Chuck Jones

I was looking at some air deflectors for my 996. I had broken them off on one of those concrete blocks they have in the parking lots...and found a set of them advertised on eBay. I emailed the fellow to confirm that they were the right part and to inquire if perhaps he could ship them for a bit less than he showed in his ad. Some of these folks charge "shipping and handling" which can sometimes be negotiated down.

Here's the reply I received, that quite truthfully, sent me reeling back a bit. Now this is somone who had quite a few sales to his credit (1331), and the response makes one wonder how he's managed to stay in business as long as he has...mind you now....I was very polite in asking about the shipping charges...and here's what I got back:

Response from porsche-dad
porsche-dad( 1331)
Positive feedback: 99.8%
Member since: Feb-22-05
Location: Germany
Registered on: www.ebay.de


Item: PORSCHE 996 CARRERA FRONT FENDER AIR CHANNELS OEM NEW (320115226513)
This message was sent while the listing was active.
porsche-dad is the seller.

Yes, it is the right part - but not availble for you after your stupid shipping charge note
________________________________________________________________

As it turns out, after his inane and totally uncalled for remarks, I contacted Sunset Porsche and was able to buy them for $10 LESS than this idiot wanted. From his demeanor, he must be running a non-profit business....because he's never going to get any business from me.

rcronin

Ebay is a great store if you see it as that, a Store.
You don't buy anything else without shopping around. Right? As you mentioned, you found the parts elsewhere for cheaper. Many people assume that on ebay that the stuff will automatically be cheaper and buy like crazy. I am not saying you specifically but most people in general.
What would be standard shipping for anything? You can't get a solid number on shipping without knowing where it's going first. The few things that I have listed for sale had a flat 20.00 charge and if I was off a little I paid the difference.
Some things that I have bought on ebay had huge shipping charges but when I pressed UPS about it, they explained that it isn't a weight thing but sometimes a size thing that costs more to ship.
This putz that you have here could have simply explained to you why he was charging what he wanted and that would have been the end of it I think. Sucks for him. Did you report him to ebay?

Ray S

He clearly did not read your note in the manner that you intended.

How did you pose your question?

springgeyser

LOL, I was going to buy from that seller also.

I rec'd inappropriate seller responses to simple questions also on Ebay. e.g. Can we combine shipping on multiple items? I just don't buy anything from them.

ElTorrente

Sorry but that's funny to me.

Macho Belly

Many ebay sellers build profit into their shipping charges to avoid paying ebay fees on sales amount. It seems like a rip off but it's common practice.

Ray S

My $0.02. If someone contacted me during an e-bay sale and asked me to reduce my listed shipping (this has never happened to me btw) I would politely decline. I think it is a bit presumptuous for a buyer to contact a seller and ask he or she to change the terms of their sale. After all, if you don't like their terms no one is forcing you to bid. Additionally, why would they want to reduce those fees to you when another buyer may find them prefectly reasonable.

His response seems awfully harsh to me, but you did not post the wording of your original question in the thread.

ArneeA

I just had a rude seller recently. I bought a fisheye camera lens last week. This week, I asked if it was shipped. They send me an automated email on 05/15 telling me it was shipping then on 05/16, they send me a personal email telling me to be patient.

I fire another email to clarify if it HAS been shipped due to the conflicting emails from them. The owner sends me a nasty email on how they are tired of stupid emails asking if the items have shipped. Until then did I realize that this guy has had NUMEROUS negative feedback on shipping and hostile emails.

F'in ebay.

AsianImage

I would have to disagree with this thought. Ebay is an open auction..a swapmeet if you want to think of it that way. These people are not corporations or brick and mortar stores with rent and overhead etc. A simple question asking for any discounts is not out of line. Especially, if you are buying more than one item. I know people add to their shipping to offset costs from Ebay I understand that...but I dont want to get gouged either. So dropping a simple message to ask should be part of doing business. if you are soooo offended by the question, you are in the wrong "business." If adding costs to your shipping is NORMAL Ebay process...so should inquiring for shipping and/or combined shipping discounts.

I once bought 2 CDs from one seller...each CD he was charging $5 a pop for shipping. I asked for a combined..discount he said no. When I finally got my CDs they were shipped TOGETHER and postage was like $3...when I paid $10. Is that really fair? So if he can do that...I have no problems asking for a discount.

99 C4

I actually had a similar situaton with this seller where I contacted him about the shipping charges. He sent me a nasty answer like " any more stupid comments like this and that he was going to report me to ebay". So we exchanged a few unpleasant words over email - but the crests he was selling i could not find anywhere else so I was forced to buy from him. Although we had the altercation over email he still sent the product prompt as promised. His shipping is expensive because the stuff is shipped from Germany not USA.

Wellardmac

I see shipping inflation all the time.

I just bought an item that I was charged $5, but in reality the shipping cost $1 and the envelope less than that. I've frequently been charged $15 or so on shipping that was less then $5. As others have said, it's a way of them inflating the price without ebay or the buyer really noticing.

I had one experience where I was going to buy the splitter for my aero kit bumper from an ebay seller. The price was $50, he wanted to charge $120 shipping. Something wrong with that picture when you consider that it's thin strip of lightwieght plastic.

As in all cases, shop around and make sure you read the small print.

wrljet

I asked him if his clear 3rd brake lights were OEM or Chinese and got a snotty answer as well.

Bill

Ray S

Fair???? Are you serious? E-bay is an auction site. Sellers are trying to get the maximum amount for their goods and shipping is often part of the price they intend to profit from. You asked for a reduced rate and he declined. You voluntarily decided to make the purchase anyway. Seems very fair to me. If it was not "fair" why did you bid?

You do realize that individuals and businesses sometimes make money on shipping?

Look at it another way, suppose someone list an item and he doesn't get as much as the item is really worth. Is that fair? What if a seller underestimated shipping cost to your location and it was going to cost twice as much as he listed. He contacts you and demands you pay the extra shipping charges. Is it fair for him to demand a higher rate than what he listed.

I guess I just don't see it your way. It is a voluntary purchase. If you feel it is "unfair" walk away

Wellardmac

+1

J-RAD

Hope you provided negative feedback before moving on.