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Why does seller pay shipping when buyer also pays?
I have my items listed as buyer pays shipping. It looks to me that they pay and then I also pay. So, my item which sells for $22.50 has fees and postage taken out, I end up with just over $13. I have purchased the shipping label right from eBay. Why is this not a wash. I should be ending up with around $19.
24 comments
mam98031
·2 years agoI know you posted this a few months ago @denisej8688 , since you didn't participate in the thread, I thought I'd ask if you have a better understanding of this now or do you still have questions?
Since it is the Seller that actually ships the item, it is the seller that needs to purchase the shipping label so they have it to put on the package.
Remember they paid you for the product, which you need to ship to them. How else are you going to do that if you don't purchase a shipping label? So because of this process, the buyer pays you for the product and for the shipping so your covered.
Try it this way. If you don't purchase the shipping label and ship the product to your buyer, how else are they to get what they purchased and paid for?
az93
·2 years agoBuyer pays shipping to seller so seller can mail. Seller pays shipping to shipper so buyer can receive item. No funny business here.
tornado_5857
·2 years agoI have to be frank... I've run 3 businesses and I have NEVER seen anything as screwed up as ebay's accounting tools. They are more than confusing. Nothing about what they show in the order details (order total vs order earnings) is sensible. Ultimately, I have no clue what I have earned.
tambas-40
·2 years agoI have become more confused by the way eBay is handling shipping in the last year. It seems like they take out shipping costs, promotion cost, fee cost and taxes. So, I’m lucky if I see much of anything and I’m supposed to have every item being paid by the buyer, so I can get something from the sale. It is very unintuitive. It all seems clear before the sale takes place, but then I have all the subtractions taken out for shipping, which I don’t understand at all because I post with the buyer supposedly paying them. I’m lucky to make anything off the sale.
bonjourami
·2 years agoThe buyer pays you for the shipping, you then purchase it. You are aware of fvf's right? That includes the sale cost, shipping and any tax, all businesses charge a fee for processing the total amount of the transaction,its never free. Restaurants, department stores, etc.
ckimodog
·2 years ago@tornado_5857
Wrote: Also, I don't think it's legal for them to charge their fees on the cost of shipping or the buyer's state tax.
Your credit cards have been doing it as long as I can remember. It's nothing new.
If someone went to court to fight them on that, they could probably win.
No they wouldn't. Better read your terms of agreement as the rules and policies are made very clear. No attorney would touch any lawsuit as you agree not to sue when you sign on to sell.
janet9988
·2 years agoYOU agree to pay the fees BEFORE you list. How is that not legal? It is no surprise.
caldreamer
·2 years agoEBAY "selling fees" based on the total amount (purchase price + shipping + sales tax) plus 30 cent handling charge. When sale is made EBAY immediately deducts "selling fees + shipping". Shipping money is "held for you" so have "funds available" when you print the label.
Could be additional fees if you "promoted item" or extra "1.5% international fees" if your customer has international account or located in foreign country.
However, If you ship through EBAY global EIS they waive the 1.5% international fee but you still have to pay selling fees on international "sales tax". VAT "sales tax" for 160 foreign counties is about 20%.
az93
·2 years agoBuyer pays you so seller can buy a shipping label. It doesn't matter who prints the label, the shipping company gets the money. Sometimes seller fails to collect enough money to ship and then the seller has to pay the difference.
toomuchstuffagain35
·2 years agoThere seem to be quite a few of these 'why is shipping being paid twice' type posts lately.
Maybe an influx of sellers from other sites where the venue charges for & supplies the label?
ckimodog
·2 years ago@toomuchstuffagain35
I don't understand why it's such a mystery & so confusing for some? You charge shipping to the buyer, the buyer pays and you use that money to ship the item. Easy. It's not rocket science...lol
toomuchstuffagain35
·2 years agoYes BUT, some venues don't do it the same way which may be where the confusion comes in.
yuzuha
·2 years agoEven so, it's still exactly how shipping works when you order anything online as the buyer. If I buy something from Macy's, I pay them whatever the shipping cost is and Macy's is the one who purchases the label for my package, not me.
gone.c-33
·2 years agoBecause in some places, such as Poshmark, the buyer pays shipping to Poshmark and Poshmark sends the seller a prepaid shipping label. The seller never sees the money for shipping.
ckimodog
·2 years ago@gone.c-33 @toomuchstuffagain35
Thanks very much for clarifying. I always thought the seller had control of the shipping funds. Learn something new every day. 😊
monroe67
·2 years ago"There seem to be quite a few of these 'why is shipping being paid twice' type posts lately."
I think it shows a lack of ability to think things through. Perhaps a lack of logic.
I don't know where that comes from. Is it a failing of the public school systems? A flaw in home schooling?
It should really be so simple, if these sellers could just think things through.
Sure, yes. "Shipping" is paid twice.
The difference between those two payments is who/what is paying and who/what is receiving the payment.
First: The price of shipping (postage) is first paid by the Buyer to eBay on behalf of the seller.
eBay makes those dollars available to eBay sellers so that they can buy postage through eBay.
Second: The price of shipping (postage) is then paid by the Seller to the carrier (US Postal Service, FedEx, etc.).
gone.c-33
·2 years agoOr, as I posted above, people are used to an entirely different way of handling postage…
trainup027
·2 years agoWait till you start paying ad fees as well! 😅
If you are uncertain about your profit/loss/earnings, I think it's a good idea to write out the expenses and fees for the entire order for each item you sell a while, to see what you are actually making in profit. You might end up making more profit on a small sale for an item you got for free, than for a huge item that you paid a lot for and that costs a lot to ship. Sometimes selling on ebay is more or less just getting your money back (or even less), depending on what you're selling and what you paid for it. (And that can be fine if you just want to get rid of some stuff around the house. everybody's situation is different! Only you can figure out what's worth the time and effort for you.)
Good luck!
wastingtime101
·2 years ago@denisej8688
Buyer pays eBay item + shipping + sales tax.
eBay takes selling fees on that total amount.
eBay remits sales tax to buyer's state.
eBay sends the balance item + shipping (less fees) to the seller.
Seller uses the funds to buy a shipping label.
eBay gave you the buyer's shipping money after taking out their fees so you can use it to purchase the label. View your transaction details here:
https://www.ebay.com/mes/transactionlist?sh=true
rosszonebricks
·2 years agoBuyer pays YOU for shipping, and then you actually buy the shipping label.
Fees are taken out of the entire transaction, including shipping and any state taxes.
I'm guessing it was the plate for 22.50 + ~$7.50 shipping. Assuming 7% sales tax, the total transaction in this example would have been $32.10.
$32.10
-7.50 label
-4.33 eBay fees
-2.10 sales tax.
-0.40 per transaction fee.
= 18.09
Of course variations in shipping location and tax percentage per buyers actual location can change that, but it sounds like your ~$19 is correct. Did you do Promoted? Whatever percentage you set for that also would come out of the 32.10.
You can see exactly what happened by going to your orders page and clicking the Order Number. You will see a page with the full breakdown, similar to:
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoThe buyer pays you to ship it.
You use that money to pay the carrier to deliver it.
gatekeeper444
·1 year agoI just sold 500 worth of stuff after all the fees left me with 300.00 they actually kept 233.00 dollars for shipping fees taxes and promotions which I think they take too much u don’t never see the buyer shipping money it automatically goes to eBay they ain’t slick
jonathanbrightlight
·1 year agoThe shipping money does not go to eBay. It goes to you as the seller. You then use it to buy the shipping label.
gator08041971
·1 year ago@gatekeeper444
You are also in control of the promotional fees. The recommended option can use a pretty high %. That % comes off the ENTIRE sale, just like eBay's listing fees. Lets say the category listing % is 15%, and the promotional fees are 20%. Suddenly almost half of your gross sale is just gone. And you still have to pay for shipping.
I use Promotions on a few listings, but I have the % set to 2%. Not the 12-20% that eBay might recommend I use. No thank you eBay.
Its either that, or you have to factor in those promotional costs into your item's pricing amount..