Problems with new "discount to customer" shipping policy
As a 27+ year eBay member, this policy is the worst thing ever. In the early days, I prepacked everything, knowing it would sell on first or next relist. Now...things sit for months and I know that's true for most of us. What I used to sell for $89 now sells for $12-$14. Etsy advertises. Why does eBay no longer advertise?
1--I ship a variety of odd-sized, mostly fragile items. Due to the quantities on hand, I cannot pre-package these items. My estimated shipping size and weight are the most accurate I can forecast.
My printer, printer ink, tape, most boxes, padding and other materials ARE NOT FREE andeBay should understand that the difference between what the buyer pays for shipping and the shipping discount is what pays for those supplies and necessary travel.
2 - What I ship IN depends on the boxes on hand; when I list an item, I know which box I'd like to use but by the time it sells, that box is often gone. That changes everything. WHAT ABOUT COMBINED SHIPMENTS? How will that work when "discounts" are taken away?
3--I sell many books. Media Mail falls under "calculated shipping" BUT WE DO NOT GET ANY DISCOUNT ON IT. It actually falls under "Flat Ratge" shipping. Is eBay going to take a cut of what we get?
4--Final value fees, listing fees on sold items, promotional fees and eBay takes their cut on sales taxes. Everything! We are being asked to take less and less based on making the investors happy? o wonder people are selling privately on their FB pages and leaving eBay out of the loop!
5--IF we opt out, I am sure that eBay will rank our listings even lower in "Best Match", meaning we are further penalized.
I am furious. The scam of "free shipping" hurts enough. When we offer free shipping, we have to add in the highest expected shipping cost or lose even more. I'm tired of making a "$5 profit on a $65 total sale.
tinaburdo
·2 years agoWell I just got a shock! I also had sold on eBay for many years and this shipping thing ended up with me paying $.63 not only making $0.00 on the item, but the gall to charge me for their "discounted" shipping! I am livid. Was hoping to get selling on eBay again but that was a lot of work to end up GIVING my merch away and PAYING to do so!
WTH eBay.
wastingtime101
·2 years agoHi @krisbaker .
Point 1: That says very clearly this change is not right for you and you should opt out.
Point 2: A non-issue if you opt out.
Point 3: There is no Media Mail price difference between retail rates and eBay rates, so MM charges will be unaffected with this change.
Point 4: Correct. eBay expects sellers to take the loss, or to increase their handling fees / item prices to account for the loss. Most likely they expect the former. They are counting on lower prices generating more sales, therefore generating more revenue for eBay based on sales volume increasing.
Point 5: Many sellers are concerned about lower search placement. It will depend, in part, on what your competitors do. If your competitors go along with this and do not adjust their pricing, opting out could impact your sales negatively. Hope your competitors are smart enough to know their financials and hope they either opt out or increase their prices to account for the loss.
Here's the opt out link:
https://www.ebay.com/srv/survey/a/shipping.discount.optout
spunkydog3612
·2 years agoWell said!
buyselljack2016
·2 years ago@krisbaker
There is no "problem" with it.
What will happen is the buyers will be shown the discounted shipping cost "only for items where you have calculated shipping". The charge will be based on the weight and dimensions that you put in the listing.
If you do not want the buyer to be shown the discounted shipping on listings with "buyer pays calculated" then all you have to do is "opt out" as instructed in the message. Your buyer will not be shown the reduced shipping cost on calculated shipping listings.
No reason to be "furious". Just a few clicks, and you are out. YOU are in full control of the choice to pass along the discount, or not pass along the discount. You are NOT required to pass along the discounted shipping. If you are not doing it now........................... you can continue to NOT DO IT 😊
monroe67
·2 years ago"1--I ship a variety of odd-sized, mostly fragile items. Due to the quantities on hand, I cannot pre-package these items. My estimated shipping size and weight are the most accurate I can forecast."
I'm not sure why you cannot pre-package, weigh, and measure an odd-sized, fragile item. I think I would look around my home to try to find a box that would be a proper size for mailing before I completed the eBay listing.
Two reasons: (1) If the item sells quickly, I'm ready to pack it and mail it promptly, within my two-day handling period, and
(2) It makes sense to fill in accurate -- not merely forecasted -- size information in eBay's listing process, so the buyer is quoted an accurate shipping cost and you gain a reputation as an honest and well-prepared seller.
"My printer, printer ink, tape, most boxes, padding and other materials ARE NOT FREE and[]eBay should understand that the difference between what the buyer pays for shipping and the shipping discount is what pays for those supplies and necessary travel."
I don't think the difference between USPS retail prices (paid at the counter in your local post office) and eBay's reduced mailing prices was ever intended to cover the cost of packing supplies for buyers, not completely.
I think it was intended as another small reason to attract sellers and buyers to using eBay, because when we sellers buy our postage on eBay, we do pay less than we would at our post offices.
As soon as I realized I could add a "handling cost" to my listings, I did. That amount helps to pay for packing materials, labels, tape, bubble wrap, etc. (My post office is a few yards short of a mile from my home, so I don't add mileage into my handling cost. Your literal mileage may vary.)
I don't see the cause for all the alarm, fury, angst, and uproar over this latest announcement from eBay about their reduced mailing prices.
As a seller of things on eBay, I am able to buy postage through eBay to mail my things to their eBay buyers at prices that are lower than I would pay at the post office.
I am then pleased to offer my buyers those lower mailing prices.
To me, that is an example of good business ethics.
monica-sells
·2 years agoThank you...at least I am not alone in this thought process...
this is all one big nothing-burger.....
I am still trying to figure out how sellers think this is for the benefit of ebay....
If Retail Shipping is $12.80, and discounted is $8.30
They make LESS money (.60 cents less) on the FVF with the discounted fee...no?
nobody*s_perfect
·2 years agoeBay seems to think that the higher postage cost might dissuade potential buyers from purchasing at all; they'd rather have the fee on $8.30 than on no sale.
monica-sells
·2 years agoI suppose there are people with a higher pay grade than mine that determine that....
but, since I have always displayed commercial/discounted rates and adjusted my handling costs based on the complexity of the item, this does not affect me ....so maybe I am not thinking it all the way through.......
monroe67
·2 years ago"this is all one big nothing-burger....."
Hundred Percent !!
tinaburdo
·2 years agoJust sold an item that COST me because they show the "discounted" shipping of $7 but I PAID about $14 and since was doing it from phone didn't see that they were indeed going to charge me over double what I thought postage was - based on eBay's info. So I essentially did a whole bunch of work to give away my item. Unbelievable.
myangelandmyprincess
·2 years agoWith so many changes over the years I definitely do not consider this the worst thing ever. Frustrating yes but literally all it is doing is changing the default from don't pass the discount on to buyers to do pass it on to buyers. So you would just need to opt out or change it back after the date it says.
12345jamesstamps
·2 years ago"my printer, printer ink, tape, most boxes, padding and other materials"....if you don't sell a lot in a week it sounds like an expense.
I do inexpensive items and expensive items.
I prefer to use my own shipping methods. I opt-out long ago...and I guess I have to do it again next month.
I never had an item lost last year or this year so I guess I am doing something right.
Do I want to get an unexpected shipping charge and then wait "how long" to get that unexpected shipping charge as a refund. I can't afford mistakes like FedEx did recently. I heard the horror stories.