[WWI] ot: Ebay shipping costs

[Carlos Carreira]

I recently asked a guy who sells Icare magazines a quote for 4 mags. He
replied with a reasonable price and after a couple of days I bought the
magazines (by buy it now - not exactly the same item numbers, but the same
magazines relisted). When I received the invoice, the shipping price was
more than the double he quoted! I sent him an e-mail quoting his first price
and after some time I received the corrected invoice. This had a good end,
but if I hadn't ask first I think i would be robbed.

That's why I try to ask first, or, if the price is stated and is too high, I
ask if he can send by cheaper means - and often I have the shipping reduced.
Many sellers prefer to send at higher rates because there is less trouble,
with buyers asking for something that can take weeks or months by surface.
That's also one reason why many sellers don't send to other countries. But
by my experience, a good communication from the buyer leds to a reasonable
reply by the seller.

Of course I have already paid overpriced shipping, but in these cases I knew
it in advance - or the deal was so good that I didn't want to risk a
negative by retaliation.

Carlos