Does this deserve a neg?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

The answer to this is to ask before buying if a seller combines. Those that are happy to do so usually state they will in the listing, those who don't state this either don't do it or are inexperienced.

Yes paying £6 and the seller only paying £2 (plus packaging of course) isn't the best service but nothing was agreed and if the OP made one payment then that would suggest one parcel.

There are poor sellers on eBay and the best way to deal with this issue is to avoid them, a lot of people pick the cheapest seller and are then surprised when the item and/or service isn't great.

In this case eBay have the tools for the buyer to complain, low scores for P&P stars (should you feel the need considering how much damage they can do especially to smaller sellers), if the item was as described and sent within the time stated I would leave a positive, if other aspects of the transaction were poor then a neutral calling them out.

P&P costs seem to be a very sensitive subject for eBay shoppers and any seller clearly 'over charging' is setting themselves up for trouble but generally you can't have a cheap item and cheap postage, the sellers over charging would have to increase their price if they lowered their P&P costs.

Personally I avoid sellers who over charge, main reason being if they are happy to break the rules to avoid a few pence on fees, what will their service be like if something goes wrong?

podcake

ludovico wrote: »

The answer to this is to ask before buying if a seller combines. Those that are happy to do so usually state they will in the listing, those who don't state this either don't do it or are inexperienced.

Yes paying £6 and the seller only paying £2 (plus packaging of course) isn't the best service but nothing was agreed and if the OP made one payment then that would suggest one parcel.

There are poor sellers on eBay and the best way to deal with this issue is to avoid them, a lot of people pick the cheapest seller and are then surprised when the item and/or service isn't great.

In this case eBay have the tools for the buyer to complain, low scores for P&P stars (should you feel the need considering how much damage they can do especially to smaller sellers), if the item was as described and sent within the time stated I would leave a positive, if other aspects of the transaction were poor then a neutral calling them out.

P&P costs seem to be a very sensitive subject for eBay shoppers and any seller clearly 'over charging' is setting themselves up for trouble but generally you can't have a cheap item and cheap postage, the sellers over charging would have to increase their price if they lowered their P&P costs.

Personally I avoid sellers who over charge, main reason being if they are happy to break the rules to avoid a few pence on fees, what will their service be like if something goes wrong?

this is exactly it!

the buyer bought the items and THEN asked for a discount on postage and packing.. the seller has no requirement to do that.

*WARNING SILLY EXAMPLE*

if you bought two cars new from a dealer and they each came with a delivery fee (normal for that to happen) as part of the price you wouldn't ask them to combine the delivery AFTER you signed the contract and then complain when they didn't and you had found out that both cars came on the same car transporter...

you would argue the price before and say ' i'll take two if you offer the combined shipping'. you could be disgruntled but the seller has offered EXACTLY what you agreed to....

mikey72

podcake wrote: »

this is exactly it!

the buyer bought the items and THEN asked for a discount on postage and packing.. the seller has no requirement to do that.

*WARNING SILLY EXAMPLE*

if you bought two cars new from a dealer and they each came with a delivery fee (normal for that to happen) as part of the price you wouldn't ask them to combine the delivery AFTER you signed the contract and then complain when they didn't and you had found out that both cars came on the same car transporter...

you would argue the price before and say ' i'll take two if you offer the combined shipping'. you could be disgruntled but the seller has offered EXACTLY what you agreed to....

Whereas if you bought two cars, and were told they came on individual transporters to your door, and had to pay for both, which you did, then one transporter arrived on your doorstep with both cars on, you be equally disgruntled.

Mrs_justjohn

podcake wrote: »

i would not hesitate to leave bad feedback (indeed, I have on a couple of occasions, largely relating towards buyers who didnt actually pay for what they won).

LOL - You may have been a member for many years but you don't seem to have kept abreast of the rules/regulations. YOu have not been able to neg buyers for ages now:rotfl:

Having said that - I'm with you I wouldn't neg this particular seller either for the reasons I stated earlier!

podcake

mikey72 wrote: »

Whereas if you bought two cars, and were told they came on individual transporters to your door, and had to pay for both, which you did, then one transporter arrived on your doorstep with both cars on, you be equally disgruntled.

you have just tried to use my exact analogy the other way round. Say the cars were delivered each on a car transporter.. nobody said that they were each on their OWN car transporter.. ( likewise the seller didnt say that he was putting the items each in their own package)

the point is that if there is a delivery fee (P&P) for a product it doesn't matter how many of them it gets there with as long as it does.. (unless you specify the method explicitly)..

if the buyer doesn't want to pay that delivery fee then they shouldn't buy the product, or should negotiate PRIOR to committing to buy...

podcake

and at the comment RE: leaving buyers feedback, yes I am aware of that, I was simply making the point that I had left feedback in the past for those reasons.. and that I would if I were a buyer who got messed about..

Swans1912

I think if 4 parcels had been sent then there wouldn't be a problem. The problem that the OP has (which I think is justified) is the seller said they wouldn't combine postage and then decided they WOULD combine but not pass the savings onto the customer. Thats pretty bad customer service IMO and for that I'd neg all 4 items..but thats just me.

mikey72

stayingupright wrote: »

I recently bought 4 items from the same seller. I emailed him, before paying, asking if he could combine postage & send the 4 items together, and asked for a revised invoice to be sent.

He refused to do this.

I've now received the items, and they were all sent in the same package, and to be honest I'm fuming. The postage he paid was £2.00 (for the whole lot - they're quite light), but he charged £1.50 per item (which means he's up by £4.00 by combining, but didn't pass the discount on).

So what have you left in the end?