OK, what's the protocol?

Many items on ebay "feature" outlandish shipping fees. Trading here implies a kinder, more ethical group of enthusiasts who are in it for the love of the game, not the pursuit of the almighty dollar. There are all kinds from all walks of life. The fact that you asked at all is a good thing. Remenber that in the scheme of things, shipping costs are but a fraction of the value of the goods and therefore should not bear too much on the deal, as long it is reasonable and fair to all. So I wouldn't fret too much, unless the buyer was taking issue. FWIW, I have acces to boxes and shipping materials here at work and don't charge for that, but it does take time to properly package an item, do the do on the shipper's website, and shuffle off to FedEx. Taking the time to do these things myself gives peace of mind, and assurance to the buyer.

First, underestimation of shipping.

There is no reason for a quote to be grossly inaccurate if you have original packaging. You have the weight and size of what is to be shipped and online calculators are available from the shippers. In view of this, if my quote is too low, it is likely to be miniscule and I will absorb the difference.

On the other hand, if the shipment requires that you package with new shipping materials as you do not have the original, there is more time and effort involved, and a greater likelihood of error. In this case, if the underestimation is more than a couple of bucks, I would go back to the purchaser in advance of the shipment and explain why shipping will be be higher and request an adjustment of price. I will offer to cancel the transaction if the purchaser is unhappy about the unforseen development. They will know that you're not lying or using a trick to get out of a transaction because they can confirm the price on an online shipper's calculator with the weight and dimensions that you supply to them. They would also see the price of shipping on the shipping invoice when they receive it. I think this is a proper, businesslike approach. Still, even if this is a proper business aproach, this is a bit uncomfortable on a personal level and there is a certain feeling of community here on AudiogoN. So I would try to avoid this and be careful not to give shipping estimates until I knew for sure what they would be. By the way, the potential abuse of this latter approach is one of the reasons why many jurisdictions have laws requiring people to charge no more than their original estimates in a commercial setting.

Now, how about the other way around,what if I overestimate.

If I overestimate, no matter how small it is, I send the difference back to the purchaser without solicitation. The goodwill to your reputation far exceeds the couple of bucks of gas money. In fact, the smaller the amount, the more upstanding it makes you look. And the extra money is not something you were expecting anyway, so no loss to you.

Now on the issue of shipping costs, let me tell you what made me livid once. Every once in a while I need a good rant. I requested a shipping estimate via a specific method of shipping with a specific company. The seller sends the quote. I verify it with the online shipping calculator, confirm and send the seller the money. The seller then sends via a different, cheaper method than what I specifically requested and paid for. It was even with a different company. He then pocketed the $100 difference in his favour.

OK, here's what happened. I quoted a package of CDs to Singapore. USPS website quoted $20 for parcel post. Today, PO lady charged me parcel envelope rate (because of dimensions and weight) of $12.95. Not lots of money to me but initially I thought, hey for once I'm not getting screwed (I usually quote to low when I send something.) and it's only about $7.00 - not to mention I didn't charge for the minimal packaging, time effort etc. (Not much really.) Anywho, as a percentage, of total shipping quote and item price ($27.00) It think it's material and I'm going to return the difference.

Thanx all.

I for one in many instances have paid over my quoted shipping price. And yes I agree about Ebay sellers asking way to much for shipping many an item.