Shipping ethics and you. What do you do when shipping is more/less than expected?

I've under charged for shipping a TON of times and as i made the mistake, i just cover the extra costs..... Though i wish the post office site was more clear on shipping costs!

 

In the case that shipping is LESS than quoted:

As a buyer if you get the package and you paid $40 for shipping and on the package it says that it was only $15, do you feel entitled to a shipping refund?
I have done this. I was originally $40 for shipping. I know it does NOT cost that much to send a head from the US to where I am and asked for a requote. I then got told $26. That was more the price I was expecting for Priority International with just a head in the box. I paid that price and waited over three months for it to get to my doorstep.

When it arrived it had $9.00 written on the packing sticker and I was NOT HAPPY that I paid for Priority and didn't even get First Class International.

Needless to say I asked politely for a refund because there were obvious differences in her shipping quotes and costs - and she'd even used recycled bubblewrap and a second-hand box to ship it in. So the packing materials didn't even cost anything. I really do not justify $15 in packing materials.

So yes, I've asked for the difference to be refunded in that case. I was extremely unhappy with that conduct.

As a seller do you feel that the price was agreed to by both parties so do you feel that a refund is not necessarily needed?
No, a shipping quote is a quote. Unless you've gone to the place and weighed it properly to get that price, I feel entitled to refund anything that undercuts my quote by $7 or more.


In the case that shipping is MORE than quoted:

As a buyer do you feel that the seller should pay the difference of what they quoted?
Up to and including $8 from the original quote, yes. Over and above that $8, no.

As a seller do you feel that the buyer should make up the difference?
As I said before, if it is over and above the original quote by more than $8, I will contact the seller and ask them to pay the difference or a little less than the difference since it was my fault they were underquoted.

 

As a buyer, when I'm quoted Shipping, regardless of whether it's shipping or shipping and handling, I expect to pay around about what it costs to ship the item. For the most part I buy dolls which have no packing fees because, well, they're sent in the box the doll company sent in the first place. I don't mind paying a little extra for, say, fuel to get to the post office or whatever, but I have had occasions where I have paid double or even, YES - TRIPLE the amount on the box. This is unacceptable in my opinion - it does NOT cost $30 to get to the post office unless you live in the middle of absolute nowhere which has as yet never been the case with me. However, I've never bothered asking for a refund since I don't think it's worth the hassle as if a seller is dishonest enough to massively overcharge me for the shipping they're not exactly likely to refund me anything.

Pleasantly, though, I have had several sellers who've off their own backs refunded me when I've paid more than it's actually cost, even when the charge is only a few $ difference.

As a seller I have adopted this policy too and wouldn't deliberately over-charge someone. Additionally, I don't charge handing or paypal fees so when the cost ends up being a few quid (or $) less than I've charged I don't bother mentioning it - if it's more than $5 (which is actually only about £3 so not that much at all) I'll refund it though. If the shipping ends up being more than quoted then I don't think it unreasonable to ask the buyer to cover the extra - since inevitably (from my end) it's the insurance or tracking that's increased the cost. However, I would be willing to go half and half on it since.... well.... I did under-quote them >.>;; My bad. I've been asked to cover the extra when it's come up though and have no problems paying it.

I don't know if any of that makes sense, I'm just writing things down as I think of them >.>

Oh yeah - and then there's paying for Priority shipping tracked and insured, and receiving untracked, uninsured regular mail. That is the only time I'll contact the seller and want a refund - I've paid for and asked for full insurance (I pay extra, more so if it gets caught by customs, because I want to know that my expensive doll/parts are going to be covered in case of postal fail) and tracking and that's what I expect, not part tracking (i.e. tracks when the item leaves the seller's country and when it's delivered only) or uninsured/part insured. I think that's especially dishonest -_-;; Because the higher the insurance the higher the postage here in the UK I always ask the buyer if they want full insurance or only part insurance, since it's up to them if they want to pay the extortionate ParcelFarce/Royal Fail postal costs ><

 

I haven't done a lot of selling on here as of yet, but for myself, I've mostly used packaging materials I already had on hand so didn't charge for those. And if at all possible before I have someone pay me I like to go to the post office and get a true quote on how much it will cost to send something. The pot office is just down the street from me so it's fairly easy to pop in any day. If I ever overcharged someone for shipping like above 5$ then I would think they shold get refunded.
I would expect a refund if I paid say 254 for shipping and the packages arrives to me sayng they paid only 15. It' only right. They're making money on the item they sold, not on mailing it.

 

If I quote someone a price for shipping and it ends up being more than expected well that's my fault and I'll eat the costs. If its less than expected I always refund shipping if its more than $3. I usually have extra bubble wrap and things at home so I rarely charge for handling and I tend to ship only in priority boxes if I can help it so its free for me and the buyer.

However I think its the seller's responsibility to be fair for shipping and also the buyer to realize international shipping with insurance is not cheap. Although there was once a case where a seller tried to charge me $148 dollars for shipping from AU to US (It was EMS but they claimed priority and regular mail would be the same cost). After a bit of going back and forth, they offered to pay half which I was okay with since I expected to pay around $70 but it ended up only costing $72 total!! I'm so glad that I fought them on that because I would have been livid if I paid $148 shipping and got the package and it said $72!

 

Shipping prices are insane both for sellers and for buyers. With that said if I quote a price I am bound by it. If the shipping is less I will include 'extras' if it is more I have to eat it.

As for being a buyer if I see a dramatic difference in what I was charged compared to postage I will send a polite email requesting clarification. If the seller offers I take the money. If the seller does not I simply never order from there again.

 

It depends. [I always asked for the shipping cost btw]
Well if that is a doll they were shipping i'd rather pay higher shipping cost. But if that accessories and clothes and charge you like $20 and there's no insurrance or tracking? That's called rip off.
I have seen a nice Sd dress for $15 at market place a month ago, i wanted to buy it but when i asked the shipping cost i freak out. It is a like almost the price of the dress itself, I've been speecless. O__o
I'd say it's just not reasonable. Stuff that makes you . . . Hmmm?

 

If I was the seller, I'd suck it up and chock it up to my losses if I under-quoted. I was bound to what I originally said.

And I have refunded someone before because I miss-quoted them and overcharged for shipping. Two dollars, to be exact. Maybe it doesn't seem like much, but they were happy to get it back.

I try to do my best in "customer service."

 

Step one: Cry because I budgeted sooooo carefully for the amount I calculated.

Step two: Hesitantly ask my mom if I could borrow some money and pay her back later.

Step three: Cry because my mom is so understanding.

Step four: Pay my mom back.

That was how it went for me. I had to deal with the shipping going up a little and the cost itself being adjusted because of different exchange rates, right between my triumphant 'Finally, careful saving has paid off and I can order MAH BOY!', and my actually ordering him. But my mom is really cool about lending money to us (my siblings and I). Plus, while I was saving, I bought groceries/dinners for her/the family a couple times and told her "NO! Don't pay me back until I'm ready to order my doll, that way I won't be able to spend on anything else!". *grin*

Though in the future, my plan is to have a sort of "cushion" amount beyond what I need for the doll and what I need to keep in my bank account, so that if shipping turns out to be more than I calculated, I'll be okay. But ordering my first doll I was just so stressed out/overexcited. (seriously, he's the biggest purchase I've ever made! I buy books, and music, and the occasional (usually used) video game, but I don't spend a lot of money, especially on 'luxury items'... never bought a car, never even rented my own apartment, not a clotheshorse, try to get away with 'making' instead of 'buying'... and suddenly here I am spending a whole lot of money all at once! And on something so girly *grin*... ah, getting OT now, but yeah, my first doll-buying experience was fraught with 'OMG, Mom, what do I do now?', and now that I've had that experience, I think I'll just now plan ahead for the possibility)

=^__^=
Anneko

 

I usually try to get the right shipping costs. But sometimes it can be a bit off.
And as for the questions, it all depends on how much the actual number is different from the quoted. If it's only a little off I don't really care, but if I'm the seller and it costs less I'll ask the buyer if he/she wants her money back. And if it's just a little more I don't really care. If it's a sicnificant number i'd ask the buyer if he/she wants to pay a little extra.
But I'm not really difficult about it or anything..

 

I usually lose out with regard to shipping my dolls to their new owners. Shipping from the UK is very expensive....I first learned this lesson shipping a Soom Beryl (doll only, no fantasy parts) to Russia, the cost was £65 (approx $100 at the time). I didn't ask for the buyer to pay more, because it was my fault for being so inaccurate with the pricing.

Even now, though I have sold many dolls and have a pretty accurate idea of the actual cost, I still vere towards making the shipping as cheap as possible, even if I lose out with buying two rolls of bubblewrap and tape, because at the end of the day I want my doll to be sold, but I don't compromise on safety.

One time, I sold a doll on Ebay and the actual cost was around £5 less than what I had charged the buyer and I refunded this difference immediately. Not that it was a huge amount, but I'm not interested in making any money on the postage and good feedback is worth a whole lot more than holding on to a few pounds.

 

In the case that shipping is LESS than quoted:

As a buyer if you get the package and you paid $40 for shipping and on the package it says that it was only $15, do you feel entitled to a shipping refund?
-This means that I over paid by $25. . . that's $25 over paid. I was lied to, imo shipping costs are to be true to what they're specified and agreed to be paid at. If you quote me $40 to have an item shipped to me and the sticker says only $15 was used to send it. I'd be looking for a refund. You just made $25 extra dollars off me, by lying about how much it cost to ship the package. It's one thing if you specify that there is a handling fee included in the shipping quote, because that lets me know why it's so much vs. just saying "Shipping by [method] is $40" and having the sticker only stating $15.

As a seller do you feel that the price was agreed to by both parties so do you feel that a refund is not necessarily needed?
- Because I try to include the cost of packing supplies in with everything, they're due a refund.
ETA. like gelfling9uk said, good feedback is nicer than $15 and will help me out more in the long run XD


In the case that shipping is MORE than quoted:

As a buyer do you feel that the seller should pay the difference of what they quoted?
- If it's within reason. If you're off by a couple of dollars than yes. Especially since almost everyone charges fees, i don't want to have to pay fees again because you made a mistake. That's on you, the seller. I've made this mistake myself and covered the difference. If for some reason the quote's $20 off, then I'll try to pay half but under $10, I'll cover it because it's my mistake.

As a seller do you feel that the buyer should make up the difference?
- Accidents happen, I know, but if it's a big difference because of an information error. . . say, I was shipping to the UAE but accidentally pulled up a quote for some other place like the UK. . . then i'd expect the buyer to pay part of the difference, because that's their actual shipping to their country, and I'm making up for the inconvenience of having to ask for more money by paying part of it.

 

I always try to do shipping included price, and I package my sold dolls really well, send them insured and with delivery confirmation. I really don't want to nickle and dime a seller either, so I just pay the shipping no questions asked. It's just small potatoes if you really think about it, and how do you put a price on someone's time and effort anyway. I figure in 20 bucks within the US, and just leave it at that, of course out of the country and I would just wait to see what the amount would be. I really don't want to sell to someone who would whinge about five or ten bucks. And I don't want to be that guy either.
I am talking about a doll however, not for little stuff.

 

In the case that shipping is LESS than quoted:

As a buyer if you get the package and you paid $40 for shipping and on the package it says that it was only $15, do you feel entitled to a shipping refund?
If it was that much, then yes, I would expect some sort of refund. I'm not going to complain over $5, but if there's a good $25 difference I would expect a good portion of it back.

As a seller do you feel that the price was agreed to by both parties so do you feel that a refund is not necessarily needed?
Again, if the difference is $5 or so, most times I've found that both parties are fine with it. But if I charge someone $30 for shipping and it comes to $10, I wouldn't feel right keeping the extra money.

In the case that shipping is MORE than quoted:

As a buyer do you feel that the seller should pay the difference of what they quoted?
In some cases, yes. I mean, a difference of a few dollars isn't going to kill anyone. But if the shipping is $10+ more than expected, I wouldn't expect the seller to pay that OOP.

As a seller do you feel that the buyer should make up the difference?
In some cases, where the shipping is significantly more than quoted, yes. If I'm off by a few $ when shipping, it's fine. But if it costs too much, I bring the package home and talk to the seller about it.

I actually recently had a package I shipped out (a Felix brownie head and some accessories for it) and it was going from here in Canada to the UK. The buyer had asked for tracking and insurance, and since shipping without tracking (but with insurance) to the UK was just over $8, I added $5 on to the price and said that would cover the tracking.... I should be used to Canada Post by now, really. I brought the envelope to the counter (a 5"x9" bubble mailer) and asked for the total, with tracking and $40 insurance. The price the lady quoted me? $56. I actually had her print out the pricelist just in case the seller didn't believe me. I ended up shipping it with the $8 airmail, and explained to the buyer what had happened and she was completely understanding.

Usually when selling, I add a note along the lines of "Shipping from Canada is horribly expensive, please be aware before buying." just so people know. xD;

 

The first time I sold something to an international buyer, I had that problem too! First class didn't exist to where I was sending the package even though the website said so, and I doubted the buyer would want to pay $28 to ship a $10 item, so I just used the $3 option and refunded the extra $9 she sent. I explained, she was happy for the refund, and it all turned out fine.

As a seller, I usually refund the shipping if the buyer overpaid by $4+ and sometimes less depending on the situation and item sent. If they underpaid, I always just pay the difference and I have never underestimated more than a few dollars. Taking multiple trips to the post office is not an option for me as I do not have my license or a car yet, so I will just fork out the extra cash and ship it. Contacting the the buyer about it over just a couple dollars seems really petty to me and I don't like doing it. It's a personal thing I think. If a seller nicely contacted ME about a couple dollars, I wouldn't really mind.

As a buyer, I always check the price to see how much it cost to ship because it's fun. I don't care if it's less than what I paid by a few dollars. I can't recall a situation where I overpaid by a whole lot for I tend to kindly back out of the deal if I feel the shipping quote is too high (and this is rare). ._.'

 

I usually just absorb the extra costs if there are any, since I gave the buyer a set price and I'd feel guilty if I suddenly told the buyer that it cost more and wanted them to pay just a few dollars worth of costs. If it's more then $10, though, I think the seller has a right to tell the buyer about it and possibly ask for the buyer to cover at least part of the cost. If the charge was lower than expected, I'd probably refund if it was $5 or more, and I'd at least let the buyer know.

 

If I quoted less and it's a large difference (like $15) then I will ask for more money but if it's a tad larger then I just pay it. I don't even use the post sites as they're never on target. If I get too much shipping $$$ I refund it. If it's like a dollar or two then I don't refund...paypal sucks the life out of those couple of dollars.

 

I havent baught from second hand market yet,but deffinitly, I belive that most seller are honest with the shipping fee.I will defietly pay the shipping fee.however high will it be

 

I actually have a question for everyone about this kind of situation. I hope it is okay to ask, because it seemed very debatable when it was happening.

A while back, I purchased a doll and some clothing from a seller. They were located outside of the US, and informed me that shipping would be $40 for everything.

After I paid for the doll, clothes, and shipping for what I was quoted, they messaged me a few days later saying they went to the post office and the package actually wound up being over the weight that she quoted for. She told me that it would be an additional $20 added on to the $40 she quoted me.

She informed me that she could technically ship the doll separate from the clothing (that would keep the doll cost still at $40) but that would still result in about $12 to ship the clothes in their own package.

Now, when I misquote someone on what shipping is, I just suck it up and pay the difference because it was my fault for making the mistake. The buyer didn't know, and I feel I am voiding our contract by changing the price after the payment was agreed upon and sent.

I realize not everyone is going to do what I do in a situation like this, but the seller absolutely refused to cover the $12 on behalf of her mistake (despite making a significant amount of money on what I was buying).

Any opinions on this? What would you do if you were the buyer or seller in this situation?

 

I feel entitled to a refund if I paid only a little over the actual shipping cost. I don't actually request a refund unless I paid significantly over and I've never had that problem with DoA sellers. I've only ever requested a shipping refund once, when a deputy service charged me $8 over.

As a seller, I send a refund for shipping costs over actual shipping+packaging. I wouldn't want someone to keep my money (even though people frequently do ) and every penny helps towards another dollie purchase.

If I accidentally charge someone less than actual shipping, I just suck it up and pay the difference myself. I've done that a few times and it's taught me not to be too "nice" when estimating shipping fees, even if I feel bad for the buyer or if they argue with me over the cost.