Ok, I am hoping to get an opinion here on this, my wife thinks I overreact to things like this, but to me it is really upsetting. I bought some modules from a dealer online (I am not mentioning any names because that is not what this is about, this is more about the situation in general and not naming a specific person, and no, it is not anyone from here).

So I ordered a few modules, and paid extra for Priority shipping. The shipping came to $8.50 which I thought was a bit excessive, but I didn't complain about it one bit.

I paid with paypal on June 3rd... they actually didn't ship until June 9th apparently because I emailed on the 9th (just about a week after I paid) and the seller replied "Oh, I just sent them out" which actually probably meant "oh, I forgot, I'm shipping them today".

Ok, that is still NOT why I am mad.

So the modules shipped on the 9th, and I just got them TODAY. The 18th. 9 mailing days later... They were NOT shipped priority, they were shipped  PARCEL POST.

Ok, now here is where my problem is. Priority takes 2-3 days. Parcel Post takes 2-9 days, and in this situation it was 9 mailing days for me to get it. The box was 1 pound 1 ounce. The shipping cost for Priority from him to me was $4.80 (remember, I paid $8.50), and the cost for Parcel Post was (drumroll here) $5.09. So the idiot actually paid MORE to ship it slower to me and with NO TRACKING INFO!

But wait, it gets better...

The box was wrapped in brown grocery bag paper and taped up. Upon opening it, the box he used was an INSIDE OUT Priority Box. So this guy charged me for Priority. Got a Priority box, and could have shipped it to me for $4.80, but instead, he took the box apart, turned it inside out and rebuilt it and taped it, then apparently decided he'd get busted by the post office for using a Priority Box for non-Priority so he took the added extra time to repack it with an inside out grocery bag and tape it up again, just so he could ship it to me slower with no tracking to show if I got it or not and at a higher cost to himself.

UGHH... It is so frustrating.  At least the modules inside were as described.

D.

I would just ask for a partial refund. No reason to get all flabberstrated about something so minuscule.

Shipping is where eBay money is made.  Tell him that he should have sent used Media Mail if he wanted to make a killing.  

OK, the rest of this post is entirely my opinion:

You should contact the seller and ask for a buck or two back.  It's not much financially, but it gives the seller a chance to fix things and make you feel better.  He may also apologize or explain why he was so screwed up that week.  Alternately or in addition, give him low stars or neg him.  Keep it all simple and civil, and everything remains minor and fairly meaningless.

Cardboard Carnage wrote:UGHH... It is so frustrating.  At least the modules inside were as described.

eBay auctions are similar to women at a 12-Step Meeting:

The odds are good that the goods are odd.

You got your winnings and are happy with their condition, so you are lucky in that respect.  Wait until you receive trashed items!

You are overreacting . . . maybe.   If your wife has noticed overreaction in the past, then maybe you do overreact to small things.  Feeling irritated that you were overchanged for shipping that was not used --- OK.  Asking for a partial refund --- OK.   Burning them in the fireplace after receiving them because they are so effed-up --- wait, I don't have a fireplace any more.  

If you want to continue buying items while retaining your sanity, then you must contact sellers and ask them to protect the books against damage, water damage, postal carrier damage, wrap in Saran Wrap, pack in stiff cardboard, write "Do Not Bend" on the package, whatever.

My only experience with shipping to Australia was a few years ago, the guy I dealt with was a great buyer because there was a huge problem in the shipping.

I sold him my collection of Traveller RPG books from when I was a kid. It was a massive set of hard and softcover books, and the shipping via the slowest method was like $60.00. At the time I did this, there was no way to get tracking on it unless it was sent some kind of global priority or something, which was hundreds and hundreds of dollars due to the weight.

Anyhow, I think the books were about $200 in total cost, so he paid plus the shipping and I sent the books. It was supposed to take a few weeks, and after a few MONTHS went by, I finally ended up having to refund the money since his package did not arrive. I assumed some custom's guy was playing Traveller at that point for sure. It was one of those things where I kind of though maybe he got them and said he didn't, and I'm sure he was thinking that I might have never sent them, etc.

So I refunded his money and thought that was the end of it.

Then, a few months later (this is like 4 or 5 MONTHS after I shipped the box), he paypals me the money again and tells me that the box had JUST arrived! Not only did it just arrive, but he even said he saw on the post mark that I did send it when I told him I was.

I don't remember the guys name, but I was so glad he was honest about it and paid me, I had honestly forgotten about it by that point.

D.

At least you see my point.  Even if the prices were revered, and he was going to save twenty cents by shipping it parcel post, is it worth the time to cut up the box, turn it inside out and then repack it? Whats up with that!?

How does negative feedback work? I have several hundred positives and no negatives... I have also never left a negative. I don't want to get my reputation tarnished with some sort of retaliation over a few cents in shipping either.

D.

Buyers can no longer receive negative feedback. Or, so that is my understanding.

I am assuming you checked to make sure they didn't reuse an already used priority mail package as a "green" business practice.  But, yeah, I would just email them a complaint and ask for the shipping difference as a refund.

Preprinted postage or taken to the post office?  That sounds like someone either ran out of money to pay postage or an employee is milking the packages for pocket change.  I have seen both happen.

No, it was just taken to a post office, but the odd thing is they didn't save any money by doing this, they actually paid more... Just odd.