eBay

trains_n_otherthings · ‎09-25-2023

I only ship internationally using eBay's International Shipping program. This morning I had a potential buyer reach out, from Australia, as the price eBay quoted was too high, in his opinion. What recourse do I, or the customer, have to investigating the shipping costs eBay is quoting.

I could ship it directly myself (I did that years ago), but there's no insurance with standard International First Class, I presume seller and buyer protections may be at risk, and I wouldn't trust shipping it without insurance anyway. International Priority Mail is just too high to be worth it. Not to mention manually handling it involves more hassles (custom forms, waiting in line at the Post Office).

Appreciate any thoughts.

klhmdg · ‎09-25-2023

None - The price with EIS is what it is.

It is not "just" shipping in the price from EIS.

If the buyer is complaining about the price now just wait till the item gets to Austrailia.

I am not a psychic but I see an item being NAD and you giving it away for free so you dont pay return shipping.

klhmdg • Volunteer Community Mentor

trains_n_otherthings · ‎09-25-2023

"I am not a psychic but I see an item being NAD and you giving it away for free so you dont pay return shipping."

Good point!

tobaccocardyahoo · ‎09-25-2023

Postage rates and services from the U.S. to many countries are higher than they could send to the U.S.

Many buyers feel they should not have to pay for a tracked service.

Others use the cost of shipping to persuade sellers to lower the price.

Some sellers feel pressed to provide a solution. I do not. I will not make less, do more work, or have a lower level of protection from fraud to make a sale to an international customer. I will treat them as I would a US customer and provide the same effort to their order.

EIS is competitive in price. EIS is tracked. EIS is guaranteed by EBAY. My usual cheap international customers have stopped complaining after the switch from Ebay Global because it is cheaper and inferior in delivery time.

marnotom! · ‎09-25-2023

Canadian buyer's perspective here.

eIS is indeed competitive in price. What some users--buyers and sellers--don't realize is that the eIS shipping price on the listing is the sum of the eIS charge to ship the item from the forwarding hub to the buyer, plus the seller's domestic shipping price for getting the item out to the hub. If the latter charge is on the steep side, that's going to make shipping a deal-breaker once that charge is added to eIS's charge.

In addition, eIS requires accurate information on the item's shipping dimensions and weight to come up with an accurate shipping charge of its own. @trains_n_otherthings, your Team Toyota embroidered caps show shipping charges of a little over US$45 to Canada, yet the corresponding jacket shows a less expensive shipping charge of US$41 and change.

eIS's share of the shipping charges for the caps is about US$38. eIS's share of the shipping charges for the jacket is about US$24.50. Something appears to have gone sideways with the calculation of the caps' eIS charge. Did you remember to include shipping dimensions and weight for the caps even though you're shipping them flat-rate within the US?

I quickly looked at some of your other listings in the search results and the shipping costs appear to be more or less in line for Canada.

tvcollectibles · ‎09-25-2023

For international, I use other shipping services that are way cheaper than eBay.

An 8 ounce package to the UK would cost $15 with eBay costs less than $12 with Pirate Shipping.

Been using them for over 2 years now and never had a problem.

boddington · ‎09-25-2023

You've pointed out exactly why EIS is an unnecessary, overpriced middle service, that makes international shipping outrageously priced and untenable. Sellers may not see or feel this sharp uptick, but buyers certainly do.

Worse still, the seller's edit page is designed to make the direct rates (via regulated services like USPS, Royal Mail, CPC, etc) just that little bit harder to input. You have to work at puttin those entries in and it's quite clear that some sellers aren't going through the trouble. Allowing Ebay to 'manage' it just appears easier to do

This money grab is by design and as a buyer, I have to always message sellers first to discuss shipping options. As a seller, I want to make sure my package NEVER touches Ebay's hub for my buyer's sake.

marnotom! · ‎09-25-2023

@tvcollectibles wrote:

For international, I use other shipping services that are way cheaper than eBay.

An 8 ounce package to the UK would cost $15 with eBay costs less than $12 with Pirate Shipping.

Your photos actually ship a bit cheaper to Canada through eIS than what Pirate Ship is charging, but unless the seller offers "free" US domestic shipping, once the seller's domestic charge is added to that, Pirate Ship does indeed have the better deal, @tvcollectibles.

Having said that, I think most sellers are enrolled in eIS because of its myriad perks and benefits, not out of any concern about shipping costs to international buyers.

trains_n_otherthings · ‎09-25-2023

The caps are the items at issue! The buyer wants both. And I DID include shipping dimension and weight for each listing. I've even gone back and reduced the weight and size of the boxes slightly (I think comparing time-stamps that occurred before your first post). If someone purchased both, I'd combine them into the same box, because you can stack them easily. I wonder if eBay considers them combined into a larger box (unstacked) and that could be skewing the eIS pricing?

I hate to think I need to 'manipulate' the shipping dimensions and weight further, but ...

pjcdn2005 · ‎09-25-2023

EIS does not combine shipping costs so buyers pay the full shipping cost of each item even if they pay for them at the same time. You could make one listing with both items and I suspect that the shipping will end up being a lot less.