Daylesewblessed

To clear up a couple of things about Ebay:

At least a year ago, Ebay started charging their final value commision fees on the combined total of the ending auction price and the shipping. They said that was to draw bids and help the seller (what kind of rationale is that?) Actually I think the reason was to reduce the use of high shipping fees by the seller, as well as to increase revenue for Ebay. In the past there were sellers who didn't care if they sold something for 99 cents, because they charged extremely high shipping and avoided paying Ebay much commission. That strategy doesn't work as well now.

The seller lists in their auction whether or not they will accept "pick up" by the winner by simply checking a box when they post it. If the auction doesn't state that pick-up is an option, I can't see what recourse a buyer has if the seller doesn't want to do it. Sometimes "pick up" is inconvenient for the seller, or they are concerned about safety and privacy. However, I can't imagine anything more inconvenient than packing and shipping a card table! It is possible that they are expecting to use a professional packer/shipper for the task.

Ebay does have the opportunity for buyers to report shipping prices that are out of line like this appears to be. In this case the seller may be able to justify the cost. It could be like shipping a painting -- double boxing and padding with the cost of labor additional. If they can produce a professional shipping estimate to Ebay, they may be off the hook.

I hope you get this resolved and are able to get the table. Maybe a compromise would work. The seller definitely does have the option of reducing or eliminating shipping charges on the invoice to the buyer. And the invoice that the buyer actually pays with is what is used to calculate the seller's commission fees due to Ebay.

Good luck!

Dayle