Ah okay.

How about this?

Never share your tips...

And don't tell people what you think the greatest product is until you've bought it already, or are ready to SELL.

nah, I shared my tips with friends collecting high-end fly reels for years, because I couldn't buy them all.
I have an e-friend who bought enough red-agate between-the-wars fly reels for cheap, that he could sell them and put his kid through college.

I have never seen "can not accept payments now".

Although I frequently see a note that the seller won't ship until X date.

There are auctions which the seller apparently had low inventory, so they set the price at very much over-priced.

Perhaps send the seller a message and see what is up.

Yeah, I clicked the BIN button then the payment page came up with that message on it so I couldn't buy it. It also had "Error Code: 70297".

I have.

Sometimes the sellers will add a note to their listing saying their "store will be closed until such date", but they have to choose to add that.

More eBay fodder here... am interested in your opinions.

I sell just a few thing but have gotten burnt by buyers claiming the item didn't work when in fact they just didn't know how to operate it. I end up eating return shipping to find it works fine. Sometimes the return postage isn't worth it and I just issue a refund on an item that worked fine when I sent it.

Could it protect me by stating a return policy where on alleged "defective" items, the buyer pays return postage which I would refund upon verification of the defect? Curious as to whether eBay would allow a seller to enforce this policy if it's stated in the posting. I realize this isn't buyer-friendly and could result in negative feedback from a buyer who doesn't want to accept the policy.

Yet another ebay question. I won an auction on a bike. In the ad the shipping charge was listed as $74.61. On the payment page it's listed as $134.53, almost $60 more. Has this happened to anyone else? I sent the seller the message but haven't heard back yet.

Yes, happened to me as well a few days ago. Seller said it's an ebay issue. I asked for a correct invoice total. He sent it quickly with the correct shipping charges.

Requesting an invoice from the seller should take care of your issue.

That's a classic buyer scam. A buyer will claim it wasn't 'as described' and ask for a return. Seller agrees to return ans buyer says, 'well, I'll keep it if you give me a discount'. F frickin' NO. Never. I always call the buyers bluff and tell them to send it back. All my ads are 'buyer pays return shipping. Some clown tried to play that game on me with carbon fork...I send him a pre-paid return label and he never sent it back.

An item 'not as described' is 100% reason for a buyer to return an item even though its subjective. My ad wordking is very, clear, concise and specific. I also post 5mp pictures.

Its an inherent issue with eBays built in shipping calculator. But it's also could be an up charge for boxing of the bike. $74.61 shipping, $60 packaging. An seller who used the calculator is either lazy or greedy. Lazy because they cant click the drop down boxes and manually enter a price or greedy because the calculator is most always a lot more expensive. I ordered 2 items a few weeks ago total $35 or so plus $7 shipping...$3.50 for each item and they didn't combine shipping even though I asked. Both items could have been shipped for $2.50 first class. sometimes I think sellers use inflated shipped shipping to cover their low margins. Anyways, one of the items was missing parts...I asked for a return. They supposedly sent a label. I couldn't find the label attachment. F it...negative feedback.

Its also a sign the seller knows nothing about shipping bikes. Coast to coast $85 w/ packaging materials. $50 to have a shop box it. I charge a recalculated flat fee to ship bikes.

Shipping w/ materials $85
Madone clam shell box if its a big $$$ bike $20. Yes, $20.
Insurance on big dollar bike $XX
Totals usually $125-135 all in insured with signature for an expensive bike. $85 or so for a knock around bike.

Hmm. The seller replied and this is what he said:

FedEx calculated it based on weight and dimensions so you only pay actual charges..I do not charge for packing materials... If it is any less (within reason) I will refund you any overage...if its over then I will cover it...


I'm not really sure what he's saying. I think he's saying I will be charged the lower price or he'll refund me the extra money. The money hasn't been drawn out of my bank account yet but paypal shows I paid the higher shipping so I don't know.

I have no issues with that. All of my shipping is pre-calculated based on Tampa to Seattle. On occasion I'll sell an item to a buyer in Orlando or Miami. I'll send the buyer a message "after receiving the item and finding it satisfactory let me know and I'll refund you the difference in shipping". I want positive feedback before giving a refund. Do send the seller a polite message as a reminder for the refund.