Fed-Ex says that the eBay shipping prices are only estimates!
Summary: nutmegnumismatics shared a response from a consumer protection authority regarding issues with unexpected FedEx shipping charges via eBay. The situation highlighted that eBay's estimated FedEx rates can differ from final shipping costs due to weight, dimensions, or surcharges. Various participants discussed how shipping providers adjust costs post-shipment, citing experiences and emphasizing the importance of accurate shipping details. Others noted the benefits of using alternative shipping services like USPS to avoid similar problems. stephenmorgan suggested advocacy for legislation requiring upfront cost disclosure by shippers, drawing parallels with airline industry practices.
I got this through my state consumer protection today responding to my Fed-ex complaint where they jacked up the prices considerably:
Ms. Scarlett-Black: Please allow this letter to respond to the complaint regarding the shipments traveling under FedEx tracking nos. 382711563106 and 875506998201. Please be advised that eBay merchants who use eBay’s discounted shipping program receive discounted FedEx rates. eBay then bills those discounted rates to their merchants and eBay collects payment from its merchants. FedEx is not involved in either the billing or payment transaction. Therefore, any shipping credit owed to an eBay merchant or any request for adjustments is the responsibility of eBay. Additionally, FedEx provides an estimated shipping charge based on the information provided at the time of tender. The Shipment Receipt provides the following language: The estimated shipping charge may be different than the actual charges for your shipment. Differences may occur based on actual weight, dimensions, and other factors. Consult the applicable FedEx Service Guide or the FedEx Rate Sheets for details on how shipping charges are calculated.
Thank you. Sincerely, Wendy Kuhta Sr. Paralegal Specialist
Unavailable member
·1 month agoI remember getting into a debate about this with@onefootflipper who claims fedex prices are always accurate on ebay.
onefootflipper
·1 month agoNotice that the literal text of the email the person copied above says that it is based on actual weight, dimensions, and other factors. Thus if your weight is wrong, your dimensions are wrong, or you ship an item they consider to be special handling and don't pay that then yes, you are going to get dinged.
Since my weights and dimensions are all correct and I KNOW what is special handling for Fedex that just isn't something I have a problem with.
Unavailable member
·1 month agoDid you skip this part:
Since you know so much about shipping, you know the following are not picked up on ebay's fedex calculator
Longest side exceeding 48 inches
Second longest side exceeding 30 inches
Packaging outside a standard cardboard box (e.g., polymailers over certain sizes, soft bags, plastic wrapping, or wooden crates)
Round tubes or uneven shapes
Since you know everything, the next time you ship something in a large box, say 20x20x10, i want you to wrap that box in a polybag and then ship it with fedex and tell me if it quoted you the right rate.
shire123
·1 month agoI would never, ever use "Packaging outside a standard cardboard box (e.g., polymailers over certain sizes, soft bags, plastic wrapping, or wooden crates)"
I think that is where so many people get caught. My experience mirrors onefootflipper in that I have shipped hundreds of boxes with FedEx and have never had a charge adjustment.
I tend to use FedEx with larger/heavier boxes as their "estimated" charges are a lot less than with USPS. Many of my boxes exceed 16x16x16.
onefootflipper
·1 month agoWhy in the world would I do something that required special handing? I specifically select shipping services and packaging to avoid ever paying a special handling fee.
When you are saying "calculator" what are you actually referring to? Are you talking about what it uses to figure out what to charge the customer, are you talking about some estimation tool or are you talking about the actual page where you print a label? I really don't care about it being right about what it charges my customer as I don't share the shipping discount and there is always a LOT of money leftover from what they pay on anything big, and I usually have my calculated shipping big stuff based on a UPS business policy anyway, even though it often goes Fedex in the end.
If you are talking about the label page then it absolutely knows the dimensional rules and charges for them. I just checked for the 100th time. 4x4x48" 5 pounds Fedex home delivery on my most recent order is 20.44, if I add one inch to the length it triples to $68.76. Fedex ground economy however will do that same box up to 60 inches before it starts caring, and no, there are no post office overages for lengths when using Fedex ground economy, I ship 2 or 3 long boxes per week with the service and have never had any issue with it other than a crushed box.
stephenmorgan
·1 month ago · EditedThat is a clever letter written by FedEx.
Ask your State Consumer Protection agency to work with Congress and make a national law that require shippers to disclose full purchase price upfront. There should not be add-on surcharges after the fact. As long as the item has the correct measurement, weight, address and shipping date then the price quoted/charged should be accurate. The shipper knows if there will be a surcharge and should apply/disclose it prior to selling you the shipping or authorizing their representative eBay to sell it to you.
Congress made the Airlines disclose full purchase price upfront and they can do it with shippers as well. The airlines do not get to say that their representatives, the Travel Agents, will give you an estimate and the Travel Agents will bill you surcharges later after the Airline determines if they should be any.
simba6
·1 month agoFedex is the worst for over charging.
albertabrightalberta
·1 month ago"Fed-Ex says that the eBay shipping prices are only estimates!"
And this is why I use USPS exclusively. I know that as long as my weights and dimensions are correct, the price I pay is the price it costs.
bdmh-enterprises
·1 month agoYou know that little box you have to check agreeing to the T&Cs when you buy a label for UPS and FedEx that isn't there for USPS? That's where you agreed to this..
nutmegnumismatics
OP1 month agoBy uniform commercial code and the laws of the land they can't engage in actions contrary to the common sense application of the law; in other words they can't use legalize to immunize themselves against fraud. So they have to provide proof of the reason of the extra charges.
shire123
·1 month agoI know that statement has been made a number of times on these boards but in at least 2 years of using both services about 5 times a week those "estimates" have proven to be actual costs.
nutmegnumismatics
OP1 month agoIn your case I'd guess that you're selling things in the same boxes time after time, not the occasional FedEx bulk shipper as in my case. And ebay was shocked that they were claiming a few ounces more and $31 plus extra.
christworks
·1 month ago@nutmegnumismatics I agree with @shire123 .
The price you pay is only an estimate if you do not promptly purchase the shipping label after your buyer pays and hand over your package to FedEx. This is because both FedEx and UPS have a fuel surcharge that adjusts. It goes down. It goes up. If the price of the fuel surcharge goes up after your buyer pays, your label will cost more assuming the weight and dimensions remain the same. If you purchase the label, but the price of the fuel surcharge adjusts before you have an acceptance scan from FedEx, then you could get a creidt (as I have) or you could have to pay more.
I routinely ship a variety of boxes via FedEx Economy and FedEx Ground/Home Delivery. I typed in 1" as the size of the box one time a year or two ago and I got charged for it. The fuel surcharge decreased when I shipped a very large custom sized box earlier this year and I got a few dollars back.
The problem with FedEx is almost always because people do not understand how they bill. If you hee haw around buying the FedEx label and getting the package into their hands, you can almost guarantee you will get a credit or extra charge.
nutmegnumismatics
OP1 month agoIf you go to a FedEx office outlet and they measure and charge you, they cannot zap you with more charges. It goes against every principle of business and rational principles to zap you two weeks after a package ships. FedEx could measure the package at their facility and hand you a receipt for their dimensions and weight instead of zapping you with other charges weeks later. No one else does this.
christworks
·1 month ago@nutmegnumismatics If you take the package to a FedEx office, you would be buying the label there though them. You'd also be buying it at the current price and tendering the package to them at that time. That is a completely different situation than your original post, where you bought the label on eBay.
I'll also note that the counter price will be higher than the eBay price and possibly higher than what your buyer paid. None of that saves you any actual money.
As far as nobody else doing this, sure there is. UPS also has an adjustable fuel surcharge. You can get zapped with charges after the fact for the very same reasons I've outlined.
But, you know what.....I live in the amazing wonderful United States of America, the land of freedom, where if I don't like how a carrier conducts itself, I can use another carrier.
Unavailable member
·1 month agoeBay's initial rate calculator doesn't always account for carrier surcharges that get tacked on after delivery. Common hidden charges include residential delivery surcharges, delivery to remote rural zip codes, and additional handling fees for heavy or irregularly shaped boxes.
I spend $100k a year on shipping, and have my own fedex commercial account with my own rate, I know how they bill.
Unavailable member
·1 month agoI shop 1000 items a month, and can tell you that I've been dinged on ebay fedex labels multiple times a month. Most people don't even know how to see if they've been dinged, until recently when they started sending messages from ebay telling you it happened.
I used to use ebay for my USPS and then use another 3rd party company for my fedex, but now i use the 3rd party company for all shipping because you get 3% cashback if you use a chase business card for shipping purchases. If you spend $100,000 a year in shipping, 3% ads up fast.
kensgiftshop
·1 month agoRight, the price Ebay shows for FedEx and UPS are only an estimate.