Mountain Biking - I hate UPS!!!

Just bought a set of STI XT levers for $99 on ebay, the seller won't ship by USPS. And for some miracle reason, I won the bid. So he told me he could ship by either UPS or FedEx, so I told him to ship by FedEx air. After charging me $27 + $3 US for shipping, and 5 days of waiting, he gives me a tracking number. It ended up he shipped it by UPS standard delivery!!!!! ($10 US service) :mad:

Called up UPS, and they said I can't clear my own customs because the package is coming into Windsor, Ontario. It's about 5 hours away from here. So looks like I'll get charged $38 CDN duty + ALL applicable taxes + POSSIBLE DUTY because the shifters are most likely made in Japan. The seller did say he marked it as a gift, but I don't know if that'll make ANY difference to an evil coperation like UPS....

Looks like the cost are going to double or even triple after shipping, brokerage fee, taxes and maybe duty :(

You guys think this guy deserves a postive feedback??? :mad:

/Rant over

I hear ya. I hate dealing with anyting international. You can never really tell what you will be charged until it arrives. If the guy agreed to ship it one way and then shipped it another, and overcharged you on top of that, I wouldn't leave positive feedback that's for sure. Maybe contact him and see what happened and if he will give you some money back before leaving feedback though. I'd be pretty mad, that almost doubles what you paid for the parts just to get them to you.
Hope it works out.

Do you have a written agreement that he would ship via Fedex? If so then he didn't honour the agreement and you should bring this up to him calmly.

Tell him that because of his mistake you were charged an extra $n.nn due to that and you would NOT have bought the item if you had known he would have shipped via UPS.

Ask him to compensate you for this mistake by the EXTRA amount otherwise you will be forced to provide negative feedback.

Wait for his reply and if needed, offer to split the extra charge meaning you're willing to take a refund of $n.nn/2.

He owes you a refund for overcharging the shipping, AND an apology for being such a dink. Ask him if he ever shipped internationally before, and if he understands the trouble he has caused you. If he's unhappy about the auction ending at less than what he expected, its his fault for not setting a reserve. He shouldn't try to make up his losses by shafting you on the shipping.

BTW-this is why I never buy from, or sell to, people in another country.

this is why I never buy from, or sell to, people in another country.

Yup, exactly the reason my auctions all say that I will ship to the US only. It usually isn't worth the trouble to me or any potential buyers to have to deal with international shipping.

I would try to have a reasonable conversation with the guy before leaving negative feedback. Find out why he didn't ship fed ex, there could be a reasonable explanation. I don't know what it would be but ya never know. If nothing else I believe he should at least be willing to refund you the extra $20 ($17 overcharge and the $3 for insurance since UPS insures up to $100 for free).

If that doesn't work your only recourse will be negative feedback. Keep in mind though that if he has not already left you positive feedback he will probably leave you negative feedback in retaliation.

Another point-if the seller doesn't list his shipping method and rate, ALWAYS ask before you place a bid. Once you've won the auction, you are obligated to pay for the item, and the shipping. So if, after the auction ends, he says "it'll be 13 gazillion dollars for shipping", you either pay or get negative FB and a non-payer dispute filed against you. And don't accept "oh, it probably won't be more than 9 or 10 dollars to ship". Get an exact amount, and save the email.

i've shipped from other coutries before... i had no troubles... but it was a german product from germany... amybe that has something to do with it... i dunno..

did you pay by credit card? call up your credit card company.. see what they can do.

also, if you contacted him by e-mail, this is on paper.. just use your printer.

So why do you hate UPS? I'm just curious 'cause I do, too. They've broken and misdelivered way too many items I've ordered. I always take USPS(if available) or FedEx. Good luck sortin' that mess with the seller out.

Your beef is with the seller, not UPS.

Yet another reason not to live in Canada, me personally I would drive to the guys house and put his a$$ in a figure 4 or maybe just choke him real good.

If U paid via C/C, then simply refuse to pay the bill charge. Call the C/C issuer & tell them the whole truth. They'll take your side, trust me.....
If, on the other hand, you paid the eBAY Seller via bank account transfer, then you're up Shiit Creek w/o a paddle....

Good Luck, nevertheless....

Your beef is with the seller, not UPS.


Well, I found out the brokerage fee is $38 from UPS. So add in taxes, and duty, the value is double of what the auction ended at.

So compared to the $5 I would have paid with US Postal Service, $38 is a rip off. So my beef is still somwhat with UPS :mad:

Oh well, it's still a deal in the end, and spending an extra $100 won't kill me. After all, biking is expensive.

I bought a bike frame and some other small parts from Cambria bikes in California and they shipped it Fedex for $100, Came in 3 days and only 7 buks in brokerage plus gst

I bought a bike frame and some other small parts from Cambria bikes in California and they shipped it Fedex for $100, Came in 3 days and only 7 buks in brokerage plus gst. By the time you pay the UPS brokerage you are up to near the same price with alot poorer service.... better luck next time