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[fennec fox]

I won a couple auctions for a set of magazines a few days ago. Today I got this mail from the auctioneer:

I went to mail your magazines this morning, but I brought them back.
USPS does not ship media rate for magazines. USPS will mail books at the
media rate, but not magazines with advertisements.

The lowest shipping price I could get for your package is $17.80 for
Priority mail. I did not know about this, so the calculated shipping
charge on eBay is not enough. I am sorry about that.

Due to the high cost of shipping these magazines, I cannot ship them at
the $7.75 media rate that was quoted with the eBay calculator. The post
office will not accept the package unless I choose Priority mail for $17.80.

There are two things we can do. If you like, I can still ship your
magazines, but I must ask that you pay an additional $10.05 to cover the
extra shipping cost. The cost of the magazines at $19.98 remains the
same. ($9.99 + $9.99 + $17.80 shipping = $37.78. You already paid
$27.73. $37.78 - $27.73 = $10.05 extra shipping cost.) If you decide
that you want the magazines and decide to pay the extra $10.05, then I
will be happy to mail them next week.

The other thing we can do if you choose, is to cancel the transaction
and part on friendly terms. I will give you a full refund for $27.73
through PayPal. We can even leave each other positive feedback you if
like. This was something I could not foresee, so I will understand if
you want to cancel the transaction.

First off, is this correct that you can't send magazines via media mail? I did it all the time in the past. Second off, what drugs is he on if the only other way he can think of sending them is Priority Mail?

I'd like these magazines (and I'm in no urgent need to have them rushed over in 3-4 days), so if you have any advice on how I should respond to this clown, by all means let me know.

 

[DarthWoo]

Sounds a bit off. I usually just hand a package to the person at the office and say I want to send it via media mail, and then they just weigh it and quote me a price. They never even ask what's inside.

 

[border]

Get him to tell you the approximate weight, and see if UPS/FedEx/DHS will ship any cheaper.

What kind of magazines are you buying?

 

[Takuan]

http://www.usps.com/consumers/domestic.htm#H4

Check the rates for yourself to see if he's scamming you.

 

[border]

Media Mail® service is a cost efficient way to mail books, sound recordings, recorded video tapes, printed music, and recorded computer-readable media (such as CDs, DVDs, and diskettes). Media Mail can not contain advertising except for incidental announcements of books. The maximum weight for Media Mail is 70 lbs.

 

[Felidae_Khrall]

While I cannot say for sure in this situation, the eBay shipping calculator is not always correct on its quotes.

But only being able to ship priority mail? That sounds fishy, why would they decline it being sent standard post ? hmmmmmm.....

 

[ChrisReid]

Yeah, just have him ship it via ground. It won't be much more expensive or slower than media mail.

 

[human5892]

Just out of curiousity, why can't media mail contain advertisements?

 

[Cauliflower of Love]

Tell him to tell the post office, theyr'e books. They won't open the box. Not sure if parcel post is the same as media mail, but try parcel post.

 

[fennec fox]

All right, I told the guy to just say they're books (like I always did) or, if that bothers his conscience for some reason, to send 'em as bound printed matter. Let's see what happens.

BTW they're old copies of PSM... so, yeah, not the end of the world if I simply say no to the man.

 

[The Shadow]

A seller can't adjust the price of shipping after the auction is over. Well, he can if the buyer pays but the buyer is under no obligation to pay for shipping if it's more than what he thought it would be.

See what he says although I think he's BSing. Why wouldn't magazines be allowed Media Mail? That ad rule is generally for commercial shipping, not for old magazines IIRC.

Also, they do open media mail to check if it's compliant. Too many people were shipping non-media via media mail and now they inspect packages now and then.

 

[Goreomedy]

Whatever happens, I'd wait for him to leave positive feedback, and then slap him with a "neutral".

 

[NohWun]

Screwing you would be waiting till you paid and then disappearing from sight.

This guy's explaining the situation and giving you options, one of which is the full return of everything you paid. That's not screwing you. Sure, he goofed up, but he doesn't deserve a bad rap for it given how he's handling the situation. If you'd made the mistake, how'd you like to be treated?

In any case, he should've just said "they're books", or else tried UPS (often cheaper than USPS for heavier items). Yes, I know UPS sucks sometimes, but so does everyone.

 

[fennec fox]

That's true enough -- if he wants to rip me off, he would rip me off for a lot more than the $9 or whatever parcel-post would be.

Either way, he says that his post office never heard of bound printed matter, and he doesn't wanna send them media mail as he doesn't want to lie about it, so right now it looks like I may have to shell out. Sheesh.

 

[fart]

UPS should only be like 10 bucks. he won't ship it UPS?

 

[ohamsie]

Screw that, EBay is always saying that auctions are binding contracts, if he fucked up what the price was on the shipping he should be the one to pay the difference.

 

[border]

BTW they're old copies of PSM...

Geez, I hope this is just because you want printed copies of some your articles that have been published...

 

[pestul]

Screw that, EBay is always saying that auctions are binding contracts, if he fucked up what the price was on the shipping he should be the one to pay the difference.

Yep..

 

[Rlan]

The guy seems pretty sorry for the problem, it wasn't initially intended, and has given you some options which you could do.

This sort of thing has happened to me before when selling. Usually I just eat the extra cost, but this is a large amount in comparison for a dollar or so, and I would usually try and reason with the person, which this person has done, and try to come to a compramise.

I would suggest that you try and get him to go halves on the total postage.

 

[fart]

Geez, I hope this is just because you want printed copies of some your articles that have been published...

fenky collects game magazines

 

[SFA_AOK]

Yeah, it sounds like he made an honest mistake, he used Ebay's calculator which was incorrect, seems a bit harsh to stick him. See if he goes for the USPS option that others mentioned...

 

[john tv]

At least he's being nice about it. There are some real pricks on eBay! Count your blessings, I say.

 

[border]

fenky collects game magazines

And I collect videogames, but that doesn't mean I'm going to hit eBay to buy the entire Bubsy the Bobcat series =P

 

[miyuru]

You think this guy is screwing you?

Fuck no man, this guy is totally innocent, and didn't know he couldn't ship via media. To top it off, we see how dumb he is because he thinks priority is the only other way. If he was trying to screw you, he for sure wouldn't even mention cancelling altogether.