Shipping calculator error on first class large envelope compared to what I pay when printing shipping label.
I ship old paper, flat items usually under 8 ounces in a rigid mailer. A small mailer 9x12 flat at 6 ounces or a larger 12x15 flat at 8 ounces.
I reference the Large Envelope as described in ebay shipping pages here
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/shipping-items/usps-ups-package-types?id=4864
Large envelope
A large envelope ranges between:
Minimum: 11+1/2 inches long, 6+1/8 inches high, and 1/4 inch thick
Maximum: 15 inches long, 12 inches high, and 3/4 inch thick
It is only when shipping larger than 15x12x3/4 that that is is necessary to choose the Package Rate in the calculator.
The shipping calculator consistently calculates an incorrect low shipping rate for my small flat at $2 in store rate to the furthest city. After the sale, the customer is charged $2 plus my handling, but when I purchase the shipping label I have to pay $3.46 or more. This happens for every item I use the calculator in listings.
Additionally, the calculator allows me to enter 9x12x0 because you cannot enter a decimal fraction like .25 which is under the allowable thickness. Again, when printing the label, the size defaults to 1".
I spoke with an ebay representative several times, they report this information to have the problem fixed, but nothing has been done. They acknowledge that the calculator is not working in line with USPS calculations and that they are getting hundreds of sellers submitting the same difficulty.
Does anyone have a work around? I want to charge actual shipping plus handling and ideally use the calculator so I never have to edit an item for inconsistent shipping calculations. If I charge a flat rate according to USPS website that I will have to pay, I will then have to manually edit every item to reflect that. If I do that for all future thousands of listings, shipping could change and I cannot manually edit that many items.
If I charge the package rate, I lose sales because the shipping is too high, if I offer free shipping, I have to price the item too high and lose sales plus edit every item online for that. If I use the calculator and it is incorrect on a thousand items I lose money. ???
By the way, I use the fee calculator to precisely price my paper items considering cost and prices of similar items. This way I can offer the lowest possible price for the item plus actual shipping and still make a reasonable profit that is fair for both myself and the buyer.
