Shipping charge for "free shipping" products in eBay

Few days back, I bought a HDMI cable from eBay. The seller had advertised that the product has "free shipping" for local delivery within Bangalore.

But when on checking out the product, eBay had included shipping charge of Rs. 49. I didn't get why they added the shipping charge even though the product is to shipped and delivered within Bangalore.

I went on to purchase the product. I paid the shipping charges. Then I mailed the seller (epresent) seeking explanation on why the shipping charge is added for local delivery.

Below is the mail conversation between me and the seller "epresent".

me: It was said that the shipping is free for delivery within seller's city. The item location is said to be "Bangalore" and my shipping address is "Bangalore". Even then I was added with the shipping charge Rs. 49.
Can you please let me know why I was charged Rs. 49 extra for the shipping.
epresent: Dear sir from our side we offer shipping free for local deliveries but the system decides according to the postcode which order is local
me: Thanks for your response.
So I understand that there is a problem with the ebay e-commerce site. And because of this, you get the shipping charges even though you advertise that "shipping free". And customers are at recieving end ;-(.
If so, this is not fair.
epresent: We are here to serve you so please share your bank account details we will refund the Rs 49 charged thank you
me: I appreciate your attitude. I was more concerned on trust over money. I saw many such complaints on internet forums. Hence I just wanted to know where the issue is.
I would be more happy if you could fix this issue with ebay.

Kund Indian Barbeque, Indira Nagar, Bangalore

Yesterday we had lunch at Kund Indian Barbeque, Indira Nagar, Bangalore. This restaurant is situated right on the 100ft road. If your travelling towards Old Madras Road from Domlur Bridge, this restaurant is at the first left turn from the CMH Road Junction at 100ft road. This restaurant is at the corner and so small that you would easily miss.

Got to know about this restaurant from Zomato and gave a shot. The ambiance of this restaurant is so ordinary that you will get the feel of roadside dhabba. Price, it was Rs 625 for two persons.

For starters,we ordered for Tandoori Promfret and Mushroom Tikka. Mushroom Tikka was average. Tandoori Promfret was served half cooked. One side of the fish was cooked and the other side was not.

On complaining the waiter took the fish, cooked it and served the same. It would be embarrassing when you get the non-veg dishes served half-cooked. Felt the same.

For main course, ordered for Mix Veg Kadai Curry, Stuffed Masala Paratha, Garlic Naan and Kheema Naan. All tasted good.

மனிதனை கறைபடுத்துவது எது?

வெளியில் இருந்து உள்ளே போகும் எந்த வகையிலான உணவை எப்படி சாப்பிட்டாலும் மனிதனை கறைபடுத்திவிடாது. உள்ளத்தில் இருந்து வெளிப்படும் ஆபாச எண்ணங்கள், பொல்லாத சிந்தனைகள், கெட்ட நோக்கங்கள் போன்றவற்றால் தான் மனிதன் கறைபடுகிறான்.

பாவங்களோடு வாழ்ந்துகொண்டு, இறைவனிடம் எதையாவது கேட்பது, தொழுநோயுள்ள கையை நீட்டி தேனைக் கேட்பது போன்றது.
- ஏசு கிறிஸ்து

'எவ்வளவு' பெரிய நஷ்டம் ஏற்பட்டாலும், எந்தச்சூழ் நிலையிலும் நிதானத்தை இழக்காமல் கோபத்தைக் கட்டுப்படுத்துபவரே, அதனை முற்றிலுமாக அடக்கிக் கொள்பவரே உண்மையான வீரர்.
- நபிகள் நாயகம்

- தினத்தந்தி, 31-01-2014, வெள்ளிமலரிலிருந்து.

3 days tour to Kalpetta, Wayanad - Day #3

DAY #1: 25 May 2013
DAY #2: 26 May 2013

DAY #3: 27 May 2013
Got up in the morning. Refreshed, had breakfast at the resort. Checked-out the resort and started to the Banasura Dam. Reached the dam by 12:20 Hrs IST. The dam is around 19 Kms from the resort.

We are charged Rs 10 for car parking, Rs 15 as entry ticket per person and Rs 25 for camera.

Boating facility is available at this dam. From the entry to the boat jetty, it is around two Kms. This includes the stairs to climb over the dam. There is jeep facility from the entry to the boat jetty for which they charge Rs 100 for 8 people. We opted for walking.

We went for speed boating. The charge was Rs 500 for 4 persons. The good part is, here wearing life jacket is must.

Started from Banasura Dam around 14:20 Hrs IST. Reached Kalpetta around 15:00 Hrs IST. Kalpetta is around 22 Kms from the dam.

Had lunch again at Sulthan Bathery around 15:30 Hrs. We went to Hotel Mintflower again (we had lunch on Day #1 of this tour). Food was good.

Then started to Bangalore around 16:30 Hrs IST from there. Again we were lucky to see the wild elephants on the roadside of Bandhipur Wildlife Sanctuary. Also we witnessed deers.

Reached Mysore at 19:00 Hrs IST. Reached Electronic city, Bangalore on 27 May 2013 at 22:10 Hrs IST. The final odometer reading of my car stood at 670.2 Kms.

Distance Metrics

The distance metrics mentioned below are based on my car's (Hyundai Santro XL) odometer.

• Bangalore (Electronic City) to Mysore = ~150 Kms
• Mysore to Kalpetta = ~140 Kms
• Distance we traveled across Kalpetta for sight seeing = ~ 90 Kms
• In total, we traveled ~670 Kms for this tour.

Directions

• From Bangalore take the road to Mysore. 
• From Mysore take the Mysore-Kozhikode road NH212.

Points to take care

• The Bangalore-Mysore road is full of speed breakers. So be careful on this stretch. 
• Also the Mysore-Kozhikode road NH212 has some speed breakers which won't have any markers on it. 
• The Mysore-Kozhikode road NH212 goes via the Bandhipur forest. Be careful when you are inside the forest. Drive slowly. There are some speed breakers. Also don't blow horns. And you would witness wild elephants on the roadside. Wild elephants are really dangerous. So don't get down from your vehicle for photographs. We saw more elephants on the roadside.
• The road via Bandhipur forest is closed for the night time (9PM to 6AM). So plan your travel accordingly. 

Tolls

• There was only one toll we paid for the entire journey. That toll is for the NICE road to Mysore. The toll fee is Rs 80 (for single journey).

Verdure Resort

• Verdure Resort was a good place for a calm and peaceful stay. The service was good. They were easily approachable. They made us to feel comfortable throughout our stay over there.
• They charged Rs. 3300 for two persons in the cottage. This includes the complimentary breakfast. Tea, coffee, milk, snacks and anything excluding the breakfast was charged.
• If we were to take lunch/dinner at resort, then we were asked to inform them earlier. We took dinner on Day#2. And we informed them by that day morning itself. They charged Rs. 500 (2 persons) for dinner.

ATM

• There was an ATM at 3 Kms from the Verdure resort. Take the road towards Kalpetta from Verdure resort to reach this ATM. 

Total expenses 

• The total expenses for a family of 2 adults and a child of one-and-a-half years came around Rs. 12650. This includes 2 day stay at resort, entry fee, car parking fee, camera fee, petrol, toll, lunch, dinner, snacks and drinks.