Ebay shipping calculator is DEFINITELY wrong! PROVE ME WRONG!
It is so far off in my auctions that it is a complete turn-off for would be bidders! Here is what I did to confirm it.
I put accurate dimensions & weight in the listing. I changed the zip code to a previous buyer's zip in Alabama. The shipping they would see in the listing is $69 & $65 for FedEx & UPS. I then used the "Print Another Label" feature and simulated actually buying the label for this person and the real cost is $33 & $37 !!!
I have scoured the boards and all I see is people refuting people that make this claim. What the HECK???
So the customer is being DOUBLE CHARGED...Why in 2024 is this still a problem?
16 comments
lilwing3
OP2 years agoI want to thank everyone for responding. I never knew about the discounted rate. I am at a point where I want to encourage bidding and sales. I have so much inventory and a love for this old electronic stuff, at this point I just want it to go to people that will do something with it BEFORE I end up having to discard inventory to free up space.
wastingtime101
·2 years agoI couldn't get an exact match without the info requested, however here's a pretty close match, shipping to Montgomery, AL from your city demonstrating the difference between retail and online rates. As mentioned above, it's within your control which rate you'd like to charge.
mr_lincoln
·2 years agoHi @lilwing3
I just checked your listing below and I am in 17579 zip code in PA. My cost to ship shows $ 57.40
lilwing3
OP2 years agoYes I subtracted 30% of the weight. I think that radio weighs 20lbs 16x14x12
nobody*s_perfect
·2 years agoThe shipping calculator in eBay listings defaults to show the retail price. eBay's discounts can be excellent, even occasionally reaching 50%. You can choose to charge buyers just the eBay price, adjust your site preferences here, under "Shipping discount settings":
https://www.ebay.com/ship/prf
You can use the eBay shipping calculator to compare the retail ("In store") versus eBay prices for any combination of weight, dimensions, ZIP Codes, and services:
http://www.ebay.com/shp/Calculator
mr_lincoln
·2 years ago@nobody*s_perfect
I really wish eBay had a way to have the discounted rates or a % of discount set up by Shipping Zones based on the Seller's location to the other Zones. I wind up refunding a good portion of the shipping overage less eBay FVFs on the Paid shipping going to certain areas. I view Shipping as a breakeven proposition and some Customers actually mention the discount they received it the FB they leave and others drop me an eBay message with their Thanks.
My basic rule of thumb is anything over $ 2.00 (after allowing for eBay FVFs on the original Paid shipping)
Yesterday I refunded over $ 7.00 to a Customer in southern AR and had I shipped locally I would not have refund anything because shipping is so much less. What I retain simply covers or defrays the cost of packaging materials and trip to the Post Office, etc.
nobody*s_perfect
·2 years agoThe gap between retail and eBay rates is going to get even bigger now that sellers can purchase labels through eBay at Cubic rates.
mr_lincoln
·2 years ago@nobody*s_perfect That actually creates a new dynamic to Selling. My Customer paid $ 24.70 to ship and my cost was $ 14.40 ... my cost came down a little because I had 11 lbs on the listing but was able to ship at 10 lbs (but just barely). But regardless of that, I "could" have lost a sale to a Seller with the exact same thing but in the same or adjacent shipping zone to the Customer.
wastingtime101
·2 years agoThat would be a bit complicated in my humble opinion @mr_lincoln . I always thought the simplest solution was instead of setting a % off retail (as we currently can), we should have the option to set a % above commercial. That way you could set a % that factors in eBay fees and ship supplies and not worry about the vast retail/commercial differences between zones.
And, indeed, we should have the option to set above commercial and not "eBay rates" because with cubic shipping, for example:
1 item in a 7x7x7 box vs 6 items in a 12x12x12 box - if we set up combined shipping based on weight and buyer purchases 6 we would get hosed by offering carrier discounts due to cubic rates. But if we could set commercial rates instead of eBay rates, it would bypass the cubic problem.
mr_lincoln
·2 years ago@wastingtime101
BRILLIANT idea for setting a % above Commercial instead of the per zone approach I was thinking of, I would sign up for that and set the % TODAY!
I just printed a label for a coast to coast shipment, a very common sale for me. As hard as I try I just can't get these items under 2 lbs so most are like 1 lbs a a few ounces. So I have to round up to 2 lbs.
Another common one is 4 lbs in a similar sized box.
2 lbs - 15" x 8" x 4" box
(From zip 17579 to zip 95404)
USPS Ground Advantage Retail pricing
1 lbs = $ 9.00
2 lbs = $ 15.70
3 lbs = $ 18.60
4 lbs = $ 20.05
The BIG issue is that the jump from 1 to 2 lbs is $ 6.70. I can see where I could easily lose business to Sellers closer customers in distance zones selling the same thing.
The jump from 2 to 3 lbs is only $ 2.90
The jump from 3 to 4 lbs is only $ 1.45
I am not sure why USPS jumps the 1 to 2 lbs rate as high as they do for just one more pound considering the cost increase for the same size package going from 3 to 3 and 3 to 4 lbs is a whole lot less for "one more pound".
go-bad-chicken
·2 years ago@mr_lincoln Just curious. Where are you getting your rates from?
Are you using USPS retail rates for USPS Ground Advantage?
2 lbs - 15" x 8" x 4" box
(From zip 17579 to zip 95404)
YOUR RATES:
USPS Ground Advantage Retail pricing
1 lbs = $ 9.00
2 lbs = $ 15.70
3 lbs = $ 18.60
4 lbs = $ 20.05
COMMERCIAL RATES FROM PIRATE SHIP:
https://www.pirateship.com/rates
USPS Ground Advantage Commercial Pricing
1 lbs = $ 6.33
2 lbs = $ 9.21
3 lbs = $ 10.42
4 lbs = $ 10.42
mr_lincoln
·2 years ago@go-bad-chicken
Yes, Retail rates from this USPS Calculator: https://postcalc.usps.com/?utm_medium=search&utm_source=bing&utm_campaign=evergreenps&utm_content=e331_eese&&msclkid=539880458a2117bae0fce5f8ce1668e5&gclid=539880458a2117bae0fce5f8ce1668e5&gclsrc=3p.ds
go-bad-chicken
·2 years agoOK. I was a little confused for a minute.
I too agree with you and @wastingtime101 regarding wastingtime's suggestion of being g able to add a % to the commercial rate to account for FVFs. With my main account I'm able to do this as that account is managed via Six Bit's listing manager. But for my other smaller accounts like this one I have to update my excel spreadsheet which adds various category FVF to new shipping rates everytime shipping rates go up so that I can apply those new rates to new listing that I create manually here on eBay for these smaller accounts.
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoYou offer free shipping, so how are the buyers being charged double?
lilwing3
OP2 years agoI have so much inventory that I have decided to start auctioning some items just to get them out of my warehouse. I offer free shipping for all of my BIN items, but with auctions I charge shipping in case they flop.
wastingtime101
·2 years agoSounds like the difference between retail rates and online discounted rates, e.g.: you are charging retail rates instead of passing buyers the discount.
We cannot "prove you wrong" about the calculator without more info. If you'd like us to accept that challenge, provide:
Package dimensions
Package weight
Ship to/from zip codes