Wondering why EIS shipping rates to Canada are so unpredictable and unreasonable?
Summary: tumutumu expressed frustration over unpredictable and high eBay International Shipping (EIS) rates from the US to Canada, citing examples of significant price disparities for similar items. Other participants explained possible reasons for this inconsistency, such as incomplete shipment information, varying domestic shipping costs, and routing differences. It was noted that sellers often lack control over international shipping prices, which are determined by eBay. Despite these explanations, tumutumu remains dissatisfied, intending to buy only from sellers who are responsive and willing to negotiate better shipping rates.
I'm a Canadian buyer so very frustrated by the fact that eBay sellers (mostly in US) and using the eBay International Shipping service can charge seemingly random amounts for similar items shipping to me from similar parts of the US. I buy several pre-owned clothing items per month, mostly lightweight and generally with a selling price of $20-40 USD.
As I don't sell on eBay, I can't understand why such a huge range of shipping prices exists. e.g.: an item selling for $29 by a seller in Florida ships to me in BC for $48.50 shipping, whereas a similar item selling for $30 listed by a seller in NM ships to me for $20 shipping. Why such a huge disparity??
I do know that customs fees and duty are paid in advance by EIS and I understand that most sellers use EIS for convenience. I have found some who are unaware of the shipping cost generated by eBay being so high. and I have worked with sellers who are happy to ship for a cheaper rate once I point out the situation.
Other sellers don't bother to reply, even when they voluntarily made me an offer!
Do some sellers build a profit into the shipping price?
Why does anyone think would I pay $50 or more to have a $20 or 30 item sent to me?
tumutumu
OP3 weeks agoThank you for your multiple attempts to explain the situation. My query was seeking an explanation for the inconsistency of EIS shipping rates for similar items from similar origins. Just FYI, I am a US citizen who currently lives in Canada, and I have a long history as an eBay customer. The net result of eBay's increasingly capricious shipping costs will be fewer purchases , and the I will deal only with sellers responsive to my queries and willing to negotiate a mutually agreeable solution.
stainlessenginecovers
·3 weeks ago@tumutumu and the answer was given numerous times.
The 'Shipping' amount is predicated on the 'Weight' and 'Size' of the package.
If sellers either list differently and/or do NOT list correctly, hence there will be a price difference.
I found out long ago that using EIS (which sellers do because when someone buys using EIS, sellers are covered 100% and do NOT have to put up with international buyers 'not picking up because they don't want to pay the necessary taxes' or a buyer wants to 'return for a refund' and sellers have (had) NO Way of getting a shipping label, therefore eating a poopy sandwich on that order...so
If an item is shown to go in a 'manilla envelope' that is 15" x 12" etc (doesn't matter) that OVER 12" dimension makes the EIS Shipping cost to a buyer TWICE what 'under 12" would be.
I then use boxes that are 11x9x5 for the 'dimensions' of items that I would normally ship in a 16"x12"x?? envelope..... and the price is 50% lower.
lacemaker3
·3 weeks agoActually, that is not always true. With eIS, eBay may offer the buyer shipping with import fees prepaid, or paid at delivery, or they may only offer one of those options.
When you are on the checkout page, it will tell you what shipping options are available, and if the import charges are prepaid, or payable on delivery. So the import charges may not even be included, and you may be seeing differences in the domestic shipping (within the USA) added to the cost of the international shipping.
Especially with shipping to Canada, I rarely see the prepaid option any more. Do you often see the prepaid option?
gone.c-33
·3 weeks agoSellers do not set the price of the international part of shipping. So if the international part costs $15, it will vary depending on the seller’s shipping domestic shipping cost to the hub.
If a seller charges $15 to ship the item, EIS will cost $15 domestic + $15 international + taxes and fees.
If the seller incorporates the cost of domestic shipping into their item price and advertises free shipping, EIS will cost $0 for domestic + $15 for international shipping + possibly higher taxes and fees since the item price including shipping will be higher.
kalyoth
·3 weeks agoWhile it shouldn't impact it, one possibility is which EIS shipping point it travels to. I would hope for uniformity they would all go to the point in Chicago for closest entry to Canada centrally. However, that is an ebay secret. Depending upon the 3rd party network it travels through, the varying carriers etc, that determines the spike in the cost I would imagine. If the package goes to say Florida, that's significant transit distance & additional hands to change for carriage before hitting the border.
I also agree that most sellers have almost no faith in safe & reliable delivery in Canada due to the two national work actions (strikes) that went on for months. The potential exists for more as that issue is not resolved. Seller would not risk failing their customers & facing recovery costs on top of refunds - if even possible - with a carrier that is more interested in itself vs. the customers it is paid via contract postage to serve.
Based on the ever increasing uncertainty in local post systems globally, I ceased using the post normally. I have had items returned to me 18 months later as far away as China & Singapore that just sit in a room untouched. It's no good for a customer.
janet9988
·3 weeks agoMost sellers do not spend the time to look at seeing all the different shipping costs to all the different countries for all the different sellers out there selling the same items.
msha3839
·3 weeks agoThere is many factors to consider regarding price of shipping..cost of the packaging materials, postage cost, distance that seller have to drive to ship the merchandise ..we can go on and on…and in the end, no one cares what you willing to pay or not…
kensgiftshop
·3 weeks agoHow much an item cost has nothing to with the shipping cost.
If you really wanted the item and couldn't find it in your country, you would probably pay it.
tobaccocardyahoo
·3 weeks ago · EditedMany sellers do not provide full information on weight and size of their shipments in their listings.
When the information is incomplete, and automated process looks for similar items and uses an estimate based on other listings to determine the shipping charges.
The comparison you have posted could be explained by this situation.
The problem appears to be exacerbated because EIS's costs to ship to Canada exceed its costs to ship to more distant countries. This is likely to be a result of higher last mile delivery costs in Canada, a larger and less densely populated nation.
Many Ebay sellers are thankful for EIS and the orders which they receive with minimal hassle.
Years ago when I exported directly, the first country I stopped shipping to was Italy, the second was Canada, Italy because of the lost packages due to a corrupt PO, and Canada because of the unreliability and unpredictability of Canada Post, and the extreme costs of UPS customs clearance in Canada. The Canadian market is not large enough for many US sellers to make any effort to accommodate.
I am sorry for the plight of Canadians seeking product readily available in the US but additional costs in time spent are not justified for many items and many sellers.