Shopping cart needs scrapped fails to function properly resulting in lost sales

[quicksilverdiecast]

With over 150 documented buyers who have had issue with the cart here is another one today.

"I have 3 items in my cart....can you adjust for combined shipping so I can complete checkout-thanks"

(Keep in mind SELLERS & BUYERS if this buyer would have not messaged about not being able to check out neither you nor I would know about it resulting in lost sales and you will never even know you lost the sale!)

and here is ebays non functioning system:

[quicksilverdiecast]

I just checked back and the buyer,as I instructed to contact ebay, got this message, which shows they are still clueless at how to fix this wreck.

"I contacted them......they had me change my settings to allow seller 3 days to modify/adjust shipping for multiple items purchased at same time....and told me to contact seller to confirm" (this is a new one I never heard of)

My end still shows nothing, not even a trace of this buyer or his items...,then they will ask to send them an invoice....nope can't do that either ebay leaves seller no way to do this...it used to be nice with pp as you could salvage a sale....and next time ebay cries poor and wants to raise fees..point to the shopping cart and say fix it right and you will begin collecting a LOT more fees from successful sales....If you can imagine collectively from all the sellers across the platforms total sales lost and lost fees!

[tobaccocardyahoo]

I have recently been contacted by a buyer who could not request an invoice for products in their cart.

They paid the inflated shipping, and I refunded the difference. My buyers are human so I do not lose sales because of this problem.

[quicksilverdiecast]

My buyers are human too, so how do you know 100% you are not losing sales, if the buyer nevers messages you and ebay never notifies you or it never shows up on the seller hub sold transactions?  You don't!

Not all buyers are that trusting....If I was presented an invoice that was 35.00 more that what it should be to ship it...1. I would mad at the seller and never come back, 2. If it were me and was 35.00 over I would run from it myself. Luckily I have a large base of repeat buyers who do have trust in me to correct ebay's ripoff and refund them.  

[wailingglobe]

I've had this happen as well with about 10 different buyers since mid Janaury. Where they will message, often times very frustrated with me that they are being charged shipping because their order won't combine correctly and I have no options on my end. Often times for me this has resulted in them just giving up on their purchases even after I explain that I will refund them immediately.

[shipscript]

@quicksilverdiecast 

Which shipping rules have you set up on your account's Shipping Preferences page so that shipping is automatically combined for the buyer? 

https://www.ebay.com/ship/prf 

Items must be placed in the cart to combine. If not automatically combined (as shown by lack of discounts in the screenshot below), then the buyer must "Request combined shipping" from within the cart.  I do see that option on your listings and am able to request combining from my desktop browser: 

I wonder if some issues are occurring when shopping through the app?

That buyer who contacted support was being wrongly advised. The seller is the one who allows purchases to be combined if made within a limited time window. This time window is defined on the seller's shipping preferences page that is linked above, and defaults to 3 days, but could be extended.  The time window only applies to items that are purchased but unpaid. That means requiring immediate payment would disqualify the purchase from combined shipping, while simply adding items to the cart would have no time limit.

[12345jamesstamps]

Perhaps we can hire employees from Amazon where Amazon has this feature? Just a thought.

I am so tired of refunding shipping because buyers cannot combine everything and send an invoice to update the shipping charge. And yes, there is no problem with my shipping set-up on my side. That .30 per fee per item purchased does help someone...but not the seller.

[quicksilverdiecast]

this is where the setting has been all along

Accept combined payments

Allow buyers to send one combined payment for all items purchased

Time period to combine payments3 days5 days7 days14 days30 days

[shipscript]

---

@quicksilverdiecast wrote:

this is where the setting has been all along

Accept combined payments

Allow buyers to send one combined payment for all items purchased

Time period to combine payments3 days5 days7 days14 days30 days

---

@quicksilverdiecast 
If you want combined shipping to be automatic, you must use a shipping rule and apply the rule to the affected listings. Otherwise, buyers must put items in their cart and request combined shipping from within the cart. My cart screenshot of your listings is from my desktop browser. The mobile app may perform differently, since  it seems to have more problems  with required updates.  

[quicksilverdiecast]

I am fine with them doing it the old way of buyers putting items into the cart and using the request button, I also certainly am NOT going to sift thru almost 4000 listing and try to make sense of that! Only to have things end up worse! With that being said I have at least 150 document cases at trying to make the cart work properly, as well as myself, considering I have been on here for 27 years and I can't figure it out, nor can the ebay whiz kid techs, and ebay expects a noobie to just slide right and all will be hunky dory.....here is a pet peeve which follows ebay logic...everytime there is a rip in the ebay sphere they send a "how are we doing" questions which is all well and fine, however one GIANT point is missing....exactly which transaction is ebay referring to? Obviously ebay knows or they would not have sent it to begin with! So maybe let us in on the secret so we know how to evaluate it properly at what transpired,....otherwise the questions are worthless and delete button is pressed.

[quicksilverdiecast]

Today might turn out to be a good day, as I have another buyer who has numerous items in a cart I cannot see, and he wants me to invoice him since the cart still fails to function....so I told him to leave the cart as you have it and once this place opens I will call and force ebay to make it work if it takes all day on the phone. 

If you go through this thread and read it all you will find both sides of this issue, 1 where a BUYER gave up and refused to pay the ridiculous shipping and unable to get a combined total, (2)as well as a number of sellers who have noticed this issue and now know why, which proves that sales are being lost/fees are being lost/buyers getting mad/and as I have been saying if it is happening to me it is happening to all of you both buyers and sellers. So when many of you set back and wonder why sales are down(besides chaos, supply chain and everything else). Am I aggravated after 2+ years of losing who knows how many sales because of this..and include the untold hours wasted in dealing with it and the unneeded back and forth between buyer and seller only to lose the sale because ebay backs you into a corner with no way to complete a transaction...........you bet I am. I as well as many other sellers work hard to generate sales and income and spend many hours building it into a good business, only to have sales hindered by the platform you are paying to sell on! Further rubbing salt into the wound is the fact that these are sales that have buyers with money in hand trying to spend it, and not just tire kickers.....There should be way to account for lost sales caused by ebay and bill ebay for it....

[quicksilverdiecast]

I can also begin to post each of the documented buyers who have issues trying to complete the sale(without their seller ID) the transaction and the outcome....

[quicksilverdiecast]

So I get off the phone with ebay and they tell me it cannot be done....I had to laugh when she said just click on one of the awaiting payment items and you can combine the items.....I said he is setting there waiting with the items in the cart and has no way to request a new total! She then said I will have to have the buyer contact ebay to walk him through it!!!! I have a huge problem with this. #1 is the fact that the buyer SHOULD NOT have to call ebay to figure it out...it should have been designed in the first place that anyone can figure it out! #2 NO ONE likes calling ebay and getting the run around, and rarely the same story twice. So with no way to invoice him and no way his cart items are showing up on my sold listings...the sale is considered lost DUE to EBAY. This is only part of what one has to do to try to save a sale...before it used to be easy...PP has my vote.

[shipscript]

@quicksilverdiecast 

Do you know if your buyer is using the mobile app?

If not (if your buyer is using a browser), you can share the above screenshot with the buyer.

One picture is worth 1000 words — how to request combined shipping:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/870862i6AB47985575EAA63

[quicksilverdiecast]

I have no idea, HOWEVER I did call (twice) 1st call was useless, 2nd call tried payments and got someone who has a grip on what is happening, I had her read the buyers messages and even looked at their cart which has the items it and the "request a new total" button, but when pressed states the seller has offered a discount(NO I have not) and blocks it from being combined!!! Two problems here! LIE #1 The tech checked my setting and found NO discounts offered! and ebay blames me the seller for it! LIE#2 also had her check the overview "ORDER" column at the bottom on "eligible for combining etc" and sure enough the buyer is setting there with cash in hand wanting to buy, yet ebay fails entirely to even give the seller a hint someone is wanting to spend money with you!   HOW CAN YOU TAKE SOMETHING THAT IS SO EASY TO DO AND SCREW IT UP SO BADLY!