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Navigating Unexpected Shipping Costs: Seeking Advice
Summary: jwerthman22 encountered unexpected shipping expenses after agreeing to cover costs for items sold, not realizing expedited shipping would incur additional charges. jacbarcollectibles and monroe67 advised checking the order details to confirm if the buyer truly chose expedited shipping, suggesting a potential issue with how eBay processed the shipping charges. wooden_flower recommended reviewing the cost differences using eBay's shipping calculator and reaching out to eBay's customer service for resolution. jwerthman22 expressed frustration with contacting eBay and plans to discontinue offering free shipping due to this experience.
Hi everyone,
I recently found myself in a situation where I agreed to cover the shipping costs for an item I sold. However, I didn't realize that if the buyer chose expedited shipping, I would be responsible for the additional charges. Now, I'm facing unexpected expenses just as I'm preparing to ship the items. It feels quite unfair, as I wasn't informed about this possibility when I agreed to pay for shipping.
Has anyone else encountered a similar scenario? How did you handle it? Do you have any advice on what steps I can take to address this issue effectively? Also, are there ways to set clearer expectations with buyers to avoid such surprises in the future?
Your insights and experiences would be greatly appreciated!
wooden_flower
Mentor2 weeks ago@jwerthman22
Since you offer free standard shipping, the $4.55 shown for expedited shipping should represent the difference between standard and expedited. So you are still paying the standard portion, your buyer pays the cost to upgrade.
You are using the ship with eBay program - I don’t think you can see what the cost of standard shipping would be on the label purchase page, but you could use the shipping calculator to see the cost of each service. This would only be to confirm that the difference is about $4.55.
jwerthman22
OP2 weeks agoThanks for that info. Yeah, I'm trying to determine if the buyer paid Ebay the additional $4.55 also (because it's clear Ebay charged me the additional $4.55 - meaning they double-ended the shipping charges). I took the package to FedEx and they confirmed it was only $39 to expedite ship (as opposed to the $47 Ebay charged me) but said I have to take it up with Ebay. I've been trying to get a live body at Ebay for 2 days without success. the automated agent is useless. at this point I'm going to have to chalk it all up to a lesson learned and, sadly for potential buyers, I won't be offering free shipping from now on. Thanks again for your thoughts on the matter.
wooden_flower
Mentor2 weeks ago@jwerthman22
If you click on order details in your sold orders you can verify that the buyer paid the upcharge for expedited shipping.
jwerthman22
OP2 weeks agoIt looks like the buyer did not pay any extra for expedited shipping.
wooden_flower
Mentor2 weeks ago@jwerthman22
I think you should review this with customer service. If the shipping was not charged correctly, they need to submit a tech request to fix it.
Here's how to contact eBay general customer service.
1. CLICK THIS LINK:
https://www.ebay.com/help/contact?type=ContactUs&topicId=4000
2. Select a category that best matches your problem.
3. Answer the chat bots question by stating what you need help with.
4.Type AGENT ( you may have repeat steps 3 and 4)
5. Request a call back or live chat. (Note that the contact options vary depending on the topic and staffing availability)
Monday to Sunday 5:00 am to 09:30 pm PST
3. Or you can also contact customer service by sending a PRIVATE message on social media. Customer service verifies your identity before responding.
https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/
jwerthman22
OP2 weeks agoThanks for the info. I did all of those steps (minus the Instagram link which I did not know about - thank you!) a number of times. on the live chat, it just stopped responding when I asked for a live agent. the one time I actually got someone to call me, the phone disconnected within about 15 seconds and they did not call back (and I couldn't call them back because the number just leads to an automated messaged telling you to go online and take the steps above). I'll take a look at the Instagram link. Bottom line: it's only a difference of about $10 dollars but when my sale was $80 and I only made $21, it makes a difference and it's really the principle of the thing. Thanks again for your help!
monroe67
Mentor2 weeks ago · EditedAs "jacbar" states, eBay should have charge that buyer the price shown for "expedited tracked shipping." (The price shown to me for "expedited tracked shipping" is only $4.55, and I'm in the same state as you, though at the far south edge.)
Which makes me wonder if your buyer did actually click and choose "expedited tracked shipping" before she paid.
You can find out if she did or not by looking at the Order Details on your listing. On this particular pair of jeans, does it show that your buyer paid anything for shipping?
The fact that your listing shows you offer "standard tracked shipping" or "expedited tracked shipping" indicates that you may possibly be in eBay's Ship With eBay program. It's a relatively new program, into which eBay puts new sellers.
If you are in the Ship With eBay program, eBay should have given you a shipping label to print and a related QR code. If you do not use that label or QR code, yes, you are required to pay for shipping.
jwerthman22
OP2 weeks agoThanks for the response. Yes, I offered free standard shipping but I didn't think that meant I would pay for expedited shipping (I don't recall it saying that when I listed the items). I printed out the shipping label and what got my attention was that it's for FedEX home delivery instead of USPS.
monroe67
Mentor2 weeks agoInteresting.
The "shipping" field of your listing doesn't indicate USPS or FedEx or any other carrier.
Thinking back to when you created your listings, do you recall whether you indicated USPS specifically?
jwerthman22
OP2 weeks agoSince I don't recall exactly what it said, I went back in as if I was listing a new item. What it says is "you pay $______" or you can hit the toggle switch to offer free shipping. But I do recall the amount was approximately $8.50 for each pair of pants.
jacbarcollectibles
Mentor2 weeks agoI looked at some of your listings. They indicate that for Standard shipping the shipping is free. For expedited shipping there is a charge. So eBay should have charged the buyer when they selected expedited shipping. Check the history of the sale and see what the buyer paid to you.
jwerthman22
OP2 weeks agoThanks for your response. I did look at that and it shows that buyer paid for 4 items at $20 each (total $80) plus tax. I was charged $46.70 for shipping. It shows the buyer chose expedited shipping which apparently costs about $4.50 per item. The estimated shipping when i listed the items waws $8.50 per item. But at $46.70 it looks like it cost me $11.67 per item. I'm new to this so it's a bit confusing and seems like a lot for shipping (it's 4 pairs of pants).