Free postage or not?

kay0601 · 31 March 2018 at 11:34PM

Hi all,

Hoping I can make use of your eBay knowledge.

I've ordered a lot tv unit that was listed as having free p&p to the part of Scotland I'm in. The listing stated postage would be by other courier in 3-5 days so I assumed it would be here yesterday (I ordered on the 23rd). Today I've gone into my eBay to look into it and send a message asking for details of delivery and I've been told it's a 20 working day dispatch time plus an extra £40 for delivery to Scotland.

I asked how that was possible and was told it's in the listing. I've looked at it and it does say that at the very bottom so I know it looks like I have to pay it if I want the item.

However, I looked into eBay's help pages and they were going on about setting additional delivery charges for special areas and I don't live in the highlands or islands so wondered if this was a way to circumvent eBay's rules.

I then went on to the live chat and the person I spoke with told me it was fine to pay if the seller sends me a PayPal invoice and I have wanted to see if this is accurate as it sounds like I'd be making a purchase off eBay and I don't fancy being in trouble for this. I also struggled to get the csa to understand I wasn't impressed that I would be unable to leave anything it 5stars for p&p. They insisted I'd be able to put whatever score I wanted as I'd be paying the postage.

Can anyone explain this to me? Thanks!

Brynsam · 1 April 2018 at 12:18AM

Taking your points in turn:

'Postage by other courier in 3-5 days' means working days and doesn't take into account the seller's dispatch time. Even if they sent it the day your ordered, 5 working days from 23 March would be Tuesday 3 April.

A 20 day dispatch time is excessive, even if the listing says it will take that long to send - sounds as if they are drop shipping.

CS isn't noted for getting things right. I'd cancel the deal and ask for your money back, then start again - perhaps with a seller who can send more quickly, assuming someone else is selling the same item.

theonlywayisup · 1 April 2018 at 7:05AM

Brynsam wrote: »

Taking your points in turn:

'Postage by other courier in 3-5 days' means working days and doesn't take into account the seller's dispatch time. Even if they sent it the day your ordered, 5 working days from 23 March would be Tuesday 3 April.

A 20 day dispatch time is excessive, even if the listing says it will take that long to send - sounds as if they are drop shipping.

CS isn't noted for getting things right. I'd cancel the deal and ask for your money back, then start again - perhaps with a seller who can send more quickly, assuming someone else is selling the same item.

To add my two-penneth - the seller is in the wrong here. If it isn't a substantial amount of money (ie you can afford to have it tied up for a short period), I would pay the auction amount and NOT the extra £40.

Then I would wait for the seller to act. If they cancel for any other reason than out of stock (giving them a defect) I would refuse the cancellation.

The only way to educate some bad sellers is to hit them where it hurts - in the dashboard.

Paying gives you a way to leave factual feedback, a chance of getting your item if the seller doesn't know how to avoid the defect and the satisfaction that knowing the seller has been caused additional work (and slight expense).

Rosemary7391 · 1 April 2018 at 8:16AM

Brynsam wrote: »

Taking your points in turn:

'Postage by other courier in 3-5 days' means working days and doesn't take into account the seller's dispatch time. Even if they sent it the day your ordered, 5 working days from 23 March would be Tuesday 3 April.

A 20 day dispatch time is excessive, even if the listing says it will take that long to send - sounds as if they are drop shipping.

CS isn't noted for getting things right. I'd cancel the deal and ask for your money back, then start again - perhaps with a seller who can send more quickly, assuming someone else is selling the same item.

Just a heads up for non Scots - Good Friday is a normal delivery day at least in Glasgow so some couriers will deliver then (and Saturday if that's a working day for them). I got post yesterday from RM too. So OP's expectation might be reasonable if it was same day dispatch depending on the courier.

It sounds like the OP has paid and seller has just sat and not posted it yet though... that's poor form!

kay0601 · 1 April 2018 at 8:53PM

Thanks for the comments guys. It's a tv unit with cupboards to go either side and cost £349.99. I've not seen an identical one otherwise I'd cancel it. I'm going to try phoning eBay on Tuesday to see what they say as the seller is saying they won't dispatch without me paying the extra money. It was paid on my partner's 0% credit card so I'm not fussed waiting for a bit to see how it goes.

soolin · 2 April 2018 at 10:42AM

kay0601 wrote: »

Thanks for the comments guys. It's a tv unit with cupboards to go either side and cost £349.99. I've not seen an identical one otherwise I'd cancel it. I'm going to try phoning eBay on Tuesday to see what they say as the seller is saying they won't dispatch without me paying the extra money. It was paid on my partner's 0% credit card so I'm not fussed waiting for a bit to see how it goes.

eBay can't make the seller send it though, in reality asking eBay for advice is likely to be more frustrating than helpful. They will almost certainly give you a whol load of nonsense, which won't get you the cabinet at all.

All you can do is as above, refuse a 'mutual' claim and just get your money back, then report the seller as a non performing seller and leave appropriate feedback.

kay0601 · 24 April 2018 at 8:49PM

Hello,

Thought I'd post a quick update with what's happened so far. We ordered 23/3 and received it late 20/4 and built the units on Saturday and Sunday. There's 5 bits so it took a while as we were juggling a 4 year old and a 10 week old too.

It's missing a couple bits, namely the wall mounting brackets that go with the bits they supplied to attach to the units. They also sent a plus with a European plug rather than a U.K. One and the glass isn't the same as the picture. I messaged them Sunday and they've not replied.

I tried opening a case tonight but didn't get very far as it kept talking about printing a postage label so I got a callback from eBay who have washed their hands of it since it's over their 30 day money back guarantee.

Anyone know what the odds are of PayPal being much use in helping us to get the seller to sort us out with the right bits or are we as well giving up and buying the bits ourselves?

I'm also salty about the fact that I ended up paying the £40 delivery charge because it was that or not get the item and I can't leave a 1 star review since the listing said free p&p !!!128548;

soolin · 24 April 2018 at 8:56PM

kay0601 wrote: »

Hello,

Thought I'd post a quick update with what's happened so far. We ordered 23/3 and received it late 20/4 and built the units on Saturday and Sunday. There's 5 bits so it took a while as we were juggling a 4 year old and a 10 week old too.

It's missing a couple bits, namely the wall mounting brackets that go with the bits they supplied to attach to the units. They also sent a plus with a European plug rather than a U.K. One and the glass isn't the same as the picture. I messaged them Sunday and they've not replied.

I tried opening a case tonight but didn't get very far as it kept talking about printing a postage label so I got a callback from eBay who have washed their hands of it since it's over their 30 day money back guarantee.

Anyone know what the odds are of PayPal being much use in helping us to get the seller to sort us out with the right bits or are we as well giving up and buying the bits ourselves?

I'm also salty about the fact that I ended up paying the £40 delivery charge because it was that or not get the item and I can't leave a 1 star review since the listing said free p&p !!!128548;

You can open a PayPal claim but if you are successful you would need to return the whole lot at your own cost fully tracked and insured.

kay0601 · 25 April 2018 at 12:24AM

soolin wrote: »

You can open a PayPal claim but if you are successful you would need to return the whole lot at your own cost fully tracked and insured.

So basically the eBay rep I spoke to wasn't being truthful and just said whatever to get rid of me? !!!128580; Thanks for letting me know in advance.

chancesare_2 · 25 April 2018 at 6:52AM

Use Paypal Returns On Us (google it) for a link to get £15 towards your postage. Please ensure you heed the advice and ensure it is a fully tracked method.

soolin · 25 April 2018 at 8:19AM

kay0601 wrote: »

So basically the eBay rep I spoke to wasn't being truthful and just said whatever to get rid of me? !!!128580; Thanks for letting me know in advance.

Actually I've just realised you are within the 30 days guarantee for ebay!

The 30 days starts when item is delivered, so if it was delivered on 20/4/18 you have plenty of time. Also, the bit about printing off a label suggests that the SNAD claim was successful and the label was being supplied by ebay, so you might want to check that as well.

I have got a bit confused though so to be clearer if you don't have a SNAD claim open , then get one open on ebay now - if it doesn't work use the delivery confirmation to explain to ebay that you are within the time limit for a claim.

Keep phoning ebay or using live chat until such time that you get someone who understands their time limits. The 'hook' to use is the wrong plug angle, keep on at them about that as that is not legal in the UK.

Free postage or not?

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