Shipping cost mix up- Can I get refunded?

[moo.moo]

I bought an item and paid the price that was listed, both for the item and for shipping.

The buyer has contacted me and said that the shipping cost that is listed on the item is incorrect, and that I need to pay more for shipping.

I am unwilling to pay more for shipping, since I have already paid for it and I was led to believe, naturally, that what I already paid for was the correct shipping price. 

Am I able to get refunded for both the item and for shipping?

Note: I have not received the item and the seller has not yet shipped the item.

Thanks.

[kopenhagen5]

Yes you can ask the seller to refund and cancel the purchase.

You are not obligated to paying more than the costs shown in the listing.

Some sellers are new and make genuine mistakes so it is up to you and if you want to continue with the purchase perhaps suggest you will agree on 50/50 of the postage difference.

[springyzone]

No, you don't have to pay any more.

The seller made the mistake, not you.

If they had a price in their listing and you paid it in full, then your part of the transaction is done.

The seller has a couple of choices.

They can either accept they made the mistake and post the item off to you at a loss or else they can issue you with a full refund.

If I were you though, I would not ask for a refund. I would reply that I bid in good faith and had already paid the full price as listed in ebay and was not willing to pay extra.

If the seller wishes to cancel, don't you tick it as your decision, let them have to admit to ebay that they are the ones cancelling it.

Don't worry, as long as you paid via paypal you are safe enough on this. They will either have to supply the goods or refund. If they do neither of those things you could simply open an item not received case and the seller will know that.

[moo.moo]

Thanks for your reply guys, it helps a lot especially since I'm new and that my situation seems to be a bit unique.

Just one quick question to clarify the situation, if you're willing:

Do sellers have control over the 'official' listing of the shipping price?

In the bottom-page description of the item the seller has listed, the seller states clearly the shipping prices, along with the 'correct' one the seller has notified me about and is asking that I now pay for, but the shipping price on the actual item is different.

Is this definitely the fault of the seller? I'm afraid that the seller might be attempting a scam.

[lyndal1838]

Can you post the item number so someone can have a look for you.

I really cannot see how the seller is scamming you....he is the one who is losing on postage if you don't pay.

[ausgeoff1946]

It's difficult to answer your question, as we can't view the ad (yet).  It depends on how badly you want the particular item, and what the postage differential is.  If postage is listed at (say) $12 and he ups it to $15 then I'd still accept the transaction.  If on the other hand, the postage is listed as (say) $12 and he ups it to $30, then I'd be refusing the transaction on the basis of blatant misrepresentation by the seller.  It can also depend on the ratio of the sell price to the postage cost—in other words, you wouldn't want to buy a $45 item with a $30 postage cost, but you might be happy with $12.

Too many sneaky sellers load their postage costs to effectively increase their profit margin on the item.  Caveat emptor!

And if you do eventually decide to cancel the transaction, then eBay will side with you, and you'll get all your money back—as it constitutes a breach of their selling T&Cs.

—Good luck.

[springyzone]

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@moo.moo wrote:

Thanks for your reply guys, it helps a lot especially since I'm new and that my situation seems to be a bit unique.

Just one quick question to clarify the situation, if you're willing:

Do sellers have control over the 'official' listing of the shipping price?

In the bottom-page description of the item the seller has listed, the seller states clearly the shipping prices, along with the 'correct' one the seller has notified me about and is asking that I now pay for, but the shipping price on the actual item is different.

Is this definitely the fault of the seller? I'm afraid that the seller might be attempting a scam.

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The seller does set the postage price.

In some ads, you will see it might only say freight but when you type in your postcode it will give you the freight quote. In other words, the freight varies depending on where you live. Usually it is shops or companies who have that sort of set up, businesses that are selling new stock that is maybe on the bulky side.

Sometimes ads will also mention that if you want express postage you can have it but it will cost extra, which is fair enough.

Without seeing your ad it is hard to know what is going on, but it seems that variable postage rates were in fact mentioned in the ad. Did it say something along the lines of postage was dearer to some regional areas or something?

When you read the ad, is there any way you would have been able to work out which postage rate applied to you?

I still think this seller has not set things up properly if they mentioned variable rates but the ad only allowed for a set amount. They were setting themselves up for trouble by the sounds of it.

It doesn't sound as if the seller is attempting a scam though, more just incompetent.

If you were able to click and buy & finish the transaction, it's probably their fault in the way they set it up.

I would say they can't force you to pay more, they should simply cancel the sale and refund.

[phorum_junkie*]

If you were able to click and buy & finish the transaction, it's probably their fault in the way they set it up.

That says it all. If they are new and they did mention a different price in the listing you coulod cut them some slack and just tell them to refund you. If they are an experienced seller I would just give it enough time to be delivered and if nothing turns uo open an item not received dispute through Paypal. That is quicker and can be started sooner than an ebay claim, ebay is best for not as described.