Why does eBay combine shipping weight but not dimensions?
So I had a buyer last night add two of my items that I had listed for sale to cart and each item had the following specs:
Item 1 = 19"x19"17" and 10 lb weight (Shipping Label Costs = $47.75)
Item 2 = 19"x19"17" and 10 lb weight (Shipping Label Costs = $47.75)
Total Shipping Costs = $95.50
Buyer Paid for shipping (in a single order) = $78.80 ($16.70 less than actual $95.50 costs).
they were listed as separate items, shipped separately but when the buyer decided to add both of them to cart eBay then combined the shipping weight and made it 20lb for the shipping label but kept the same package dimensions of 19"x19"17" so I had to pay an extra charge for the second shipping label because eBay assumed that both items fit inside of a single 19"x19"17" shipment. Is there any way to avoid this happening in the future? or any place where I can send this feedback to eBay?
mattva
·6 months agoWhat get me is the same thing happened to me but I didn't mention it till I found the items that were combined into one shipping cost. I never setup combined shipping because it didn't make sense but two of my items sold and were combined without my knowledge. I realy freaked out because it was international shipping. I lucked out because they were cassette tapes and I had boxes specifically designed for them and was able to tape them together and only had to pay a small difference because of the new size of the package. Thankfully I haven't had this happen again but it lingers in the back of my head still.
mr_lincoln
·6 months agoHi @wisesilverwolf
I have Combined shipping to ADD all shipping costs on multiple purchases and then I refund any shipping overage. While some of the things I ship are larger than yours volume wise they are seldom purchased together ...
I'm not privy to how you have Combined shipping set but had they been my orders it would have been for the $ 95.50 not $ 16.70 less.
Your challenge is each of those items at 19 x 19 x 17 = 6,137 cubic inches are immediately pushed to USPS's Volume weight category which starts above 1,728 cubic inches and prices can easily double and triple there. On top of that there are surcharges for packages with a dimension over 22" and again over 34".
You might consider shipping them separately, buying two labels and both tracking numbers will be uploaded to the sold items if you buy your labels through eBay. The only problem you will run into is if they are returned, eBay will only issue one return label regardless of how many packages you ship on one transaction.
mattva
·6 months agoI don't use eBay's combined shipping at all. If someone orders more than one item from me and it's feasible to combine them into one package then I will and reimburse them the difference. EBay's setup of combined shipping is just to confusing.
mr_lincoln
·6 months ago@mattva
That's GREAT for you for sure!!! Sellers can set up their Combined shipping based on what they mainly sell. I found it very easy but then I've been shipping things domestically and internationally since the 80s and that was long before eBay was even a thought.
mattva
·6 months agoFor newbies like myself, eBay's mess of combined shipping is just way to confusing especially for those who sell a wide range of different sized items.
kibble-net
·6 months agoYeah - don't allow combined shipping?
You opened the door to allowing this to happen.
wisesilverwolf
OP6 months ago@kibble-net Not sure where the option to turn off combined shipping is in the eBay settings, I checked under account settings > shipping preferences > combined shipping rules ... it only has 3 categories there which are all set up "not specified"... the 3 options are
1) Flat shipping rule (Not specified)
2) Calculated shipping rule (Not specified)
3) Promotional shipping rule (Not specified)
What option would fix this issue?
mr_lincoln
·6 months ago@wisesilverwolf
Based on those settings you have NOT set up Combined shipping. I use Calculated shipping so that is the only one on my account that is set up and as mentioned, it ADDs ALL shipping costs. That lets me put things in one box and then refund the overage. Calculated means Buyers will see what it costs them to pay you to ship.
Part of your original question was why doesn't eBay add the dimensions ... the short answer is they would not know exactly how the items will be packed so they can't just arbitrarily create a package L x W x H.
wisesilverwolf
OP6 months ago@mr_lincoln I asked ChatGPT how I could disable combined shipping and it said that I should change the settings under business policies (which requires sellers to enable the sellers hub), the link is: https://www.ebay.com/bp/manage
The steps it said are basically
1) Go to Business Policies
2) Edit Your Shipping Policy
3) Remove any combined Shipping Rule
4) Save
It didnt look exactly like that on ebay's page so what I did was:
1) Click "Create Policy"
2) Click "Shipping"
3) Where it says "Domestic Shipping" I selected "Calculated: Varies by the buyers location"
4) Where it says "Combined Shipping Rule (Optional)" I put "None"
Not sure if that means Im not combining shipping or that I dont have any rule set 😂. The problem with setting flat rate shipping is that I sell items that come in many different sizes and weights and people that live on the other side of the country or in places like Hawaii or Alaska have shipping costs way higher than someone in the next state over from where I live.
mr_lincoln
·6 months ago@wisesilverwolf
Flat rate means Buyer pay the same amount that you set regardless of their distance from you. Calculated means based on your weight and box dimensions on a listing they will see different amounts based on distance from your location.
I do not use a Business policies, just the Combine shipping setting for Calculated shipping on the list provided up thread. I ship from small to large items, my settings work good for what I ship. I am accurate on the weight and dimensions of everything I sell, this limits mistakes or "gotchas" when shipping is Combined.
lordevil33
·6 months agoah, so you are just normally this miserable & unhelpful.
get another hobby, selling knick knacks online and being a d**k to other sellers aint it kid.
stainlessenginecovers
·6 months agoGo into your Business Policies and DELETE 'allow combined shipping'.
Doesn't matter why- the trick is to fix it so it don't happen again.
A VERY good reason though, in an identical item, like wall corner guards, can be 10 lbs each and go in a 6x6x50" box.
Buy 10- and guess what... 100lbs and all STILL fit in a 6x6x50 box.
wisesilverwolf
OP6 months ago@stainlessenginecovers I dont have combined shipping enabled as far as I know, when I go into account settings > shipping preferences > combined shipping rules ... it only has 3 categories there which are all set up "not specified"... the 3 options are
1) Flat shipping rule (Not specified)
2) Calculated shipping rule (Not specified)
3) Promotional shipping rule (Not specified)
What option would fix this issue?