eBay

elizabethtownsportscards · ‎02-05-2023

If you can solve my shipping problems, I will pay you $50 via PayPal.

I sell lots of small items, that are different weights & dimensions. I need to use eBay's calculated shipping. However, for the life of me, I can't figure out how to get items to combine shipping. For example, if someone wants 3 of item A, the combined shipping works correctly. However, if the buyer wants 3 of item A, and 4 of item B, the buyer is charged the combined shipping charge of item A plus the combined shipping charge of item B. I can't figure out which setting or rules to change in order to get just one combined shipping charge.

I'm not an inexperienced seller, but it's driving me insane trying to figure out how to do this. I can't get any of the shipping preferences to work correctly. Now most of my listings are jacked up. What am I missing?

Also, as a side note, I offer 1st class & priority shipping, but the cart defaults to priority shipping, with no way to change it. I'd like for the buyer to see both options in their cart, and they choose, but it seems that is not working either.

ittybitnot · ‎02-05-2023

What am I missing?

@elizabethtownsportscards

Actually, I don't think you are missing anything. Ever since eBay removed "commit to buy and continue shopping with this seller" in favor of their "cart" system, the ability for a buyer to request a combined invoice for items that can be shipped together has been intermittent at best. Sellers in this situation cannot send a combined invoice because they don't know what is in a buyer's cart until the products are paid for, and then it is too late.

It works ok for multiple auction wins only, but not for BIN items and certainly can't combine items from auction wins, offers that are accepted, fixed price all in the same basket.

eBay shipping does not feature a system that would calculate the combined item weights with a needed box size and shipping service when various listings from the same seller are up for purchase. Even if they could use such a program, you probably wouldn't want eBay "taking care of it on your behalf" anyway.

Items under a certain dollar amount are often treated by eBay as "immediate payment required" even if the seller has not selected to use that option. Ebay feels the system is "working as intended". Personally, I think it is a mess.

rfmtm · ‎02-05-2023

Sounds like you have the Calculated Shipping Rule set to "no discount".

Calculated shipping is limited in what it can do and does not take into account dimensions, which can be a problem, if multiple items extend into dimensional weight. Otherwise, if all you want to do is "add weights" across items purchased from various listings, that you can do, but it still will not know when it becomes more economical to switch to a flat rate service. You can offset this by setting up a "promotional shipping rule" in addition to just using the simple "add weights" setting, if individual items are all of reasonably similar size and weight.

In your Shipping Preferences enable Combined Payments.

Click edit Calculated Shipping Rule and set to "Add Weights".

Click edit Promotional Shipping Rule and set the maximum charge to the cost of a Flat Rate box you would use.

The above settings should calculate shipping by adding weights of all items purchased with a max shipping charge of a Flat Rate box.

elizabethtownsportscards · ‎02-05-2023

Thanks. This makes sense. You would think eBay would want to make it as easy as possible for buyers to buy things!

elizabethtownsportscards · ‎02-05-2023

My calculated shipping rule is turned on. This is how buyers are able to combine multiples of the same item in their cart.

I wish it wasn't so limited.

Thanks for your response!

rfmtm · ‎02-05-2023

The calculated rule, and if used promotional rule, have to be enabled in the listing itself, but what the rule does is selected in your shipping preferences. Selecting add weights, and enabling the rule in the listings, should do so for all items purchased whether from the same listing or not and provide you with a single combined shipping charge based on total weight for the entire purchase to ship in the same box. Otherwise, you get the result you have now, where total shipping cost of each separate listing's items are just added together rather than being combined by total weight before calculation.

ittybitnot · ‎02-05-2023

Thanks. This makes sense. You would think eBay would want to make it as easy as possible for buyers to buy things!

@elizabethtownsportscards

It was not a monetary advantage to eBay to make it easy. Up until recently, if a seller "refunded" the shipping overage, they were still charged on the original amount paid with no adjustment for final value fees. I don't know how it is working now.

At the same time, it was never widely publicized that sellers that did combine items for one price/in the same box from different listings, a buyer complaint about ONE of the lot being not as described, the whole total sale at risk. This is still in effect.