Shipping charge feedback
I use Ebay shipping discount and typically Standard shipping. I almost always charge less than the actual shipping fee that I collect from my buyers. However, my lowest scores are from shipping costs. My guess is most sellers are being penalized with this feedback that is beyond our control. Unless we list items with free shipping, then there's nothing we can do. I don't do free shipping because the cost of items may deter buyers who are searching within a maximum amount. Any thoughts? I think Ebay should eliminate that feedback or at least not publish it on our account. I'm sure there are sellers that overcharge but most of us don't.
19 comments
tobaccocardyahoo
·6 months agoMy buyers must be a cut above some other people's buyers. They can add and subtract.
My pricing is determined by what I think a motivated collector will pay for an item. I used fixed price, economy shipping and make the total come out to that number.
I do not care how the competition prices, but I care about how many competitors I have. Sellers who price too high or too low are likely to damage their credibility with experienced collectors.
My history has included some negative FB over the years and my DSR for shipping cost has never been 5. Never hurt me enough that I noticed. When I went from Above Average to Top Ranked seller level, I saw no difference in sales or DSRs.
I am a buyer who tends to read product reviews after I buy, on days when I want to be amused by the stupidity of some buyers. When I have made a bad purchase, the seller had perfect FB when I bought and either had perfect FB after the transaction or was NARUed. FB has never helped me buy.
I do not buy the same types of items I sell on Ebay. What I buy is a bit more normal, and when I buy obscure items I buy from sellers I know. The exception is cheap Chinese electronics which is a commodity, and I expect to have no warranty and to dispose of when it fails.
kandf_vintage_finds
·6 months agoI Pass on the shipping discount to my buyers and it appears you also do.
I offer free shipping on all items that weigh less than 15 oz.
My shipping cost feedback is good.
buyologist-3
·6 months agoThe solution is easy: Factor in the shipping costs into the price and make all listings Free Shipping. Everyone wins and you don't get hit with shipping fees! 😃 If this makes the price too high, make whatever changes you have to to make the profits higher. You're working too hard for not enough money.
reallynicestamps
·6 months agoI almost always charge less than the actual shipping fee that I collect from my buyers.
You are losing money on shipping.
However, my lowest scores are from shipping costs.
Your buyers don't like your shipping charges.
I would suggest using Calculated Shipping instead of Flat Rate shipping.
This gives the buyer the exact cost to their doorstep.
It also tends to look a little more "official" and therefore acceptable.
Or.
Use Free Shipping.
DON'T PANIC!
Free Shipping just means putting the cost of shipping into your asking price.
Which is cheaper a $120 item with $10 shipping or a $130 item with Free Shipping.?
Which makes the buyer feel they got a bargain?
Bonus, offering Free Shipping gives you a tiny boost in Search.
Further bonus, an automatic Five Star rating for Shipping cost.
luckythewinner
·6 months agoAny thoughts?
My thoughts are that I have not even looked at anyone's DRS ratings - or anyone else's - for a decade.
johnrj1226
·6 months agoSold for 10 years on eBay - always had a shipping and handling fee that always had a bit of profit. Out of 1665 shipments (mostly Priority Mail only had 1 person comment (via eBay message) on my rate but left no neg.-
gloryglorygifts
·6 months agoI think it's from people that are paying international shipping, because I've had feedback say it was expensive. If not, I don't think that charging a customer $4.99 for a package that actually ships for $5.75 would be a fair assessment. We print the postage price on the labels in case anyone has a problem with them. That 4.9 is annoying but that's about it. As long as it doesn't affect my rating idc.
christworks
·6 months agoThat is very much a possibility. Using eIS, we cannot see (to my knowledge) what the buyer sees. I've had buyers ask me about the shipping. I tell them my cost, but anything over that comes from eBay. They may be overcharging.
gloryglorygifts
·6 months agoI'm sure that they are.
kennys-kollectibles
·6 months agoThe main problem is most buyers think shipping is cheap.
So, you ship something and the cost is right on the label, $13.50.
You only charged the customer $12.75.
They are not happy paying $12.75 to ship, so they don't even notice they
got a deal on shipping. To them shipping is just too expensive. And it is.
And us sellers have to buy tape, and cardboard mailers and other things to
ship the item.
Most of the time if you offer free shipping you have just eaten up your profit margin.
Until the post office offers free shipping, it is just not worth it.
12345jamesstamps
·6 months agoAs an example :
Whether you have item with free shipping $10.00....or same item $8.00 with shipping $2.00 they both will come up as $10.00 as the cheapest in a search of same item.
And potential buyers love to see the words 'Free Shipping'.
I add free shipping or free international shipping in some of my titles as well.
And it's less numbers for the potential buyer to figure total cost : one cost vs. cost + shipping.
It just makes sense to me...just my thoughts.
inhawaii
·6 months agoJames hit the nail on the head.
To a customer $10 with free shipping is a much better deal than $8 with $2 shipping. 😉
chapeau-noir
·6 months agoPeople still pay attention to DSRs? I feel like it's 2010 and I'm young again!
tobaccocardyahoo
·6 months agoThe DSRs are a useless attempt at getting buyers to leave objective measures of performance, that failed years ago.
They are not used to evaluate seller performance.
Ignore.
christworks
·6 months agoYou are upset about a 4.9 out of 5 stars? You remind me of myself when I was upset because I had a 98 in Trig. The teacher, who looked like Abe Lincoln, offered help to kids after school. One day I showed up to get help to pull my 98 up to a 100. He literally cussed me out, telling me that time was to help the other 70% of kids who were either failing or had Ds. It was years later, and with some maturity, before I understood his point.
I think your 4.9 rating is great and would argue it is above most sellers. Just for fun, I looked up 10 random items from 10 random sellers. All 10 had lower star ratings than you — from 3.9 to 4.8. I didn't see a single 4.9 or 5.0. I think you are in a very good place and I would not stress over it. If anything, I would be more concerned about that 4.9 “accurate description” rating you have. I would want to know what buyers are rating lower and why. The accuracy of your description is something you do have control over.
I do not know that I can agree with your statement that most sellers do not overcharge for shipping. If you are strictly looking at the cost of the label vs. what the buyer pays, I can almost guarantee a seller is going to charge more to help cover the cost of supplies and the associated fees. Some may build that into the price of the item, while others may not know to account for that at all. I think most probably do, which would mean most sellers are technically overcharging for shipping.
The issue is not so much how you charge for shipping, but rather what your total out-the-door price is. If your out-the-door cost is higher overall, people may jump to the shipping charge as the reason why, even if that is not actually the case.
You are in Zone 3 for me. Looking at your shipping costs, I think they are overall more than reasonable.
This listing (Tupperware Canisters Spanish Lettering Lot Of 9 New With One Touch Seals) shows $46.59 as a shipping charge to me. It would be $84.86 for a buyer in Los Angeles. I realize there is likely a dimensional weight charge, but that stands out as being higher than it should be. If you are using calculated shipping, I would double-check your dimensions. If you have guessed at them, that is an item I might pre-box (even if not all the way) so I could have an accurate idea of the measurements.
If you are going to undercharge on shipping, I would not do that on breakable items. That can signal to buyers that you may take a cheap approach when packing their breakable item and could turn them away from buying from you. Buyers purchasing breakable items expect shipping to cost more.
slippinjimmy
·6 months agoIf you are talking about the DSR's (Detailed Seller Ratings) you have 4.9 but for the few people who even look at DSR's they will see 5 stars, even if they know to click on the number to see the specific rating they will see the 4.9
If you think anybody cares or thinks that 4.9 somehow "bad" you are delusional and worrying about something that is essentially meaningless.
kibble-net
·6 months agoSo what? If a buyer wants to leave a low DSR for my shipping cost, that has literally no effect on my sales.
I'd rather have a low DSR for shipping than be forced to refund shipping 100% of the time when there is a buyer's remorse return. At least with calculated shipping, some of that cost can be recovered.
It may feel wrong to you not to get all 5.0 ratings, but 5.0 ratings do not pay my rent.
funfactorychannel
·6 months agoJust ignore it, that stat would not have an impact to your selling. Focus on stats that do matter..
bonanza125
·6 months agoI do "Free Shipping" for two reasons. First to avoid low feedback on shipping. Automatic 5 stars. Second if someone wants a second item which is sometimes the case in what I sell it's much easier to just put free shipping then just add the extra onto the item. Buyers sometimes want not only a discounts as well. So I factor everything into the cost. In your situation by charging less on shipping that what the shipping cost is you are not only losing money on shipping cost but also Ebay charges a fee on top of that. It does add up so I would recommend to make sure you know the weight and dimensions and type the correct ones in before listing.