Combined Shipping Message

[mvondwin]

I don't understand why eBay doesn't have a message or note for buyers during the purchase process that tells them to put ALL items from one seller into your cart to get automatic shipping costs combined.  A majority of questions from my buyers are "do you combine shipping costs?".  I have it set to combine shipping costs, but buyers don't know this.  Will eBay start letting buyer know this?

[duffy4444 · Accepted solution]

   Be sure to prominently mention combined listings availability in every one of your listings, where and when it is possible due to the nature of the items to be combined. You should also put a line or two in your listing description to encourage buyers to "use eBay's shopping cart". That won't keep some buyers from still asking you about it, because a lot of them simply don't read listing descriptions (duh!). But mentioning it in your listing should help a lot.

   This is similar to what I put in every one of my listings:

  Combined Shipping Savings: Please use Ebay's Shopping Cart feature! We monitor all eligible multiple-item orders, and will refund over-payment of shipping/handling costs.

   This helps keep my customers from asking about it, and has dropped the messages about it to almost zero. If the items cannot be combined due to safety and damage concerns, I let the buyer know the items may not be eligible to be combined. The mention of a combined shipping savings refund has also helped encourage further purchases and repeat buyers.

   Buyers asking about it will still happen, though. You can't completely get away from it due to human nature.

Cheers, Duffy

[toysaver]

"I don't understand why eBay doesn't have a message or note for buyers during the purchase process that tells them to put ALL items from one seller into your cart to get automatic shipping costs combined." 

Combined shipping may not be available for all items a seller may have.  I'm not going to ship 5 pounds of heavy silverware in a box with an antique glass vase.... Or a delicate lampshade in with a 5 pound dictionary.  

[hartungcards]

Because eBay likes collecting separate "per-transaction" fees from its sellers, instead of buyers using the cart and eBay only getting one "per-transaction" fee for a bunch of items.  It's in eBay's interest for buyers to not use the cart and pay for everything separately.  That's why they ditched "Add to Cart" and replaced it with "Go to Checkout" on seller-initiated offers too.

[chapeau-noir]

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@toysaver wrote:

"I don't understand why eBay doesn't have a message or note for buyers during the purchase process that tells them to put ALL items from one seller into your cart to get automatic shipping costs combined." 

Combined shipping may not be available for all items a seller may have.  I'm not going to ship 5 pounds of heavy silverware in a box with an antique glass vase.... Or a delicate lampshade in with a 5 pound dictionary.  

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Mine was hardbound books and vintage hats. It just couldn't be done. 

I just mention it in my listing, and if people ask, I don't mind telling them. 

[ebooksdiva]

If you offer combined shipping, then in the shipping area of your listings it will say “Save xxxx on shipping when you buy additional eligible items from seller”. If it doesn’t, that would be why you are getting those questions or like most buyers, they don’t bother to read everything in a listing.  

[ebooksdiva]

@duffy4444 

 Posting that in a listing does no good when buyers don’t read descriptions in the first place. They will still send messages asking lame questions that could be easily answered by reading the listing. 

[duffy4444]

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@ebooksdiva wrote:

@duffy4444 

 Posting that in a listing does no good when buyers don’t read descriptions in the first place. They will still send messages asking lame questions that could be easily answered by reading the listing. 

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@ebooksdiva:

   Very true... Buyers not reading the listing description is a chronic problem that has been going on since the beginning of eBay. That's why I mentioned in my previous reply that some buyers, due to lazy human nature, will still be asking about it regardless, including asking lame questions about all sorts of things already explicitly covered in the listing description.

   It's something sellers have to expect and be patient with. All we can do is minimize it. 

Cheers, Duffy

[ittybitnot]

I don't understand why eBay doesn't have a message or note for buyers during the purchase process that tells them to put ALL items from one seller into your cart to get automatic shipping costs combined

@mvondwin 

As suggested in message #4 by @hartungcards eBay makes more money (and you make less) when combined shipping is thwarted in favor of individual payments.  

There are many reason why the "cart" won't allow a buyer to request a total.  There is a list out there somewhere with "more" occasions (pretty long list) where it will not work, but you are not likely to find it on eBay anywhere.  These include if at least ONE of the items in the cart

is on sale while others are not

has free shipping while others do not

is of a different shipping class

etc. 

etc. 

Be sure to visit this page, scroll down, and make sure that  "Allow Invoice Requests" is set to yes or enabled.

https://www.ebay.com/ship/prf

Be advised the buyers that use the "app" may not be presented with the "Request Total" feature.  Such buyers requested it for years with no results, and I don't know if it is the same til this day.  Someone that uses the app to buy may know. 

If you use the make offer feature or auctions, these are some more settings that are indeed combined shipping killers.  If you read in these forums they are the settings that eBay awarded everyone and are related to the function of "Auto-Pay" which not only limits the payment options a buyer can used, but does away with the ability to invoice a buyer for multiple item.  For example, should a buyer make offers on four of your items, their payment source will be auto-billed four times instantly at full shipping price.  Sellers that would like multiple purchases from the same buyer find that their sales increase when they are turned off.  Using the same example, if you accepted four offers from the same buyer, they would not be auto-billed and could request an invoice, or receive one from you.  See your settings that eBay gave you with the default set to yes here:

https://www.ebay.com/bmgt/buyerrequirements

Buyer Rules:

*Require buyers to provide a payment method before they place a bid.

*Require buyers to provide a payment method before they make an offer.

Click submit or save.

The next thing eBay has done to thwart combined shipping/invoicing is to make all offers you SEND to a buyer, and any COUNTER OFFER you accept immediate payment required.  Should you send five offers to the same seller (you are not allowed to know who is receiving your offers) they will have to be paid separately at full shipping cost for each.  Ebay removed the "accept" feature buyers previously had for offers you send that would allow them to request a total/request combined shipping/ or invoicing.   No invoicing/request total is allowed EVEN IF YOU HAVE turned off the "buyer rules" illustrated above.   Same goes for COUNTER offers you accept.  Even if you "accept" a counter offer, the buyer is not required to pay.  You cannot send a reminder, nor an invoice.  You cannot file the unpaid item cancellation and award them a strike for non-payment.  These are the ones that remain for sale until somebody pays.   

[toysaver]

Oh lala...  I see where your name came from.

[kibble-net]

If you send offers to buyers, each one has to be purchased separately, and it won't let them combine them into the cart together.

When this happens I refund the overpayment in shipping manually. Hopefully Ebay will figure out how to integrate seller offers with the shopping cart properly by the year 2100.

[ittybitnot]

Hopefully Ebay will figure out how to integrate seller offers with the shopping cart properly by the year 2100.

@kibble-net 

eBay  spent lots of time on making it not work on purpose.  If you would like to allow buyers to make offers on more than one product and avoid being auto-billed for each one, see the previous message  #9 and the link to the buyer management page and scroll down to see the "Buyer Rules" settings.  Sellers that turn these "off" will prevent auto-billing so that multiple offers (that can once again be accepted) by the buyer and a combined invoice requested. 

It will not work for offers a a seller SENDS.  eBay has that locked up for everyone, again on purpose. 

[tsme35]

I have it in my listings and still get ask 1 or 2 times a week if I combine shipping.  I also include that I can't combine shipping with some items. Like I can't combine rods with reels because of shipping box size. Then you have the ones that just buy a couple items separate and leave me great feedback for combining their orders. 

 Biggest problem is either they have to scroll have way down the page to find description or a couple clicks on the app. 

[mvondwin]

I too try my best to complete the manual refunds.  Have had a few buyers freak out thinking I am refunding the entire purchase...only because they aren't reading the entire message on their phones.

[mvondwin]

However, when I manually process combined shipping savings refunds, eBay chips back in a portion of their fees anyway.  Not very efficient.