Buyer Beware of Shipping Charges on Electronic Items, Software and DVD

So you’ve found the perfect electronic gift on eBay? It’s exactly what you are looking for. Ready to hit submit bid button?

Think again!

Be sure to look at the shipping charges before submitting your bid.

I recently found the Spanish program for the FLY Pentop Computer on eBay. The starting price was 99 cents and I was going to submit a bid when I noticed the shipping was $18.99 within the United States.

This item can be shipped media mail for less than $1.25 anywhere in the country and priority mail , which includes free packaging by the USPS, for $3.85.

I emailed the seller 

fortunaenterprises 

asking if there were any cheaper shipping options. They told me shipping fees are not negotiable because it allows them to offer items at a lower starting bid. The bottom line is they charge high shipping to make more money and avoid eBay fees.

Hmmmm.

This means legitimate sellers, who pay eBay its fees, are paying higher prices because of individuals like this trying to scam eBay. The eBay use policy clearly states it is a violation of eBay rules to charge excesive shipping to avoid fees.

I emailed eBay and they said it is a violation of their policy and “they are working on it.” I’m sure there are thousands more sellers like this out there. The sellers running these shipping scams are hurting buyers and other sellers alike.

Protect yourself by reading the fine print on shipping before submitting a bid and report sellers charging excessive shipping fees to eBay at the following link http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/listing-shipping.html 

Fortunately I noticed the $18.99 shipping BEFORE I bid so I didn’t get hosed but other people probably will. One reason I almost bid without looking at shipping fees is the seller has a good feedback rating but looking at the feedback he left for others was very revealing. He only left positive feedback AFTER someone left him positive feedback, which some sellers use as a way to improve their feedback ratings.  In all other cases he left negative feedback for buyers. If you found this guide helpful please vote yes at the bottom of this page! Thanks!