I don't understand this about shipping

[jet_joa]

I'm having a sale. Buyer paid about 9 dollars for a shirt; fine. But the sale page says that they paid 10 dollars for shipping ( total order 20 dollars); the array where it says how much I pay Ebay for shipping is 6 dollars. 

I have been trying to get my shipping prices down because they seem egregious even to me and I've gotten sharply phrased messages, like: howcome you charge so much for shipping lady? I always agree it's high. Sometimes I make a mistake and don't charge enough for shipping based on weight or size and eat the cost. But sometimes, like now; Ebay is charging them 10 dollars and asking me for 6 dollars.  So where did that 4 dollars go? What is the four dollars? I don't want the invented 4 dollars; I want to charge them 6 dollars so they buy my stuff. Is Ebay just taking the 4 dollars? How can I be overcharging for shipping when I said the item was 15 ounces in the mail and Ebay's shipping array is asking the guy for ten dollars? 

What is up with this? 

[sanshash26]

Me too, i also don't understand about shipping 

[klhmdg]

@jet_joa  looks like you sold the shirt with Priority shipping.

When you charge for Priority shipping you need to ship with Priority, not Ground.

You have clothing with Priority shipping that would ship just fine USPS Ground.

Anytime a buyer pays for Priority, you as the seller should ship Priority.

To get $6 shipping on the shirt you had to have picked Ground shipping.

Seems you owe the buyer $$

[albertabrightalberta]

To add to @klhmdg 's post, I'll say that you are allowed to offer more than one shipping service and you're also allowed to add a handling charge to cover some costs when setting up your shipping rules. But when the buyer chooses the shipping method, you cannot downgrade and ship by a cheaper method. 

If you offer ground, you may upgrade to priority mail but if they choose priority, you cannot ship ground or first class.

[jet_joa]

Hi thanks for your answer. 

I offered first class shipping and they chose first class shipping. According to Ebay they paid 10 dollars for shipping. When I went to select a label the buyer had chosen first class which Ebay said was *six dollars*. When I print this label, the buyer will have paid 10 dollars, and I will have purchased a first class label for 6 dollars. 

*so where is the 4 dollars, the difference between what they paid for shipping, and what I pay Ebay?*

Do I pay them back 4 dollars even though I am offering first class, and they are selecting first class and ebay is overcharging them? I don't see how I can make it cheaper on my end since first class under one pound is the cheapest option I can offer? 

[nobody*s_perfect · Accepted solution]

The shipping calculator in eBay listings defaults to show retail pricing. The weight limit for First Class packages is 15.99 ounces when you purchase postage online, but the retail  weight limit is 13 ounces. So when you enter a weight greater than 13 ounces (such as 15 ounces, in your example), eBay does the same as what the clerk at the PO counter would do: Upgrade to Priority Mail.  

The simple workaround is to set up the listing with a weight of 13 ounces so it charges your buyer for First Class rather than for Priority, but since it's retail the buyer will still pay a little more than your actual label cost. (The price is the same for any weight over 12 ounces.) Or you can change your Site Preferences to show the online rates in your listings.  Many sellers prefer to leave the shipping calculator set to retail, so there is a built-in handling fee to cover packaging materials, fees, etc.

[richard1rst]

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@jet_joa wrote:

Hi thanks for your answer. 

I offered first class shipping and they chose first class shipping. According to Ebay they paid 10 dollars for shipping. When I went to select a label the buyer had chosen first class which Ebay said was *six dollars*. When I print this label, the buyer will have paid 10 dollars, and I will have purchased a first class label for 6 dollars. 

*so where is the 4 dollars, the difference between what they paid for shipping, and what I pay Ebay?*

Do I pay them back 4 dollars even though I am offering first class, and they are selecting first class and ebay is overcharging them? I don't see how I can make it cheaper on my end since first class under one pound is the cheapest option I can offer? 

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First, understand that while the buyer may have paid $10.00 you only received $8.67 because eBay charges 13.25% FVF on the shipping. So if you are inclined to refund the difference it is really only $2.67 not $4.00. And, if instead of buying your label on eBay, you went to the post office and bought it there it would have cost you the same $10.00 your buyer was charged.

Think of it this way: You buy a product at price X and offer it for sale it for price Y. You DO NOT sell it to your buyer at price X. There is more to the cost of shipping an item than just the postage. Ultimately, it costs you more than $6.00 to ship that package. You don't sell your product at cost, why would you sell shipping at less than cost.

[jet_joa]

Oh!!!

I see, I see! That makes sense, thank you.