We all know how exciting it can be to find that one bargain or that one item of desire we just must have but unfortunatly it's not always as good as it seems. As a long time seller and buyer with Ebay I find the most upsetting, anoying and downright unfair seller practice .."Shipping Scams"

 We have all seen it, that one thing we have been searching for for weeks (Or even months) and the price is more than tempting. For example:

Vintage Darth Vader Figure MINT 1977 Buy It Now $10.00 (Or something equally tempting) you hit BUY IT NOW before someone beats you to it and as you check out you notice the shipping is rediculous... $35.00...your bargain just turned sour and you are lining the pockets of a dishonest seller...what can you do about it?....unfortunatly NOTHING. Just as a matter of fact, this is a listing I personally came accross and fortunatly was not unlucky enough to be scammed by.

 Sellers can charge absolutely anything they like for shipping even though Ebay is clamping down a little bit on this practice. Don't be fooled by calculated shipping either as sellers can add ANY handling charge to the calculator ON TOP of the actual shipping charge. If a shipping quote seems unfair..it probably is. One habit I have formed is to go directly to either UPS's or USPS's own website and using their own shipping quote calculators to see how much it should really cost (On average) using the zip codes from seller to buyer (Or states...use the information on hand) and compare the results against the Ebay quote. If there is a massive difference, feel free to report them to Ebay.

 To be fair, it is polite to understand there may be a small charge for materials such as boxes, packing peanuts, bubble wrap and tape etc but it should never be that much. 10 feet bubble wrap = $1.00, Tape = $1.00 (I use the dollar store..lol) padded envelope = 50 cents etc. If a seller knows what he is doing, his boxes are recycled, reused and free. If not...they should be (Support green issues..lol)

 So...before you buy, check the listing from top to bottom, make sure you use the calculate shipping button and if in doubt...contact the seller. There are honest sellers out there who charge reasonable or even fabulous shipping rates who appreciate your business. The scammers?.....do not buy from these people...you know who you are and as a seller, I have always kept my rates very low so no abusive emails about packaging, gas to mail the items and handling as I know it's bull.

 Please help keep Ebay a wonderful place to shop and let buyers keep that feeling of joy when they find their own personal grail.