Hi guys,
I am really frustrated about an online transaction and wanted to get your opinions on it. I want this handled in a mature professional manner, but I don't want to get screwed either.
I am not going to use the actual name or info of the seller at this point. I actually came across his for sale ad on another BMW forum (not e30 specific).
Here are the Facts:
He had placed an ad for a couple of car parts, and that he was willing to ship. I contacted him and asked what the best price was he could do for shipping the parts to me in Canada. He got back to me and said that he wanted to "net" $100 for the parts, so it would be that price plus shipping. He further stated that there were two shipping options, $25.00 or $40.00 to Canada.
I wrote back to him and stated that the cheapest was best for me (as I was not in need of the parts immediately). He agreed and the money was sent ($125) via paypal for goods.
A few days later I had not received a tracking number, so I sent him another message asking if he had an opportunity to ship the parts yet. He responded that he had not, but shipping ended up being higher than he had originally quoted me, and he required that I send an additional $25 to cover the extra shipping.
This was definitely a red flag, and I probably should have asked for a refund then and there. I reluctantly replied an stated that it sucked that he would ask me to eat that extra cost after he had quoted me the shipping price and I had already paid. However, I did not want him being put out either, so I decided to forward the additional $25. (now a total of $150.00)
Yesterday I returned home to find a "missed delivery" notice from UPS. I was absolutely flabbergasted to see that in the C.O.D. fees section, it stated I owed $90.00 before they would release the package. Just as a reminder, I was only paying $100 for the parts! I have not yet mentioned, but these parts are small and light. I actually would have thought that they could fit in a padded envelope, so this was all seeming very strange to me.
I immediately called UPS to figure this out. They informed me that the sender had elected for "split shipping", whereby he pays to have the package arrive at the Canadian border. At which point a broker takes over for the rest of the delivery, and the receiver would cover the cost of that from the border to the receiving address. w.t.f.
They also stated that included in that fee was the tax to be paid on the purchase price that the sender had submitted to them. Out of curiosity I asked if they had that information on file. They did. It turns out that the sender had arbitrarily decided to tell UPS that the purchase price for the parts was $200USD??. So I had to pay taxes and fees on that value, rather than the $100.00 that I actually paid.
I emailed the sender after getting off the phone, outlining what I have written herein. He said that he was surprised as I am as he had paid to have the item shipped to my address.
He told me that I have two options. (I believe I have many options, not limited to those suggested by him, for the record)
1. He will refund me the purchase price plus half of the shipping costs, less half of the paypal fees. (while this seems to be a somewhat reasonable solution, I don't believe that I should be out any money from all this, and I have a sneaky suspicion/worry that he will renege on that once I refuse the package.)
2. That I pay the extra 90.00 and get the package, as he still sees this as a good deal (I certainly do not, and from my research I am already paying top dollar for what it is). Regardless, I did not agree to this new price.
Any advice/input is appreciated. I mostly just needed to vent haha.
Cheers
I am really frustrated about an online transaction and wanted to get your opinions on it. I want this handled in a mature professional manner, but I don't want to get screwed either.
I am not going to use the actual name or info of the seller at this point. I actually came across his for sale ad on another BMW forum (not e30 specific).
Here are the Facts:
He had placed an ad for a couple of car parts, and that he was willing to ship. I contacted him and asked what the best price was he could do for shipping the parts to me in Canada. He got back to me and said that he wanted to "net" $100 for the parts, so it would be that price plus shipping. He further stated that there were two shipping options, $25.00 or $40.00 to Canada.
I wrote back to him and stated that the cheapest was best for me (as I was not in need of the parts immediately). He agreed and the money was sent ($125) via paypal for goods.
A few days later I had not received a tracking number, so I sent him another message asking if he had an opportunity to ship the parts yet. He responded that he had not, but shipping ended up being higher than he had originally quoted me, and he required that I send an additional $25 to cover the extra shipping.
This was definitely a red flag, and I probably should have asked for a refund then and there. I reluctantly replied an stated that it sucked that he would ask me to eat that extra cost after he had quoted me the shipping price and I had already paid. However, I did not want him being put out either, so I decided to forward the additional $25. (now a total of $150.00)
Yesterday I returned home to find a "missed delivery" notice from UPS. I was absolutely flabbergasted to see that in the C.O.D. fees section, it stated I owed $90.00 before they would release the package. Just as a reminder, I was only paying $100 for the parts! I have not yet mentioned, but these parts are small and light. I actually would have thought that they could fit in a padded envelope, so this was all seeming very strange to me.
I immediately called UPS to figure this out. They informed me that the sender had elected for "split shipping", whereby he pays to have the package arrive at the Canadian border. At which point a broker takes over for the rest of the delivery, and the receiver would cover the cost of that from the border to the receiving address. w.t.f.
They also stated that included in that fee was the tax to be paid on the purchase price that the sender had submitted to them. Out of curiosity I asked if they had that information on file. They did. It turns out that the sender had arbitrarily decided to tell UPS that the purchase price for the parts was $200USD??. So I had to pay taxes and fees on that value, rather than the $100.00 that I actually paid.
I emailed the sender after getting off the phone, outlining what I have written herein. He said that he was surprised as I am as he had paid to have the item shipped to my address.
He told me that I have two options. (I believe I have many options, not limited to those suggested by him, for the record)
1. He will refund me the purchase price plus half of the shipping costs, less half of the paypal fees. (while this seems to be a somewhat reasonable solution, I don't believe that I should be out any money from all this, and I have a sneaky suspicion/worry that he will renege on that once I refuse the package.)
2. That I pay the extra 90.00 and get the package, as he still sees this as a good deal (I certainly do not, and from my research I am already paying top dollar for what it is). Regardless, I did not agree to this new price.
Any advice/input is appreciated. I mostly just needed to vent haha.
Cheers
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