I feel a bit like I've been diddled - can you reassure me or incite me to do something about it?

[GunpowderTreasonAndSquonk]

I bought three gameboy games from an ebay seller. It wasn't till I went to pay for them that I saw that he had a note on his site saying that he will not bundle items together in order to save postage.

So I paid over a quid for each one and was expecting them all to come separately.

They arrived this morning, in the same envelope and he had paid £1.10 postage. I paid him £4.60 postage all together.

Now, I have absolutely no problem with people making a bit on postage, and it's only just over a fiver more than he actually paid, but my problem is that he said he WOULDN'T put them all together which is why I had to pay three lots of postage, then he DID put them together.

Am I right to feel a bit "done" and if so, should I do something about it, especially as it's only a fiver?

every time i shop in a 'real' online shop i'm shocked at the postage charges. often the minimum for a single item is £4+. i like the fact that ebay shipping fees (in general) are more proportionate to the size of the item and actual postage price.

i'm mostly a buyer and high postage doesn't put me off ebay as a venue, it just makes me either bid less for the item or choose those sellers that offer more reasonable prices, like you 6lm

I only wish all my buyers were like franny and puppy.

i still have nightmares about the french lady who terrorized me because she paid 40p more than the stamp price

As I hope to continue selling on ebay until my old age (it's better for me to work from home than to go out to work due to me ol' arthritis) I try to see the bigger picture (which is why I'm such a stubborn moo when it comes to high P&P) If i could see into the future and be assured that high P&P wouldn't send the buyers away in droves then I'd charge what a lot of other sellers (selling same as me) charge - infact I'd double my profits as most of my books only sell for for £1

Tnogu, if you've left positive feedback even more reason to see if the seller will give you a little refund, as he should be feeling well-disposed to you now. I will write it for you:

Hi, I just got the three games I bought from you and as they were packaged together I was wondering if there was any chance of a partial refund on the postage.

Many thanks!

(Can you tell I am a tight fisted bastard frugal individual who tries this stuff on a lot?)

The worse that will happen is he will ignore you or say no, but I say it is worth a try. Ebay is still populated with a few human beings, not all sellers are grasping conmen.

6LM - you sell books?

on ebay?

I'm always buying books....

buy from me! buy from me!

give me a link to your ebay site then.

Or if you don't want to "out" yourself on here, you can cat me if you like

stores.ebay.co.uk/A-Little-Book-Shop

Let me know if there are books you are interested in that aren't listed already. I'm having a massive clearout and you never know..... if I think i have something you are interested in I can dig it out.

MBITG - lolthanks

It's not me though, it's squonk who bought the items.

I have never actually used Ebay, can you believe that?

I don't have a mobile phone either.

I'm very behind the times.

tnog - from what I've heard, though, a mobile phone wouldn't work where you live, so not much point

Feck off

You're only jealous

lol 6lm @ using the phrase "i'm having a massive clearout" - a true ebayer

6LM: I think I may buy something from you in a mo

Tnogu--oops! Well good on you, don't start! As you might surmise from this thread it can consume the lives of those who get reeled in.

GT & Squonk: what I said below.

yay squonk! thank you

keepyourpuppy - you are right! massive clearout is true ebaying - oh for the good old days when people did this and bargains were had on ebay (same applies to car-boots actually)
Unfortunately my clearout at the mo is just my book stock. Many books that at one time were worth listing no longer sell - especially from shops. I'm in the process of clearing out my shop and then closing it. Shops just don't get the visibility anymore.
I've just brought LOADS of books from the loft and I reckon most will be sent to the charity shop - which is why I mentioned letting me know about particular books (I may as well keep an eye out whilst loading the boot of the car.)

"I don't think the fact he made money on it implies he is dishonest"

No, but the fact that he lied when saying that he wouldn't bundle the items together does. He blatantly lied. That would p*ss me off. I would probably have left a positive feedback but with somewhat negative wording like "interesting to see these arrived in one bundle when I paid separate P&P"

Franny no what i meant was there should be an equality of standard- either people like my DH (who after all is building a business) can be straight up then they should be rewarded with good feedback, or poeple whoa ren't so straight up shouldn't. I think though we're looing at different angles at this- i'm not so bothered by the actual costs as the will not bundle bit whihc I think is misleading and to me seems designed to at best confuse. IYSWIM.

Yes I would like to see the wording of the "will not bundle" part

I am wondering if squonk assumed it meant "I will not put your parcels in the same package" when it perhaps meant "I will not combine on postage CHARGES"

hmm... just went to find the original listing so I could tell you what the wording was:

It now says that he WILL bundle items together and will give a 50% discount off the total postage charge.

Wonder if he's a mumsnetter?

LOL

how do you feel about it now?

well, I wish I'd waited a week

seriously, I feel a bit vindicated tbh... if he has changed his policy then it obviously wasn't working properly, so I was right to feel pissed off iykwim

yes I see what you mean

oh well a happy ending