Postage Inconsistency - AFTER SALE

[hstust-j6jk548l]

Hi, need some help.

I bid, won and paid for a commercial item over a week ago including the postage of $19.15 which was calculated on the listing to my location in Perth. I made sure this correct several times during the bidding period. I have now just received a message from the seller saying that Aus Post have calculated the postage at $83.30 and he cannot get it any cheaper and so has asked me about paying the difference.
As it stands, my budget does not allow for that difference but I also cannot afford to lose this item. Can anyone please offer me some advise on how to deal with this situation, as I do want to be fair and equitable.
Thanks.

[kopenhagen5]

A buyer on eBay is not obligated to paying more than what is shown in a listing.

Having said that, many new sellers do not list properly and it is up to the buyer if they want to cancel or make an arrangement with the seller on postage costs.

In most cases I suggest perhaps 50/50 on the difference but seeing as this difference is a considerable amount, perhaps ask the seller to cancel the sale.

Once the seller sends a cancellation the buyer needs to accept it so the seller gets their fees credited back.

[springyzone]

You are not obliged to pay any extra.

A seller should not be asking for more after a sale.

That is a huge difference. I can understand the seller will not want to go ahead with the sale now.

If you have paid, they need to refund you and cancel the sale.

If you keep watching ebay & gumtree, another, similar item may come up, perhaps one closer to where you live, where you could pick it up and save on postage.

[designers*n*more]

I once sold an item that was going to cost $95 or post to Qld due to size, weight and cubic measurement,  and did some research and ending up having it couriered for around $50. Maybe suggest this to the seller and as Kopes said split the difference if the seller won't cover the balance. Having said that, not sure what the courier charges would be going to W.A., depends on how much you really want the item.

above all, you are not obliged to pay more than what is quoted with the postage calculator, but I'm guessing the seller is not going to fork out the difference, so I would request a cancellation if you can't reach some sort of agreement with the seller!

[lane-ends]

Is it something that is not particularly heavy, but bulky?

it is possible seller did not allow for cubing by australia post when they entered details in listing.

AP using dimensions to arrive at weight equivalent and charge you that if it is more than actual weight. It catches a lot of novice shippers out.

Sounds like an innocent mistake and it would be a bit harsh to try to force seller to absorb it all. Afterall if the original price was lifted you would maybe never have bought it.

[davidc4430]

its up to all sellers, novice or otherwise, to know the items shipping costs before listing.

with bulky or large items a seller should at least visit the local post office for a quote.

the 'i didnt know so pay me more' doesnt wash.

sorry that your ebay purchase has gone badly.

[thesoulyearns]

A courier company like Sendle charges under $25 for a parcel upto 25kg nationwide. It's even cheaper for parcels weighing less than that. You might want to ask the seller to check out their website: https://www.sendle.com/pricing.

For lage and heavy parcels like this, there are some good alternatives to AusPost.

[6508.froggy]

The costings by courier will be dependent on the buyers location. If the buyer is in a remote area the couriers are usually more expensive than AP - I experienced this the other day as a seller $38 via AP $93 via couriers. It is very dependent on the the location of the buyer. 

[typhoon4u]

Get the seller to see if it will fit in a satchel. 5 kg satchels are pretty big and are $17 aus wide.

Could the item be broken down into 2 satchels?

I once had an express quote from AP for a box at $90.

I split the contents into a 5kg and 3 kg express satchel for $35 all up...... 

I see people all the time getting ripped off by AP when they could pay half as much by using a satchel.......

[hstust-j6jk548l]

UPDATE:

Hi everyone, thank you very much for your responses and advice, it has been greatly appreciated.

I offered the seller to split the freight 50/50 after getting feedback from this post. I received no direct reply to my offer in response to this. After several days of not hearing from the seller and no activity, I then requested to cancel the item and had to organise to buy the item locally due to my business commitments (of which this item is imperative and there was no way it was going to be able to arrive in a viable time frame now).

The seller then responded that he had found a courier to ship the item for $55 additional postage. He did not elaborate any information regarding the courier and no time frame, but instead said he would get back to me when he found out. He did not address my request to cancel in this purchase at all.

It has been 4 days since he said he would get back to me, and now past the estimated delivery date. I have just received a new message from the seller refusing to cancel my purchase and is now telling me that I need to transfer an additional $40 to his personal bank account by 3pm tomorrow so the courier can get it to me mid-next week.

I would appreciate it if someone could please inform me of how to proceed from this situation. As it stands, I feel that I have been reasonable and patient but I am now in financial distress because of having to reorder this item locally in order to guarantee that I can fulfil my business obligation to by customers in the time frame that was allowed for when I originally purchased this item from this seller.
Thank you, kind regards