ebay asking about package type and/or size when creating listing with free shipping. Why?

[craigsfinds]

Could someone explain why it appears that ebay is requiring me to enter appropriate package type and dimensions when I've selected free shipping while creating a new listing?  What is the point if this apparent new change? 

[post-age]

New postal rates include distance and dimensions in calculating the rates and if the item goes Global Shipping, it matters how big tht package is.

I think....

[craigsfinds]

@post-age  - Yep, I'm aware of that but why would ebay need this information before the item sells when the buyer is not paying for shipping? 

[dhbookds]

probably easier to program it for all than exempt it.........  plus it's there in the listing, if the seller changes to calculated postage they don't have to go pull down the item and put the dimensions in when the listing is changed..........also it's right there when you want to print the label.......

[craigsfinds]

@dhbookds - That may practical depending on what is being sold but my point is that there's no logic in requiring the seller to waste time entering that information on a "free shipping" listing before the item sells. 

[eburtonlab]

@craigsfinds 

If you are not offering free shipping for international customers, eBay might need that info to calculate shipping so your items can be sorted by price plus shipping correctly in an international search.

[disneyshopper]

Lets say you have 10 packages to ship on Monday.

You want to stop and weigh/measure each box in order to print the shipping label?  Much easier to enter that information when you go to create the listing.

[dollybeauty]

@craigsfinds 

Even though you are offering free shipping, eBay now has to know this info, in order to charge and pay for sales taxes on shipping. This is something that some states are collecting on internet sales. The sales taxes on the purchase price and the shipping may not always be the same rate in all new states adopting sales taxes on internet sales. eBay is being proactive.

[3eyedfishcatcher]

Even if the item is set to ship for free the shipping box size and weight need to be put into the listing so that the shipping service can be set in advance. This way the buyer can see who will be the shipper and what the shipping service will be. It also lets ebay tell the buyer based on your handle time and the shipping service when they can expect to receive the item.

[joesoucie22012]

Your question got me thinking. I have free shipping. I use the global shipping program. I have been adding the weight and dimensions now hoping to increase my international sales. (international customer might get idea of shipping cost vs just going to shipping center and then getting a big suprise)  I have not been promted to do this. So far it's not increasing sales. Also, it is Handy info for customer to have if they have a small mailbox and might wonder if package will fit in there. Also, maybe EBay wants info for catalog. 

[thatisrathernice]

@craigsfinds Not sure if this pertains to your situation but I find sometimes that happens to me when doing free shipping if I have the tab set to calculated shipping. If you change it to flat same cost to all buyers with free shipping you shouldnt need to enter the dimensions anymore.

Hope this helps!

[craigsfinds]

I checked and it looks like calculated shipping is the default when creating a new listing. I don't think it used to be that way. Especially since ebay is big on "free shipping".  Perhaps that's the problem. Thank you. 

[buyselljack2016]

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@dollybeauty wrote:

@craigsfinds 

Even though you are offering free shipping, eBay now has to know this info, in order to charge and pay for sales taxes on shipping. This is something that some states are collecting on internet sales. The sales taxes on the purchase price and the shipping may not always be the same rate in all new states adopting sales taxes on internet sales. eBay is being proactive.

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It is included in the cost of the item when it is "free shipping". Sales tax is based on that price. No more info needed for eBay/sales tax reasons.

[3eyedfishcatcher]

To save time ebay prefills out a lot of the listings info when you create a listing. The theory is if you list similar items all the time it save you time. However each time you create a new listing or edit a listing the system will take those changes and apply them to all new listings.  It means some information will always be filled out in advance but all of the information in the listing will need to be checked before it is sent live. If the preset information that gets filled out it saves you time. If it is not relevant for that particular listing then it takes more time to change it to what you would need for that item. Then if you do not catch stuff and list a large number of items each of those items will have to be edited to correct the issue causing you to waste more time and possibly have problems with your sales if those items sell. Really it does more bad than good yet for ebay if you intentionally or accidentally enable a listing upgrade like bold tittle or photo gallery plus. Then on each new listing till this is caught those upgrades get applied making them more money that you did not approve. This is probably the real reason they made the change to store template info like this and apply it even if you do not want it. Also in the past when you selected a listing upgrade that would cause a fee a pop up would come up warning you that a fee would be added to the listing and ask to confirm you meant to select that option. About a year ago they removed this pop up about the same time they started prefilling out information in the listing. So really this probably has more to do with them making money off of sellers not catching this than helping sellers fill out information for their listings.  It would be nice if you could set a site preference not to prefill out information in your listings or not to opt into listing upgrades, but then again they would not be able to profit off of seller mistakes. Most likely no one uses these features so they have to create ways to make money off of them rather than admit they are pointless and over priced.

[dollybeauty]

Besides the excellent other reasons above, there is no guarantee that each state will charge the same sales tax for shipping as they do for the purchase price.

In Missouri for instance, labor costs and material costs were not charged the same sales tax. While this is not related to shipping costs, it shows that the states do not have to charge the same for different aspects of a sale.