Does Ebay have any way to suggest desired features? How Do You Charge For Shipping Insurance?
For items over 100.00 it is often desirable to be able to have shipping insurance. However Ebay continues to not provide a way to pass on this cost without taking a guess and trying to add it to the cost or just notching up the shipping weight and hoping it comes close.
There used to be a place I could set up a Handling Fee that even seems to have even gone away.
How are people dealing with passing on this cost?
16 comments
stainlessenginecovers
·2 years agoInsurance is for the Seller so this site has eliminated that being 'added' to shipping to buyers probably over a decade ago.
The Fix??
Stop doing 'calculated' shipping and simply figure your shipping costs and enter that amount as a 'flat rate' to the customer.
Then, you are not 'hiding' anything- which you so vehemently do not WANT to do.
You are simply telling the buying world
'THIS $$ is how much shipping is for my item'
I've done it for 14 years- flat rate, using REAL COST calculations which includes
a.) FVF on shipping
b.) Label
c.) Packing Materials (box, envelope, tape, bubble wrap etc.)
If you want to 'add' insurance, you include that amount as well.
nobody*s_perfect
·2 years agoThat's completely unnecessary. You can use calculated shipping, and charge all of your overhead (insurance, packaging materials, even FVF, etc.) as a separate handling fee. If you set a flat price but use a shipping service that has zoned pricing, you will inevitably undercharge some buyers and/or overcharge others. A seller who wants to avoid overcharging their buyers would be better served with calculated shipping.
stainlessenginecovers
·2 years ago@nobody*s_perfect I understand all of that but THIS POSTER was AGAINST 'adding' anything to the 'real shipping label cost' so I then Gave an Alternative to that.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·2 years ago@bc-techworks
As a side if the item is over 100...limit for free insurance with most services(and include tracking). buying extra insurance covers both loss and damage. As a example with Canada post labels purchased directly through CP you can buy additional insurance even if an item sells less for than its actual value. With ebay labels you are limited to the price that it sold for on eBay. Just a crazy nuance built in to eBay labels where the whole picture is not considered. Depending on the agent when you make the claim, you may need to show proof of value but not an automatic. And not all services offer the same add in features.
2nd example. With CP labels you can pay the extra cost when you use a shipping tube. Believe it works the same way with USPS online. With eBay labels no such option.
Would be interesting to know if eIS even factors in insurance?
wastingtime101
·2 years agoYour info is specific to Canada Post @lotzofuniquegoodies - USPS is different. Shipping is a complex topic and it can cause confusion posting unrelated international carrier specific info when the original poster is using a domestic shipping service.
If you have questions about how USPS works, I suggest starting a new discussion thread. If you would like to discuss CP, I suggest either starting a new discussion thread or visiting community.ebay.ca. 🙂
lotzofuniquegoodies
·2 years ago@bc-techworks
@wastingtime101
The concerns are all relative. Much of it has to do with design flaws within eBay labels. We have attempted to resolve on the ca side...going on over 3 years. We have had limited luck. Sellers would like to add options but eBay chose not to include when they ported ebay labels to ca without making sure it worked 100%. So I can totally understand when a dot com seller is having issues/concerns with addressing anything ebay labels related on this site.
How it displays on the cp site:
Was just giving the ca perspective.
wastingtime101
·2 years agoIt would help to know whether you are listing on the website or the app @bc-techworks to provide more specific instructions.
If you're on the website, make sure you're using calculated shipping, then to the right of the Shipping section heading there is a button that says "see shipping options" - click on that and turn on the slider for handling fee. That will populate the field on the listing form and you can add a handling cost to cover insurance.
As others said, you can also bump your item price to cover insurance, but make sure you keep that in mind if you do anything like accept lower offers or run sales.
bc-techworks
OP2 years agoWhile this is helpful, Ebay not providing a way to add in the cost of shipping insurance, which they even sell, makes sellers have to add this Handling Fee and hope they added enough. Since I have found no way to calculate it without knowing the buyers location since for USPS Ebay forces you to also add in the cost of shipping to the cost. So taking a guess costs either the sellers or buyers more money.
Also if like me this feature seems to migrate or disappear forcing sellers to have to bake the price in, giving the illusion that their item is just more costly against others who may simply roll the dice.
If a customer sees a shipping charge that they are being asked to pay, and you state you charge shipping insurance, anyone (not an ebay seller) would assume that this insurance cost is already a part of that shipping cost. Not something the seller is forced to eat.
I have had other features and options randomly disappear on me. One disappeared and I was told it was because I needed to switch to their new interface to get the old option back! How does that make sense.
wastingtime101
·2 years agoIt's fairly straightforward with USPS since insurance cost is based on $100 increments. Here are USPS current insurance rates:
USPS Insurance
Amount for Merchandise Insurance Coverage Desired Fee
You may find that ShipCover rates (3rd party insurance offered through eBay labels) are more cost effective.
nobody*s_perfect
·2 years ago? The cost of insurance is not related to the buyer's location. If you want to charge the buyer $5 to cover the cost of insurance, you add $5 to (1) the item asking price; or (2) your flat rate shipping and handling price; or (3) as a handling fee when setting up calculated shipping. It works completely independently from the postage cost.
lacemaker3
·2 years agoIt used to be possible for sellers to charge extra for optional insurance, but eBay removed the possibility about 15 to 20 years ago. So I don't think eBay will be receptive to this suggestion.
IIRC, it was removed at the same time as all extra, additional fees were banned. It's not fair to buyers if they commit to a purchase at one total price, and then the sellers adds additional charges that had not been disclosed before. Those deceptive practices used to be common in mail-order/online purchases. They needed to be stopped, or buyers would have stopped buying.
It was around the same time as the eBay Moneyback Guarantee was started. From that point, buyers don't need shipping insurance, because they are protected by the MBG. Shipping insurance protects sellers, so they will not lose (as much) money if the item gets damaged before it is delivered to the buyer, which is when the title transfers, according to the UCC (Uniform Commercial Code, which has been adopted by all 50 states).
bc-techworks
OP2 years agoThe idea as it should work is it is part of the price shown for shipping. Not some deceptive add-on as you suggest.
Also baking into the price of the item just gives a false impression as to the cost of items and where the costs come from. If you are in favor of "baking in" the price then everyone should just do Free Shipping, but I don't see that happening any time soon.
nobody*s_perfect
·2 years agoIf your items are listed in fixed price format, just add the insurance cost to your asking price.
You should still be able to add a handling fee if you set up calculated shipping. This might not show up if you're using the app or if you're stuck with the "easy" listing form which eBay imposes on new sellers.
Unavailable member
·2 years agoSeller don't charge buyers for insurance, insurance is coverage for the seller not the buyer. Shippers like USPS , UPS and Fedex insurance covers up to $100 there is no extra charge for it.
When you purchase a shipping label you can purchase additional liability insurance just prior to paying for your label.
robbie31415
·2 years agoYes they do. Insurance should be added to handling or baked into cost.
There is no reason a seller shouldn't add insurance to the cost. Especially for high value items, all costs should be factored in.
Heck buyers don't pay eBay fees those are for the seller but a good seller factors these costs into the price.
monster-deals
·2 years agoOh yeah we do.
I mean I have every single day for the last 27 years.