How does eBay decide prices for shipping

[benjahoo]

Hi all,

I've hunted around but I cannot find the answers I am looking for.

Scenario 1 - I ship an item and it goes out with priority mail, flat rate envelope, cost is less than $9 (I can't remember the exact amount, but close enough). The buyer later on down the line wants to return it, opens a request, and eBay makes me either upload a label (which is what I have been doing recently because of this problem) or purchase a label for $19.10. The $19.10 makes no sense to me, not when the postage was purchased directly through eBay...

Scenario 2 - I ship an item, but this time I use Fedex and it costs me $34.66 and the buyer open an item not described case, I agree to take it back, and eBay charges me $9.13 to ship it back to me.

Is there any sense to any of that... All the returns that I paid for through eBay were shipped USPS through a return parcel service, but their fee structure makes no sense at all, however I look at it.

Probably just as much sense as it is getting me to put this post online without using any special characters, which I am not but it thinks I am... way to go eBay...

TIA

[wastingtime101]

Scenario 1: eBay is probably going based off the package weight and dimensions as entered into the listing form. I thought that if you purchased a label through eBay they would duplicate that info, but maybe not?

Scenario 2: eBay again is going off the package weight and dimensions as entered into the listing form. eBay provides USPS return service labels exclusively so the fact that your outbound shipment cost that was sent with FedEx does not come in to play.

[benjahoo]

Scenario 2 - eBay never gives me the option to enter the dimensions of the package, except early on in the listing and they're all different, only the $19.10 never changes.

[inhawaii]

Ebay doesn't decide. The seller does.

I charge my customers $10 to $12 to ship a PM flat rate padded envelope that costs $8-something to ship.

[benjahoo]

Shipping out isn't the issue. Getting it back using Ebay's system is the issue. Anything being returned to me costs me less than $10 if I upload a Fedex label. If I don't, the only other option besides a refund is to buy a label on eBay and charges me the $19.10 with no other option to enter the sizes or weight.