TUESDAY'S TERROR: THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING BARGAIN
You won that adorable "Boy and Pig" Hummel figurine for a fantastic price. Now the seller is demanding £30 just to ship it. Suddenly, your fabulous deal is turning into a frightful rip-off. Talk about Jekyll and Hyde!
CAN THIS NIGHTMARE BE SOLVED? Yes!
This is one case where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. You essentially agreed when you bid that you would pay whatever the seller thought was fair. It pays to do your homework:
1. Work it out.
Using eBay's postage calculator can protect you from some nasty surprises later. For example, that it doesn't cost more to send the item than it did to buy it.
Using eBay's postage calculator can protect you from some nasty surprises later
2. Ask the seller.
If there's no postage calculator, you're either dealing with a novice seller or one who was planning to pad the fees after the auction closed. In that case, you'll need to send the seller a question asking for an estimate of postage costs to someone in your postcode. If the seller won't agree to a postage price prior to sale, you should probably steer clear of them.
3. Hold onto your money.
If the postage fee is more than you agreed to fork out, you can refuse to pay. You should notify the seller of your intent not to pay and see if you can reach a mutual agreement to not complete the transaction. If the seller doesn't agree, eBay can nullify the transaction without penalty to either party. eBay has a well-established procedure regarding unpaid items; familiarise yourself with it before you enter into a dispute.
4. Watch your (feed) back.
If you don't pay, the seller may give you a negative feedback rating, which could mess up your eBay street cred. If this happens to you, file a grievance with eBay. You'll find a contact form on eBay's help page. In cases where the fees were truly unreasonable, eBay will help you recover from the bad rating.
