Warning of using fedex shipping label and invoice fees!

[ekiwamoto]

I recently sold a saxophone on ebay and used the fedex shipping label on ebay to ship the item.  As I just started selling, my funds weren't available instantly so I clicked the option to be charged when my funds were available for the shipping label.  When my funds became available, I never got charged on paypal for the shipping label, but just today I checked my invoice fees and it had jumped from around $90 to $134.  I thought there must of been something wrong so I checked my invoice fees and saw that I was being charged $44 for my fedex shipping label.  In the details of the fee, it said my label was 51lbs and had a bunch of other charges, but my label was only 18lbs and the shipping label cost only around $24, probably less.  I called ebay and they told me it was a mistake on their part and credited me back money so the charge of the shipping label was back to $24.  But as I said the label was probably less so I should of gotten back more money. Ebay would have charged me the extra money if I never saw the mistake, so I wanted to warn my fellow sellers out there.  They ebay specialist told me that fedex shipping labels sometimes have problems because they are still working on it.  So when you use Fedex, make sure you check how much you get charged.

[hidy-hoo]

@ascentauctions Have you read this thread?  Lots of good information located inbetween the whining and vents about how/when and why you should or shouldn't use FedEx....also much more productive than posting a rant that not one eBay or FedEx employee will read!

[esg-enterprises]

I just had the exact same thing happen for the second time in 3 months, both times get the same story, Fedex says they have nothing to do wth ebay, ebay says they have nothing to do with Fedex. Fedex customer service shows total disdain or me as an ebay customer, was even told I am not really a customer, it is ebay who they consider the customer and won't give me any reason the second time why I was charged $150, when quoted $50.

The first time, back in September, ebay gave me a $70 refund after a nicer Fedex employee told me they made a mistake on charging me $144 when quoted $70, but then couldn't credit me because technically I am not a customer, eventually ebay gave me a discount.

As I have begun to examine my invoice more closely they do it all the time, mostly adding on $5-8. Just this mornng Fedex claims they have nothing to do with ebay's website and they have no knowledge of what ebay quotes their customers for their service.

This time when I called ebay they told me they have never heard of a problem with Fedex?? I like the conveinance of shipping through the calculator, but this is ridiculous.

Fedex employee told me that the quote is just an estimate and they can't really give you the exact amount until they physiclly have the package. When I asked how they can do business that way, she said that is on ebay. She also told me they have no business relationship with ebay, they are just one of many customers, very perplexing.  

Will have to look into using UPS for larger items, I guess.

[little.eddie]

I too was just burned on FedEx Smart Post shiipping charges through Ebay. I wish I had read these posts before deciding to ship by FedEx. Talking with Ebay they said they are aware of the problem and are working on getting it corrected. Looks like this has been going on for years so I wouldn't count on any resolution. It really is fraud on how they lead you to believe the cost is so much lower than it actually turns out to be. I will certainly NEVER use FedEx again via eBay. Ebay would not provide me with any financial resolution just fed me a bunch of gibberish about how sorry they are and will take my feedback to management. 

[wifemomnana]

I selected UP S ground for the item I sold and mistakenly put in more weight than was in actual box, because buyer didn't want all I had included, but it charged buyer $24 yet when I got to UPS office I owed $62, ????? Same box less weight? How do you figure that? Next time I will  just figure a fee I can live with and post that as shipping fee for all. Hey buyers I don't like it anymore than you do but try getting a post to eBay about it! 

[hidy-hoo]

...the good news is ~ we went almost 3 1/2 months without a post on this thread

...the bad news is ~ in addition to FedEx, it now includes  gripes about UPS 

[jackie8z]

Oh my...

**bleep** I did not see your post... ebay estimated my package for $24 and I input everything correct. 16x12x10 (actualy package is 15x12x9), 15 LB, but fianlly charged $30... and I already shipped a lot similar package of same size same weight. It is cheaper to just use USPS Priority but since ebay's system is wrong, I charge way less than actual cost so I will not have any profit for orders in past 2 month...

[jwkoda]

I'm the latest victim of this scam. I shipped a 13LB box via Fedex and the estimated cost was $21.56. I received my monthly invoice and discovered the charge was $48.45 and the weight of the box shows as 72LB. eBay was absolutely no help when I called them. Unbelievable!

[hondamedic]

---

@hidy-hoo wrote:

...the good news is ~ we went almost 3 1/2 months without a post on this thread

...the bad news is ~ in addition to FedEx, it now includes  gripes about UPS 

---

My company shipped an item overseas with a lock on it and the key got "lost". I was contacted by the supervisor of the project who told me to overnight the spare key in the office to an employee at a hotel in that country.... As it was the weekend I had to go to a UPS Store to ship that was open on Saturday. The cost? Almost 70 bucks!
When I turned the paperwork in on Monday the Finance Dept. went ballistic as it would have cost $25 through our S&H Dept on Monday but the supervisor signed off and I was reimbursed. My point is shipping "stores" can charge whatever they want when you're between a rock & a hard place......
forewarned is forearmed

[autopartspuller]

I use Fedex frequently because I have several items that are too large to ship USPS.  I have only had ONE time that the shipping estimate was way off from the actual price. 

It is all about dimentional weight.  You can NOT be off on your measurements.  When you ship your "5lbs." package but that box is say "30x30x15" They then include the size of your box to calculate your "weight"  that is the information they send Ebay.

You can, at any point, go back and look at you original estimate (which has a break down of estimated charges, including fuel).  Just go into your shipping tab and find the transaction.  It will also have a breakdown of actual charges so you can compair.  If your package weighed 5 lbs.  but you are charged, say 32lbs... this is due to the dimentions of your box which you may have imputted wrong.  

Dont get me wrong.  I am not saying that Fedex is perfect.  They do make mistakes but, the majority of the time it is the seller and not Fed-ex

Ebay is not the one charging you those fees and has NOTHING to do with the calculation... they do however own the account number so, they have to be the ones to fix any real issue which is the MAJOR downside to using Fed-ex through Ebay.

In the end, I have had MANY more damage issues with UPS.  And they are the absolute hardest company to deal with damage claims.  even when something obvious drove over the package or a forklift went the whole way through the box, I had to fight tooth and nail to get reimbursed.  I just simply can not afford to use a company that delivers so many packages poorly.

USPS is my first choice.  If the package is within thier size limits and not overly pricey (heavy items rack up quickly) I will definately ship with them.

[dyspraxia]

Once you calculate the price they MUST charge you that much .. sometimes they over charge me like 10-15 .. never use FedEX anymore.. scumbags ...

[acerich11]

I also have noticed extra fees on my fedex , everything my husband and I ship now has an extra $1.70 tacked on .I will be calling ebay tomorrow.

[kennethd1255]

I just finished a conversation with FedEx on a 33% overcharge of shipping four cartons to one address.  The quoted online rate of 98.00 was changed to 132.00.  They claim that the quoted rate is an estimate.  I put in the correct sizes and weights.  I won't use FedEx anymore because of this issue.

Ken

[flyaus0]

The same freakin problem

We ship the same box over and over around U$ 40-60.  They randomly add a "Misc1" charge to our invoice for an extra U$ 72.5!  And now we are lost between eBay and Fedex with no information or explanation of this extra charge.  We ended up not making any money, just working for free for Fedex and Ebay!

[qualityrandomitems]

My volumes started to pick up and I made the mistake of passing on any Fedex discount I get onto the customer.  BIG mistake.  Customer gets the discounted 'estimated' rate, and I get not only the higher published rate, but the bill is coming in at 20-30% higher!  DO NOT pass the discounts onto the buyer unless you like giving away free stuff (and money too).  I think this is done on purpose by Fedex so you choose their option, knowing it is very hard to reconcile these 30-60 days later.  Seems this been going on for years now, and eBay simply washes their hands of it saying 'read the fine print about estimates'.  But they should have some pull given it is THEIR platform and enforce shippers (like they do to us sellers) to be as acurate as possilble, or THEY lose.  I have a call in to eBay anyway to complain, but I am sure I will get the reheresed qute answer of '... those are estimates, and you should factor in whatever you can to counter it..."  instead of actaully doing something about Fedex.  So much pressure to give Free shipping on sellers... how about some pressure on Fexdex now to have acurate estimates?!  USPS is the best way to go if possible.... then UPS.

[qualityrandomitems]

What was eBay's Response if you don't mind sharing?