Calculated Shipping Incorrect Amount for buyer

[that_shopatc]

Hello,

I have been having the same problem with the calculated shipping amounts for first class items for almost 3 months now. The buyer is being undercharged. I have called eBay multiple times with various results including a refund for the difference, telling me to cancel the sale, or telling me to ask the buyer for more money. Clearly it is not the buyers fault and I do not think neither myself nor them should be penalized for a faulty calculator on eBays end. I was told when I last called this is a known issue that has been going on since 5/24. My initial resolution has been to just charge a flat rate on first class items since they appear to be the only ones affected. The new issue is it appears to be happening with first class international as well. I am not comfortable doing a flat rate for these items since it can vary so wildly. Has anyone else been experiencing this issue or have any suggestions? Thanks in advance for any help!

[thevintagesilvershop]

Can you provide an item # that this was a problem on?  There are times when, if you select "large envelope" instead of "package", I believe, that can be problematic. 

[dtexley3]

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@that_shopatc wrote:

Hello,

I have been having the same problem with the calculated shipping amounts for first class items for almost 3 months now. The buyer is being undercharged. I have called eBay multiple times with various results including a refund for the difference, telling me to cancel the sale, or telling me to ask the buyer for more money. Clearly it is not the buyers fault and I do not think neither myself nor them should be penalized for a faulty calculator on eBays end. I was told when I last called this is a known issue that has been going on since 5/24. My initial resolution has been to just charge a flat rate on first class items since they appear to be the only ones affected. The new issue is it appears to be happening with first class international as well. I am not comfortable doing a flat rate for these items since it can vary so wildly. Has anyone else been experiencing this issue or have any suggestions? Thanks in advance for any help!

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I ship a lot of items FCP and have yet to see the buyer not charged the correct amount.   If this is "an ongoing issue since 5/24" there would be a lot of posts about it, CS are notorious for saying what they think you want to hear in order to shorten your call.

Don't be offended, but are you sure you are entering the correct weight in Oz for the item plus the weight of the box or envelope?

Double check your zipcode in your profile and then view another sellers item with calculated shipping, click on the shipping tab and check the zipcode to see if it shows for your zipcode.  (If it doesn't put in your zipcode and click the calculate button).

The only bug I'm aware of: I charge a small handling fee on FCP to cover the cost of the box/envelope, ebay fees, label etc.  If I edit the listing with an app, the handling fee is removed.

[dtexley3 · Accepted solution]

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@thevintagesilvershop wrote:

Can you provide an item # that this was a problem on?  There are times when, if you select "large envelope" instead of "package", I believe, that can be problematic. 

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I just viewed your listings and this answer is correct.  You have all of them set to Large Envelope instead of Package.  That will cause the buyer to be undercharged.  This is not a bug, but is poor implementation.

@that_shopatc 

vintagesilvershop for the win!

[dtexley3]

What I do consider the "bug" in this case is that when you view the item and look at the shipping tab, eBay displays "USPS First Class Package" even though the seller selected "Large Envelope".  It's a "First Class ENVELOPE", not an FCP.

brian@ebay I think this has been reported before, but that display should be fixed everywhere that FCP shows instead of FCE.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@dtexley3 wrote:

What I do consider the "bug" in this case is that when you view the item and look at the shipping tab, eBay displays "USPS First Class Package" even though the seller selected "Large Envelope". ...

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The service shown in the listing is whatever service the seller chose in the drop-down menu for 'Service type." So if "First Class package" is selected in that menu, that's what will be shown regardless of what is chosen from the drop-down menu for 'Package type."  And yet for First Class, the "Package type" selection dictates which pricing chart will be referenced.

So the programming needs to (1) add options for FC letter and flat (AKA Large envelope) to the menu of services; and (2) override the "services" selection if the "package type" selected is letter or large envelope.

[thevintagesilvershop]

Ebay really should correct this flaw that allows a user to make this mistake.  It screws a lot of people up from what I've read. 

[lgonzalez28]

Is a 10x13 poly mailer an envelope or a package?

[pjcdn2005]

If you want ebay to calculate it as a first class package and to have tracking, you have to check off that it is a package.

[kensgiftshop]

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@lgonzalez28 wrote:
Is a 10x13 poly mailer an envelope or a package?

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Package

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@lgonzalez28 wrote:
Is a 10x13 poly mailer an envelope or a package?

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The First Class categories are less confusing if you avoid the use of the word "envelope" since the criteria are based on dimensions, flexibility, and evenness of thickness.  An envelope could fall into any of the three categories (letter, flat, or package).

Your 10x12 envelope is too big to mail as a letter, but it could be either a flat or a package, depending on factors like thickness, rigidity, and evenness of thickness.

https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/201.htm#ep1096318

[that_shopatc]

I appreciate your help! This was driving me crazy and I spent so many hours on the phone with eBay I had given up. I will be directing all of my future questions to the forums and facebook. I am assuming this is also why it would not allow me to list First Class International even though it was way under the 3lb 15 oz limit. I kept getting an error message that anything above 15 oz could not be mailed USPS First Class International. I will be updating my listings!