been a bit stupid on ebay but not sure where i stand

[Moomin]

was looking for some rattles for dd2 on ebay today. found someone selling about 10 little items for £1.95 'buy it now' price. on the first page (where you see all the little gallery pics) it said p&p FREE. I went ahead and bought them straight away. but whe i came to pay i noticed it specified 'postage- pick-up in person only'. where it had 'other options' for postage it said '£6' 1st class royal mail!!!!

Bugger me, i'm not paying £6 postage for a few plastic toys!!! I didn't pay and i emailed the seller saying sorry i'd made a mistake and i wasn't prepared to pay £6 postage as I couldn't pick up in person. Haven't had a reply yet - but she sent an invoice. I've noticed on other items that it will specify 'pick up only' on the first page which seems fair enough, but this seller had said it was 'free' anbd that's just not true, it's NOT free.

So yes i was stupid not to read it more carfeully on the next page but i feel she's in the wrong for the way she advertised it. If she gets arsey with me, what's my come-back?

[LeahE]

Whereabouts is she? You can probably find a MNer in the area who'd pick them up for you and send on for rational amounts of money. I don't think you have any comeback really. It sounds like a scam, but it's a scam that's been carefully thought out to be within the rules and the law.

[MrsFogi]

I'd just not go ahead with the purchase. You'll probably get negative feedback but then you could write a response on the feedback page to explain why (ie postage scam).

[FrannyandZooey]

Can you link us to the auction? I don't understand from your post quite where it said postage was free, and how seller could specify £6 postage and not have this show up on the auction page.

I know it sounds a lot, but a collection of rattles could easily cost £6 to post. If you have made a mistake, and decide now not to pay then the seller will have lost money on eBay fees and the time taken to set up the auction.

I can't really say more without seeing the auction. Email the link to me if you don't want to reveal your eBay id on here. (frannyandzooey at india dot com) If the seller has advertised misleadingly I am sure we can sort it out.

[FrannyandZooey]

Just to reply to the 'postage scam' comments - if the seller has specified the postage up front, then she is allowed to charge what she wants. It's up to the buyer to check it is acceptable for them. 10 toys could certainly cost £6 to post anyway. However if the seller says postage is free and then tries to charge for it later, then that is a blatant rip-off - I don't see how she can charge for postage in her invoice without it showing up on the auction page though - it is all linked on Ebay, you can't enter one amount on the auction page and another on the invoice.

[Xavielli]

Speak to the seller and change your mind. To avoid neg feedback you can mutually agree to go through with the transaction on the website and give each other positive feedback as seller and buyer, without money being axchanged. Most reasonable people will be willing to do this.

Sometimes on ebay the first postage method is the one that shows up on the auction so may not be their fault.
Box of rattles as Franny has said could easily cost £6 postage.

[Marne]

I would pay for it and learn from your mistake, yes £6 is alot for a few rattles but you should read the full description before biding on an item.

[littlerach]

I've seen this a ot on ebay, though usually with larger irtems. On the listings it says free, but only if you collect in person.

[Moomin]

i disagree marne. if you look at the gallery page of similar items none of the postage for any of those bundles are anything like £6. I can't show you what her item looked like in the gallery listings as of course it's gone now

\link{http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8286627745&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1\This is the item on its second page} and yes it does say FREE and is then followed by 'pick up in person'
but
if you look \link{http://baby.listings.ebay.co.uk/Toys-Activities_Rattles_W0QQfclZ3QQfromZR11QQsacatZ131081QQsocmdZListingItemList\here at the gallery listings}, you can see that all items have just p&p prices, and this item was listed there as FREE which just isn't true. Yes i should have read the secodn page more carefully but if you think you've already got the postage costs sorted in your mind, you might not necessarily double check.

in my mind, free p&p means exactly that. If she'd have specified 'pick up in person' on the front page i would not have bothered.

[gigglinggoblin]

i tried the new listing method a couple of weeks ago and it did very strange things with my postage costs - i specified postage and the amount but it came up as collect in person. i tried to correct it but couldnt so just put a note on the listing of postage amount. its possible she has had the same problem.

[Moomin]

interesting. well hopefully if she replies she'll tell me. i just emailed her again with Xavielli's suggestion.

[FrannyandZooey]

Moomin, sorry, but it isn't the seller's fault. The options are all there to see, down in the postage and payment section. It says free to pick up in person, and £6 for postage. She hasn't misled you or tried to con you at all. You made a mistake I'm afraid and you should have checked the postage before bidding. I know you are regretting it now but it isn't the seller's fault.

\link{http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Selection-of-Rattles-Teethers-and-Toys-17-items_W0QQitemZ6060015299QQcategoryZ19070QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem\Here's} a similar item also going for £6 postage. Although whether you think the postage is unreasonable now is not an issue. It was stated up front before you bid, and you chose to bid. The seller will be losing money if you don't pay up. You really should complete the auction.

[Moomin]

ok thanks f&z.
but i still think it's a bit off to have FREE in the listings if it's not - although that may not be entirely her fault going by what gigglingoblin said. I'll just wait for her reply now. if she's really p*d off with me i spose i'll go through with it. now i've suggested an alternative i'll see how that rides first.

[BagelBird]

I can see why you are peeved but agree that there is no scam and that the seller didn’t mislead you really. The gallery thing is tricky as it only allows you to put one postage option there. Not that surprising that she put the "cheapest" one down, esp as it is so clear about collection on the main link. Also, many people search items that are free postage and/or local so probably thought she would get more interest and hits that way.
Personally I think you are right to point out your error but accept that it is your mistake, not theirs and ultimately they have a right to be annoyed with you if you pull out just for not reading the blurb carefully. Sorry, prob not the opinion you were after! :)

[FrannyandZooey]

But Moomin, one of her options WAS free - there's nothing she can do about the way eBay displays it, or the fact you didn't read the auction fully. She had all the options there for you to read - collection was free, postage was £6. I am not sure what else you think she should have done?

[Nemo1977]

moomin she can file a non paying bidder claim which means she will get back charges by ebay. I have just had to do the same for someone who bought something then said they didnt want it[although they had no genuine reason as they said they were unable to pay via paypal!!!!]

[SenoraPostrophe]

it's not the sellers fault really, but I suspect that "pick up in person" was deliberately listed first so that it showed up on the listings page as free. I would complain to ebay because it is misleading (I mean complain about the way they list postage charges overall).

[FrannyandZooey]

If the seller has to file a non-paying bidder report then it will go on Moomin's eBay record against her. Repeated reports against you will get you chucked off eBay.

Moomin is in contact with the seller, I am sure they can work it out amicably. Do remember it is not her fault though Moomin! I would be hopping mad if someone bought my item and then tried to tell me it was my fault they were not paying, because I had misled them in the listing

[Nemo1977]

F+Z there is a bit for mutual withdrawing so dont think it ends up with non paying bidder strike.

[SoupDragon]

The seller has been deliberately misleading. Postage is not free at all because "collection in person" is not posting it!

[Moomin]

It's all sorted out now. Thanks for posts. We have agreed to mutually withdraw and i think i'm paying her fees. Incidentally, there is an option in the gallery for 'pick up in person' as i've seen it for other items. i personally feel that she should have used this option rather than say it was FREE. If she tried to and ebay posted up the wrong option than fair enough but we'll never know as she just let ebay contact me about it and i didn't hear from her personally.

Glad it's all turned out ok - lesson learned though

[FrannyandZooey]

Very glad it is sorted Moomin. I have learnt something new as well. You can have a very clear conscience now :)

[chjlly]

Moomin if you want some rattles I have a couple you can have for postage (I won't charge £6 though!!

[sunnydelight]

I'm really glad it's been sorted and you're happy, but if the ad specified p&p free and it wasn't then she is the one in the wrong. You placed your bid on the understanding that the item would be packed and posted for free; legally she misled you. You could technically insist she sent them for free though in reality of course she wouldn't. I certainly wouldn't pay her fees though - IMO she got off lightly.

[LeahE]

sd the issue isn't that the ad stated P&P was free. The full-page listing stated clearly that P&P was £6 if the item was actually posted but free if it was picked up however in the "gallery" view only the first P&P rate (in this case, free for pickup) displayed. If Moomin had looked at the postage charge details on the full item listing she'd have seen that. So the seller is legally in the right. Good it's been sorted now, though.

[sunnydelight]

If it said free on the first page I would argue it's misleading and an inducement. Not my client though so like you I'm glad she's sorted it