Calculate: Cost Varies by Buyer Location not working

[missesb_az]

I tried to list an item for US delivery with the "Calculate: Cost Varies by Buyer Location" option for shipping. When I previewed the listing, I could see the Calculate hyperlink. When the listing posted, it displayed a dollar amount instead of the Calculate hyperlink, and to make matters worse, the dollar amount was more than it would cost to to the furthest point from my location. 

Has anyone else come across this problem?

[berserkerplanet]

There is no problem. That is how it works. The listing preview function is mostly useless and the calculate link is there as a placeholder only.

All of your current listings have fixed price flat shipping not calculated.

If the listing you were looking at was calculated and not one of the 5 I saw, the dollar amount you saw was the calculated amount to your zipcode in Arizona (the lowest calculate amount since it from your zip code to your zipcode).

Why you are saying it was "more than it would cost to to the furthest point from my location" baffles me. The only reason that would be true is if you have the listing shipping set up incorrectly.

What is the item number of a listing in question that you think has the wrong amount?

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@missesb_az wrote:

I tried to list an item for US delivery with the "Calculate: Cost Varies by Buyer Location" option for shipping. When I previewed the listing, I could see the Calculate hyperlink. When the listing posted, it displayed a dollar amount instead of the Calculate hyperlink ...

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The eBay shipping calculator works automatically.  Listings with calculated shipping will automatically show the postage cost from your location to the buyer's location. They do not show a calculate hyperlink.

However, as noted in the other post, your listings with First Class shipping are showing a flat price of $4.33 regardless of destination which means that they were not set up with calculated shipping.  That's the postage cost to ship 9 - 12 ounces to Zone 8.  One listing has been set up with postage for a flat rate envelope, so of course it too shows the same price to any location.

[anthology-of-treasures]

I would bypass using eBay's dinosaur web based listing tools.

Try finding a 3rd party application instead. I suggest using GarageSale. Its Macintosh only. If you are currently on Windows or Linux it would be well worth buying a Macintosh just so you can use GarageSale as it will pay for itself by saving you countless hours verses having to use eBay's tools.

In GarageSale you can construct a series of template for various shipping scenarios. You then duplicate these templates by pressing the Command and "D" keys to use them as new eBay listings. Here is a template for items requiring a square foot box and offering Parcel Select and Priority Mail - just change the weight from whatever default you use. You could easily create individual templates for this same size box for different weights such as 2, 3, 4, 5, etcetra so you don't have to later alter the weight. Do whatever works best for you instead of being confined to eBay's one size fits all mandate.

These folders are full of a series of shipping templates for different shipping services.

If you sell a lot of the same type of item you an use custom CSS and HTML to create custom descriptions with prefilled information. The example below is a template for books. Its easier to read for buyers and easier to type as the basic informaiton below is already entered into the template. Its a simply HTML table without borders used to organize the item data.

The text inside the brackets is a special tag whereas the program will insert my TOS when its uploaded to eBay.

[green-night]

I would bypass using eBay's dinosaur web based listing tools.

Amen.

I signed up with a 3rd party lister eons ago and it was the best thing I've ever done.  (I use Inkfrog). 

Every once in a while I attempt to go in and revise a listing through eBay and I am baffled at how things work. lol. 

[anthology-of-treasures]

LOL, not to mention that eBay has in the past autoselected some options during the edit process such as Gallery Plus to trick you into additional fees.

I experimented with the old AuctionWatch site around 2000. I think I still have one of their free T-Shirts here in storage.

I then moved to A.I.D., a Macintosh Classic program circa 2001. They were forced to go out of business when eBay wanted to charge money to using their API.

I then used the dreaded TurboLister on a Macintosh via VirtualPC. Turbo has to among the worst applications ever made.

Started working on my own software, but abandoned it when GS came along.

[missesb_az]

When they were originally listed, they all said $5.19. I'm not sure where eBay came up with that number. I changed them all to the fixed rate for Zone 8, which is only $4.33, because I didn't want the inflated price to scare off buyers, but I'd prefer it calculate the rate so buyers who live closer would pay less. 

This listing has a calculate link that I want for my listings: 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Jessica-London-Cotton-Tee-3-4-Sleeve-Size-18-20/132970741855?ssPageName...

[missesb_az]

I tried to do this by building eBay rate tables, but quickly found out the regions do not correspond with USPS :). Thank you for your suggestion. 

[nobody*s_perfect · Accepted solution]

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@missesb_az wrote:

When they were originally listed, they all said $5.19. I'm not sure where eBay came up with that number. I changed them all to the fixed rate for Zone 8, which is only $4.33, because I didn't want the inflated price to scare off buyers ...

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$5.19 is the correct Zone 1 &2 RETAIL postage for a First Class package of 9 - 12 ounces. When a seller looks at their own listing, the shipping calculator shows them the postage cost to ship to a buyer in their own ZIP Code.     

The eBay shipping calculator defaults to show retail prices.  You can change it to show online rates, in your Site Preferences under shipping it's called something like "share carrier discounts."

http://pe.usps.com/cpim/ftp/manuals/dmm300/notice123.pdf

[missesb_az]

A THOUSAND THANK YOU's ! I had a feeling I was overlooking something simple. I changed the preferences and updated the shipping options on most of my listings. [Curious: When I checked my own listings before, and saw the $5.19, I was logged off of eBay, so I guess it determined my zip from my IP address?] Thank you for your help!