setting up combined shipping rules
Summary: thequinnly is having issues with setting up a combined shipping rule for calculated shipping after switching from flat rate due to USPS rate increases. Although they have set up the rules correctly in shipping preferences, they encounter problems during listing creation, where only the flat rate combined rule appears as an option. sassykzt and participatrophy advise on checking business policies, setting weights correctly, and using calculated shipping appropriately. Despite guidance, thequinnly faces difficulties with the dropdown menu not updating to reflect changes, suggesting a potential system glitch. bdmh-enterprises explains the rule logic but thequinnly remains uncertain about the system's behavior.
i originally started off with flat rate shipping and set up a combined shipping rule, no problem. when usps raised their rates for the second time this year i switched to calculated shipping and set up a new combined shipping rule for that. when i create new listings or try to revise existing listings and come to the section to enter one of my rules, the only options shown are the rule for flat rate shipping or 'none'. the calculated shipping rule isn't available for me to choose. when i go to my shipping preferences page i can see both my rules set up. i went in and edited them to see if that would help and it didn't. i tried to delete the flat rate rule to see if that would force the combined shipping rule to show when creating listings but it won't delete. i hate asking customers to pay the new ridiculously high shipping rates and tell them i'll refund later. does anyone know what i'm doing wrong and how to get my calculated combined shipping rule to work?
participatrophy
·2 weeks ago · EditedSounds like the listings are set up to use a flat shipping cost and you're trying to apply a calculated combined shipping rule to them. When you switched to calculated shipping, did you change all your existing listings over or did you just start using calculated shipping on new listings going forward? Are you using sell similar to create these new listings that are giving you trouble, and if so were the source listings set up for flat rate?
thequinnly
OP2 weeks agoi changed all my existing flat rate listings one by one to calculated shipping. i rarely use sell similar, it's mainly new listings from scratch. all of my listings are giving me trouble by only showing the flat rate combined rules option. and the site won't let me delete that rule.
participatrophy
·2 weeks agoI just checked one of your listings at random and it's giving the same shipping quote whether east or west coast zip code. So at least that one listing is still set up for flat rate rather than calculated. Do you use Business Policies? A Shipping Policy can prevent you from deleting it if it's got live listings assigned to it. There is nothing I'm aware of that can result in a combined shipping rule being unable to be deleted.
sassykzt
·2 weeks agoIf each item has the correct weight in the listing, you could have done bulk edit to save a lot of time to change the shipping policy from flat rate to your new calculated shipping policies ( you have to set these up before doing a bulk edit).
Also you need to get rid of all your flat shipping rules and configure new calculated shipping rules. It really helps knowing the weight of your items in order to set up those calculated shipping rules so that you don't undercharge or overcharge. Calculated shipping must have calculated shipping rules in order to combine shipping costs for your buyers.
Flat rates rules for combined shipping can be deleted in your shipping preferences. Flat rate shipping policies can be deleted in your business policies but you must have another shipping policy ( use the calculated one) in place so you can switch them w/ bulk edit. * when using calculated shipping you must have the weight of the item in the listing or the system won't allow calculated shipping since it's all based on weight. It's helpful to weigh all items w/ their packaging before listing.
thequinnly
OP2 weeks agoi already have each of my listings set as calculated shipping with their correct weights and package sizes. i changed away from flat rate awhile ago. my calculated shipping works fine. it's just the combined shipping rule for calculated shipping that is problematic, as it doesn't appear as an option when i'm creating listings even though it is showing as set up correctly on my shipping preferences page.
i have no interest in using the business policies.
sassykzt
·2 weeks agoBut if you want to use the newly set up calculated combined shipping rules from your shipping preferences , you must set up shipping policies in business policies. You can't insert the combined calculated shipping rule by itself into a listing or expect the system to use them if they are not associated w/ a shipping policy. So you have to use business policies and set up a shipping policy there in order for your combined shipping to work at checkout for your buyers. Right now there's no combined shipping available when I add items from your store to my cart and checkout.
participatrophy
·2 weeks agoCan you post some screenshots of what you're seeing? A view showing the shipping section of a listing you're creating would be mighty helpful. The error message you get when trying to delete the combined shipping rule would be helpful as well.
thequinnly
OP2 weeks agothis is the view from my shipping preferences pages. i was able to finally delete the original rule i made for flat shipping in a different browser. you can see i only have 1 combined shipping rule and it is for calculated shipping.
thequinnly
OP2 weeks agothis is what i'm shown when creating new listings, revising existing listings and creating from sell similar. i'm given 2 options. none and the number 1415522017. that number is the name that ebay assigned to the original combined rule i set up for flat rate shipping. so even though i was able to delete that rule from my preferences, it still appears as the only option when creating listings. the only current rule from my shipping preferences, the one for calculated, does not appear as an option for me to choose when creating listings.
participatrophy
·2 weeks agoHmm. Right, can you post one more screenshot for us then? Listing creation page again, shipping section again, but less cropped and without any of the dropdown menus open. Aim is to show a general overview of exactly how you've got everything configured. This is either some weird account-level glitch or some detail is going unnoticed in your settings. Either way an overview shot of everything under the Shipping subheading will tell us what we need to know.
If you use the Advanced Listing Tool and aren't opted into Business Policies, there should be a Cost type dropdown menu under Domestic shipping. From everything you've described thus far I would fully expect to discover that dropdown has gotten set to Flat rate instead of Calculated. That's the sort of thing we'd be looking for. Piddly little detail that's easy to miss.
Another example, this time with Business Policies in use:
This may not be relevant since I don't know what the non-BP view looks like offhand, but look at the words Package weight and Package dimensions. See that (optional) there that's only displayed when a flat rate policy is selected? Little visual indicators like that are the sort of clues to either look for yourself or show us a fuller image of so we can help you look.
sassykzt
·2 weeks agoAre you setting up shipping policies in your business policies? Here you can choose calculated shipping and add combined shipping rules you have set up in your shipping preferences.