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Need advice on how to set up shipping policies
Summary: kennube is seeking advice on setting up shipping policies that allow buyers to pay based on the combined weight of multiple items, while ensuring certain fragile items are shipped separately. selforfun suggests using two different shipping policies: one with calculated combined shipping for items that can be shipped together, and another for fragile items that should ship separately. They provide guidance on setting up the policies and assure that the 'request an invoice' feature is available on the mobile app for eligible transactions. Helpful links were also provided for further reading.
I've been trying to set up shipping policies to result in the buyer paying the actual shipping charges while allowing me to ship certain items (for example, heavy or delicate items) separately.
How can I set shipping policies that allow a buyer to purchase qty 2 of Listing A and qty 3 of Listing B (where A and B are different weights), and paying a shipping charge based on the combined weight of the 5 items AND prevent the buyer from adding Listing C (a fragile item) to that same shipment?
I can't seem to get a combination of settings that supports these two needs at the same time.
Since only a few of my items need to be shipped solo, I don't want to force buyers of multiple listings at the same checkout to request an invoice in order to not get overcharged for shipping multiple which can be shipped in the same box, both because of the inconvenience and because of the resultant delay in shipping.
(And is it true that the "request an invoice" feature is not supported in the mobile app?)
Thanks in advance.
kennube
OP2 weeks agoA belated "Thank You" to selforfun for your response. I wasn't able to try this out until today. Your suggestions worked for me. My previous approach seemed very similar, but it just wasn't working for me -- buyers were able to combine the stand-alone listings with the ones where combining was intended to be supported. Evidently, I had something set up incorrectly.
I had run into the issue you mentioned with adding weights not always coming up with the correct results, but thanks for pointing that out. What I saw previously matches with your warning about it not always correctly considering the potential need for a larger box.
And also thanks for the updated info on the "Request an Invoice" option on the mobile app.
While doing these updates, another question came up ... if I go to "Shipping Preferences" > "Combined shipping rules" > "Calculated shipping rule", it shows "1 rule(s)". Is there a way to define more than one Calculated shipping rule? The "(s)" implies it, but I can edit the existing rule, but can't see a way to add a second calculated shipping rule.
Thanks again.
selforfun
Mentor3 weeks agoHi @kennube
I think you can accomplish this, but I would use two different shipping policies rather than trying to make one policy handle everything.
For the items you are willing to combine, such as Listings A and B, use Calculated Shipping and create a calculated combined shipping rule using “Combine all item weights.” eBay will add the weights of the eligible items together and calculate the shipping charge based on the combined weight.
Apply that same shipping policy/combined shipping rule to all of the listings you normally want shipped together.
For the few fragile or heavy items that must ship by themselves, create a separate shipping policy - something like “Ship Separately - Fragile” - and do not apply the combined shipping rule to those listings. That way the fragile item keeps its own shipping charge and you can ship it in its own package even if the buyer purchases other items at the same time.
So, for your example:
Listing A + Listing B = combined calculated shipping based on the total weight
Listing C = its own shipping charge and its own package
You should not need buyers to request an invoice for every normal purchase if your calculated combined shipping rule is set up correctly. The automatic rule is specifically designed to adjust the shipping at checkout.
One thing to keep in mind is that calculated combined shipping adds the item weights together. It cannot always predict exactly how your final box dimensions will change, so with oversized or unusually shaped items the final carrier charge can still differ somewhat.
Also, the old advice that buyers cannot request combined shipping in the mobile app is no longer universally correct. eBay has added “Request combined shipping” to the current Android and iOS apps for eligible purchases, although the option will not appear for every type of transaction. Few links to review.
Shipping discounts / calculated combined shipping:
https://www.ebay.com/help/Selling/Shipping/Shipping_discounts?id=4168
Offering combined shipping:
https://www.ebay.com/help/ship-track/ship-track-selling/ebay-combined-postage?id=4169
Business policies:
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/listing-best-practices?id=4212
Let us know if you have any further questions.