# Rethinking this online shopping thing **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 1, 2017, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rethinking-this-online-shopping-thing/781126 "2017-03-01T18:55:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rethinking-this-online-shopping-thing/781126/21 "2017-03-01T23:06:07Z")
OP, does the seller appear to move a lot of stuff? Edit: disregard this question Speaking for myself, while I’ve bought a fair bit on Ebay, I’ve never sold anything. If I were to sell something, I can easily imagine not bothering signing up for Ebay’s shipping wizard dealie and simply driving the package to the post office. Then, I’d promptly lose the paperwork with the tracking info. ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rethinking-this-online-shopping-thing/781126/22 "2017-03-01T23:23:54Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > That does sound strange. Although, I would never get Sunday delivery here as, like I said, neither USPS nor UPS nor any other shipping company works on Sundays. > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I sometimes see a USPS truck on Sunday. > [@Kimballkid](#): > > I did specify ‘here’ where I am. > [@Helena330](#): > > Yes, they do. USPS delivers for Amazon on Sundays. I’ve gotten a number of packages from them and frequently see them in my neighborhood. > [@Kimballkid](#): > > Once again, I did specify ‘here’ meaning where I am. > [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > They have a contract with USPS to deliver on Sundays. I see the Post Office trucks driving around our neighborhood on Sundays all the time. Kimballkid, I’m not quite understanding. Are you saying that USPS doesn’t have Sunday delivery _anywhere_? Like not just where you are but anywhere? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rethinking-this-online-shopping-thing/781126/23 "2017-03-01T23:56:09Z")
> [@pohjonen](#): > > True that, but at least I don’t need to wonder if or when I’ll get my purchases after I’ve paid for them. Peace of mind: priceless. > > Update: One last nag from me and the seller cancelled the order. Clearly, he never actually shipped it or he’d have just given me the damned tracking number. So much for Ebay. With heavy items like amps if he offered free shipping the USPS rates might have given him sticker shock if you are at a far distance from the seller. I ate 22 in shipping on sending some steel toed with steel metatarsal shank protection rubber boots to Nevada last night. The weight was 12 lbs and cost me 40. _after_ my ebay discount. My flat shipping rate was $18. I almost never have a boot that heavy and then to ship it cross county ate me alive, but I shipped at as I had represented that price in my listing. It you are cross country from a seller an amp could cost a ton to ship so he dithered and delayed hoping you would get PO’d and give him an excuse to cancel the sale. . ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rethinking-this-online-shopping-thing/781126/24 "2017-03-02T00:18:47Z")
> [@astro](#): > > I have a store on ebay and sell hundreds of items a year. Ebay has a shipping module built in for sellers and if shipped priority it will automatically have a tracking number. Priority is 1-3 days to most of the US so you should get it shortly if it was shipped Monday. > > Look on your purchase notice in my ebay. If he generated the label using ebay’s online app (which offers a slight discount to shippers) a tracking number should be listed there. If he did it at the Post Office window (which is less convenient and more expensive) he should have a printed receipt he can text or email you a pic of without too much trouble. I have not sold on Ebay because of not knowing how to calculate shipping. Does this shipping module calculate postage? ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rethinking-this-online-shopping-thing/781126/25 "2017-03-02T00:39:18Z")
> [@astro](#): > > With heavy items like amps if he offered free shipping the USPS rates might have given him sticker shock if you are at a far distance from the seller. I ate 22 in shipping on sending some steel toed with steel metatarsal shank protection rubber boots to Nevada last night. The weight was 12 lbs and cost me 40. _after_ my ebay discount. My flat shipping rate was $18. I almost never have a boot that heavy and then to ship it cross county ate me alive, but I shipped at as I had represented that price in my listing. > > It you are cross country from a seller an amp could cost a ton to ship so he dithered and delayed hoping you would get PO’d and give him an excuse to cancel the sale. . He had added 10 bucks for shipping to the price. Clearly since he cancelled the order rather than give me a tracking number, he lied when he said he had shipped it on Monday. Or he has an amp winding it’s way to the west coast that he refunded the money for. Somehow, I don’t see that as likely. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rethinking-this-online-shopping-thing/781126/26 "2017-03-02T00:40:25Z")
My Wife and I got a UPS personal box at a United Parcel Service shipping store. They take regular USPS mail, and any shipping companies. And they email you when you get a package. We don’t get mail delivery to our house, and I don’t ask UPS/FEDX to try to get it to us in the winter. It’s made life much easier. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rethinking-this-online-shopping-thing/781126/27 "2017-03-02T01:08:58Z")
> [@pohjonen](#): > > He had added 10 bucks for shipping to the price. Clearly since he cancelled the order rather than give me a tracking number, he lied when he said he had shipped it on Monday. Or he has an amp winding it’s way to the west coast that he refunded the money for. Somehow, I don’t see that as likely. $ 10 will only pay for about 2 lbs of USPS Priority shipping east to west cross county shipped priority. If the amp had any weight he was probably losing 20-40 dollars on the deal from the outset. He may not have realized this until he went to calculate shipping and realized what he had done. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rethinking-this-online-shopping-thing/781126/28 "2017-03-02T01:13:10Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I have not sold on Ebay because of not knowing how to calculate shipping. Does this shipping module calculate postage? Yes it handles everything. It also has UPS and Fedex options if you want to use those services. It calculates shipping, you can also print the label and have it charged it to your paypal account. It’s very handy and makes shipping a breeze. With labels printed and affixed I can drop them off at the local Post office rear dock instead of standing in line at the Post Office. The dock is also open longer hours than the front office if you need to drop off a package at 6PM. I print the label on standard 8x11 paper cut it out and affix it with clear packing tape to the shipping box ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rethinking-this-online-shopping-thing/781126/29 "2017-03-02T01:26:51Z")
> [@astro](#): > > $ 10 will only pay for about 2 lbs of USPS Priority shipping east to west cross county shipped priority. If the amp had any weight he was probably losing 20-40 dollars on the deal from the outset. He may not have realized this until he went to calculate shipping and realized what he had done. If that were the case, he could have cancelled the sale at the outset rather than lie about having shipped it. Hence, the whole point of my displeasure. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rethinking-this-online-shopping-thing/781126/30 "2017-03-02T01:36:02Z")
Perhaps he’s just lazy and has not dug it out, packed it up and shipped it yet? Embarrassed that he has not done it yet and said he has. I’ve never done ebay or craigslist, but that would be my first guess. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rethinking-this-online-shopping-thing/781126/31 "2017-03-02T01:44:19Z")
> [@pohjonen](#): > > If that were the case, he could have cancelled the sale at the outset rather than lie about having shipped it. Hence, the whole point of my displeasure. He’s dinged on his seller rating by ebay if he has to cancel for being out of stock of a listed item or not shipping for another reason. If he claims the buyer wanted to cancel and then initiates the cancellation there is no negative strike. It’s then on you not him. Waiting until you got testy lets him cancel that way but risks a buyer’s negative feedback response. ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rethinking-this-online-shopping-thing/781126/32 "2017-03-02T02:27:56Z")
Well, it’s all moot now. As soon as they put my money back on my CC, I’ll close my shiny brand new Ebay account and not bother them trying to buy things anymore. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pidgeon92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/50afbb/32.png) [@pidgeon92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pidgeon92)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rethinking-this-online-shopping-thing/781126/33 "2017-03-02T03:39:10Z")
I think the Sunday delivery is better in the big city. Here in Chicago, I’ve received many Amazon shipments on Sunday, from both their courier service and from USPS. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rethinking-this-online-shopping-thing/781126/34 "2017-03-02T05:03:56Z")
> [@purplehearingaid](#): > > Man that sucks big time ! I hope you were able to return it and get your money back! My wife was able to print out a label to send the damn thing back for a replacement, only the seller wont pay shipping, because it “is not our policy to do so”. It will cost us another $40+ to send it back, not to mention time at the PO. We will be fighting that. Yeah, this sucks more than anything has every sucked before. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rethinking-this-online-shopping-thing/781126/35 "2017-03-02T15:43:24Z")
> [@pidgeon92](#): > > I think the Sunday delivery is better in the big city. Here in Chicago, I’ve received many Amazon shipments on Sunday, from both their courier service and from USPS. Ditto. Not the Big City but there is an Amazon distribution/fulfillment center about 10 miles from my house. As a Prime member I’ve often gotten items from Amazon in less than 18 hours. On a weekend. We outfitted an entire house with on-line shopping in the last few months. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rethinking-this-online-shopping-thing/781126/36 "2017-03-02T15:58:19Z")
> [@pohjonen](#): > > Well, it’s all moot now. As soon as they put my money back on my CC, I’ll close my shiny brand new Ebay account and not bother them trying to buy things anymore. 🙂 Geeze, get some perspective. Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. There is no “ebay”. There’s no one thing that you’re dealing with. There’s a million different sellers, each with their own system. It sucks you got a lousy seller on your first try, but that doesn’t mean “ebay” is bad. I mean, you don’t have to use it. You don’t have to buy from Amazon, or Etsy, or anything, for any reason. But to believe the concept is bad because you had ONE bad experience is just silly. And also, insulting to those of us who live by on line shopping. When we were kids, this was the glorious future we were promised. And it’s AWESOME! ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rethinking-this-online-shopping-thing/781126/37 "2017-03-02T16:52:41Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Geeze, get some perspective. Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. > > There is no “ebay”. There’s no one thing that you’re dealing with. There’s a million different sellers, each with their own system. It sucks you got a lousy seller on your first try, but that doesn’t mean “ebay” is bad. > > I mean, you don’t have to use it. You don’t have to buy from Amazon, or Etsy, or anything, for any reason. But to believe the concept is bad because you had ONE bad experience is just silly. And also, insulting to those of us who live by on line shopping. When we were kids, this was the glorious future we were promised. And it’s AWESOME! +1 ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rethinking-this-online-shopping-thing/781126/38 "2017-03-02T17:29:44Z")
Just my 2¢: I’ve never had a bad online shopping experience, but for the first time I did have one puzzling experience a month or two back: I ordered two things from [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) (different suppliers). It was a Friday. One of them showed an expected delivery date of Wednesday and the other one was Friday. So far so good. Monday I get a message that one of the two items has shipped. And it arrived on Wednesday as expected. The other item had shown no activity at all, but still said expected delivery on Friday. Friday came, and the expected delivery was still Friday. Then, about noon, I received an email with an ‘updated delivery date’ of the following Friday. OK. It wasn’t an emergency item, so I was cool with it. Again, no activity for the next week, and the following Friday, the expected delivery date was still Friday. Then, about noon, I received an email saying that I would need to approve the order, as it was about to be delayed yet another work. I promptly canceled the order, and purchased the product elsewhere (and that time it did arrive as scheduled). No idea what the problem was. Maybe they didn’t really have it in stock and their records didn’t reflect it, but since I wasn’t out any money as they had not charged me yet, I didn’t give it any more thought. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rethinking-this-online-shopping-thing/781126/39 "2017-03-02T17:42:50Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Just my 2¢: I’ve never had a bad online shopping experience, but for the first time I did have one puzzling experience a month or two back: > > I ordered two things from [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) (different suppliers). It was a Friday. One of them showed an expected delivery date of Wednesday and the other one was Friday. So far so good. > > Monday I get a message that one of the two items has shipped. And it arrived on Wednesday as expected. > > The other item had shown no activity at all, but still said expected delivery on Friday. > > Friday came, and the expected delivery was still Friday. > > Then, about noon, I received an email with an ‘updated delivery date’ of the following Friday. OK. It wasn’t an emergency item, so I was cool with it. > > Again, no activity for the next week, and the following Friday, the expected delivery date was still Friday. > > Then, about noon, I received an email saying that I would need to approve the order, as it was about to be delayed yet another work. I promptly canceled the order, and purchased the product elsewhere (and that time it did arrive as scheduled). > > No idea what the problem was. Maybe they didn’t really have it in stock and their records didn’t reflect it, but since I wasn’t out any money as they had not charged me yet, I didn’t give it any more thought. With a very few exceptions, I only order “Sold by Amazon” or “Fulfilled by Amazon”. If I absolutely must buy third party, I go with a seller with 10s of thousands of transactions and a rating of 95% or better. In 11 years, I’ve had one late delivery(USPS, that year they had loads of trouble around Christmas) and one screwed up order that Amazon rectified immediately. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rethinking-this-online-shopping-thing/781126/40 "2017-03-02T18:05:49Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Geeze, get some perspective. Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. > > There is no “ebay”. There’s no one thing that you’re dealing with. There’s a million different sellers, each with their own system. It sucks you got a lousy seller on your first try, but that doesn’t mean “ebay” is bad. > > I mean, you don’t have to use it. You don’t have to buy from Amazon, or Etsy, or anything, for any reason. But to believe the concept is bad because you had ONE bad experience is just silly. And also, insulting to those of us who live by on line shopping. When we were kids, this was the glorious future we were promised. And it’s AWESOME! ^This. I always check eBay FIRST. I probably buy 2-3 items per week off of eBay, and the same amount per month off of Amazon. Have I had problems? Sure, but what do you expect from thousands (literally) of transactions over almost 20 years. I’ve had worse problems at brick-and-morter stores (e.g. - my wife just had to re-oder an item from a design store because the salesman didn’t know what he was doing. Cost use a month). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rethinking-this-online-shopping-thing/781126.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rethinking-this-online-shopping-thing/781126.md?page=3)