eBay

rimtrim · ‎11-06-2022

I've been selling online and on eBay for many years, but I haven't done much international shipping, and I never used the GSP. I'm considering opting into the new International Shipping program, but I want to fully understand the possible pitfalls first.

I'm looking for some clarity on how weight and dimensions affect the process. Currently I don't enter weight and dimensions into any of my listings. My domestic shipping charges are flat fees that are "close enough" based on my experience. For larger items, I use rate tables with one rate for the lower 48 and a higher rate for AK/HI/PR. I have a set of tables based on various weights and dimensions and I pick the one that seems closest for a given listing.

The two main scenarios of concern are the following:

A) International buyer purchases an item, but it's too large/heavy for the international shipping requirements

B) Item meets the shipping requirements, but the amounts shown/charged to the international buyer are eBay-generated numbers that are based on totally wrong estimated weights and dimensions

Given that it appears eBay will allow me to turn on International Shipping without entering weights and dimensions in my listings, what are my responsibilities in these cases? Would I receive a defect if I'm forced to cancel an order because the package turns out to be too large or heavy? Would I (or the buyer) face additional fees or other unpleasant surprises in either of these scenarios?

Just looking for anyone else who lists some larger/heavier items and has experience with what happens in these situations. It would be very time-consuming if I had to enter accurate weights and dimensions on all my listings in order to effectively use this program, especially because I doubt I would get a ton of new international business.

I do have several rare items I've been holding onto because I think they would sell better to an overseas audience, which is the main reason I'm thinking about using this program. But I don't want to do hours of additional work that doesn't generate meaningful sales...or to end up with surprise fees, defects or unhappy buyers.

richard1rst · ‎11-06-2022

@rimtrim wrote:
I've been selling online and on eBay for many years, but I haven't done much international shipping, and I never used the GSP. I'm considering opting into the new International Shipping program, but I want to fully understand the possible pitfalls first.

I'm looking for some clarity on how weight and dimensions affect the process. Currently I don't enter weight and dimensions into any of my listings. My domestic shipping charges are flat fees that are "close enough" based on my experience. For larger items, I use rate tables with one rate for the lower 48 and a higher rate for AK/HI/PR. I have a set of tables based on various weights and dimensions and I pick the one that seems closest for a given listing.

The two main scenarios of concern are the following:

A) International buyer purchases an item, but it's too large/heavy for the international shipping requirements

B) Item meets the shipping requirements, but the amounts shown/charged to the international buyer are eBay-generated numbers that are based on totally wrong estimated weights and dimensions

Given that it appears eBay will allow me to turn on International Shipping without entering weights and dimensions in my listings, what are my responsibilities in these cases? Would I receive a defect if I'm forced to cancel an order because the package turns out to be too large or heavy? Would I (or the buyer) face additional fees or other unpleasant surprises in either of these scenarios?

Just looking for anyone else who lists some larger/heavier items and has experience with what happens in these situations. It would be very time-consuming if I had to enter accurate weights and dimensions on all my listings in order to effectively use this program, especially because I doubt I would get a ton of new international business.

I do have several rare items I've been holding onto because I think they would sell better to an overseas audience, which is the main reason I'm thinking about using this program. But I don't want to do hours of additional work that doesn't generate meaningful sales...or to end up with surprise fees, defects or unhappy buyers.

I saw this posting when it first went up and after scanning it, closed it out hoping that someone with more time and generosity would answer. No one has so I will take a little pity on you and give you a couple of things to think about.

You have been here for over 20 years and you have NEVER entered weight and dimensions?

You have 123 listings and correcting that few would be too time consuming?

You seem to think it is OK to claim that you are being forced to cancel an order because you entered the incomplete and/or wrong weight and dimensions? (And, yes, you will get a defect).

You want us to provide all the answers instead of doing a little simple research through eBay's help pages?

Please give serious thought to completely re-thinking your business model.

anasazirose · ‎11-07-2022

I have used the GSP, but have never guesstimated my items. I most always use calculated shipping and when I'm taking pics, I take one of the item on the scale. I usually enter 12x12x8 for the box size because most of my items will fit that box or smaller, then change it before I buy the label. Also, for light but large items (like deer antlers) I'll find the box 1st because of the DIM weight. What I do works for the GSP, and I have no knowledge of the new IS program or how it works.

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Whichever you decide to use, I believe your best bet going forward would be to determine in advance if an item will be too heavy or oversized, and if so, just be sure to add that info to the shipping section of your listings. While is won't matter much for a shirt or a necklace, it will definitely matter for deer antlers or a blender.

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Perhaps starting with the GSP would be a better choice, or changing your listings, starting with the largest or heaviest items would be better.

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Are you able to disable/enable international shipping per listing?

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I'm sorry I couldn't help much, if at all, it just felt to me like you were being chastised for asking a question. That has happened to me on this board twice. It doesn't feel good. Have an amazing day.

rimtrim · ‎11-07-2022

@richard1rst wrote:
You have been here for over 20 years and you have NEVER entered weight and dimensions?

Never had any reason to. My flat shipping rates work fine, and I don't lose money on shipping. I do roughly *estimate* weight and dimensions when entering flat rates. Beyond that, I never felt like I could provide truly accurate weight and dimensions until after the item is packed. Also, I think it looks cleaner for the buyer to see "$10 shipping" rather than "$11.27 shipping" or whatever. Maybe that's just me.

You have 123 listings and correcting that few would be too time consuming?

If you want to come over here and spend a day weighing, measuring and estimating weight and size of packing materials for 123 items, I'll buy lunch 🙂 It's just not something I've wanted to spend any time on at all, because it's never been necessary for the way I handle shipping.

You seem to think it is OK to claim that you are being forced to cancel an order because you entered the incomplete and/or wrong weight and dimensions? (And, yes, you will get a defect).

It's my understanding that entering weight and dimensions has never been a requirement for listing on eBay, or even a recommendation, unless you choose to use calculated shipping, which I never have. So yes, I do think it would be inappropriate for eBay to automatically opt me into a program, and then give me a defect for failing to meet program requirements that were never communicated.

You want us to provide all the answers instead of doing a little simple research through eBay's help pages?

If you can direct me to that information on the help pages, I'd love to see it. I spent a considerable amount of time trying to find an explanation of everything I asked about in the OP, and came up empty.

Please give serious thought to completely re-thinking your business model.

I've been on eBay for 20+ years and I've never received a defect or a negative feedback for any reason. My return rate (in auto parts, considered a high-return category) is around 1%, and I make money on every sale. My business model works just fine thanks 🙂

rimtrim · ‎11-07-2022

@anasazirose wrote:
I have used the GSP, but have never guesstimated my items. I most always use calculated shipping and when I'm taking pics, I take one of the item on the scale. I usually enter 12x12x8 for the box size because most of my items will fit that box or smaller, then change it before I buy the label. Also, for light but large items (like deer antlers) I'll find the box 1st because of the DIM weight. What I do works for the GSP, and I have no knowledge of the new IS program or how it works.

That approach sounds like it would work for the new program too, as long as the numbers you're entering are accurate, or at least are erring on the high side a little bit. Because I don't use calculated shipping for domestic sales, I would still have to go through and add weight and dimensions to everything.

Whichever you decide to use, I believe your best bet going forward would be to determine in advance if an item will be too heavy or oversized, and if so, just be sure to add that info to the shipping section of your listings. While is won't matter much for a shirt or a necklace, it will definitely matter for deer antlers or a blender.

Yeah, I imagine I'd at least want to enter weight and dimensions for anything that might be over the ISP/GSP max threshold for size or dim weight, to prevent the possibility of an international sale that can't be shipped at all. I don't think I currently have anything listed that would exceed the limits, but I do sometimes have items that would.

Perhaps starting with the GSP would be a better choice, or changing your listings, starting with the largest or heaviest items would be better.

At this point, I don't think I can revert to the GSP...I seem to be in the group that has been shifted into the new program. That's actually why the issue came up, because eBay turned it on automatically, and I noticed all my listings were showing international destinations available. For the time being, I've manually opted out while I research whether I want to get back in.

Anyway, I believe the same basic issue exists with the GSP as well. I don't know what happens if you make a GSP sale on an item with no weight and dimensions in the listing. I tried to research that in the past and didn't get much clarity on how shipping charges would be calculated in that case, and whether someone (seller or buyer) could get hit with a surcharge after the sale.

Are you able to disable/enable international shipping per listing?

That's an interesting question. With the GSP you actually can, even though an eBay phone rep once told me you can't. You can opt into the GSP at your overall account settings level, and then manually de-select the GSP option each time you create a new listing. That's what I did for years. That left the door open for me to easily turn on global shipping on a single listing, if an international buyer messaged me begging to buy the item. I only tried doing that a couple times, and as I recall, both buyers flaked and never made the purchase.

The same doesn't appear to be possible with the ISP in the new listing tool. It looks to me like it's all or nothing, though if I'm wrong about that, I'd love to know it. That would really be the ideal setup for me, to enable international shipping only on a few items that I think are in demand overseas.

I'm sorry I couldn't help much, if at all, it just felt to me like you were being chastised for asking a question. That has happened to me on this board twice. It doesn't feel good. Have an amazing day.

Thanks, and no problem. I've spent enough time on automotive forums over the years to be very familiar with the old "ask a simple question, get a dickish answer" routine 🙂