eBay calculated my Postage wrong

[teracon7]

I listed an item for international sale and eBay put a variable rate on the item. The item buyer was in the US.

eBay estimated the shipping for the item to be AU $33.38.

However, the Auspost website lists the item to cost $64.63.

The buyer of course does not want to pay this, and ! am not allowed to change the shipping. I was not aware of such a difference.

Is the $33.38 enough? Does eBay and Auspost's agreement cover the difference?

Am I Obligated to take a loss?

Thanks.

[curraone]

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@teracon7 wrote:

I listed an item for international sale and eBay put a variable rate on the item. The item buyer was in the US.

eBay estimated the shipping for the item to be AU $33.38.

However, the Auspost website lists the item to cost $64.63.

The buyer of course does not want to pay this, and ! am not allowed to change the shipping. I was not aware of such a difference.

Is the $33.38 enough? Does eBay and Auspost's agreement cover the difference?

Am I Obligated to take a loss?

Thanks.

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Nobody will cover you.   You take the loss or cancel the sale, thereby gaining a defect.   Sorry. 

[clarry100 · Accepted solution]

You could ask the buyer if they would prefer to cancel the sale instead of paying the correct amount for the postage.
If they say yes then you can cancel choosing the reason that the buyer requested the cancellation. This way you will not get a defect.
If the buyer does not respond or says no then I would just cancel choosing the reason that there's a problem with the buyer's address. There should be no defect for this either.

[papermoon.lady]

I am not a seller, but two independent sellers overseas told me that they don't list postage costs (but rather "may not post to Australia") exactly because eBay makes mistakes, particularly with overseas postage. And now many of these sellers who don't list postage costs have the additional problem that GSP is automatically added if they don't opt out of it manually.

You could still try to call eBay. I can't guarantee they will help or cover the difference, but you could try.

[curraone]

not a snowflakes chance

[phorum_junkie* · Accepted solution]

Too late for this transaction but I never relied on ebay calculated postage. I didn't quote international postage and just waited for someone to ask how much it would be to a particular destination.  If it was a  lightweight item I would sometimes quote the highest price and say there may be a discount depending on the address. If I were going to rely on eby calculated postage I would give the the measurements an extra couple of cms as then it is more likely to be right.

[shiver_me_shrimp · Accepted solution]

Go to AusPost and ask them. A lot of the time I’m charged a lot less over the counter than is stated on the website. Alternatively they have prepaid international satchels if you item fits in one.