Shipping quotes and charges vs. what the buyer sees
I normally do free shipping. Got the rare "need it next day air".
Ok no problem. Get the address info and product dimensions and use Ebay's own Shipping Calculator and send the results to the buyer to make their choice. They choose UPS next day air.. pretty spendy and it was quoted to me at ~$46
I create an auction just for them because it's alot easier, and I make the shipping option UPS next day air. Well the info on their end is $119!!!
They buy it and pay that amount with the idea I will refund the difference which I'm gonna do. But WHY in the world did Ebay make it so the buyer sees the maxed out most inflated fee imaginable?
When I shipped the item, the shipping was in fact $46
So now I'm sending a refund but does Ebay get to keep their fees based on the inflated shipping amount?
How has this massively faulty system not been updated? Just charge the buyer what I'm charged on shipping at the very least. If I want more it can be added to the "handling".
I realize now, I shoulda just added the shipping quote to the auction price and did "free shipping".
It's absolutely possible for people who use the automated "calculator" in the auction to be losing sales because it inflates the shipping so high that anyone offering free shipping may be able to steel a sale based on false info from Ebay.
ryry-jj
·1 year ago@mustangtonic ...ya, the difference can be quite high on overnight. BTW, did you check your settings...are your buyers in fact seeing retail?
Personally, if you do offer overnight you should just show the buyers the retail rates and refund them only 75-80% of the difference. You are still paying fees on the total amount of the shipping cost and you have no skin in that game, so make sure you hold a portion of the refund for the cost of providing that service.
For the record, I'd never change my listing, if I don't offer it in the listing, it isn't available from me as an option
a_c_green
·1 year agoMe, too. Unless it's a kidney, I would wonder why the buyer needed my item overnight. Maybe they're hoping to get the package before the card they used for the purchase is reported stolen.
12345jamesstamps
·1 year agoI prefer auctions with free shipping...less of a hassle for bidder wondering what it's going to cost and bidder may not decide to bid on item...thus a lower winning bid. Plus there's that tax as well.
One has to wonder how high the winning bid might have been with free shipping.
If your great at stating a shipping charge where it doesn't go up or down depending on the bidder than that's not a problem.
I wouldn't want a surprise shipping charge...but that' just me.
wastingtime101
·1 year agoSounds like you're charging buyers UPS retail rates. Your fees will be prorated / credited based on the amount you refund the buyer.
The question is whether you want to charge buyers retail rates or discounted rates. Keep in mind that you have access to discounted rates when you purchase labels on eBay regardless of how much you charge the buyer.
The setting to offer buyers discounted rates can be found on your shipping preferences page under the carrier specific discounts setting: https://www.ebay.com/ship/prf
Since eBay charges a fee on total cost buyer pays (item + ship + tax), by charging discounted rates you are losing money on every single package. If you want to make up for that you can add a handling fee or increase your item costs - or simply charge retail rates for a built in cushion instead of passing on the discounts.
As shown with this example, the retail difference can be quite high when looking at options like next day shipping. It's not balanced.
stainlessenginecovers
·1 year ago@wastingtime101 I don't think the difference between Retail and our 'discount' is 61% ($46 vs $119)?? (or is it?)
nobody*s_perfect
·1 year agoFor large or heavy UPS package, it certainly could be. Here's a random estimate:
wastingtime101
·1 year agoOn UPS next day air? Yeah, can easily go up that high. Depends on package weight/dim and buyer's location.
This is the best quick reference I can give you without telling you to look up rates.
https://www.pirateship.com/ups/next-day-air
mustangtonic
OP1 year agoThat link is a great little bit of info I hadn't seen before. Thank you.