where in the world does Ebay get it's shipping rates?
I put in the exact same shipping size and weight and it is off by almost 50%. Ebay says $20.60 and USPS says $30.40. This is not the first time this has happened. I end up losing money if I ship. What the heck is wrong with Ebay?
9 comments
monroe67
·1 year ago"I put in the exact same shipping size and weight and it is off by almost 50%. Ebay says $20.60 and USPS says $30.40. This is not the first time this has happened. I end up losing money if I ship. What the heck is wrong with Ebay?"
Taking your post at face value, I want to ask: What the heck is wrong with your math skills?
First, if eBay's shipping rate is $20.60 and the rate for the same package at USPS is $30.40, that is not an "almost 50%" difference. By my calculations, it's only around 32.3%.
Then, if you buy USPS postage through eBay instead of buying it at the post office's retail rate, assuming the numbers you gave are true and correct, you do not "end up losing money." In fact, you will have saved $9.80.
If you're still buying your postage at the post office then, yes, you are missing out on eBay's discounted postage rates. Maybe you don't know that you could be saving money. This does not mean that there is anything the heck "wrong" with eBay.
Unless I reeeeaallllly don't understand what your question/problem is.
monica-sells
·1 year agoit always kind of baffles me....
posts a question with an attitude...gets a response within 2 minutes to help with said "question"....
where in the world do the disappear to....
wastingtime101
·1 year agoI read confusion and frustration, not attitude. 🤷
Also, it's a Saturday - most people are not spending the day online. Too early to call it a "post and ghost" situation.
That said, the repair guy I was waiting for is on the way which means I get to sign off and carry on with my day. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
buyselljack2016
·1 year agoAccording to a post from jan 2021 the OP was done on eBay and departing for greener pastures, so it's understandable that they are busy there, and although online have not wandered back to check replies just yet😊
nobody*s_perfect
·1 year agoI suspect that you are comparing the retail rate to the online (eBay discount) rate. eBay shipping discounts are great! Here's an example: shipping 23 pounds to Zone 1 via Priority Mail costs $30.40 retail, but only $21.49 for an eBay shipping label. Try out your own package's dimensions in the eBay shipping calculator.
https://www.ebay.com/shp/Calculator
wastingtime101
·1 year agoThe rate you see with the eBay shipping calculator is the discounted rate when buying a label through eBay.
The rate you see at the USPS website is the retail rate, buying postage at the post office.
I can see your listings are charging the online discounted rate.
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.
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Edit to add: those street fronts are showing me the cost for the online eBay discounted rate of a billable weight 15 lb (based on package dimensions) with an added $4.00 surcharge for length over 22", below 30"
To zone 5 the online discounted eBay rate for Ground Adv is $20.60 and if you bought the same label at the post office counter it would cost $30.40.
Hope that helps @kansascdr .
stainlessenginecovers
·1 year agothose 'streetfronts' look long- there is a penalty for over 22" and another bigger penalty for over 31"- without weight and dimensions of the 'finished' package as well as zip codes "from" and "to" we cannot determine much.
fbusoni
·1 year agoIf you lose money when shipping, then you are not including the correct weight / dimensions when you create the listing in the first place.
Quite frankly, that lack of detail in your post makes it difficult to know what is actually going on.
monica-sells
·1 year agoAre we comparing apples to apples?
(retail rate (USPS) vs. commercial rate (ebay)?)
sample size and weight and I will be glad to check PS and SS