SCAMS Why does eBay permit sellers to exaggerate size and weight making huge profits on shipping?
eBay in the beginning did not take a cut of shipping. Then as those decided instead of selling an item and getting a price for it why not sell the item for $1 and charge the buyer an excessive amount for shipping to avoid fees. In other words why pay fees if we don’t have to. eBay responded by taking a large cut of shipping to prevent this. This caused a new breed of sellers that in order to appear competitive they over estimate size and weight and use the eBay calculator letting the appearance of their actual price look significantly lower than other listings. On the surface people shop for price but don’t always check shipping closely.
Once paid the seller reduces the weight and size of the item prints the real cost of shipping and pockets a good chunk of the buyer’s money. It just is another way sellers are using to get an advantage or edge. I thought eBay had a rule about shipping that was supposed to protect buyers from abusive shipping rates. As eBay gets a cut of shipping it seems they support this shipping cost gouging as this has increased as a tool many sellers are using. It doesn’t avoid fees so it is “eBay legalâ€. It is certainly not honest and certainly deceiving and something should be done about it. What has happened to integrity?
chessgame67
·2 years agoeBay is perpetually miss quoting shipping. I’ve lost sales because I go back in after I get to the post office after printing a label and they tell me the sizing is wrong or the weight is wrong. i’ll even show them the eBay sale information and they’ll say how is it possible that they’re quoting this. I had an argument with the postal employee because I accused them of not calibrating the scale. In the meantime I just weighed it on two digital scales at home. I can’t suck up the fees in order to ship it so when I ask the buyer for the additional fee
they get angry. I lost a $300 sale the other day because of $10. eBay is all whacked out especially when you pick - sell one like this. It’s always wrong. I’m about to list a brand new frying pan now that another seller has and the weight is 2 lbs. 7 oz. In the description of the item, it says 6 pounds and it’s larger than the measurements that eBay has ,so the seller is going to get nailed when hey go to ship it. I’ve lost several sales because of this. In regard to artificially inflating shipping costs, sometimes you have to in order to balance what it actually is costing you .so many times I end up maybe inflating it a little only to be met with on Target pricing. I wrote this really fast so if it doesn’t come out right, I apologize. Plus, I’m probably angry when I’m writing it. Forgive me
dryophelia
·2 years ago@chessgame67
Please start your own conversation. This one is going to get answers based on the opening post.
Someone will help you understand why you are being shorted on shipping. It is usually seller error when setting it up.
It very good to go to the post office after you have been paid, but it would be nice, instead of blaming eBay, if the clerk could have helped you understand what you could have done differently. (I do understand that not all postal clerks know how eBay sales and labels fit into the USPS system)
With your new post, the more details you provide, the better.
chessgame67
·2 years agook thx you've been very helpful .
stainlessenginecovers
·2 years agoIf they 'exaggerate' the size/weight- then their item will be the HIGHEST PRICED item on the site and then it would NEVER sell- so what would the point be??
dirk12955
·2 years agoHow come buyers never come to the board and complain about being "Undercharged"
A seller loses $5.00 on shipping he's a sucker.
A seller makes a $5.00 profit on shipping? It's a scam or he's a crook.
chessgame67
·2 years agoDid you get schooled yet to start your own conversation by dryophelia
Because your post doesn't fit in with the criteria of the issue . 🤣
buyselljack2016
·2 years agoAh, but their post does fit.
safan80
·2 years agotoptrips
·2 years agoIf the item is worth $10 plus $5 shipping, it is up to the seller to list it any way she feels will be most palatable to buyer. I could say the item is $7 and the shipping is $8. Or I could say the item is $12 and shipping is $3. It's all the same. Seller needs to figure the value of the item, add shipping costs (including supplies) and, after that, how you divide that price between item and shipping does not make a difference in buyer's final cost of the item.
soh.maryl
·2 years agoHow does selling an item for a buck and charging the buyer an excessive amount for shipping avoid fees?
The final value fee that the seller pays to eBay is calculated on the total of: the item price, the SHIPPING FEE and the state sales tax, if any. Not to be insulting, but am surprised that an eBayer who has 15572 FB and has been here since November, 2000, would not be aware of that.
redlinear
·2 years ago@Anonymous
It doesn't work that way. eBay gets a cut of the TOTAL sale (which includes any shipping costs stated).
Sellers are not getting any advantage by exaggerated shipping costs.
However, there are quite a few items, that once boxed, are crazy high to ship.
I had a 5 lb thing yesterday that cost me $120 to ship. Just a couple states away.
tobaccocardyahoo
·2 years agoSellers are permitted to include a handling fee in their shipping charge which can cover packaging materials and their labor.
I suspect some sellers know almost nothing about how to use the Ebay system and inflating the fee by inflating the weight may be their attempt to including the additional permitted charges.
Short of requiring all sellers pass an how to use Ebay exam this cannot be fixed. Ain't going to happen. Buyers who choose their offers over yours usually have another reason, if they are charging more.
frankenhobbit
·2 years agoI've not purchased a ton of items because shipping was too high. I'm sure countless others have backed out of purchases because of shipping. Shipping costs are always disclosed, so not really fair to call it a 'scam'.
I will agree that some sellers may 'overestimate' the shipping, but I think it's more likely because they don't want to find out that they got it wrong and lose money. There are countless threads on people getting surprise adjustments from FedEx etc after they shipped it.
Shipping is expensive, especially so once time, materials and transportation to the carrier are factored in. Not everyone sells thousands of similar items and has the benefit of scale to reduce costs.
gator08041971
·2 years agoThat is one of the primary reasons I won't use FedEx ever. And in rare occasions I will use UPS. But USPS has been my primary shipper for most of my items. The only time I might go UPS is for a larger package.
To date, I have had two "adjustments" as a result of using USPS. One was actually a credit, as they had charged too much apparently. The other was a small amount as the weight was off. (I had guessestimated that particular package). But that has been it.
soh.maryl
·2 years agoIf a buyer does not check shipping closely, then he's obviously NOT shopping for price, even if he believes he is.
gosimus
·2 years ago@Anonymous
< On the surface people shop for price but don’t always check shipping closely >
This is an assumption, with no justification offered for the claim. Maybe it's based on projection? Anyway, I always check the total of the item price plus the shipping ... I think I'm pretty much like most people.
dirk12955
·2 years agoThis subject falls under the heading, "Don't apologize, Don't explain."
Free enterprise system at its best. A seller can charge (Or try to charge) any amount of money
for any service or goods that he pleases.
No profit is obscene or "Huge"
If the buyer is not happy for whatever reason, Hit the back button.
PS: A seller pays ebay the same fees on a $50.00 sale with shipping included in the price
as a sale of $10.00 plus $40.00 shipping.
Free enterprise.
lakefor94
·2 years agoDoes not matter to me what they charge for shipping. Could be $50 or Free.
All I need is the total price to purchase. I comparative shop from there.
mudshark61369
·2 years ago@Anonymous,
" eBay responded by taking a large cut of shipping to prevent this. This caused a new breed of sellers that in order to appear competitive they over estimate size and weight and use the eBay calculator letting the appearance of their actual price look significantly lower than other listings".
Actually, prior to when ebay decided to charge a fee on the shipping cost, they did not charge a fee on the shipping cost at all.
If you're buying from newer sellers they may be guestimating package dimensions and weight, instead of pre-packing measuring and weighing the items they list. Some may be located in states that charge a sales tax on what the seller charges for shipping as well.
When ebay decided to start charging the same final value fee of 12.5% on shipping as they took from the item sales, it was pretty much OK. Then they started messing with the Final Value percentages by category seller status and other factors. In some instances a seller may pay as much of 20% of all funds received, by the seller cutting into the shipping funds they receive if they charged the exact amount. Overcharging on shipping doesn't solve the issue, but it helps, if the seller is paying a shipping cost less than what they received after the fees.
Then as Gator mentioned ebay's calculator info which may be coming second hand from Pitney Bowes, their shipping partner (nobody seem to know) may be off. I've started double checking my package info on my USPS account which is a commercial account, and have found I would pay less for postage if I pay for it from that site.
safan80
·2 years agokensgiftshop
·2 years agoHow is it deceiving, you see the shipping charge you are going to pay before buying the item.
If they charged you more them what the listing showed, that would be wrong.
To charge you what the listing shows, don't see a problem with that, if you agree to pay the price.
monica-sells
·2 years agoYou are obviously a seasoned, long time seller.
I truly don't quite understand your point. (Maybe I am just missing it)
Shipping, in my business model, is an overlooked profit center.
In my usual convoluted way, my shipping charges consist of charging the buyer retail and adding the category percentage fee.
So, as an example, a $50.00 item in a 14X11X4 | 2 lb box to Zone 4
USPS GA Retail Price = $10.80
$10.80 X .1325 (Category Fee) = $1.43
so the shipping for this 50.00 item retail would be 12.23
I have a handling charge for the box cost of .59
Total Shipping Charge to Buyer = $12.82
Actual Cost of Postage (online discount not visible to buyer) = $6.26
Actual Cost of Box = .59
Paid Out for Shipping and Handling = $6.85
Difference of $5.97...(profit on shipping)
Is this considered abusive or gouging? The shipping charges are clearly visible in every window/view the buyer sees. This also leaves me some 'wiggle room' to give the customer a shipping "break"
soh.maryl
·2 years agoAny time any buyer sees a listing where the shipping cost seems exorbitant, is he not able to just hit the back button and find another listing?
Also, when a buyer looks at the shipping cost, is he unaware that, in addition to the postage, the seller has to buy packaging materials etc?
If buyers "don't check shipping closely", whose fault is that?
eBay has no way to make sure the shipping cost is not overstated. Wouldn't an eBay employee have to weigh the package and view the destination and then calculate the shipping fee for that package going to that address?
gator08041971
·2 years agoThere used to be a rule about this someplace. I just spent some time looking for it actually, but its nothing concrete. However there is a shipping cost limit rule for categories:
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/shipping-items/shipping-rates/maximum-shipping-costs?id=4655
That said.
Sometimes a listed item has the shipping priced way too high by the calculator. I had this happen once, with a larger item. It was wanting 66 dollars to ship the item, when in reality it only cost me 21 dollars. I refunded the buyer 40, and it was fine. But not all sellers refund the difference. That however wasn't due to me being deceitful, it was some sort of calculation error.
Now.
Sellers list the shipping costs (if there is a shipping cost) one of 3 ways. Free shipping obviously, flat rate shipping, and calculated shipping. Calculated can be priced 3 different ways too. You could be quoted a retail shipping price, a reduced (% off of retail) price, or the ebay direct price.
Most sellers use either free shipping or the calculated retail rate. The latter allows for some extra to cover packaging and the like, if they don't want to add a handling fee. And some also add a handling fee to the cost as well.
Point is, the retail vs ebay rates can be as much as 40-50% or more in difference. And the larger the item, the larger that difference looks. So while some may be trying to take advantage, I doubt all of them are, and its actually quoting you at or near the retail rate to ship.
That said, you can use the ebay calculator yourself to check a package after the fact from and to an address to see what the cost should be. Just make sure to measure and weigh the item correctly.
https://www.ebay.com/shp/Calculator
Good luck.
nobody*s_perfect
·2 years agoThat list of maximum permitted shipping prices for selected media categories was eBay's early attempt at reducing abuse of shipping costs. But if you look at the current version of the chart, it has ridiculously high limits, such as $20 for mailing a single book or CD. It looks to me like they wanted to abandon this approach but the easiest way to do that was to raise the limits rather than remove the programming entirely. IIRC eBay abandoned their efforts to control shipping costs at about the same time as they started charging a final value fee that included shipping and handling -- back in 2011.
It's just not possible for eBay to police the shipping costs that sellers set up. The only practical solution is for buyers to shop by total price, rather than just looking at the item price and ignoring the shipping cost.