Shipping

[gincrum]

I have contacted two agents concerning a problem I have noticed on shipping charges.  I believe that a buyer is paying the retail charge, not the ebay discounted charge.  This is only going to discourage a buyer.  I do not want to make money on shipping differences.  Please help.

[onefootflipper1]

You have to change that in your shipping policies and business policies.

I do not suggest doing so, ebay still charges commission on shipping charges and you still spend money on shipping supplies.

[lamber9347]

You can make that change yourself for your own listings. This is not mandatory for any seller. Be aware eBay will still impose fees based on the buyer's full payment. Best of luck to you....

[inhawaii]

The seller, through the listing,  sets what a buyer pays for shipping.

[monica-sells]

Just double check your preferences first....

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

Many sellers utilize option #2, to build in a little extra to cover the FVF charged to shipping...

Offer custom discount to buyers

Offer retail rates with a percentage off set by you.

[buyselljack2016]

Correct, but what some of us have run into with the change over to Ground Advantage is when we offered Parcel Select as a shipping option we ate the fees as buyer paid same cost as our "online" label, but as we know, now what is happening is that the buyer is paying "retail" Ground Advantage.

That is the cost that they are shown in search. Some sellers, like the OP, prefer to charge the buyer "online" price. I have enough cushion in my selling price to make the item more attractive to those that focus on "shipping cost" rather than "overall cost".

[reallynicestamps]

Are you including all your shipping costs in your shipping charges?

Many sellers who think they should only charge for postage forget they are also paying for packaging materials and of course eBay fees on both the shipping and on the buyer's sales tax. We Canadians are also charged a fuel surcharge and federal sales tax on the shipping label.

Those costs usually are covered by the difference between the retail price the customer pays and the discounted price the seller pays.

[mam98031]

You have full control of this, so it is going to depend on how YOU have things set up.

If you are using Calculated shipping, go and look at your settings.  There is an option to have full retail or the discounted rate.  You may have the full retail rate checked.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/posting-items/postage-rates/shipping-calculator?id=4178

[inhawaii]

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@buyselljack2016 wrote:

Correct, but what some of us have run into with the change over to Ground Advantage is when we offered Parcel Select as a shipping option we ate the fees as buyer paid same cost as our "online" label, but as we know, now what is happening is that the buyer is paying "retail" Ground Advantage.

That is the cost that they are shown in search. Some sellers, like the OP, prefer to charge the buyer "online" price. I have enough cushion in my selling price to make the item more attractive to those that focus on "shipping cost" rather than "overall cost".

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Good point.  Which makes me wonder, Does ebay allow a duplicate listing of the same item but with different shipping options?

Example:

One listing for a $20 widget with $5 shipping

Another listing for the  same widget but for $25 with free shipping?

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@inhawaii wrote: ... Does ebay allow a duplicate listing of the same item but with different shipping options?

Example:

One listing for a $20 widget with $5 shipping

Another listing for the  same widget but for $25 with free shipping?

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No.

[dbfolks166mt]

     As others mentioned unless you have your listings to charge the buyer the discounted postage rate then yes they are paying full retail. As others also mentioned a lot of sellers utilize that difference to cover the eBay fees and packing materials. As an example for one of your listings. 

     The following item shows a $9. shipping charge if I purchased the item and you shipped it from  Manchester, Pennsylvania to my location in Virginia. I am not sure if PA charges sales tax on shipping but will assume they do. While the buyer pays the sales tax eBay charges the seller FVF's on the total transaction which includes the item price + shipping + sales tax + $.30. So for the shipping portion

Shipping paid by buyer - $9.00

PA 6% Sales tax on shipping - $.54

13.25% EBay FVF's on $9.54 - $1.26

Actual Shipping Cost - $6.64

Total actual seller expenses for shipping - $1.26 + $6.64 = $7.90

Difference $1.10 extra paid by buyer

     Difference should cover your packing materials, ink, paper, etc. to package and prep the item for shipping. If they buyer is paying the discounted rate you are actually covering the cost of the difference. If you want to be precise you could always refund the buyer the $1.10 if you are not worried about covering your expenses related to the shipment of the item. 

[mam98031]

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@inhawaii wrote:

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@buyselljack2016 wrote:

Correct, but what some of us have run into with the change over to Ground Advantage is when we offered Parcel Select as a shipping option we ate the fees as buyer paid same cost as our "online" label, but as we know, now what is happening is that the buyer is paying "retail" Ground Advantage.

That is the cost that they are shown in search. Some sellers, like the OP, prefer to charge the buyer "online" price. I have enough cushion in my selling price to make the item more attractive to those that focus on "shipping cost" rather than "overall cost".

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Good point.  Which makes me wonder, Does ebay allow a duplicate listing of the same item but with different shipping options?

Example:

One listing for a $20 widget with $5 shipping

Another listing for the  same widget but for $25 with free shipping?

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NO.  Shipping doesn't have anything to do with how they determine if it is a duplicate listings.  It is titles and pictures.

[slippinjimmy]

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@dbfolks166mt wrote:

     The following item shows a $9. shipping charge if I purchased the item and you shipped it from  Manchester, Pennsylvania to my location in Virginia. I am not sure if PA charges sales tax on shipping but will assume they do.

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Picking a nit on your post,  if the item is being shipped FROM PA to VA then the question about tax on  shipping in PA is irrelevant and only the way shipping is taxed in VA matters.