Buyers are starting to get the message and getting aggravated

[quicksilverdiecast]

Buyers message

"Thank You for letting me know this information and adjusting the shipping. Yes I did try and click on the link to request a total for combined shipping and it would not let me. EBay has a real situation here that they need to address as this is not the first time I have run into this problem. Fortunately, honest sellers like yourself have combined the shipping and refunded shipping overcharges. Hopefully enough complaints will help resolve the problem"

[pjcdn2005]

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@ittybitnot wrote:

This is a screenshot Kyle shared with us...

@wastingtime101 

Thanks for that.  I should have copied that when I saw it the first time.  I see that I got the name of the "blue" wrong, that just served to increased my inability to try and find it myself.  As much as it aggravates me because I stink at searching here, I did give it a gallant try!   

Maybe someday eBay will explain to us me why items that are on sale or one with free shipping cannot go into the same box for a reduced shipping charge?  I tried it once when I still sold here....placed the free shipping item in the same box with the others going to the same buyer on the same day...I was prevented from adding the tracking number to that one because it was "already used for another order".    That was fun (not), but my buyer was a long time customer and had no problems.  

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You should be able to add the same tracking number as long as the buyer has used the identical ebay ID for both purchases. Usually when something like this happens it is because the buyer is a guest and ebay gave them a different ID for each purchase.

[mam98031]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

The .30 and .40 cent fees are charged for each transaction if the buyer doesn’t use the cart and pays separately each time.  That happens whether or not you have free shipping.  A friend of mine always uses free shipping and they still have a certain percentage of people that don’t use the cart and pay for each transaction separately. 

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I'm confident he understands that.  But the Shopping cart doesn't work properly for these purposes on the App.  And it hasn't for years.

[mam98031]

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@wpt05 wrote:

As a buyer, having to pay extra shipping and then hoping the seller will refund the correct amount is extremely frustrating.  It also makes a mess of credit card or bank statements.  It makes me not want to buy from that seller.  

@pjcdn2005 

@wastingtime101 

I think some sellers don't even know where this page is or how to find it.  

Shipping Preferences (ebay.com)

In the past, I referred some sellers to update their combined shipping rules, but they did not.  Most have lost my business as a buyer.  

There are two sellers that I buy from on a regular basis.  Both have fixed priced items and auction items.  When the auctions end, I can pay for all the items right away and all shipping is combined.  If I buy fixed priced items by putting them in my cart, shipping is combined on all of them.  If I buy auction items and fixed price items together, shipping is combined.  

I understand the items that I am buying are different from the items that you are selling, and it may be harder to set up shipping rules that work better with your items, but hopefully you can find a way to make it work better going forward.  

Best of luck with your sales.  

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I would never recommend @wpt05 to do that.  Communication is extremely important.  Assuming the seller will do something is likely to leave you upset.  ALWAYs communicate with your seller FIRST.  Make sure you have an understanding with the seller that meets your needs.

[wastingtime101]

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@wpt05 wrote:

@pjcdn2005 @wastingtime101 

I think some sellers don't even know where this page is or how to find it.  

Shipping Preferences (ebay.com)

In the past, I referred some sellers to update their combined shipping rules, but they did not.  Most have lost my business as a buyer. 

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Both PJ and myself (and others) have suggested to OP in the past they might benefit from combined shipping rules and provided that link. OP is not interested. That doesn't stop us from trying to help them every once in a while. 🙂

One thing sellers say frequently when the topic of shipping rules come up is their product is too varied so they don't believe they can set up combined shipping.

Here's the thing: combined shipping rules are not all or nothing. You can apply at the listing (or biz policy) level and you do not have to apply combined rules to every listing. If you have a few larger or heavier items that you know you cannot combine - don't apply combined ship rules to those listings.

Combined shipping rules are limited. You can only do one calc ship rule, you cannot set an item limit, etc. But you can set up combined calculated by weight and you can set up a variety of flat ship rules.

Like I said above - the system is not perfect or ideal, but speaking for myself, it was a smart move to switch over to combined ship rules. After the first year I tweaked a few things, but for most transactions it works out OK. Saves headaches for both myself and my buyers.

[powell-memorabilia]

Isn’t the easiest fix to offer order discounts that approximate the combined shipping savings?  Your shipping charges are consistent, so taking off $x for each item above 1 will get your buyers where they need to be, and will advertise that discount for you - driving more sales.

[wpt05]

I didn't recommend doing what is highlighted in my post.   Please read the whole thing before responding.  Thanks.  

[wpt05]

I knew that the sellers that I recommended using the shipping rules were not using them because all their items were of a similar nature.  Was an easy fix for them to do, but for some reason they did not.  I guess they didn't want my business.  

Yes, not a perfect system, but better than not using it all.  

Best of luck!