I would leave negative feedback. I wish I left negative feedback from a seller who sold me a piece of junk that was not described well and even had a price tag on it still and was worn out and made in china! I paid more than she paid for it due to the shipping and I would not give it as a gift since it is cheap looking in person. It was supposed to be silk flowers. The prior purchase on Ebay of silk flowers was nicer in person than described so I thought everyone was honest but some people are not.

Yes I would squirrel. If I screwed up on the shipping quote that much I'd honor my listing. It's about ethics and honesty. I might email and ask to ship it a different method if I could do so cheaper (I probably wouldn't but if I received that request...and have many times I'd be ok with it). But I'd not ask for more money. It's against the rules, plain and simple.

And the information on the glass dish is available by looking at feedback. You can see the sale at a lower price, then quickly again at a higher price. If she had two antique dishes, both the same, she'd have done two auctions at once. She's dishonest, and her feedback reflects it pretty clearly.

Let's put the shoe on the other foot.
Pretend honeychild posts here saying:

"OMG! I just sold a painting on ebay for 80 dollars and I just found out it's going to cost over $100.00 to ship it. I can't believe I did this. I kind of hefted it on my bathroom scales, and typed in the weight on ebay's shipping calculator, and that'show much I charged the buyer, but when I took it in, they said it was oversize and would cost more. They also said I should have someone pack it for me because it could be damaged. So I talked to the guys at the UPS Store and they want $35.00 just for a BOX! I can't afford to get a negative,and i can't afford to loose money on this sale. I use my ebay money to pay for (insert your favorite hard luck story here). I had NO IDEA it would really cost this much! Help! What should I do?!"

Of course, we'd all feel terrible for poor Honey, and we'd suggest she talk to her buyer and try to explain the mistake, and if that failed, just do the official ebay "item unavailable" thing to get out of the sale and refund the buyer's money. But what if, at some point during our online handholding and group hug session, Honey lets it slip that she'd had the painting listed earlier, but cancled the auction and relisted at a higher starting price because after looking at the other paintings online she realized she wasn't asking enough for one that big. (We kind of go "Hmmmmmm")

And then she mentions that she knows all about how to close a transaction on ebay because just last month, she used that "item unavailable" excuse when she sold a candy dish that ended up broken. She refunded the seller's money. And it was just the strangest thing, less than two weeks later, she found ANOTHER item, identical to the first (so much so that she didn't even need to take new pictures - imagine that!) so she relisted and it sold for THREE TIMES the price of the first candy dish...wasn't that just the luckiest thing?

Well, we pretty much loose all sympathy at that point, don't we?

Like I said, it's up to honeychild how much stress she thinks the painting is worth. Me? I'd let this one go and start looking for another one, but there's a good chance I'd leave a negative and ding those stars. Depending on how much the seller was willing to *try* to find a reasonable shipping cost, rather than simply give up "because the UPS Store said so...",

Squirrel, I actually WOULD send it, kicking and loathing myself for being such a idiot. But I would send it anway. If I didn't feel I could send it, as in, I didn't have enough money, I think I would just explain things to the bidder and accept the negative that I very rightly deserved.

Once, early on, I bought a fake painting from somone who insisted in was real. To get my money back, I had to get an appraiser ($50) to send a certified letter to ebay saying that it wasn't a real painting, and then, I had to pay to ship it back fully insured and professionally packed (via UPS, $60), HA. I ended up paying $110 bucks to get $60 back. And the seller neg'd me anyway.

I've gotten smarter since then :-)

Joanna

Also, if the widget wasn't worth the shipping, I would absolutely tell the bidder that, too. I did that once for a Canadian buyer. She purchased a New In Box fondue pot from me (unopened unwanted gift) for cheap, but shipping was so much that it made no sense to buy it from me when her total was more than it cost to go buy one from a store (it wasn't vintage or special). So I refunded her money and filed to get my fees back. She was going to pay it...but that's ridiculous! Every Target and Sears sells those pots...

Joanna

"I know how tempting it can be to bid when you see something you really want, but I make it a rule to NEVER bid on anything from a seller who has even one negative."

That sounds good and prudent, but in reality I disagree with that strategy. Why? Because I have a negative against me and this seller had 100% positive feedback for 2000+ transactions.

I bought some diamond earrings from ebay and immediately brought them to a professional GIA appraiser because I though they looked much 'crappier' than the 'moderate' quality I had decided to settle for. And I was right -- They were nowhere NEAR the advertised quality. So I emailed the seller, politely relayed the appraisal results, and asked for either a refund or a different pair of diamonds that DID meet their stated quality. Seller delayed, excused, hemmed, hawed, demanded I include my original appraisal certificate with my original written-on-paper certified letter -- but finally, repaid my money in full two months later.

I left them a neutral feedback saying "Quality not as stated per GIA appraisal. All money refunded." They retaliated with a negative against me and a near-simultaneous 'Offer to mutually withdraw all feedback' which would restore their perfect record. I refused. So now their record is 99.95% and mine is 98%.

Bottom line -- READ the feedback -- don't just look at the score.

I think your seller is full of cr*p.

I've bought numerous large canvas paintings from eBay sellers, and never, ever paid anywhere close to what she's claiming for shipping.

Don't let her off the hook. It's her responsibility to honor the contract that she's entered into with you.

My ebay score is score -33- because I haven't bought much.

This summer, however, I decided to put my toe in the water and sell my first item. A fairly fail proof item I thought. Easy.
A brand new, in the package, unopened, in shrink wrap disney dvd. I carefully worded my seller page and made it crystal clear the sale was no refunds. I looked at many other seller pages for similar items and copied what they did. I had very low shipping.
I had several bids and sold the dvd. I mailed it carefully in a bubble envelope and I might have done priority mail but I don't remember now.

The woman who bought it had a rating of 13 (100%). She said it was scratched and didn't play. She wanted her money back. I told her very nicely the sale was final and the dvd had been brand new. (It was given to me and I didn't want it)
We had several emails back and forth. She couldn't spell.

So, I refused to give her a refund. She was wrong! She left a really bad negative rating for me and since the ebay feedback had changed I couldn't leave anything for her. So now I have a rating of 80% because of someone nitwit I wouldn't give into. You'll probably say I should have sucked it up and returned the money but it was the principle of the thing.

End of all ebay selling. It was very stressful.

I am a lawyer in my spare time, and Igloochic is right. The reason Ebay makes the seller include shipping costs is based on contract law and the Uniform Commercial Code. Price must include cost of delivery to buyer's location, or the contract could be voided for leaving out an essential term (there were two terms for buying at seller's location and buying at buyer's location; freight-on-board was one and I don't remember the other). Ebay reminds everyone when they bid that "You are entering into a contract." The seller is the other party to the contract. If you want to make a big fuss about it, she is legally bound to honor the contract, and you could sue her for breach of contract. Whether you want to make that much of a big fuss, or negotiate a higher shipping cost, or just want to leave negative feedback, or forget it altogether, is up to you.

Well, I understand contract law too, but I gotta say that anyone who would sue an eBay seller for failing to honor a contract on an $80 item is just plain nuts.
;-)

Just because a DVD was brand new and in shrink wrap, doesn't mean it couldn't have been scratched. I have bought a couple of DVD's that were damaged from the manufacturer - not from eBay.

If you report her to ebay she'll probably stick to the original shipping price. My son bid on and won a drum kit. He had been looking for a long time for this particular kit and it didn't come up often on ebay. He had saved up his money for it and won it at a good price. A week later, when we started to wonder why we had no communication from seller, we got an email from him stating very casually something like "Whoa by mistake I sold it to another person. Sorry!" I think it was the not-apologetic-enough tone of his email that got me and I reported him to ebay. He actually did sell it to someone else, as they had written about it in feedback. If you are going to split the extra shipping costs, are you going to ask for proof of these shipping charges? Why does she say she's sending it US Parcel Post, but then go to the UPS store? I think she just sounds lazy and doesn't want to package it/ship it herself. She's probably paying to have them do packaging, etc.

Sweeby's advice to read the negative feedback is spot on. I use a site that lets me type in the seller ID and retrieve all of the negatives.

Honeychild, I hope this works out in a way that leaves you feeling good.

Here is a link that might be useful: Quick look up for negative feedback

Not to pile on,but that's a mass-produced in China "work of art". You can do better.

Ah bumblebeez, been there, done that. If you sell on ebay long enough, you will run into some entitled @ssholes. Once upon a time, both buyer and seller could change their feedback one "notch". That is, a seller could leave a positive if the buyer paid promptly, but downgrade it to a neutral if the buyer turned around with an unreasonable request for a refund, or sent a bad check or whatever. But now, the seller's hands are tied, and they are literally at the mercy of whoever has the winning bid. So if your buyer burns off a copy of the CD and doesn't need yours anymore, or damages it trying to get it open, they can demand a refund at your expense, or you get a negative and more importantly, you get those stars dinged. The star ratings effect where your items show up in a search, and how much you get charged to sell, even what kind of payment you are allowed to receive. This is why it's so important to avoid even the apperance that you are trying to pull a fast one; something Honeychild's seller hasn't figured out yet.

Ordinarilly, I'd say Honeychild's seller was just lazy, but she did pull the first auction of the same item and relist at a higher price, plus she's got that amazing identical candy dish sale. Look at some of her other items; starting price $1.00, with $9.00 to ship. (not including insurance) Assuming you purchase insurance on that breakabkle item, you will spend almost $11.00 to ship, and if it does arrive damaged, you'll only get back $1.00. That's alousy dealfor the buyer, but more importantly, ebay considers it fee avoidance. It looks like this woman has put some thought into how to squeeze both ebay and her customers for every last nickle.

Sounds like she is exactly the kind of questionable seller the new policies are designed to ferret out.

bumblebeez, though you can't leave negative feedback for a buyer you can leave a reply under herfeedback.

Go to the ebay home page and then click on HELP. Find the A-Z site and under F you'll find Responding to Feedback. Follow the steps from there and you can explain your side of the transaction.

Your seller just sold a large, metal model airplane that she describes as 31" across and very heavy. Shipping is listed as $32.00 by USPS Parcel Post. I don't think that amount will cover that shipping either. Wonder what she'll do?

Thanks Littledog and mona. I did leave a follow up to her feedback but I still have a low rating :(

I find it amusing when everyone says "I won an item on eBay". You didn't WIN anything, you were the person willing to pay the most! Winning something means you don't have to pay for it.

Back to the original problem, DO NOT leave feedback until this is 100% settled either way. Once you leave feedback the seller has no incentive to work with you.

Several responses here give options for better shipping, I would definitely hold the seller to her contract promise and make her ship. Keep all communication strictly through eBay. I was a Power Seller for years and have eaten a lot of mistakes that were my own doing. It comes with the territory of selling, you have to be honest and trustworthy.

Patty0315, it isn't the feedback percentage you should rely on, it is the content. When I was a Power Seller I had a 99.4% rating, all my negatives were from deadbeat bidders that I left negative feedback for first. I always called a bidder out when they never contacted or paid me, because I wanted my fellow sellers to know what kind of bidder they are. Not one of my 1100+ feedbacks were because I was a dishonest seller, every one was retaliatory. You have to look at the reason for the feedback, not just the number. You might miss out on some good deals if you stick with your original plan.

Keep us updated, I want to know what happens!

When I was into eBay, I always read the feedback comments themselves. Sometimes people left negative feedback for what I considered dopey reasons (hey, there are a lot of dopey people out in the world!). If someone complained that it took a week for the seller to ship, well, unless that person wrote that he/she paid extra for priority shipping, too bad, I didn't care. Seller not communicating well? That was a strike. I think you have to go into eBay with your eyes wide open, figure out what's acceptable behavior in your own mind and judge auctions and sellers accordingly.

OP: You will know very shortly if this is just going to steamroll and when (or if) to just jump aside.

OT: I was starting to list some stuff this past weekend (after quite a long time off eBay) and saw that sellers must now offer Paypal? I hate Paypal. They made a deal with the devil.

What's wrong with Paypal?

Ebay has changed the payment policy. "Sellers must offer to accept one or more of the following payment choices: PayPal;
Credit or debit card processed through an Internet merchant account; ProPay. Sellers may in addition offer to accept: Payment upon pickup." The expla

Sellers can still accept money orders and checks, but they cannot list these forms of payment in the auction. They have to wait until the buyer asks if they are acceptable. You can still get away with a listing that has checks and money orders in it, but only until sometime in January. The new policy was supposed to take effect in October, but there's a grace period to let people make sales before the holidays. You might get a warning email or two, but nothing bad will happen until some point in January.

In my book, the number one reason is that Paypal is not free for the seller; it takes a percentage of the item's value as a fee. It's another reason why you'll see more auctions with ridiculously padded shipping amounts; like eBay itself, Paypal doesn't get a cut of the shipping fees.

Well, I just have to put in my $.02 because I am amazed at the consistent reactions on this -- hopefully because people just think shes lying about the shipping to steal money. First of all, please donÂt think I would side with anyone using crooked practices that are intended to scam or cheat someone out in any way. Not a chance. Obviously, a seller should, and is required to, honor their sales to those who win the auctions. And itÂs a totally aggravating and disruptive waste of time for us when they donÂt. I also agree that it's reasonable for the winner to want the seller to pick up the tab when the shipping is off, which is professional on the sellerÂs part and not really a big deal -- as the winner has stated their maximum during the auction. And the email does sound as if she is typically willing to concede to that. But, imo, it is not a reasonable expectation if the two are not reasonably close in amount. This case is extreme at $125 Â and we are talking about good ole eBay here and an $80 mass-produced painting (a nice dollar for the painting, actually).

So, assuming innocent until proven guilty of an intent to cheat or deceive -- on this particular auction -- I find it unbelievable that people think she should be toasted and roasted at the stake over a shipping error (even if she shouldnÂt have guestimated) . A few people *have noted that it is possible for the shipper to have quoted her more than $100 (maybe theyÂre the crook?). She also does appear to be a new and inexperienced seller (and a bit lazy to not research the costs further on behalf of her buyer before upsetting the cart.)

So, supposing that this $165 shipping cost is, in fact, an honest quote, then I believe offering a refund is an appropriate option for her, should the buyer choose to not purchase any longer. Especially since weÂre not talking about some rich company here who can actually afford to provide the ultimate in customer service. Expecting someone to pay $125 to ship an item anyway is taking advantage of an honest mistake. Bottom line, for me, is that that is unethical and dishonest. Mistakes are human. Personally, I wouldnÂt expect it nor would I even allow it.

This is why we live in such a litiginous society. People think theyÂre entitled to a perfect world  or else. ItÂs just not that big a deal. Unless of course, sheÂs lying and not playing above-board. ThatÂs disgusting and IÂm sick of it, too, so do what you can or must to stop these types of people from doing their thing.

btw, IÂm sure IÂve been given final shipping costs after the auction, though have just paid any difference and not thought anything of it -- obviously not all that much $ involved or I may have asked them to relist. IÂve also eaten my own mistakes, the mistakes of others, and things that werenÂt even mistakes at all. ThatÂs life if you care about things.

(As far as the candy dish, the other guy just might be lying. Cause they most definitely do. Her response implied that something else had happened on that sale, and she sure wasnÂt trying to hide something by posting it again right there on eBay afterwards.)

I could imagine someone who's never shipped a large item before being caught unaware by those kinds of prices.....

I've never shipped much stuff beyond a small box here and there, but I had an old giant teddy bear I wanted my niece to have for her first baby. I'd already told her mom I was sending it to her. First I didn't have a box big enough to hold the bear, so I bought one--$30 (I was shocked--it was "just" cardboard, but what do I know). Then came the next shock....it cost $124 to ship that danged "free" bear (IL to FL)! It wasn't because of the weight of the item--it was because the size of the box exceeded some mysterious dimension that put it into the luxury category :-)

I find it amusing when everyone says "I won an item on eBay". You didn't WIN anything, you were the person willing to pay the most! Winning something means you don't have to pay for it.

Of course, you do "win" the bidding war. That's all anyone means when they say they've "won" an item on eBay. I'm pretty sure we all recognize that we must pay for the item in order to receive it.
;-)

Actually, winning means victory and doesn't have to involve money : )

I know from my experience with having organic_smallhome (a trusted and long time member of this forum) UPS ship me a rug from Boston to CA that there can be a vast difference in shipping rates between different UPS stores. I received an online quote via the UPS online calculator that when OSH took to her local UPS was over double that amount. Long story short, she ended up taking to a different UPS store and was quoted an amount close to the amount that I was quoted online. Shipping via Greyhound does have a greater potential for problems and breakage so a buyer should be allowed to factor that into what risk he/she is willing to take on as well as how much they wish to pay for shipping.

I do agree there is a good possibility that there was a genuine price difference between an online tool where she received the quote and what she found out when she went to her local store. Since she is not a power seller, I would chalk this up to inexperience and if you really want the painting, have her look into some other shipping options. If she really values her eBay reputation, she should be able to give you a few different shipping options as well as be willing to pack it herself. That is why many sellers charge a shipping AND handling fee--not just striaght shipping. And if you do have her pack it herself, make sure you have a clear understanding just how she is going to pack it up--not just throw it in a box and get some insurance.

Squirrel - look at it this way:

-- the seller is hardly inexperienced, she has sold over 150 items on E-bay;

-- she has overstated the cost of shipping this item by getting an estimate of what the most expensive place in town (the UPS store) would charge to wrap and send it, which to me is deceptive; and

-- how do you explain the candy dish being sold twice?

Hi!
No matter what, The first thing you should consider is, how much do you want the painting? Is it still a good deal if you had to pay full shipping? If it is not, you could hold seller to her advertised auction, in which case, she may file a dispuut with ebay (not that she would win but it would delay getting your item and hold up your refund). You could also file a dispute with ebay and a similar situation of delay would result. The other alternative is to back out altogether and get refund. Sounds as if this seller is an idividual new to ebay! How maany transactions has she done and was is her feedback rating?
Good luck. I hope it all works out!

Graywings, she doesn't seem all that experienced to me, and she's inexperienced with shipping large items. Verification of a shipping amount can be proved. I'd make sure there's a receipt confirming any charges. Otherwise, what would there be to deceive about?

I don't know what happened between those two on the candy dish transaction because I wasn't there. (I bolded her remark on the dispute.) I suppose it's possible she's crazy or stupid enough to tell the buyer it broke and then go post it right there on eBay again a couple of weeks later. The feedback area doesn't say what happened between them or why the deal folded. I also see that both complaining buyers have done little buying on eBay. She also has 150+ happy customers and has sold things for little profit in the past. I would take pause on her feedback and make a decision whether I wanted to take a chance that she might be a pain to deal with. Don't think her responses are very professional, but this is eBay.

Dispute: Fenton blue hobnail opalescent floating candy dish
seller said she broke item after I bought it, then sold it again for more money xxxxxxx ( 14) Nov-05-08 08:16
Reply by xxxxxxxx (Nov-11-08 13:12):
Not even close to what happened, good luck with this one !!

Dispute: antique vintage chrome plated copper fire extinguisher
seller said she tried to contact me but never did, and sold item at flee market, xxxxxxxx ( 6 ) Nov-11-08 12:53
Reply by xxxxxxx (Nov-11-08 13:11):
Yes, 2 weeks later after they never paid !! I left 3 emails What !?!?

Actually, I wouldn't buy from her simply based on the childish way she responded -- not based on the content at all.

Tracy, next time you want to ship some big ol' stuffed animal cross country, pack it in one of those suction-shrink bags. Won't hurt the critter a bit, but it will save you the oversize charge because you're only being charged the weight of the item. (And imagine how much fun that would be for a child to open a "pop-up" bear)

Here's the thing. When you place a bid on Ebay, you are reminding that you are entering into a contract. That contract works two ways--the seller is also entering into a contract. If the seller makes a mistake (and I feel this is at least a mistake on the part of the seller and at most a deliberate attempt to make more money, if the auction didn't go as high as she was hoping for), the seller can ask the buyer to be let out of the contract (cancel the sale) or the seller can ask the buyer to change the terms of the contract (pay more shipping fees), but the seller has to acknowledge that the buyer doesn't have to do either of these things. If the seller then refuses to ship the item, the buyer has no recourse except to file a Non-Performing Seller strike and leave negative feedback.

It just happened that I received a picture that I purchased on Ebay today. It's much smaller than the one in the OP. I think the seller wrapped and packaged it before listing it, so that she could put an accurate shipping amount in the listing. There's a description of the contents of the box penciled in on one corner. The shipping and handling was $10, which seems reasonable, giving the box, bubble wrap and packing peanuts that were used, plus however much it cost to ship it by DHL.

The seller in the OP could buy, from Ebay, a set of 8 picture frame boxes for $33. She would probably have to use two boxes to ship the picture in the OP. And then she could shop around for the best shipping price, which could be another UPS store, the USPS, DHL or FedEx.

It is possible that the seller thought she could get a free box from USPS only to discover that they don't have them that big and that while the quoted cost would cover the weight, the size of the picture would generate a surchage. Which is why Ebay suggests packing up the item first and then getting shipping charges.

If this were a brand new seller, I might cut some slack. But she's been selling on Ebay for over a year. In the past 15 days (that's as far back as Ebay goes) she has canceled two auctions because the item is no longer available. Both items started at $1 and had no bids. Now "very similar" items are up for auction, using the exact same pictures, and a starting price of $10. It's not against Ebay rules, per se, but it does make you wonder just what she is doing.

I don't know why she just doesn't start higher or place a reserve on things to begin with. Often really low starting prices make people go nuts and bid like crazy, though.

I really don't see what's wrong with canceling an auction and relisting it if she finds she's ending up giving things away for $1, maybe because there's not much selling going on with eBay these days due to the economy (or those two incidents have steered people to other sellers). Hardly worth the effort to find, list, pack, and ship something for $1. Even if it's just something you had around the house and didn't have to buy at an estate sale or something.

It's possible to change some things on an auction if no one has bid yet, maybe not the price, though. It's still the same item, so I don't see what difference it makes. Either you're interested in buying it or you're not. Why should she just give her merchandise away? She's trying to make a living like anyone else.

Maybe someone has advised her, or she's realizing that, she should start her items higher because she's losing money in a bad market.

My understanding is that if she were to cancel an auction and relist the item because she's not getting as much as she hoped for, she would be violating eBay's contractual terms that she agreed to when she listed her item. So it's really not a matter of doing what's right for her (although Squirrel is correct in stating that she should have put a reserve on the item to ensure that she is adequately compensated); rather, at that point she's no longer playing by eBay's rules, and as such, she has no right to keep listing her merchandise through that venue.

I don't think an auction can be cancelled or revised if there are already bidders. But if there are no bidders and there's a certain amount of time left before the auction closes, the seller isn't locked in to the auction. I'm sure there are qualifiers around it though.

Oh yes, you're right. You can revise an auction at any time up until you have that first bid (as I recall from the last time I listed something and had to make a couple of changes!).

I think this is what you're referring to AJ. Someone trying to cancel because they think it will close at a lower price than they'd like. That would be ridiculous and chaotic. Ending early is restricted after bids have been placed, though, I think. You need a 'valid reason' to cancel the bids, such as, it is broken or missing a part, or it was entered incorrectly. Revising is recommended. If there are less than 12 hours, I think it said it has to go to the highest bidder.

I vaguely remember somehow getting one of those 'no longer availables' on an auction.

Sellers are not permitted to cancel bids and end listings early in order to avoid selling an item that did not meet the desired sale price. This is considered to be reserve fee circumvention. Although there are legitimate reasons for ending a listing early, abuse of this option will be investigated.

I wonder if there's additional cost to putting a reserve fee on something, ie, 'reserve fee circumvention.'

I see. Looks like the higher the starting price, the higher the fee to just list the item.

Thank you for all the opinions and advice, I had no idea this topic would generate so much conversation. As I said earlier, I did send the seller a message requesting she research other shipping options. I received the following three messages.

"I actually talked to my father in law who sells alot of stuff on ebay, He told me that the ups store is quite expensive, I thought they were all competitive, Let me go to a couple of extra places tomorrow and try to find a better price. Thanks for working with me, when I said 45 for shipping that is what my best guess was, I will check all the other places and see which is cheeper. I will let you know what I find tomorrow. Thanks"

"I just wanted to clarify one more thing, I didnt buy the box for 34 or 35 dollars from the ups store thats just what they told me it would cost, There was a post office near buy that also sold boxes, I went there first but they closed down. I had never been to the ups store before. I did however get a box for free from my father in law so that will help, So dont send the 25 dollars you said you would, I might still be able to get to you for the 45 I said in the post. If it ends up being alittle more like 65 or close to that I can cover that, I just cant pay 135 to ship it. THanks again for being patient with me, I really do try to make everyone happy, And I will try to get this shipped out to you tomorrow. Thanks"

"Hi, I just wanted to let you know, I went to the main ups office today and sent off your picture, The total cost including insurance was 45.41, I couldnt believe the differance from the ups store I went to, I was told the ups stores are induvidualy owned and can charge what they want. I will never use a ups store again. Sorry for all of the inconvienenc, Hope you love the painting."

Hopefully the package will arrive in good shape and I will not have had to spend anymore money than I had originally planned. Thanks again!

Glad everything worked out so well. Looks like she handled it quite well, afterall, while keeping you informed with polite communications. And was a pretty good estimator, at that. Just started in the wrong place to try to ship that large item.

Hope you enjoy the painting : )

I have to wonder if the OP somehow was made aware of this thread... Interesting reply/solution. Either way, Enjoy your new art!

Yay! I am glad it worked out. Some eBayers push the limits to see if they can get away with something, but it does sound like she decided not to be lazy of this and worked it out for you.

Congrats!

I'm so happy to hear that it's working out for you! I hope it arrives safely and that you *LOVE* it!

Here's hoping your picture arrives in great shape and you enjoy it!!

On a side note, interesting that it ended up being just $.01 more than her original quote =)

It's great that this all worked out! I too hope you love your painting once it arrives (and hope it arrives safe & sound!).

Hi Honeychild1!
I do not know if this will help, but my mother just sent me a painting that had similar dimensions and a heavy gilded frame. She boxed it herself from a box she received from the grocery store. She sent it from East Texas to Massachusetts through the USPS parcel post for $32.00. I think the seller is trying to keep the painting to re list. I know that sounds negative but I have been through the same situation with a Howard Miller clock on Ebay. I won the auction for for a quarter of what the clock was worth. The seller wanted an insane amount for shipping instead of the listed shipping price. Ebay insisted he honor the listing or lose his account. I hope this may help you in some way.

Hi Honeychild. I am so glad this seems to have worked out for you and I pray that you receive your painting quickly and that it is in excellent condition.

I have been a seller on eBay for a very long time. I have shipped hundreds of items from very tiny things to very large, very heavy items. I can tell you that most any experienced, or even semi-experienced, seller never 'guesstimates' shipping costs, especially on something large. The first thing regular sellers do is buy scales to weigh their items. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that you can't guess on shipping costs, especially something that is large and heavy. I have also bought enough to know that she is a very suspicious seller. I am always one to give others the benefit of the doubt, however I believe this seller to be very suspicious, even though she does seem to be doing the right thing now. If for some reason your painting does not show up and you continue to have any problems, I would definitely report her for not keeping her part of the contract. You actually owe it to ALL buyers on eBay to protect us from sellers like her!! If you paid via Paypal, I would initiate a complaint through them. They are awesome at working out disputes between buyers and sellers. I have had great success with them in the past. In fact, I have ALWAYS used them when buying and selling on eBay for that very reason. I've never lost a complaint. As others have stated, make sure to keep ALL communicate through eBay so they have record of it. You can't use personal email as evidence of communication during a dispute.

Good luck to you. Again, I hope you receive your painting really soon and that it is just like you hoped it would be. Please post a picture so we can see!! Blessings, ~ADDY~