Why do so many sellers not indicate HOW they ship an item?

[inhawaii]

They just say "economy shipping" or "standard shipping".

As a buyer I want to know HOW it's being shipped.

FedEx? UPS? Parcel select? First class? Priority?

As a buyer i've actually skipped listings that don't show me this information.

Am I the only one?

[wastingtime101]

I specify service whenever possible (which is about 90% of the time), but there are certain times when I don't. Those situations are generally when I offer free shipping and want the flexibility to choose whichever service will be most cost-effective based on a buyer's location (USPS, UPS, etc).

In those situations I am always willing to field questions from shoppers to let them know which service I will use based on their location and the quantity they purchase.

Some sellers use that option because it extends the estimated delivery date and results in fewer INRs and buyer complaints. Specifying "standard shipping" gives a longer delivery window than specifying "USPS First Class." That's not why I will go generic sometimes, but it's common for other sellers to do that.

[a_c_green]

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@inhawaii wrote:

They just say "economy shipping" or "standard shipping".

As a buyer I want to know HOW it's being shipped.

FedEx? UPS? Parcel select? First class? Priority?

As a buyer i've actually skipped listings that don't show me this information.

Am I the only one?

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It might depend on whether you've had bad experiences with one carrier vs. another in your area, but otherwise I don't bother to check which carrier will be used by the seller; our area is served by all. If it's important to you, then just send the seller a message and ask.

Note that the grade of shipping will at least give you a clue. For example, Economy could mean Media Mail. Standard includes First Class Package. Expedited includes Priority Mail.

[readabouthorses]

It is important to me as a buyer because I have to know if I should give you a physical address (for UPS and FedEx) or my PO Box (for USPS).

As far as asking the seller, I have to want something really really bad and it be something hard to find for me to ask the seller how they will ship.

When I see "Economy" as the shipping method with no specific method when I'm shopping magazines I just think the seller is probably abusing Media Mail and doesn't want buyers to know so I just skip over those.

[msmaggie060]

Not all of us have a choice to use anything but Standard or Economy shipping. As a Canadian listing on .com in order to sell my items, and shipping using Canada Post, I can only use those choices. And of course, we don’t have access to anything like Media mail.

[evry1nositswindy]

Everyone of my listings shows the type of shipping.  I too am annoyed by this so I try to do better.  I looked at a very confusing listing yesterday:  no description, picture showed a group but there was a quantity choice, and a price for shipping , but it said local pick-up only.   A hot mess!  I couldn't back out fast enough!

[sfau]

That's me and it is because it depends.  If it is under a pound it is going first class.  But buy a bunch of items and you are generally getting priority - especially regional or flat rate.  But buy a bunch of large items and I cry (not really) but that is going parcel post.  At some point I may have to look at Fedex or UPS because East to West Coast if getting insane.  But if you buy all books that will go media - but I do specify that.

[eunster1313]

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@inhawaii wrote:

They just say "economy shipping" or "standard shipping".

As a buyer I want to know HOW it's being shipped.

FedEx? UPS? Parcel select? First class? Priority?

As a buyer i've actually skipped listings that don't show me this information.

Am I the only one?

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Are you looking just here?

Or are you looking at the shipping tab also and still

can't see it?

[wastingtime101]

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@msmaggie060 wrote:

As a Canadian listing on .com in order to sell my items, and shipping using Canada Post, I can only use those choices.

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Yours is a bit of a different situation because economy and standard services shipping from outside the US are generally understood that they will transfer from your local carrier (in this case Canada Post) to USPS for final delivery.

A seller in the US can choose a generic "economy" service and that can cover any carrier from USPS to UPS to FedEx. I can offer "economy" with free shipping with the intention of using UPS Ground to further zones, or an upgrade to USPS Priority for nearby zones.

[mandisattictoyz]

Not at all, I’m the same.  What even irks me more is when they don’t ship it within an estimated time frame.  I feel like eBay is actually being ruined by people not shipping in a reasonable time frame.  Like I know it’s not amazon prime here, but man, waiting 5 days to ship something economy or whatever taking a half a month is unacceptable by any means.  We aren’t horse and buggying it here.  It’s 2022, even if your a hobby seller, it takes 30 seconds to box it and label it.  And yet I still see many listings above mine when I ship priority next or same day.  I just don’t get it.  Does eBay want to keep going down hill.  

[stephenmorgan]

Because there are many different ways to ship and some people may not purchase your item if they know how you will ship it.

I hate it when I purchase something that says Fed X but it is actually Fed X for part of the trip and then it is turned over to the USPS.  This always add two or more days to the delivery.  The Tracking is not accurate as it will show out for delivery but not really.  It is out for delivery to the USPS and not you.

If I knew this is the shipping that would have been used then I would not have ordered.

[richard1rst]

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@inhawaii wrote:

They just say "economy shipping" or "standard shipping".

As a buyer I want to know HOW it's being shipped.

FedEx? UPS? Parcel select? First class? Priority?

As a buyer i've actually skipped listings that don't show me this information.

Am I the only one?

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Obviously I can not speak for anyone else so I will give you only my rational.

In many cases I do not know in advance how it is going to ship. Although I can tell you I NEVER use parcel select.

However, for Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico and any of the territories it automatically defaults to USPS.

I offer free shipping on everything I sell. I am in Nevada. The cost of shipping a given sized box to California is generally cheaper by USPS. But that same box to New England is generally cheaper by UPS and/or FedEx. Then there are flat rate boxes and USPS Cubic Pricing each of which have their own distinct shipping rates. So sometimes USPS is cheaper than UPS or FedEx to New England.

As some people know (but apparently not everybody) the cost of shipping is buried in the selling price. The problem becomes factoring in an amount that does overcharge local customers and/or undercharge distant customers.

Before I list an item I use a program on my computer where I enter the size and weight of the box and calculate shipping to a relatively nearby ZIP code and a cross country ZIP code. All of the shipping options are included and I pick the best one. Where I might use one service locally I might use a different service cross country. In this way I can greatly reduce the disparity between local and cross country shipping costs. With all of the various shipping price schedules available I have found that frequently the difference is only a couple of dollars. Then I more or less split the difference to be as fair as I can.

Obviously I can not know ahead of time any of the factors that play havoc with this set up. It might be a P O Box thereby forcing USPS. (Yes, UPS and FedEx have a cross service offering but I never use them. Takes way too long). There are some very large but sparsely populated areas where the post office does not deliver. (You have to go into town to get your mail). But UPS and FedEx will deliver. There are some rural areas where the post office will deliver, as will UPS and FedEx except UPS and FedEx have a “rural delivery” add on charge.

If this sounds like turning the proverbial molehill into a mountain then Good. Unfortunately there are SO MANY variables that I can not guarantee in advance which service I will use without unnecessarily raising my prices to get it down to “this and nothing else”.

Hope this helps.

[kensgiftshop]

I do free shipping and list as standard shipping.

I ship mostly Priority Mail but I want the option to choose another service if I need to.

I usually ship the same or next day, but standard shipping gives me a little cushion on the estimated delivery dates to cut down on INR cases.

[mrsbmcv77]

My listings apparently say standard shipping even though I specify only USPS options for shipping choices.  I have no idea why eBay does this.  It's strange since I assume you will be in the actual purchase before you find out how it is coming.  

There is a link next to the standard shipping that says "see details" it does list the shipping options if you click it.

[evry1nositswindy]

@eunster1313 Yes, it shows there, but I also write the words in my listing because not everyone clicks on that tab (or knows to do that!) 

I will type my description and then underneath it will say:  FREE MEDIA MAIL SHIPPING with tracking IN THE US.    Ships from  my non-smoking home in the US.  Thank you for looking.  Same with first class and priority.  I only use those 3 shipping types.