Why do I pay for shipping when the buyer pays.
I've been watching my funds and it's confusing for me. Hears a example from a item I sold. I sold a desktop inflatable tube guy for 8.99$ and the buyer payed 4.35$ for shipping, 13.34$ in total. Fees for selling totaled in 2.42$, leaving 10.92$ left. I buy the shipping label for 4.35$ but I earn a total of 4.87$and not 6.58$, I had the problem with other items before.
9 comments
inhawaii
·3 years agoGeneral comment.
How can someone actively selling on ebay not know this?
dirk12955
·3 years agoIt's a wonder that can't be explained.
itscalledapostingid
·3 years agoThe buyer pays you for shipping then you use the money to buy the label.
billscornerstore-601
·3 years agoBest, most concise answer. Thank you!
iamalwaysright
·3 years agoI understand this statement but I’m not understanding the concept it’s replying to. Are some sellers thinking that whatever shipping fee they give a buyer will always be the actual shipping cost of the item, no more no less?
What about the sellers who give free shipping? USPS and other carriers would go bankrupt.
reallynicestamps
·3 years agoFree Shipping is an advertising weasel.
It means that shipping costs are included in the asking price rather than being a line item.
Which is cheapest: A $10 item with $5 shipping or a $15 item with Free Shipping.
If a seller does not understand this and lists as $10 with Free Shipping, the buyer is still paying for shipping but the seller is taking a much much smaller profit.
And as @iamalwaysright indicates, the shipping fee is not the same as the cost of shipping.
The buyer sees the USPS/courier counter fee for the seller's chosen service.
The seller is also paying for packaging and transport to the PO and his own labour.
He may also be paying for insurance outside of the carrier.
However, the seller who buys labels *through eBay gets discounts on some services which are not seen by the buyer.
Shipping is complicated.
*We stamps on the envelope sellers are buying our stamps at a very steep discount. Steep enough that some stamp dealers resell mint valid postage at discounts of 20-40% off face. Again the buyer never sees this.
itscalledapostingid
·3 years agoPart of it might be explained by sellers who got their online selling start on apps like poshmark where they provide a label for the seller. So buying labels is a new concept altogether. This is just one theory I came up with to explain this phenomenon.
reallynicestamps
·3 years agoYou choose the service and the cost of shipping.
I think you are using Calculated Shipping?
If so your customer sees the counter price for shipping to his doorstep. (You would see shipping to your doorstep if you looked at your own listing.)
Fees (FVF) are based on the PAYMENT your customer made, not on the price of the item sold.
So the FVF is on the price, the shipping price*, and the buyer's sales taxes**.
That was $2.42.
Then you use the payment remainder to pay for a label.
Are you paying for the shipping at the PO counter?
Do you know you can get a discount on shipping by buying online and/or through eBay?
I have to be vague here, because I am in Canada and we have slightly different rules , but I got an account number through eBay which gives me discount between 5% and 38% on some Canada Post services***
But your customer sees and pays the full rate.
There is very likely a similar discount available to US sellers.
*Which you use to buy a shipping label at a discount through eBay
**Which you never touch. Yes, it annoys every other seller . Yes, it is legal. This is Standard Practice in the entire payment processing industry and has been since at least the 1940s.
***If a Canadian is reading this, it's a Solutions for Small Business account. This also is used with SnapShip and Shippo.
the-hook-and-the-loop
·3 years agoCan you click on the order number and show the complete breakdown of charges by eBay? My guess is that you promoted the listing.