seller saying postage wrong

Contains_Mild_Peril

carolwat wrote: »

I have just won an auction on ebay and I did thought the postage was on the low side but though ok maybe they are going to use a courier or something. I have now received an email saying the following:

You have just won my sons golf set on ebay , Only problem is he has totally put the wrong cost of postage to yourself for this item,
He is only 12years old and had no idea how much this would cost to post to you, We are in Scotland and as you are aware this would
cost alot more than £4.95.

Look forward to hearing from you

---

What should I do?

I'm not really sure how to interpret that e-mail. Is the lack of an apology just plain rudeness, or does it mean they're not actually planning on refusing to sell you the item for the stated cost, but are hoping you'll offer to pay the extra postage out of the goodness of your heart?
I am surprised that they're admitting that their 12-year-old has used their account without adequate supervision. If I let my 13-year-old use my eBay account (even to buy) I will check everything carefully before allowing him to press the Submit button. If I found out he'd listed something on my account without letting me check it first, I'd give him merry Hell for it but I certainly wouldn't admit it to a customer!
How you should handle the situation mostly depends on how much you want the item.
If you're not too bothered, I would suggest sending a polite message saying that the low postage was what enticed you to bid as much as you did, and if the seller is not willing to complete the transaction, could they please let you know so that you can buy elsewhere.
If you still want to buy the item and would have been willing to pay a little more, you could suggest a compromise, and if you don't mind courier delivery, perhaps suggest one or two which may be able to deliver the golf set cheaply.
If you were feeling really mean, you could point out that children are not permitted to sell on eBay, and see if that prompts them to sell at the stated postage price.

gravitytolls

Isn't it unlikely thta any parent would allowa 12 yr old unsupervised access to an ebay account?

But
Having done so wouldn't notice the low postage, or have endeavoured to suggest a postage fee?

soolin

gravitytolls wrote: »

Isn't it unlikely thta any parent would allowa 12 yr old unsupervised access to an ebay account?

But
Having done so wouldn't notice the low postage, or have endeavoured to suggest a postage fee?

This is where all those 'sorry my son bid by accident' excuses come from. People do strange things with their internet security, and yet if that same son made a mistake with bidding on something I bet they would soon be on here moaning at how bad ebay is for allowing them to be negged for not going through with a purchase because they didn't expect their son to be able to place a bid.

asharon

Just reply saying your 12 year old son was bidding and shouldn't have. But hey you might as well complete the auction at the agreed prices.

carolwat

Thank you for all the advice. I chose to be very reasonable as my husband really wanted these golf clubs quickly. I offered to pay £15 postage which is pretty much what everyone else is asking when they have clubs listed. Last night I went to be and left it at the point of she was going to take the package to the post office this morning and get a price for posting. I emailed back saying just post them and I will pay now the price for the clubs plus £15 postage. If it was a great deal more I would pay the extra. Very very reasonable I think. Anyway this morning I have received the below email.

Hi i am father of said 12 yr old.i have just discovered,that without my knowledge, he has intended to sell his golt clubs.i am sorry to inform you but the clubs are NOT for sale.sorry for any inconvenience.These clubs are worth at least £300.00 so hope that you can understand my anger at him. We will no longer be using ebay to buy

or sell anything.

I am really fed up now as there were some clubs that finished last night my husband wanted to bid on and would have won considering the price they went for and he lost out as I trusted this seller to do what thy said they would do. I want to take this as far as I can now so what exactly do I need to do with ebay to start the ball rolling to report this seller. I have never had any problems before and have been using it since 2001.

Thanks again for all the advice.

edited to say I havnt actually paid for this item yet and im now worried they will say they havnt sent them because I havnt paid. I have all the emails to prove what has happened but should I pay for these by paypal now and let them refund me or leave it as it is.

freddysmith

His words were We will no longer be using ebay to buy or sell anything. (Not on that account anyway) Pay and you could risk losing your money aswell.
Personally I would drop it and move on, you will be dealing with a disfunctional family and people that don't communicate. Run a mile is my advise

carolwat

Im not prepared to just let this go and move on. They have wasted our time and gone back on a sale. They have let us hang on for days trying to sort this out and not decided not to sell. What happens if everyone just lets this type of thing go, ebay would be even worse.

badmumof1

i would just move on and forget about it
no use getting steamed up over something you are not going to get and no use damming this person that you dont really know because of his son either
another set will come along soon enough im sure

carolwat

Thats ok if you choose to believe what they are saying. As far as im concerned I think they wanted more for the clubs and are just looking for a way not to sell. This has been going on for days, do you really believe the 'father' has just found out. I find it hard to believe the 'mother' hasnt told the father before now. They were hoping I would refuse to buy because of the postage but that backfired.

I am not steamed up over it but feel they deserve some comeback for what they have done. I wont be dropping this so would appreciate some advice from people who know what my next step should be.

badmumof1

look carolwat you even said yourself in the OP that you thought the postage was a little low for the item.
you could have emailed them asking as you obviously know that its not going to cost 4.95 to post a set of golf clubs
hell i had to pay 5.00 to post a suit off and im sure a set of golf clubs weight a bit more than a jacket and skirt.
Even a courrier would do it for that price.

you also dont know what the repercussions will be for the kiddie if you do go ahead. So the mother hasnt told the father perhaps just perhaps she might have been a little scared to do this.
i dont know what the final price is but im sure by the way you are reacting they were like a real bargin and you wanna grab them now.

i hope you really look at the situtaion carefully
yes i guess they were in the wrong but at the same time you knew postage was a little low.

if you do get the item then i just hope you dont have a iggly tinky feeling that some poor kiddie has gone through hell over the last few days and i hope you enjoy using them knowing this.

sometimes in life we have to step back and look at situations in a different light rather than slapping our hands together digging our heals in and thinking oh suckers i just got the bargin of the century or one up on someone else.