To clarify, after sending the seller the request for a total, I went back to my sale record a couple of hours later and it 'seemed' that the shipping to Canada had been included in the price. It said : Int'l standard shipping "$5.54. So I went ahead and paid for the sale. My original post makes it seem that I didn't wait for his response. I thought he did put the shipping cost through on paypal rather than write a reply to me. Some sellers have done this in the past, simply just changed their settings to let the payment go through.

I would send him another email, reiterating that you are willing to pay for any additional shipping cost and therefore, he won't be out any additional money. Make sure you are clear about stating that this is a non-issue.

Give him a deadline for a response and state that if you don't hear from him by XX date & time, you will file a complaint with ebay.

I'm sorry you are having this issue, some sellers on Ebay aren't as nice as others.

In your case with Paypal, I do believe he has to ship to the confirmed address on file in order for him to follow Paypal's shipping confirmation requirements.

If you ever sell on Ebay and accept Paypal, never meet someone in person to hand over the item if they paid you via Paypal. Without the shipping confirmation, the buyer could say they never received the item. (Of course it would be lying/stealing, but Paypal will only accept the shipping label info as proof of shipping, nothing else.) So then they'd get the item plus their money back.

Ebay isn't as fun and trustworthy as it once was, in my opinion. Issues like yours make me weary anymore trusting sellers.

I hope it works out for you, please let us know!

I am dealing with an ebay shipper, too. I attempted to contact her twice, and she did not respond. Finally, I had to report the case to ebay, and she had to respond within a week. Of course, the items did not ship. She said she has had some health problems and has not been able to ship like she normally does. She received 5 negative feedbacks in the past month.

She is supposed to ship the items and give me a confirmation or tracking number. As of yet, I do not have it. I have until March 16 to receive the items, or else eBay will have to escalate it.

I hear your frustration. I think your guy is just being cheap in that he doesn't want to sell it for the price you bid. He should have no problem billing you for the extra shipment to Canada. It's not that big of a deal!

I got them for $30, and I am thinking that because I was the only bidder and won them at his starting price, he isn't happy that he didn't make as much as he hope and is dancing around the shipping issue to avoid letting them go for so little.

Wonder why he didn't put a reserve on it then? You just don't see the bidding wars on eBay like there used to be, so if that were the case, reserve would've been his solution. If that's not actually the issue though, maybe he's just a fruitcake. (I must be a magnet for those.) And yet there are people here who get the coolest stuff off eBay (Allison comes to mind) with apparently minimal fruitcake encounters. ;)

While I have great luck on eBay in general, it seems like about one out of 30 or so transactions are troublesome. If I were you, I would stop trying to be accommodating and send an Email stating that you paid the $6 international shipping required by the auction and that you expect to receive a shipping tracking number within two business days or you will be opening a case in eBay.

As you said, the guy obviously doesn't want to sell the paints to you, so if he doesn't respond within two days, concentrate on getting a refund and move on. I know it's a great deal that you hate to give up, but the chances that you'll ever receive the item are slim.

Yikes, cathrugg...I've paid paypal and picked up locally twice, without any problems. In fact, it was fun to meet folks and get to know people with similar collections. Now I'll feel like people will think I'm a scammer. : (

And to the OP: if I can offer something from my own experience: I'd say cancel the auction and move on. I once bought a bike frame for DH from MA at the minimum bid (no one else wanted it, obviously), and it ended up with my having to call the police because the seller was *stalking* me! It was horrible and made me nervous for *years*. If a seller balks and you get a weird vibe from him, let him balk. The deal is much less valuable than your safety. Seriously. And this guy is being weird.

Thanks for all your comments. Yes, shipping to Canada shouldn't be an issue, especially when I offer to pay him what it will cost. His listing says he is in Hicksville NY, I am in Ontario. It isn't like it is that far to send it!

As of yet there is still no response from him.
I have looked at auctions for these paints the past week, and there seems to be bidding wars on this brand. However, this particular listing appeared near the top on the day I bid, probably because it was ending, and I hadn't seen it before even after looking through many pages in the days prior.

The paints do sell for $13 a tube here normally, and one of the colours sells for $24, so I jumped on the auction when I saw the price. The seller probably figured he would get a lot of bids so didn't put a reserve on them.

His feedback was all good for the past 12 months, but I looked further back and saw one negative feedback, in 2010. I guess if he doesn't respond with either a cost for shipping or a request for a US address, by tonight (or Monday), I will have to take the next step. I'm a little worried that he will say he'll ship them, then I'll never receive them.

Some of you posted while I was typing. You're right, I might have to let the paints go. Darn. I was so excited that I won them. But yes, I don't want to deal with weird people. He seems to sell a lot on ebay, I don't imagine he would like to receive negative feedback?

I have a question. Why can I respond to posts, but can't start a new thread? I can over in the Kitchen Table forum, but not in Home Dec...help, please.

Please disregard my last post. For some reason, now I CAN start a new thread.

balego; Now I'm getting very curious (hobby painter). What brand are we talking, and how many tubes?

small note: if you never get them, you can get a refund for cost and shipping regardless of what he says unless he can produce a clear proof of delivery.

He can ship them to me and I will ship them to you! I live in Connecticut - just across the Sound from Hicksville. Just email me.

I usually have no problem with Ebay transactions but there have been a couple of situations over the years.

He really is obligated to ship that merchandise at the price you paid. I think you have to wait a period of time before you file a claim. Hopefully you will hear from him soon.

Thank you! You people are great to bounce ideas off of, and help to get perspective on issues!

I wrote the seller this afternoon and told him I would like his response. He finally replied, and says that shipping will be $24, and he has to fill out paperwork. I don't get that.. this is a very small item, 7 tiny tubes of watercolor paints that would fit in a small box or a 8inch bubble envelope!
Considering that I frequently send the large bubble envelopes with 1kg of items to Australia for a cost of $34, and they arrive within 10 days, something is wrong with his estimate!

Moonshadow, this is for seven 14 ml tubes of Winsor Newton artists watercolor (not Cotman).

I told him I would expect that for that shipping cost, it would include a rigid box for packing, and a tracking number. He offered to ship them to a US address or give me a refund, but for some reason didn't say he would agree to me paying the shipping directly to me. I do want the paints, I don't think I trust him to ship them unless it is with a tracking number, and if I'm paying that much, I will insist on one!

DawnP, such a nice offer! The person in the US that I could have them sent to is a business associate of my DH, but he travels for work a lot and isn't always easy to reach. I might take you up on that offer, but hopefully the seller will be reasonable. He does risk negative feedback, and I would hope he doesn't want to risk getting any.

Flyleft, that is terrible what you went through! I don't understand how people can be so horrible to others!

I'll keep you posted (no pun intended).

Omg Flyleft! I would never imply you (or anyone here!) was a scammer! I promise I didn't mean it that way! There is no harm in a buyer receiving something paid for on Paypal in person, the seller just loses his Paypal protection.*

I was just clarifying Paypal's policy of what they accept as proof of mailing! DH used to sell a bit on Ebay and Half.com so I read a lot on their answerboards to make sure we were doing the right thing.

I guess Paypal had a lot of complaints of people who paid and didn't receive the items so the first thing they ask for is the tracking number as it's the easiest way to prove shipping/delivery. No he said/she said allowed!

I hope the OP receives her paint no matter where/how he ships it, it's so frustrating to deal with a seller who plays these games.

*From Paypal's website for seller protection:
Why does Seller Protection not cover deliveries made in person or intangible goods (such as digital goods or services)?
One of the most important requirements for coverage under Seller Protection is proof of shipment or proof of delivery to the PayPal transaction address in the event of a claim, chargeback or reversal. Since deliveries made in person and sales of intangible goods do not have shipping documentation that can be verified, we cannot currently extend protection for these types of transactions.

Oh no, cathrugg--I didn't mean that you were implying it about specific people, not at all! Just that now I know people think that, I will not probably ask anymore...or if I do, then I'll try to make sure the person knows I'm not trying to scam anyone. It never even occurred to me before, and the other folks were so friendly it didn't seem they thought about that either. But what you're saying makes sense, now that I look at it from that pov.

Well, I heard back from the seller. He says he took the paint to the post office and they quoted $23.84 to ship in a small 8inch box, for 9 oz of paint. He didn't mail them, just got a price.

Fine, I'll pay that as long as he gives me a tracking number. I did tell him that the number would let him know that I received the package, let him figure out that it also assures me that he has shipped it. I'll feel better once I have that proof, but at least now I know that there is buyers protection on Ebay as well as Paypal, so eventually I'll either get the paint or get my money back. I might just have to wait longer to take up watercolour painting than I hoped lol.

On a side note, yesterday I watched an auction for these same paints, smaller tubes, sold in a large lot. There was a couple of minutes left on the auction so I wanted to see what would happen. There were 22 bids, the highest being $153. So I watched, and in the span of the last 2 seconds, the amount jumped right up to $256! wow. I wasn't even bidding and my heart was pounding! Good thing I don't go to racetracks and casinos. I couldn't take the stress!

That last few second span where bids jump have lost me more than a few items I was winning on. Probably should do what they do and use snipe bid software, but after attending live auctions for years, long before ebay, for some reason (no offense to those who use it) it doesn't seem to mesh with the true spirit of an auction to me.

Glad you got it resolved this far, still sounds like a good price even with higher shipping, so that's good. Hopefully he'll follow all the way through!

If the paints are as small as you say, he can ship them in a Small Flat Rate Box from the postal service. The cost to Canada is $12.95. The box is 8-5/8" x 5-3/8" x 1-5/8", maximum weight is 4 lbs, maximum value is $400.

Suero, thank you for checking that for me, I wasn't sure I was checking off the correct boxes. That is exactly what I told him, that I had checked the USPS site and got that same result. So I told him they must have quoted the cost with a tracking number, and told him that I want one.

So I don't mind paying the $24 just to be sure it has tracking. I know that to have tracking it costs more.