Potential seller's strange policy


Is it normal when a potential seller requires that I make a PayPal payment for the item, then, when he receives the payment, he will pack the item, calculate the shipping cost and issue another invoice for shipment?

In such a case, I would have to pay a PayPal fee twice, and I am not sure what form of shipment he may choose, though I informed him of my preferred form of shipment.

I feel uncertain - usually, the shipping cost and the form of shipment are agreed upon in advance and paid once.

Any comments?
transl
Run for the hills!
If it's this complicated now, imagine what will happen when he doubles the shipping cost to you and already has your other money-you will be screwed. Worse yet, imagine how tough it will be to get any satisfaction if there is a problem with the piece. RUN FOREST, RUN...
"PayPal and eBay explicitly state that the buyer is not to be assessed the fees and yet I see it all the time. It's time the buyers started telling the sellers to go pound sand..."

That's because PayPal and eBay are the same company. They've always had that policy, but they can only enforce it on eBay. Unless something has changed, PayPal can't stop you from collecting the fee from a buyer on other sites. If a seller on AG charges a PayPal fee, they aren't breaking any rules.
What country is the seller from? I see that your country is Russia which (no offense intended toward you whatsoever, only the potential seller) barely beats out Nigeria as far as potential transactional issues are concerned. There is always another seller, be patient.
I should have mentioned this before, but I have seen many times, where a seller is trying to do the right thing with a policy like this. When a seller charges a flat rate for shipping and fees, they often get accused with trying to make a profit on them. And for the most part its true. Most sellers add a little extra to make sure they're covered no matter what happens. I haven't sold anything in quite a while, but I'm no exception. None of us wants to loose money when we sell something. But my point is, some sellers want to be completely honest and only charge actual fees. Not a penny more or less. I'm not saying that's the case here. I'm just presenting a different view. For all I know, the seller could very well be dishonest.
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I see nothing wrong with the seller asking for a separate
payment/invoice for shipping if it's going to be the actual
shipping charges. I wish that I had thought of it in the
past. I've been killed on shipping several times on items
that I've sold. But, if I thought it would help the item
sell faster, I'd just go with the flat/estimated shipping
rate and eat the difference.

If this was an item that I just HAVE to have, I'd just pay
the extra fees to obtain the item. I wouldn't waste time
haggling over shipping if the estimate was anywhere near
reasonable.
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