# Need advise on an ebay situation



## jimmiroquai (Oct 3, 2014)

Hi all.  I don't post often but it seems i've hit a wall and i need some advise.  I won this bike on ebay recently:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/antique-bik...e12iIRSPy6MG012cFQ1lo%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

There was a $199 reserve price and a shipping quote for $125.  In the description, seller mentioned buyer pays actual shipping.  I decide to hold payment so the seller can get an accurate shipping quote.  Now he messages me that shipping and handling is $260 to CA!!! Now i've bought several whole bikes before and from past experience from here and elsewhere and that is the highest shipping quotation i've ever gotten.  I let him know that that is waay more than i expected and said that he can cancel and relist if he wants.  Now he wants me to pay for $20 listing fee and the 10% sale price.  I offer a compromise: I said, since shipping was waaaay more than either of us anticipated, why don't we both take a hit:  I'll take it at $400 shipped.  And he won't budge.  He now says that he has too much into it and he would only take 260 for shipping and handling.  So he IS padding the shipping costs right?  What should i do?  And i don't even want the bike that much.


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## Obi-Wan Schwinnobi (Oct 3, 2014)

Report him to ebay. That is ridiculous.  I shipped a bike through bike flights to Alabama from California for 58 bux last week....


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## Obi-Wan Schwinnobi (Oct 3, 2014)

I just sent him an email with the bikeflights info... don't give him any money. That's his responsibility not yours... even if he did now try to come down on price I'd be afraid that he has a grudge and would just throw it in the box without proper packing. ..


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## Freqman1 (Oct 3, 2014)

I don't believe he can charge you a listing fee since listing is free and the 10% fee is BS. I you both agree to cancel the auction he gets refunded the sellers fee. I'm guessing he's going to be a d!ck and try to stick you with something but I would contact Ebay point out the $125 shipping quote and see what they can do if he don't want to cancel. Lesson learned here is get the shipping quote before placing the bid. BTW through Bikeflights.com this could probably be shipped for about $60. Good luck. V/r Shawn


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## jimmiroquai (Oct 3, 2014)

*Thanks for the advise!*

Thanks!  He had such good feedback too.  I was still considering going through with my offer of 400 but you guys are right, he may just take it out on the bike out of spite.


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## vincev (Oct 3, 2014)

I paid for a bike with Pay pal in the same situation and pay pal only took out the shipping price the seller quoted.The seller wanted me to send about another $100 .Yea sure.lol


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## sfhschwinn (Oct 3, 2014)

even If he shipped fed ex it would only be about $80 maybe more on his side if he had a bike shop pack it. He is probably pissed and thinks that he had a bike worth several hundred (yeah right) and now is trying to get his money back by charging you more shipping. call ebay and report him


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## Nickinator (Oct 3, 2014)

My guess is he's pissed because he thought the bike would bring more $...so trying to get it in the form of shipping blackmail- I'd ask ebay to cancel that transaction as I think you'll get the short end of the stick in some way, like how he packs the bike.

Darcie


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## kccomet (Oct 3, 2014)

he must have an over size box, shipping has really gone up but 125 should more than cover it. if i quote a shipping price and its more ill eat it not you and on the reverse if its less well good for me time, material,gas. you seem like a good buyer willing to work it out. he seems like an ass


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## stoney (Oct 3, 2014)

I agree with Darcie.  Unless you are totally in love with the bike. Contact Ebay, explain situation with quoted shipping and shipping wanted by seller. Have them cancel it. I also feel that in some way you will get shafted. He may block you from bidding on his items ever again but no big loss.


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## jimmiroquai (Oct 3, 2014)

Seller is not budging.  Saying that he clearly stated in the description that actual shipping costs apply.  I've asked him to cancel the sale.  How do i notify ebay and have them cancel it for on the grounds of Excessive Shipping and Handling?  Take note, i haven't paid yet.  Help appreciated.

Jim


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## Obi-Wan Schwinnobi (Oct 3, 2014)

I just pmd you his response


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## wspeid (Oct 3, 2014)

There is a question and answer on the listing about this...

"Q: your listing says the bike has to be picked up but your charging $125.00 for shipping 
A: 125.00 is not right but probably close we will ship for actual cost, might even be less I dont know what it cost to ship a bike, Thanks, John"



That would seem to give you an out because clearly $400 is not "close" or "even  less" than $125.


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## Duck (Oct 3, 2014)

Obi-Wan Schwinnobi said:


> Report him to ebay. That is ridiculous.  I shipped a bike through bike flights to Alabama from California for 58 bux last week....




^^^ This^^^


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## bikewhorder (Oct 3, 2014)

I'd demand to see how he arrived at that price for shipping? Size, weight, service?  He's obviously trying to extort money from you but there's really nothing he can do, Just walk away.


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## Jeff54 (Oct 3, 2014)

jimmiroquai said:


> Hi all.  I don't post often but it seems i've hit a wall and i need some advise.  I won this bike on ebay recently:
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/antique-bik...e12iIRSPy6MG012cFQ1lo%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc
> 
> There was a $199 reserve price and a shipping quote for $125.  In the description, seller mentioned buyer pays actual shipping.  I decide to hold payment so the seller can get an accurate shipping quote.  Now he messages me that shipping and handling is $260 to CA!!! Now i've bought several whole bikes before and from past experience from here and elsewhere and that is the highest shipping quotation i've ever gotten.  I let him know that that is waay more than i expected and said that he can cancel and relist if he wants.  Now he wants me to pay for $20 listing fee and the 10% sale price.  I offer a compromise: I said, since shipping was waaaay more than either of us anticipated, why don't we both take a hit:  I'll take it at $400 shipped.  And he won't budge.  He now says that he has too much into it and he would only take 260 for shipping and handling.  So he IS padding the shipping costs right?  What should i do?  And i don't even want the bike that much.




Yup what's happened here is seller disappointed on final price, and is gouging you for more.. You''ve got power too, " He now says that he has too much into it " he's admitting that it's a gouge! 

I'd be checking his history to prove either he's done it before, or,, most likely he's shipped the same weight/box etc for $125, give that too ebay to make a case.. 

 I would not EVER buy something from anybody who tries to gouge you after auction closes, you're begging for more trouble.. Like Craig's list, I see people who are in business, maybe small and working out of home too, but basically moon-lighting on craig's list, They use the Owner section verses dealer, and for that single reason I'd never buy from them.. They're lying from the start of placing ad,, end of story.. realy stupid for that kind of craig's list seller too, because,, it's so easy to see they're lying,, only idiots buy junk from liars. 

In your case the best you can do is attempt e-bay to force the seller to ship $125, other wise, you'll end up just getting a refund.. so, hunt his sales down to show evidence inside your e-bay case,  when you open a case with e-bay.. As it stands now, even if e-bay makes him ship for $125, which is gouging for 25 bucks,, as there's no problem seller's charging for packing a dang bike 75-ship, 25 pack, but another 25 is gouging.. If he ships it now, for $125,, it will not be packed with care,, you'll get a UPS or fedex, delivered, drop, stomp, shake to be sure it's crunched  and run deal.. 

Did I mention 1st thing to do is open a case at e-pay? Do not try and bargain with him, forget his fees, that's his problem.. 

He's trying to gouge, and if you can't get him to play ball?  he gets, not just one, but 2! negative feedbacks!..

First one says seller tried to gouge you for double shipping, and after he responds to that, Bonus points!! e-bay's got a page to place a responce note. prob designed so you can disclaim a feedback, but is great to put the screws to em too!.  You get more space to say why! (grin)

Or even if he does not respond,, wait 2 weeks and add a response to your first negative feedback.. (yeah you can do that too. )

Liars, cheats and thieves have no place in anonymous, internet sales.  And I never hesitate to put neg feedback on e-bay!,, it's the only way others stand a chance against bums. 

You''ve got power too, " He now says that he has too much into it " he's admitting that it's a gouge! , USE it against him! 

Option 2. invite the bum to message boards..


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## Sped Man (Oct 3, 2014)

You have the money hence the control. Don't pay him anything. Report his ass to Ebay. They will side with you on excessive shipping fees. Eventually he will cave in. Whatever you do don't send him a penny.


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## jimmiroquai (Oct 3, 2014)

Thanks all for the input! Much appreciated. It's nice to see Cabers have each others' back. Current status is that he's agreed to cancel the sale. I'm still waiting on the notice from ebay.


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## Curtis68 (Oct 3, 2014)

*Ask for the actual shipping quote*

If he states in his ad that "buyer pays for actual shipping cost" ask him to submit a copy of the quote to you.  Then take his quote to bikeflights.com and get a quote from them.  That way when you go to Ebay you can show them how ridiculous his quote is, hence why are you not wanting to follow thought with the deal. And, if you wanted to take it step further you can take his quote to the same business (FedEx/UPS or whoever) as he got the quote from and see if they match to be sure he is not changing the quoted price to pad his own wallet.  That would really help your case with Ebay.


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## Jeff54 (Oct 3, 2014)

jimmiroquai said:


> Thanks all for the input! Much appreciated. It's nice to see Cabers have each others' back. Current status is that he's agreed to cancel the sale. I'm still waiting on the notice from ebay.





Don't wait. file a case with e-bay!!.. while ya can get a mark on his account.. 

Heck I shipped a stingray from SW Florida  to Washington state last month. that's the longest distance in the states. . the down side was it was my first bike ship, and took up a day and half of time figuring it all out,, getting tons of packing materials,  and box from bike store,, but, it cost a whole 59 bucks through fedex. "Actual shipping". across the whole continent. 

Don't let this guy get away with trying to gouge you,, .. mark his account..


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## Nickinator (Oct 4, 2014)

If you open a case and have a transaction canceled, I don't believe you can leave feedback. However, if the case must be escalated because he won't voluntarily cancel the transaction, it does leave an internal black mark on the seller within ebay, and they may start holding his PP funds for a period of time. It's too bad you can't leave him feedback...people deserve to know he's "that" kind of seller.

Darcie


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## petritl (Oct 4, 2014)

If you get out of this sale and are wanting a Roadmaster. I have this one.





It needs a good cleaning and chrome polishing but it would make a nice distressed rider.

I rode this bike around the Jefferson swap last weekend.


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## jimmiroquai (Oct 4, 2014)

*Sale Cancelled*

Well, the seller finally sent a Cancellation confirmation.  Though i did take everyone's advise and reported it to ebay as well.  Whew!  This was the first time in my 10 years of buying from ebay that someone tried to pull off something like that.  In fairness to the seller, he's had 100% positive feedback and according to him, the troubles were being initiated by his elderly father, for whom he was selling the bike for.  You should see our messages.  In the beginning, every time i said shipping was too high, he'd give an even higher quotation for shipping and handling.  The optional message he put on the cancellation notice was that he was sorry shipping was so high.  He should have put he was sorry for trying and failing at a but of extortion.  

Thank you all for the help!


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## SirMike1983 (Oct 4, 2014)

The fact that he said he "had too much into it" is an admission he was unhappy with the final price and was using the shipping to extort the remainder of what he originally wanted. Good call cancelling the sale and reporting him.


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## Rivnut (Oct 4, 2014)

Big sigh of relief.


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## Obi-Wan Schwinnobi (Oct 5, 2014)

Here is one for you....I have sold a tshirt 3 times...buyer has failed to pay three time..ie I re list it and the same guy bids and wins then never pays.. here is the kicker... All three winners are by 3 different ebay accounts but it's the same guy. .. the names are the same almost but slightly different.... All the same location. ..Taiwan. ..


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## GTs58 (Oct 5, 2014)

Obi-Wan Schwinnobi said:


> Here is one for you....I have sold a tshirt 3 times...buyer has failed to pay three time..ie I re list it and the same guy bids and wins then never pays.. here is the kicker... All three winners are by 3 different ebay accounts but it's the same guy. .. the names are the same almost but slightly different.... All the same location. ..Taiwan. ..





So when are you going to block all international bidders? I thought you weren't willing to sell outside of the US? ....


On side note, I also was involved with a seller that was trying to triple the shipping fee. After many emails I finally got the bike shipped for a reasonable amount but it took about 6=7 weeks from end of auction until the bike showed up at my doorstep.


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## Obi-Wan Schwinnobi (Oct 5, 2014)

GTs58 said:


> So when are you going to block all international bidders? I thought you weren't willing to sell outside of the US? ....
> 
> 
> On side note, I also was involved with a seller that was trying to triple the shipping fee. After many emails I finally got the bike shipped for a reasonable amount but it took about 6=7 weeks from end of auction until the bike showed up at my doorstep.



I did block them. ... but this is the weird part. .. so when it sells it says the winner is in Carson Cal. ...when I send invoice it says they are now in bf Egypt Taiwan. . How does that work??


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## Jeff54 (Oct 5, 2014)

Obi-Wan Schwinnobi said:


> Here is one for you....I have sold a tshirt 3 times...buyer has failed to pay three time..ie I re list it and the same guy bids and wins then never pays.. here is the kicker... All three winners are by 3 different ebay accounts but it's the same guy. .. the names are the same almost but slightly different.... All the same location. ..Taiwan. ..




Chinese, they're a serious annoyance at e-bay.. I'm betting odds it's a seller who's trying to knock out the competition. I've been reporting Chinese sellers for 17-18 years. a real pain in the arse.. and they're the reason e-bay is taking out from shipping fees.. They'd been the king of buy-it-now .01 cents with $30 shipping fees until e-bay started taking their fees out of total costs. . 

They're still sa  pain, they hold multiple accounts, against rules, they list same thing 100's of time against rules, and some people get lucky shipped fast but, that's only because they hit the target of how many they are going to ship at same time..  months ago, I bought item tire cover, US was 45 too 140, china 15 bucks shipped.  and quickly got tracking UPS  number. never got it,  it never left china, filed  complaint and neg feedback so, the bum tried to get me to remove the neg, he'd refund me and give item free!. LOL.. weeks went by I told the bum to just ship the dam thing and maybe I'll change it.. 30 day e-bay gave me money back, and yet still they guy claimed it'
s in transit "please change feedback"!. Not enough space in post to quote all the crap this chink (ya sorry biget word, but he fits the name)  Said he'd do for me, "I'm just poor family guy" con, ,, I'll "receive it for free and then learn", blah, blah, blah blah! Con after con after con. today   they're grouping up shipping items  to save individual expenses. 5 months now, never got it. yet I kept checking UPS tracking for about a month after e-bay refunded, which said it's still in china. but grabbed it just last week from US seller 15 bucks. patients. 

I.E. those Chinese will not just do everything in the book to cut competition, they're writing new pages!. 

And what's worse, it's causing e-bay to increase final fees. why should e-pay get a dam cut out of shipping? You can thank the Chinese! 

You're gonna need to contact e-pay, and paypunk, and continue cause he aint gonna stop. at best, ya gonna need to research every account of every bidder, and dump the bid from those whom you guess "it's him again dammit!""

otherwise they're trying to wear ya down, and win!

Wait, I just remembered, recently I've seen an increase of sellers who will not accept buyers from china and a few other countries,, and indications that e-pay is letting you block choice counties.   There are more reasons sellers will not sell or ship outside the states, especially UPS tracking absolutely stops at boarder, so, thieves can claim they never got it, but,, what I've seen recently  is more of an indication of the trouble you're having now.


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## jimmiroquai (Oct 9, 2014)

*I can't believe this is happening again!!!*

Why me?! I guess lightning can strike twice.  
Won this bid sometime ago (9/27/14
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5335809022&icep_item=281442648957

Before bidding, i asked the seller if she would get a qoute from bikeflights.com.  She even thanked me because she said she was at a loss of how to ship the bike.  After winning the bid, it took some time for the seller, melis_am, to get back to me.  So i paid for the item and the $125 estimated shipping (i won this bid waay before i won the one at the start at this thread so i was still naive).  She then refunded my money without notice or prior explanation.  She then messages me that she checked out Bikeflights.com and it gave her a shipping quote of $2000!!! She said there must've been some kind of mistake & sends a screen shot from bikeflights:




I then tried to make an estimate at Bikeflights using their zip code and mine and came up with this:




I told her that she must have been mistaken and that when i tried it, the amount i came up with was no where close to 2000.  She then told me to contact the owner via email because she was too busy.  By this time, i had just finished the ebay dispute with the other guy so my response was understandably terse, saying that i would contact the owner also but she should know finishing a transaction outside of ebay is against policy and that i had just filed a dispute with ebay about the other guy's excessive shipping quote.  She messages back that she understands and that's why she refunded my money.

Now the owner of the bicycle is no help at all.  He just says that he does want to send me the bike, but that this "amy" says that bikeflight's estimate was 2000 and he will not take a loss on shipping.  I asked him to try again or to ask someone more knowlegeable to try it for him because i was getting a much much cheaper quotation from bikeflights and even sent him the screen shot.  No response for days.  Then he emails me asking what i want to do about the bike?  WTF.  I tried to be polite but firm at the same time telling him that shipping was the seller's responsibility and that 2000 was waaay to much.  Like the other dude, i asked them to send me a cancellation request or fix thier shipping quote.  I did ask them what exactly the problem was and that maybe we could help each other out.  

Am i somehow in the wrong here?!

Man.  Ebay sucks lately.

Jim


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## Freqman1 (Oct 10, 2014)

That is an inexperienced seller who probably has no idea how to ship a bike in the first place. If I were to see a bike I really liked I would find someone here close and pay them to pick it up and ship it to me. If a seller doesn't list a hard shipping quote or free shipping I don't bid. There is nothing you need that bad to go through this crap. V/r Shawn


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## Jeff54 (Oct 10, 2014)

jimmiroquai said:


> Why me?! I guess lightning can strike twice.
> Won this bid sometime ago (9/27/14
> Jim




You're just weeding through delusional people and gougers. Stick a negative feedback, "Tried to gouge me $2,000!!! for shipping!" and move on..

Potentially, the original seller knows what 1st party is doing, so that's why backed out.. didn't want to be a part of it.. whelp, neg them, call it good.

Here's a funny one. Bought 1 gallon of sealer for 20 bucks, you couldn't buy it anywhere including e-bay for less than $125.  then the seller stopped responding. finally had to open a case so it takes time for e-bay to refund me.. as time goes on the seller tells me their story, and I tell them just send it and I'll close the case.. the seller follows through, but story was about trying to become a seller at e-bay, learning the ropes. The seller shipped it just after e-bay closed the case and refunded me.. So, I gets me money back, and the item gets delivered .. Then I try and send the seller money through paypal, but, paypal refuses because the seller is not responding or something like that. tried e-bay contact the seller and nothing.. even two months later, I can't even give the seller their 20 bucks.. watched seller for a few months later, even check a year later, and nothing, the account was dead. 
poop happens. However, that's 1 weird win for me, against 20 bad in the past 4-500 transactions. And, I'm just that kind if guy, if that seller was to contact me, I'd still  give em the 20 bucks. Fair auction deserves fair play, while  the creeps get the trash can.


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## jimmiroquai (Oct 13, 2014)

*No response from sellers of the Shelby*

Wow.  Now i'm being given the silent treatment by both the seller and the owner.  Just a recap:  I won this item on sept.27 :http://www.ebay.com/itm/antique-bic...e12iIRSPy6MG012cFQ1lo%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

And paid for in on Sept.30.  Then the seller tells me that shipping via bikeflights from Canonsberg PA 15317 to San Fernando CA 91340 would cost $2000!!!  I said no way and showed them that via bikeflights it sould only cost around $80-120.  They wouldn't budge.  Refunded my money Oct.5 but have left everything hanging.  Owner then emails me what i want to do so I then asked them to just send me a cancellation notice.  No response from them.  I'm worried that they will file a non-payment dispute.  I've emailed ebay about the situation but i've heard they don't really answer emails?  I tried reporting the member for "refusing to sell item" and reporting the item as "excessive shipping and handling" but nothing seems to come up if these complaints have been registered on ebay.  So frustrating.


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## Nickinator (Oct 13, 2014)

Get the size of box(es), estimate the weights (I imput 40 lbs ea to be safe), then pay for, print and mail them the Bikeflights label(s). Cost would no longer an issue, and the last balloon tire bike we did this with was $76 for 2 boxes.

You could have them drop it at a bike shop for packing if they can't do it, and send the bike shop labels, but that will add $50-75 in costs for the bike shop disassembly. But more likely it'll be done properly that way.


Darcie


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## scrubbinrims (Oct 13, 2014)

199.00 plus 125.00 would have been too much anyway for a repainted ladies postwar bike.
You win in principal, but just move on to better things.
Chris


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## Obi-Wan Schwinnobi (Oct 14, 2014)

I've had 5 nonpayments on same item. Why can't we give negative feedback on buyers anymore? ???.. All say 100% feedback but when you read the feedback all have a history of no paying. .


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## Nickinator (Oct 14, 2014)

Obi-Wan Schwinnobi said:


> I've had 5 nonpayments on same item. Why can't we give negative feedback on buyers anymore? ???.. All say 100% feedback but when you read the feedback all have a history of no paying. .




It would be nice to see history of a person's non-payments, returns, and canceled transactions, in addition to feedback. A lot of action there would spell trouble to me, and I'd avoid them both ways. Ebay and PP pretend they are seller friendly but we all know that is BS.

Darcie


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## Obi-Wan Schwinnobi (Oct 14, 2014)

Nickinator said:


> It would be nice to see history of a person's non-payments, returns, and canceled transactions, in addition to feedback. A lot of action there would spell trouble to me, and I'd avoid them both ways. Ebay and PP pretend they are seller friendly but we all know that is BS.
> 
> Darcie



I'm pretty sure this ass is the same ass who didn't pay before. ..


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## Bicyclelegends (Apr 6, 2015)

Sounds like he has it in a large box and he is being hit with an oversize box charge, maybe he can ship in 2 boxes to reduce that cost. Or hes just gouging you. Good luck.


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## john721 (Apr 6, 2015)

I believe there is a bike shipper " ship bikes.com". $60 just about anywhere in lower 48


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## randallace (Apr 6, 2015)

john721 said:


> I believe there is a bike shipper " ship bikes.com". $60 just about anywhere in lower 48




Anyone. Ever use them ??


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## frankster41 (Apr 7, 2015)

Just go to Swap Meets and buy bikes!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Artifex (Apr 7, 2015)

You are probably dealing with a guy who rarely if ever sells anything as large as a bike.  If he just tried to price a 60 pound box wrapped around an unassembled bike, the oversize charges could add up to a huge amount for sure.  

But you owe him nothing; it's not your fault he made a shipping cost error nor is it your responsibility to take the hit for it.

I have used Ebay since 1996, back when you used your email address as your seller ID and it has increasingly become so onerous to the small buyer/seller with crap like this shipping garbage that I rarely use it anymore.


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## Artifex (Apr 7, 2015)

You are probably dealing with a guy who rarely if ever sells anything as large as a bike.  If he just tried to price a 60 pound box wrapped around an unassembled bike, the oversize charges could add up to a huge amount for sure.  

But you owe him nothing; it's not your fault he made a shipping cost error nor is it your responsibility to take the hit for it.

I have used Ebay since 1996, back when you used your email address as your seller ID and it has increasingly become so onerous to the small buyer/seller with crap like this shipping garbage that I rarely use it anymore.


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