shipping cost differences?

Question

I was not aware that the shipping calculator on auctions did not reflect reality but only whatever the discounted eBay rate is, and so in selling something recently I had to pay twice the price to ship the item, which meant I made $5 on the sale instead of the $20 I should have? eBay told me at first they would refund me the difference but then when nothing happened for two weeks I called in today and got the "NO" answer. Their great idea was to contact the buyer to ask for more money? yeah, right.

So the question is, does eBay have any sort of mechanism to refund on incorrect shipping, and, are we now required to always use an eBay shipping label (which again uses some magic formula apparently to calculate shipping)?

lady_madonna · Answer

You cannot ask the buyer for more money for shipping than what was indicated on the shipping page.

Whoever you talked to at Ebay was not correct about Ebay refunding you the difference in shipping costs. If you underestimated shipping, the difference will have to come from you.

If you use calculated shipping correctly, there should be little or no difference.

Here's how to use calculated shipping when listing your items:

In the Shipping section of your listing, select Calculated: Cost varies by buyer location.
Next to Services, select Calculate Shipping.
In Package details in the Shipping Calculator, enter details of the pre-packaged item: the package type, dimensions, and weight.
In the Your details section, enter your ZIP code and any handling fees.
Select Calculate shipping.
Select the shipping services you want to offer, and drag them into the order you want buyers to see them.
Select Offer shipping services.
Complete your listing.