there is nothing disrespectful in that. Many buyers ask me if I'll post express as they need it quickly. Being a seller is about helping your buyers receive their items and be happy, not making extra money.

For me as a seller, combined postage means putting all the items into a satchel and charging cost price or close to cost price. Sadly, not everyone agrees. Thanks for telling your story 🙂

[digital*ghost]

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@libertyandwhimsy wrote:

Or maybe she's a bogan and that's fine dining for her ?

Suggestions of other meanings are welcome!

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Actually, it reminded me of a neg I once saw, in which the buyer wrote that the seller was a scammer, theif and a liar. The seller's response was "Driving to the airport in my Ferrari with your $2 now". 

I get that the cost / price etc of items doesn't matter - i.e. you have the right to expect certain things whether an item goes for 99c, like most of those items did, or $99.00, so that's not the issue. But at the same time, you purchased items, asked for a combined quote, individual P&H charges were combined and reduced from $59.25 to $25.00 - the seller didn't owe you more than that. They aren't obliged to charge exact costs of a satchel, despite the fact that you obviously expected it (that's the problem with expectations, they often lead to incorrect assumptions), and the fact that there is an $11.60 difference between the cost of the satchel and what they charged doesn't mean you've been "ripped off", IMHO. 

[libertyandwhimsy]

@springyzone - no I don't think she shouldn't charge a cent extra - on my own listings I charge .50-$1 extra to cover the satchel purchase and the printing.

It was her lies that eventually pushed me over the edge. There are many new sellers who wait to see what their items sell for, then mark up the postage accordingly. When I receive an invoice, I honestly never know what I'm going to get.

I once had a seller try to charge me $200 for postage because she wasn't happy that her items sold for .99c. Um. Not my problem.

Her response succeeded - I'm annoyed lol