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lisnup65
02-09-2005, 02:49 PM
I recently won an Ebay auction for some misc parts. I checked the calulator for shipping and it said $22.00 to my home zip and $11.00 to my work zip. Now these are 3.5 miles apart. So anyways, I figured the $11.00 was fair and bid. Well I won the parts for $5.00 and went to Paypal the guy. I received the auto link from Paypal/ebay and proceeded to pay. Well it now recalculated the shipping to $35.00!!!!!!!!
I am awaiting response from the seller, but I will surely tell him to take a flying F&^%^% if he thinks that is what he is getting for 12lbs of parts.
I went to the UPS website and entered 16lbs to allow for packaging. Put in his zip, my zip(home), UPS on call pick up, residental address, etc, and the total was only $15.??. Now that was enetering the most expensive way you could ship via UPS besides 3day, 2nd day, or overnight.

So whats the deal, is the calculator screwed or is this guy trying to compensate for the low auction close?

Howdy
02-09-2005, 04:48 PM
It sounds like he is doing something. Get a screen shot of the shipping calculator on the auction and then email it to him and ask him why there is such a difference in cost. Maybe he will recalculate.
Howdy

TimSr
02-09-2005, 04:57 PM
Go back to the orginal auction page and check the cost in the shipping calculator from there.
There is no way that I know of that a seller can minipulate the calculator. You also cannot change it to take into account a business address. The only thing a seller can do is add handling charges, which he must do at the time he sets the auction up, so that it will show up in any calculator check thereafter, including ebay checkout.
Its not unusual to have up to $2-3 difference in the same general area if one zip is classified as rural. $11.00 difference is unheard of.
The best thing to do is check it from the auction page, and contact the seller for a shipping quote, and see whether or not they match beofre assuming he is trying to hose you.

lisnup65
02-09-2005, 08:29 PM
Here is a copy paste from the Ebay email with the total:

Thank you for your purchase. The total for your item below is US $16.84.

But when I try and pay its $39.96

x.system
02-09-2005, 08:39 PM
Go straight to your paypal account and click on send money, then pay for ebay items and see if it does the same thing.

lisnup65
02-11-2005, 09:56 AM
Just an update, I went to Paypal and sent payment with the send money button instead of using the Ebay link. I enetred the amount from the ebay invoice and the guy shipped the goods. Not sure why he would not complain if he added that large of an upcharge.

LonesomeTriZ
02-11-2005, 10:15 AM
I have had the same problem with those calculators. Do not trust them. Get a quote from the seller, and if possible ask for U.S. Mail. it is a lot cheaper and less of a hassle than dealing with all the additional charges UPS throws in.

TimSr
02-11-2005, 10:31 AM
if possible ask for U.S. Mail. it is a lot cheaper and less of a hassle than dealing with all the additional charges UPS throws in.

Yeah those stupid things like tracking and insurance! USPS is great for the buyer. Its cheaper, and you can still hold the seller repsonsible when you dont get the services included in a typical UPS or Fedex parcel. If you are a seller, its well worth your while to use a full service shipper so you know exactly where it is, and when it got there. USPS optional tracking is a joke. USPS is good for small lightweight items that arent worth more than a few dollars, and wont kill you if they get lost. If its worth anything, use a full service shipper, especilaly if you're a seller, or youll get all the headaches while the buyer gets the benefits. There is a good reason businesses and catalog order companies, rarely use USPS. I woudl only use USPS for small cheap items, or overseas and AK HI shipping.

LonesomeTriZ
02-11-2005, 10:34 AM
Lareg items I agree. I do not think the U.S. Mail is equiped very well to handle them. However, I have seen a staedy inprovement lately. but they still have a ways to go before reaching the capabilities of the private companies.

jenndnn3
02-11-2005, 10:38 AM
You can still track em at USPS. You just have to pay extra.

TimSr
02-11-2005, 10:50 AM
USPS does have tracking for a fee, but its horrible.

83200e
02-11-2005, 11:39 AM
USPS does have tracking for a fee, but its horrible.

That's an understatement.Half of the time I receive my package before the online tracking even shows it being shipped. The extra cost for UPS is usually worth it to me.