Priority mail shipping charges.

[hanford571]

When I was listing an item and entering the shipping  info, it said the item would be $11 to ship with priority mail. This package weighed 2lbs 2oz and was  11" by 8" by 6". But when the buyer purchased it, he was charged $18.95. At first I thought maybe it was because it was shipping to California (from Wisconsin), but I've shipped many items to California before and the shipping rate was always exactly what it said it would be when filling out the shipping info. Does anyone know why it charged him $8 extra to ship? 

[nobody*s_perfect · Accepted solution]

When you set up a listing with calculated shipping, it automatically shows the shipping cost from your ZIP Code to the ZIP Code of any member who looks at the listing. When you look at your own listing, you see the cost to ship to a buyer in your own ZIP Code.

In this case, the retail Priority Mail postage cost to ship 3 pounds to Zone 1 (i.e., to yourself) is currently $10.45, and the cost to ship to Zone 7 is $18.95.  Looks to me like the shipping calculator is working correctly and your buyer was not overcharged. If you purchase the shipping label through eBay, it will cost less than $18 due to the online discount.

[tthodgepodge]

Usually @nobody*s_perfect is very thorough.  Forgot to mention you can go into your settings and show buyers the rate you receive if you'd like.

[tthodgepodge]

That wasn't a slight at you @nobody*s_perfect I was trying to make a joke but forgot the emojis

[anasazirose]

If you're curious about what buyers will pay, enter zip codes on the item under shipping.  I live on the east coast and often enter any mid west zip code and 90210 to see what other zones pay.  Sometimes I use this to decide whether I'll offer Parcel. 

Another thing to keep in mind in your shipping policies, the order in which you enter the choices is the order in which the buyer sees them.  I enter the lowest first.  1st class, parcel, then the priorities.

If I'm only offering priority and the item fits in a flat rate envelope, I offer it first since it will show as lower for the majority of the country and only a bit more for the east coast.

[Anonymous]

Be sure to check Cubic pricing on PirateShip

Use their Cubic calculator to see if you can trim the package down a little to get to the next lower tier.

Measurements a rounded down to the nearest quarter inch for Cubic.

[murky36]

Hey, just to help prevent this, here's what I do. As a rule of thumb, when calculating shipping I always make sure I enter a zipcode extremely far away from me. I'm from Ohio, so I always enter 90210 (Beverly Hills, CA) for the zip code, just so I know "worst case scenario" what it's going to cost.

If I were you, I'd offer multiple shipping options also so they can get the best deal for them.

[murky36]

@anasazirose lmfao we both enter 90210. It's the only zip code in cali i know because of that stupid TV show xD

[hanford571]

Thank you everyone for your assistance!