What to do when I enter shipping correctly and then get charged more for the label?

[danizen]

Welp despite entering the correct measurements and weight of the box, I was charged $10 more for the label.  The buyer paid, so what to do?  Ebay says to cancel the auction and resend the invoice, but the first invoice was correct so what would that change?  Plus that's a hassle for the buyer that I'd like to avoid.

In these cases - the shipping estimates are wrong.  No matter how many of you say I did something wrong, I didn't.  I dealt with this by asking the buyers to PP me the difference but I'm sick of that.  I want a real solution.

This has happened four or five times in 40 auctions.  I know for a fact I filled out each shipping form correctly.  I have no idea why this happens on some orders and not others.

[dbfolks166mt]

Using the eBay shipping calculator for a 26 lb. package that is 18 x 13 x 9 from 70119 to 91607 the calculator shows rates of:

USPS Ground Advantage: eBay Rate $67.83 Retail rate $74.15

USPS Priority Mail: eBay rate $76.85 Retail rate $88.45

     Pretty much the same as what I see on Pirate Ship which has about the same discounted rates as eBay. Ironically UPS ground would have been considerably cheaper in this case. 

[mam98031]

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@danizen wrote:

Well it's not really solved yet!  I wish it were.  In this case, I'm talking about two different estimates for USPS Ground Advantage.  So I think this whole service listing issue doesn't apply here.  It was a combined order that I got an estimate for, but the label was $10 more.  With the same details.

I'm assuming these are true:

If I only put one service in the auction and the buyer pays for it, then that's the only way it can possibly be shipped.

If the buyer does not pay, I can send an invoice for whatever service I want.

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NO, it doesn't work that way.  You can ONLY invoice them what is stated in the listing they purchased from.

 You can't raise pricing just because a buyer didn't pay right away.  The purchase agreement is always exactly what it was at the time of purchase.

As was previously explained, sending a buyer an invoice is NOT necessary unless you have a combine shipping discount you want to offer.  Ebay automatically sends invoices to buyer when they purchase something.  When you re-invoice your buyer, you restart the 96 hour clock for a buyer that doesn't pay.

[pjcdn2005]

The formula for dimensional weight is weight (in cubic inches) divided by 166. So the dimensional weight of this package is 13 pounds. That is lower than the actual package weight, so the postage charged will be based on the actual package weight.

If the measurements are correct,  the ebay usps calculator already takes dimensional weight into account....correct?

[nobody*s_perfect]

Yes, when dimensional rates would apply, the eBay shipping calculator will take that into account. Likewise, if there's a surcharge based on package length.  That's why it's correct over 99% of the time.

[danizen]

My posts are being deleted but my problem still exists.

[mam98031]

It is important to remember that this is Ebay's Community forum for its members.  It is owned by Ebay.  There are rules for the forum.  If you breach one or more of those rules, the posts you make can be removed.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/About-the-Community/Community-Guidelines/td-p/26164369

[danizen]

I did not violate any of those rules!  I wanted to thank a poster and add that my problem still exists.  I tried like six times, I'm surprised this last one is staying.

Just in case this does not get deleted:

This thread is about an invoice for a combined shipping order.  The mode of shipping was USPS Ground Advantage on all the auctions as well as the estimate and label.  The estimate was $31.31 and the label was $41.41, and no details changed.  That's where I'm at.

[mam98031]

Do you have Combined Shipping rules set up or do you just have your buyers contact you for an invoice.  Either way is fine, they are just different processes.

[robbie31415]

Yeah the difference is significant. For all my heavier and larger packages I do UPS ground. Like half the price.

You don't have it in your pic but I think UPS 3 day select is even cheaper than ground advantage for those types of packages.

Ups ground saver is typically expensive but I'm guessing it's because of usps handoff for last mile.

[fern*wood]

Do your labels not load with Priority mail since that is what is offered in your listing?  Where are you getting estimates figures?

[danizen]

Thanks everyone, I apologize for taking up your time.  While my memory still says I had USPS Ground Advantage on the auctions, it appears that is not the case!  I started to notice that ebay changed the shipping service on a few auctions, I thought I had checked them all and changed them.

I also didn't know about combining rules, I will have to look into that.  I've just been sending invoices.

In the future I will take all the great info in this thread and hopefully avoid these hassles.  They are really bringing me down since I was certain I followed everything.  Ah well, we'll see if it happens again.

[mam98031]

I do my own combine shipping for my buyers.  You are welcome to look at some of my listings as I state in there what the buyer needs to do to get the combined shipping.  I prefer it this way others prefer to set some rules.  Either way is fine as long as it works for you.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/shipping-items/shipping-rates/shipping-discounts?id=4168

[albertabrightalberta]

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@danizen wrote:

Yes thank you I realized pretty soon that the refund fee depends on the refund amount, I just completely forgot to change that in my descriptions.  Thank you for reminding me I will change that!

It wasn't too difficult to figure out how to fill out the shipping estimate for invoices, and for most orders it was fine.  This thread is about an instance when the estimate was off despite the details remaining the same.  I know, it doesn't make sense!  This is what is so maddening.  It's actually more than one instance, it's been a few.  I thought it was in my head.  I have waited to post for a few weeks because I thought I was making mistakes, and so I became much more vigilant and made sure I entered everything properly.

One thing that seems weird and may be the source of this problem, is that when making the invoice, the  shipping service options page doesn't seem to carry those numbers over to the invoice.  On the invoice page, I click the little icon next to the shipping rates to change the shipping details.  I am taken to the estimate and service options page.  On this page I enter the correct details, then choose "ebay rates" and click USPS First Class, USPS Ground Advantage, and USPS Media Mail.  Then I hit "done" and get taken back to the main invoice screen - but the shipping info there is unchanged as if I'd never visited the other page.  I have to manually add additional shipping services as well as manually enter the amount from the estimate page. 

I didn't notice this happening on previous auctions before last night.  I also was constantly getting data-losing error pages that still not been responded to, and that ticket was opened four weeks ago.  Last night I didn't get the error pages but this shipping nonsense happened.

2016 Macbook Pro OS 12.4, Firefox v117.0

The box is 26 pounds, 18x13x9

Traveling via USPS Ground Advantage from New Orleans, LA 70119-6343 to Valley Village, CA 91607-4105.  "Package" was selected.

The shipping estimate was $31.31

The label cost $41.41

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This was your mistake.

You were correctly charged for the oversized package. Your package is 2106 cu. inches which is over 1728, thus the surcharge.

[nobody*s_perfect]

USPS uses the term "Oversize" for packages with a length-plus-girth over 108 inches; that doesn't apply to this package, which has a length-plus-girth of 62 inches (18 + 13 + 9 + 13 +9).

USPS uses the term "Dimensional weight" for the formula they use for packages with a volume over 1 cubic foot.  As discussed above, the dimensional weight for this package is less than the actual weight, so the postage will be based on the actual package weight.

The OP charged the buyer $31.31, which is the cost of a 21-pound package, but was charged $41.41 for their label; that's the price for a 23-pound package.

[brightlightbookseller]

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@natoman777 wrote:

It is odd, but sometimes magazines and comic books do NOT qualify for media in the eBay categories.

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It's actually exceptionally rare that either would qualify.  Both usually have ads, and both are considered "periodicals", which are ineligible for Media Mail.  Graphic Novels are usually fine, but comic books are not, nor are manga.