In this auction the "Shipping and Payment Details" section of the auction page made no mention of a $17 to $19 packing fee added to the actual shipping cost. Nor will the Calculated Shipping tell you how much is actual feight and how much the seller is gouging for packing a crankset. I believe this is a deceptive practice which should be banned. Actually I have a problem with this sort of charge even if disclosed. Sticking a crankset in a large padded mailer does not require a lot of time and packing materials like packing a bike or frameset does.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Houston, TX
> At 06:40 AM 2/23/2004 -0600, jerrymoos ushered forth:
> >Well, I believe it is devious to hide very high handling costs in the
> >Calculated Shipping.
>
> It is what it is. Any stateside buyer can simply enter their zip code and
> instantly know exactly what they will pay for shipping/handling. That's a
> good thing for buyers, especially when dealing with larger items -- or, in
> your case, with sellers who charge handling fees that are higher than you
> think they should be. No matter what the case, the seller knows the full
> and complete shipping charge, quickly and accurately, and can therefore
> factor it into their bid. A good thing. So you have to type in your zip
> code (only once with Internet Explorer, after that it is automatically
> entered for you).
>
> It's a good thing for sellers too. No more answering 50,000 "how much
will
> it cost to ship to x" emails, at least 49,999 of which do not ever enter a
bid.
>
> > A buyer
> >who was very familiar with shipper rates might feel no need to check the
> >exact amount until the auction was over.
>
> Shipping and handling charges have always been an important factor in eBay
> transactions; making such an assumption just because the seller is
> exercising a new eBay feature would be a foolish shortcut for any buyer to
> take.
>
> > It also does not appear on the
> >main auction page.
>
> It appears in the "Shipping and Payment Details" section, directly beneath
> the "Description" section. All part of the same page.
>
> rgds,
> Dave Baseley from Berks County PA