I have quite a few problems dealing with sellers on eBay who have poor communication skills or have no idea what they are doing. I bought a near complete set of Nancy Drew books this week. The auction page listed $25.00 shipping via UPS Ground. I did not know what it would actually cost to mail the books via UPS, but I did know that a complete set of Nancy Drew books can be mailed via media mail for less than $25.00. The shipping was within what would be considered normal for a set of Nancy Drew books, so I gave it no thought.
I paid, and after the seller shipped the books, he contacted me. He told me that he shipped the books via UPS and that the box weighed 31 pounds. He then told me that media mail costs $10.75 for the first 10 pounds and $2.00 for each additional pound and that he had to pay the difference himself.
His comments confused me. He mentioned media mail, which does not cost $10.75 for the first 10 pounds and $2.00 for each additional pound. Media mail is only $12.73 for a package that weighs 31 pounds. Also, UPS does not offer media mail, so why would he mention media mail?
I don't even know what the seller paid to ship the books. Why not come out and say it? He knows what the dollar amount is. I don't. If the shipping amount was $10.75 for the first 10 pounds and $2.00 for each additional pound, then he paid $52.75.
I went to the UPS site and downloaded their shipping rate tables. It appears that the seller used UPS 3 Day Select to mail the books, since 1o pounds to Zone 2 costs $10.75. This is assuming of course that I am in Zone 2. I do not if UPS does zones the way the USPS does. If the seller used UPS 3 Day Select, I noticed that the cost only went up less than a dollar for each additional pound. I can find nothing anywhere on the UPS rate tables to match up with the seller's comments.
What gets me is that the listing stated UPS Ground. Why wouldn't the seller have shipped UPS ground? From the UPS rate tables, the package could have been shipped via UPS Ground for under $25.00, assuming that I am in Zone 2. Additionally, did the seller go to one of those shipping places like Mail and More to ship the package? Those places always charge exorbitant rates. I only use those places when I have to mail something like an appliance which weighs too much to mail USPS.
Transactions like this one really get on my nerves. I gathered from the seller's message that he is not very happy about the postage cost. However, it was his choice to mail the package via a more expensive method than necessary. I want to tell the seller this, but I decided to ignore the message. No matter how I try to state it, I'm going to sound a bit snippy.
It is the seller's fault when the seller charges too little for shipping or when the seller accidentally ships the package at a higher rate. I sometimes undercharge for postage and get an unpleasant surprise when I weigh the package. It is my fault, and I do not mention it to the buyer.
One time earlier this year, I had a package to send media mail to someone in the military serving overseas. The clerk told me that I could not send the package via media mail because "they have no way to get it over there." I was quite taken aback and did not believe this was true. Really, I knew it was not true, but the clerk sounded ever so believable. I thought that perhaps the USPS had changed a regulation recently without my knowledge.
I had to pay around $15.00 priority mail for the package, and I had only charged the buyer around $4.00 for postage. When I got home and thought about it some more, I realized that the clerk was full of it and that I should have asked for a supervisor. The USPS ships the military-bound packages via whatever method the sender uses to the military. The military does not care whether the package was sent media mail. The military will airlift the package to its destination. I messed up by believing a clueless clerk, and I took the loss. It was not my buyer's fault.
6 comments:
While the prices for Nancy Drew on eBay seem to have settled back down recently, I had a few of my own auctions (extras I've acquired or replaced in better condition) end this week for far more than I had anticipated. Some of them I'm so puzzled by, that I'm concerned that the buyers are mistaken in what they believe they are getting. With the changes, unhappy buyers are a dangerous thing. Any thoughts on these in particular?
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All I can say is that I won't be selling matte PCs in lots for awhile--those have NEVER done as well as these single listings. I just hope the buyer on the first auction wasn't careless and believed both books to have four glossy illustrations. Should I ask before sending?
You may want to ask on the first book, just to be safe. That particular person was trying to sell very early Nancy Drew books at exorbitant prices. For that reason, I would be concerned.
My most unhappy buyers have always been people who have been buying to resell. Sometimes they do not read all of the description and then they complain about the flaws. If she was buying to resell, then she may have wanted books with all four internals.
I noticed last night that matte PC auctions are ending at very high prices. Doc-h had some PCs close at around $40.00, like a first of Moonstone Castle. I couldn't believe it. A number of others closed for between $20.00 and $40.00. The person who won your Leaning Chimney won quite a few of doc-h's PC auctions. There must be several people who want the PCs right now and do not care how much they pay. I think it is way too high, but they must not.
In the past, I had a woman e-mail me about a lot of matte PCs to ask the year they were each printed in (despite listing the final books on the back covers in the description) because she was trying to recreate the collection from her own childhood in the early to mid-sixties. So I suppose there are people out there looking for those specific books. And I've certainly gotten away from buying lots to get what I want, even if it's a better price, just because I hate the hassle of doing something with all the extras.
I have contacted the first buyer, but haven't heard back yet. I'm hoping she doesn't want a refund, as it would be her own mistake, but I'm not optimistic.
I hope everything works out okay with your buyer. Sometimes people buying to resell pay more than what we would expect and pay more than what they can get for the books. The goal is to keep a big enough stock in order to maintain powerseller status rather than make a profit on each book.
There is one seller who routinely buys early Nancy Drew books for $50.00 to $150.00 and usually lists them at $9.99 with no reserve. Usually it pays off, but sometimes the books sell at a loss. I could not do that.
I'm going to keep buying lots so that I can sell the extras, assuming that I am able to continue to sell at all. As each day passes, I become more convinced that my 30-day DSRs are not accurate. It looks like I will have to switch IDs in order to sell Nancy Drew books. I refuse to sell Nancy Drew books with a lowered search exposure. My extras are piling up as I wait for feedback on my new ID.
The buyer claims that yes, those are the books she wanted. I'm relieved, if a little confused as to why she'd pay so much. Especially if she has the intention of reselling.
It seemed to just be an oddly good week. I had a 1940s pulp paper G&D dj edition of Beverly Gray, Freshman go for more than $20, and an Hachette Bibliotheque Verte edition of Alice et le pigeon voyageur go for $34--I've never paid more than $5-7 for one of those. I think the secret there is that they tend to be listed by Canadian sellers under the French author name and title without explaining the Nancy connection.
And, as a final note on this week's experience, I received a message AFTER a buyer won several auctions stating the following: "If you have not sent books before please wrap the book tightly with something bulky, bubble wrap or multiple layers of tissue paper work well. Then PLEASE USE A BOX, NOT A LARGE PAPER MAILER. I am not happy when my books arrive with smashed corners, and they ALWAYS do unless a box has been used."
While I agree with the sentiment (and this is how I send books--I usually state this directly), it seems a bit presumptuous to demand this, instead of just asking me before bidding about how I pack, if I can pack it a certain way, etc. Not to mention I clearly id myself as someone who primarily buys books and would presumably be concerned with the condition they arrive in and have feedback as a seller, so I've obviously sent books before. This is just an excerpt, and the tone of the message as a whole was rather rude.
I only make special packaging requests when the book is something extremely special to me or when I am purchasing a flat item, like a poster. Most people seem to think they can stick a mint condition poster or photo in a large envelope without cardboard backing and that it will arrive in mint condition. For some reason, my bills always arrive in mint condition, but collectible items in large envelopes are always trashed.
There are a few collectors of series books who do not know how to package books. Some of these people are the first ones to kick and scream when something is not as they want it.
I had a person buy a book to resell. He did not read the description carefully, and so was not pleased with the book when he received it. He felt that a blemish to the cover was worse than expected, so he could not sell the book. Since the camera flash did effectively hide the extent of the blemish, I agreed for him to return the book for a refund. At the same time, I was not happy with him for carelessly buying a book that was clearly not perfect, when he sells ones that are close to perfect.
A week passed, and he asked me if I had received the book. I had not. Another week passed, and he asked again. I then asked him whether he used delivery confirmation and how he packaged the book. He did not use delivery confirmation and used a bubble mailer instead of repacking the book in the box I had used(?!).
He knew as soon as he opened the box that he was not pleased. Why did he discard the box? Why did he not use delivery confirmation? I have always felt that if he had used the original box that the book would have come back to me.
Another week or two passed with him pestering me. Finally, I refunded his money only to be rid of him. I can't remember what the deal was, but I was under a bit of stress and wanted him to go away. I did not owe him a refund because I never received the book. I put him on my blocked bidder list. Each time I see one of his auctions, I feel a tinge of annoyance.
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