some advice needed please

Jae71uk

hi folks hoping someone can advise me on what to do here
this morning i bid, won and paid for a moses basket on ebay postage stated that the seller would post to united kingdom and postage cost was £12

Now over 2 hours since auction finished i have received an e-mail from the seller stating that the postage price on the auction details was only for mainland england and to post to me (Western Isles Scotland) would be £27.70. He has said basically I have to e-mail him back if I still require the item or he will cancel/retract my bid if i prefer.

Now I always check auction listings for postage costs as I know things cost more to post here but nowhere on his listing did it say mainland uk only far less mainland england. Also how can he retract/cancel my bid when i have already paid for it (via paypal)?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Thanks
Janice

Moglex

Firstly, can you provide a link, or auction number.

If he stated UK pstage £12, then that is what he should provide.

Although you cannot force him to sell you the item (you have to ignore the rubbish ebay tout about you entering into a contract), you will certainly be able to report him as a non performing seller.

Jae71uk

hi moglex auction number is 320001158563

thanks
Janice

dodger65

You might suggest to him he uses this guy - who uses parcelforce 48 and covers highlands / islands of scotland it's an extra £4 if you really wanted the item maybe suggest splitting the difference with him.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4452626600&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

Moglex

Well, he's quite clearly stated the postage cost as £12 - no caveats.

Of course, it must have come as somthing of a shock to him to discover that it would actually cost over double that to post it to somewhere that is actually a part of the UK! He would make a loss on the whole deal.

Notwithstanding that, it is actually his problem, and he should take it on the chin and just learn a lesson for next time.

Or you could be kind and let him off.

I sympathise with your predicament having lived in Eire for three years and been 'persecuted' by some companies. It's funny that some will send stuff there for just a couple of quid extra, some charge extortionate amounts and some simply won't send there at all.

bleugh

parcelforce is very expensive, that item doesn't look that large, so i'd suggest getting the seller to use standard parcels (i.e. take it to the post office)
but, the seller can't just jack up postage by that amount, that is wrong

once the seller has tried royalmail rather than parcel force (they ARE different entities), then if it's much more than £12 quid, and you REALLY want the item, you could offer to meet him half way on the difference.


if the seller refuses to do anything at all, then file a non performing seller, he'll get a strike for it

you have absoloutley no obligation whatsoever to pay an increased postal charge, so, it's really up to you how you handle it

bleugh

oh, if the seller gets real grumpy, you can always go to argos and weigh one yourself, or give argos a bell and ask them to weigh it for you!!

then call royal mail

Argos Catalogue number 3760866

http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&referredURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.argos.co.uk%2Fwebapp%2Fwcs%2Fstores%2Fservlet%2FProductDisplay%3FstoreId%3D10001%26catalogId%3D4501%26productId%3D254130%26langId%3D-1&referrer=LY03X&productId=254130&params=adref%3DToys+and+baby-%3EBaby+and+nursery+equipment-%3ECots+and+nursery+furniture&langId=-1&catalogId=4501

Jae71uk

Thanks for all the quick replies :T

How do you suggest i word the reply to him as i don't want to jump right in and antagonise him with npb threats and the like?

thanks
Janice

black-saturn

It states somewhere in the rules of ebay (sorry but I cant find it now - maybe someone else can?) that the postage costs are a guide only and the seller is able to adjust the postage costs on completion of the auction appropriately. The seller has adjusted them for postage to where you live. Did you ask the seller before the auction ended if the postage would be more for where you live?

Hintza

Janice the thing is living in the Western Isles you know (or should know) that parcels cost more by all couriers except the Royal Mail. I think you should be willing to cover the extra cost incurred; with any luck the seller might decide to split the costs with you. Alternatively you could arrange your own courier to collect.

bleugh

hiya

quote something like this......

"£27 postage is an awful lot, have you tried weighing it and asking your local post office?, they will be a LOT cheaper than parcelforce

I will not be buying the item if the shipping charge is nearly £28, please check the price again, i'll meet you half way towards the extra P+P costs on top of the costs that were stated in the auction when I won the item"

i.e. you said £12 in the auction total, if it's £20 total, i'll chip in £4 extra for you"



now, if the seller replies saying 'no, it's nearly 28 quid' you can reply as you want, the important thing is that you've been nice

really, if things add up to more than 30 quid, you're better off going to argos and getting a brand new one :-)