OT: AH Does It All Wrong

[Buythatcard]

I have bid with so many AH's over the years. Most of them are great and some of them just plain suck.

My latest experience was with an AH that I never dealt with before.

It started off with a bad taste in my mouth.


Auction ended 8/23 and I won 1 item.
I went out of town on 8/24 and planned to be home on the 29th.
Received invoice on 8/24.
I received an eMail on 8/27 telling me that my credit card would be charged if I don't pay today.
I received another eMail on the 28th that my credit card was charged
Give me a break. This AH doesn't allow you to breathe. I would have paid on the 29th which is less than 5 days from the time I received the invoice.

It doesn't stop there.

When I got home from my trip I received a phone call from Postal Connections. Apparently, this AH uses a 3rd party shipping company. I am ok with that. They tell me it will cost $9.03 to ship 1 card which has a declared value of $40. I know that it should not cost more than $3.50 to ship and include insurance. It was a lost cause trying to argue with them.

Got the card last night shipped First Class Parcel in a bubble envelope. A receipt was included showing the shipping costs breakdown. There was a charge of .99 for the bubble envelope.

Who the heck charges for the bubble envelope?

I sent off an eMail to this AH and have told them to remove my name from any future auctions.