Given:
Single item wt: 2 lbs 3 oz
Dim: 9" x 9" x 9"
Handling cost: $2
Buyer purchase:
6 of the above
Ebay shipping calculator:
Wt: 13 lb 2 oz
Dim: 9" x 9" x 9"
Ebay charge to Buyer for USPS Priority shipping: $39.35
Ebay calc USPS Priority for 13 lb 2 oz, 9" x 9" x 9" box: $26.15
Act calc USPS Priority shipping cost: $9.25 x 6 = $55.50 + 10% ebay + 3.2% PP fees + $63.00
Problem:
Ebay shipping calculator assumes all of the items ship in a single box, which they do not. Further, it calculates the correct total weight but assumes the total volume does not change.
If the ebay shipping calculator had come up with a realistic single box volume of 18" x 18" x 18", the USPS Priority cost would have been $52.29 and the total calculated shipping to the Buyer $52.29 + $2 x 6 = $64.29, insured for $100
If the ebay shipping calculator used the single USPS Priority cost x 6 items, the total cost charged to the Buyer would have been $9.25 x 6 + $2 x 6 = $67.50, insured for $600
Either way, single box or 6 boxes, the ebay shipping calculator was about 40% short of the actual total shipping cost.
**************
In the past, the ebay shipping calc for a multi-item purchase would calculate the total weight correctly but increase the depth, width and height, each, by the number of items, so a 3 item purchase of a 2 x 3 x 4 became 6 x 9 x 12.
Why is it that a company with net profits exceeding a couple of billion dollars per year cannot make a shipping calculator that works correctly? What responsibility does ebay assume for these continuing gross miscalculations? Does ebay think this fosters good will among either the Buyer or Seller?
