eBay

argy_eyes · ‎07-31-2019

Bear with me on this ...

My case: my shipping rate table gives shipping to China = $62, shipping to numerous other locations = $14. The listing in question ended with a high bidder with a Shanghai address. He has not paid yet. I see the following:

Shipping (to China) in Shipping Tab in listing: $62

Shipping (to China) in "Manage Orders" page: $14

Shipping (to China) in "Print Invoice / Packing Slip": $14

Shipping (to China) in the seller email I received from eBay at end of auction: $14

Shipping (to China) when I do "Send Invoice": $62

https://www.ebay.com/itm/113829360350

I've used this shipping rate table for several months. It differentiates between Delcon countries ($14) and non-Delcon countries ($62). The shipping charge (from all 5 eBay sources shown above) has always been consistent with the table. An eBay customer service rep said that the Packing Slip invoice could be wrong if it is printed out before the buyer paid (my case).

Does this sound right? Any other likely explanation?

Mike

berserkerplanet · ‎08-01-2019

Nothing I can think of, other than something in the works is confused and possibly using different addresses the buyer may have specified in his account in different places you see.

brian@ebay This looks like a gremlin.

Although it's sort of a non-issue until (if) the buyer pays since you can invoice the correct amount if you choose to invoice. The question is what did eBay tell the buyer the shipping amount due was when they emailed him "You won, now it's time to pay"?

dtexley3 · ‎08-01-2019

I just noticed this over the weekend and forgot to post the error. The mangle orders page does not correctly display the shipping if there were multiple options or if the shipping was reduced via invoice. Makes it REALLY hard to converse with the buyer about the sale.

Member of the Grumpy Old Man crew

3eyedfishcatcher · ‎08-01-2019

14 dollars for international shipping from the USA sounds way to low no matter what service. sounds like somoni on eBay's end made yet another mistake and did not catch it because they do not check their work. Just another reason to always pre package and weigh your items and use the actual cost of shipping in your listing and invoices. Seams like this was a issue in the past with domestic shipping that got ignored and was not looked into.

argy_eyes · ‎08-02-2019

@berserkerplanet wrote:
brian@ebayThis looks like a gremlin.
Although it's sort of a non-issue until (if) the buyer pays since you can invoice the correct amount if you choose to invoice. The question is what did eBay tell the buyer the shipping amount due was when they emailed him "You won, now it's time to pay"?

@3eyedfishcatcher

@dtexley3

@berserkerplanet

Thanks everyone for looking at this and for your inputs. Much appreciated. I didn't think this was the kind of problem that would get such expert attention.

Here is some follow-up:

I was also concerned about the "What did eBay email the customer" question. The item went to China, so I wasn't confident I could ask that question clearly enough to make sense to the buyer, but I explained what I saw in a short message. He/she wrote back and said "no problem" and paid the $62 shipping when I sent an invoice.

The $14 came from the calculated USPS 1st class shipping for the item to Delcon countries (most of Europe, Japan, Australia, a few other places). This is a great bargain, since USPS 1st Class is tracked to delivery in these countries. It goes up steeply as the weight is increased. $14 is for 8 ounces or less, and even this charge varies a bit from country to country. My shipping table assigns this postage OR Priority Mail Express depending on the Delcon status of each country. This way I get full tracking without penalizing buyers in countries where USPS 1st class is tracked.

I am thinking the problem has something to do (as was suggested) with the customer editing their delivery address. If, for example, they had a Hong Kong address, they would have gotten the $14 option from the shipping table . . .

Or perhaps the customer overrode the shipping table by simply specifying USPS 1st Class postage. The new seller shipping page often shows more than one shipping option, with one checked/selected and having the note "selected by the buyer." Maybe the buyer saw both options (contrary to the classification of China in the shipping table) and picked the cheaper alternative. Does anybody know how eBay picks the postage options the buyer sees at checkout?

Regards,

Mike

berserkerplanet · ‎08-02-2019

Buyers only see the shipping options you specify in the listing that match their location.

Depending on what address the buyer had as their eBay Primary shipping address when the auction ended, it should show them only one or the other (the $14 FCPIS option if not a China address, or the $62 China PMI option)

This one is still a head scratcher.

argy_eyes · ‎08-03-2019

@berserkerplanet wrote:
Depending on what address the buyer had as their eBay Primary shipping address when the auction ended, it should show them only one or the other (the $14 FCPIS option if not a China address, or the $62 China PMI option)
This one is still a head scratcher.

Thanks @berserkerplanet . That makes sense.

Mike