What Would YOU Do?

[mrmopar]

First off, this is minor issue in every way you look at it and I am not bitching for once, but I am curious to get some feedback as to what some of YOU think is the BEST or CORRECT resolution, based on your own personal experiences either as a seller and/or a buyer. I don't mind spending 5-10 minutes thinking about and writing this thread, because I often like to dig deeper into things, even if it is just for closure on my end. This happened on ebay, by the way. I am keeping it purposefully generic, as I believe I have shared all the relevant information needed to make a decision.

• I notice a card I want and it is listed BIN at a price I feel is actually lower than the current market, probably by at least $5 or more. The purchase price is around $13. I do not recall buying from this seller before, so consider him a new seller to me.
• I happily & immediately use BIN and pay for the card. The shipping is $0.99. I assume it will be sent either in a PWE or maybe through the standard trading card method. I am fine with that. In fact, I would have been fine with a bubble mailer price like $4 as well, but I like to save on postage when I can.
• Item arrives today in a thin bubble mailer. The envelope has 2 forever stamps on it. The carrier delivers it to my door and says it's $2.84 postage due, if I want it!
• I pay the postage due, which is the first time I have done so. I am guessing maybe he won't leave them postage due in my box anymore, as I have never paid for a postage due before. Maybe one of our resident postal carries can confirm, I have heard the carriers pay out of pocket for those and need the customer to pay to be even, which makes 0 sense to me, but maybe it is true.

So, what do you think about this situation? Do you reach out to the seller or just move on without further comment and if you do reach out, what do you say?

I am now out $3.84 for postage (actual cost apparently). I would have willingly paid that for shipping, but I also would have expected it to arrive in a bubble mailer (which it did). Even at the purchase price plus the added postage, I am happy with the price.

POSTSCRIPT: I have already done (or didn't do) what I felt was the right thing. I will not change my decision, regardless of the answers I receive. Just looking to see how others might perceive this situation and if others may handle it differently. No judgement towards any answer from me. I will disclose how I handled it shortly, hopefully after a few other difference perspectives on it are shared.

 

[michaelstepper]

I've had postage due on several items sent at the flat rate cost.
Not $2+ but I've sent a message stating I received the card in good condition but their shipping cost should be updated as I had to pay more Upon arrival

 

[banjar]

Yeah, every now and then I too have cards that arrive postage due. But I am at a point in my life where, for an occasional annoyance like this, I just pay it and move on.

If it was a chronic problem I'd probably spend more effort to get to the root of it, and demand the sellers pay me back. Or if it's a post office error (which I believe has been the case a couple times), visit them and get to the bottom of it. But for a couple bucks here and there, I just pay it and move on.

 

[jszczech]

I just had this happen a couple months ago. I paid the postage, took a picture of the envelope and asked the seller to refund me the postage. He sent me a refund and it was over.

 

[swish54_99]

I had a similar experience. I bought a card a handful of years back that was $15 or so with shipping of $5 bringing the total up to about $20, which I thought was high, but factored it into the final cost and it was about where the card should sell for. They essentially had a lower card price, but with higher shipping, it evened out. It showed up with in a bubble mailer with two forever stamps and postage due of $3 or $4. Long story short, the sellers story was I was dealing with a mom of a young son who just wanted to sell a few cards of his to make a few bucks. This was their first sale (they didn't have anything else listed or sold) and a family member gave them bad advice that a couple stamps should "cover it" and the rest of the postage charge was for their time/effort/supplies. After a quick facebook search, I feel like I verified their story of a mom helping her young son. They ended up refunding a couple dollars after I explained I wasn't out to hurt their feedback on their first sale, I just wanted it corrected. They weren't being very helpful/knowledgable of ebay etiquette (which I felt also verified their story of someone who doesn't do ebay often and was just doing a quick favor for their son) and it wasn't worth my time/effort to pursue for only a buck or two so I moved on and haven't thought about it until now.

 

[tramers]

I use a flat white envelope 5x7 -- card in top loader plus several junk cards / team bag ebay label under one dollar tracked at main PO --- i have a small local PO that can't scan this but next stop scanned . PO might not scan till last stop . This is for cards under $20.00 over that i use bubble mailer about $3.00 shipping scanned at local .

 

[mrmopar]

Thanks to those who left feedback.

As I stated, I would have been OK paying more for shipping. I hate to say it, but I am used to $4-5 shipping fees now. I am glad that I feel the desire to collect fading though, as the costs seem to be rising much steeper in the last decade or so. I would probably choke on seeing how much I have spent just to have items shipped to me in 20+ years on ebay. I am fairly certain it is well above what someone newer or less dedicated collectors have paid for their entire collections. I do factor shipping (and tax) into what I am willing to pay though, so when the price of a card it approaching my max, I need to look harder at the "hidden" costs. In this case, I felt the card (even with shipping) was under priced, i.e I still got a good deal.

I also factor in what the seller pays for shipping. If someone charges me a larger amount, but pockets the difference and ships cheap, that pisses me off. Combined shipping is also a major pet peeve of mine. I get covering your costs, but that 50 cents or $1 per extra card is complete ********. Adding a few cards doesn't increase your cost anywhere near that. It's a small profit scam. Shipping is a necessary evil of online buying, but sellers should not be making any profit off of it, in my opinion. In this case, the seller spent about a buck and charged me a buck. Any overage I ended up paying went straight to the USPS.

In the end, I messaged the seller and explained that the card arrived postage due. I indicated I was fine with the outcome but suggested that they either consider upping their postage fee or switch to shipping in a PWE, as some buyers may react much differently. In the end, I paid what it took to get the card to me and the seller was reimbursed for their costs.

They have not yet responded to my message. i do like to see people acknowledge my messages (regardless of how it is received), but I left it in such a way that they could ignore it and that would be fine. I didn't ask for anything, other than to consider their future shipping practices and their future customers.

 

[Philip J. Fry]

This happened to me as well. It wasn't the seller's fault though, because they shipped my cards in a bubble mailer via PayPal shipping. Their post office accepted it and it made it's way to my small town without issue. However, my post office decided to measure the mailer and found that it should've been sent as a thick package (or whatever they called it, trying to justify why they charged me postage due). So, before I could get my cards, I had to pay an extra $2.50 for that. Now, this is a seller I've bought from before and never had an issue in the past. But I did bring it up to them so they could potentially avoid future feedback from other buyers. I didn't ask for a refund even when they offered; however, about a week later I received another bubble mailer from them with some extra cards for my collection and a handwritten apology.

 

[Austin]

In the end, I messaged the seller and explained that the card arrived postage due. I indicated I was fine with the outcome but suggested that they either consider upping their postage fee or switch to shipping in a PWE, as some buyers may react much differently.

I think you did the right thing and I would have done the same.

 

[mrmopar]

The seller did reply and felt back, even said they felt like they owed me the overage. I declined and said it was fair for me to pay it. Just advised him again to be careful moving forward with bubble mailers.

 

[jaderock]

And what kind feedback did you leave?

This happens every so often except where I live, San Francisco, they leave this note and I have to drive to the USPS Carrier Annex, where there is NO retail outlet/services. You must pay at another post office before arriving OR have exact change. Once you get the package there is no receipt (they’ll mail one to you if needed). So it is a hassle. I continually have this issue with one Beckett Marketplace seller who provides budget shipping (a rarity). Each time it happens I send them a photo of tag/package and ask for a refund of the additional postage which they do.

 

[jaderock]

As luck would have it, it happened today as well. Seller labeled it 1oz when it was 1lb and 7oz with $11.10 due. Postal driver was apologetic and questioned whether I should accept it or not. I paid and contacted the seller who repaid me. A case where you definitely should get reimbursed.