Understanding Auction Terms
Both parties should abide by auction description terms
If the seller says you must use insurance and you don't, you will be liable for the package if it's lost in the mail.
If the seller says in the description it will take 3 weeks to ship, it will take 3 weeks.
If they are obviously against shipping to anywhere outside their home country, and you don't happen to live there, leave it at that and don't bid.
If the description says NO REFUNDS, ASK QUESTIONS BEFORE PLACING A BID, then caveat emptor (let the buyer beware). The exception to this of course, is that the item must match the advertised auction description.
In short, a prospective buyer should read all terms carefully before bidding, as your bid is a tacit and full acceptance of the terms stated in the description; when you bid, it's an agreement to a contract.
If you don't like the terms, you can walk away at any time before placing that first bid- you should not complain about clearly stated terms after the fact. Under certain rare instances, you may be able to get a seller to change a stated auction term, but ONLY if you contact them with that question BEFORE the auction ends- To try and do so afterwards is very bad form and just plain annoying to most sellers.
When a winning bid is placed and the auction ends, the auction description's terms become a legally binding contract in many states!
Buyer Etiquette
High Handling Fees: Too much to handle?
Here's a classic example: If a seller states they only ship with Priority Mail and they want $6.00 based on estimated weight and packaging materials, don't send them an e-mail after you've won asking if they can ship media mail, for three dollars less because "you don't really need it that fast". This is bad auction etiquette, especially when the auction has ended -that seller may have had several other buyers bidding who wouldn't have hassled them over the shipping fees that were clearly stated in the description.
Of course, the customer is always right, and most dealers are happy to accommodate them if they can, but when terms are clearly stated, it's bad form for the buyer to ask for changes when the auction is over. Why? It's the principle of the situation. This is not what was stated in the description. If a seller says they will happily ship using one of several different methods, then that's a completely appropriate time for such a question. Otherwise, try and limit special requests to protective packaging, insurance, delivery confirmation or registered-mail type issues.
Many dealers have standard packaging suppliers, and use assembly-line style packing methods. A buyer who balks about shipping after the fact may save a few bucks, but the seller will probably have to go out of their way to change their routine. This leads to a negative feeling on the part of the seller, who may decide they would rather not do business with you, and might decide that priceless collectible should go to another bidder.
I have personally noticed that when I do go along with requests to change my shipping terms after the gavel falls, I usually end up paying close to what I quoted the buyer for the Priority Mail in the first place. Why? Because the buyer is not always so great at estimating what my packaging methods and delivery cost are going to actually cost me.
Remember, the seller is usually the pro, here, and is making these shipping calculations many times a month based on their own tested packing and delivery routine. Yet now they are being told how to do business "because it will save us both money", and then they get burned. This makes a seller doubly upset, because they now have had financial injury added to insult.
Most sellers would not dream of doing what most established online e-commerce mail-order houses do which is to charge a handling fee to the customer. It's not fair then, for the buyer to turn around and ask these sellers to pay out of pocket for special requests. Remember the feedback system- is it really worth the negative feedback risk to save a dollar or two? And add up all the back & forth e-mails- time is money also, for buyers as well as sellers.
In short, the time to pose questions about special shipping requests is BEFORE the auction ends. Think of it this way- do you like it when a seller doesn't advertise a high shipping fee until after an auction is over? Of course not!
Seller Etiquette
Of course, this works both ways, and the seller should not only adhere to the terms of the deal, but by the spirit of the auction description as well. If they advertise that several shipping options are available and say "just ask!", then they should be flexible when the buyer makes special shipping requests... If the buyer is told in the description that they have to pay extra for certain fees, such as insurance or special packing methods, then these extras had better be included, and ABSOLUTELY should be spelled out in advance. No one likes to pay exorbitantly high "handling fees" of any kind, and especially when they are not advertised in the auction.
I once had a new seller charge me $12.00 for shipping (actual postage was about a third of this) after they had simply stated "buyer pays shipping". They then used media mail to ship the package, and waited a week or so to mail it. Sound familiar to anyone? It was the early days of auctions on ebay, so common practice auction "rules" hadn't really come about yet; nevertheless, I paid the amount, but since the description stated "actual shipping", I was being unfairly overcharged.
After cheerfully paying in full, I calmly and politely explained to the seller that such tactics may yield short term gains, but would not be welcome very long on ebay, and warned them about the feedback system (which they had not heard of yet). I also shared with him my own experiences as a seller... I let him know about other buyers out there, who were slightly less calm than I was about this particular "handling" issue, and what their reaction might be. An apology followed, with a partial refund for shipping, and there were positive feedbacks on both sides of the deal's conclusion. Plus, we were both a little wiser.
Tip for sellers: The previous example shows why many buyers prefer to bid on items that have shipping amounts clearly stated in the description.
One of the most unimaginative and dare I say, sleazy scams on any auction site is the over priced shipping scam. No, I don't mean charging $6.00 or $7.00 dollars when the shipping costs $5.85. A certain amount of accidental over-estimating will take place and is par for the course. I am referring to the intentional, systematic overstating and padding of the shipping price solely to make a profit.
A word of caution: Any seller who routinely overcharges for handling by several dollars per transaction, will not profit long, and won't receive nearly as many bids from reluctant and educated buyers. That tactic may have flown in the mid 90's in online auctions, but it just won't get off the ground these days. Plus, it's an ethically bankrupt practice and is just plain wrong.
For more info: Read our auction fraud articles
Tip for buyers: If the seller is not willing to combine ship several auction orders on the same deal (a pretty standard expectation from bidders these days) to save you shipping fees, and/or wants to charge a very high fee for 'handling', walk away. There is probably a better deal coming along soon any way.
Bidders, please take the aforementioned statement with a grain of salt- if a seller wants an extra dollar or two for using a special kind of shipping material, and they state this in advance- that should be considered OK, as long as they follow through with some seriously professional looking bubble wrap. After all, you do want to receive that Ming Dynasty vase in one piece, right?
But, if you pay $12.00 for a $3.85 Priority Mail job based on 'Packaging Materials', and these materials turn out to be crumpled old newspapers and old cut-up shipping boxes from the seller's previous deals, you have a right to complain because THEY didn't follow their own terms, and charged for you something they didn't follow through on.
Next part: Buyer & Seller Communication
