Combined item shipping issues...KISS

[quicksilverdiecast]

It continues to make me shake my head in amazement at how ebay can screw up something simple, years ago they had figured out...however someone had to find something for someone to do, and it has been a nightmare ever since. I am constantly being asked by buyer at how to get combined shipping, they tell me they have all their items they want in the shipping cart and want me to give them a total....that would be fine EXCEPT for ONE BIG ISSUE! ebay will not let me see what is in the cart!! Kinda like going shopping at the supermarket and when going down the check out aisle, the customer will not let the cashier see what is in the cart! One would think whoever thought this was a great idea was wrong! ANDDDD ebay provides NO CLEAR instructions for the buyer to figure it out, nor since they cannot leave things alone, the seller also becomes clueless. It USED to be a buyer could click on each item they wanted and NOT be forced to pay for it and go back and pick out more items, these would show up on my sold page and I could actually combine the item properly and send the buyer back the NEW combined shipping invoice and they simply paid for their purchases...fairly straight forward and simple, with little confusion. All the current system does is creates frustration on both the seller and buyers end as well as causing lost sales when the buyer simply gives up...Maybe just maybe those who are in charge of making these kind of changes should actully get someone off the street and see how successful their idea works BEFORE sticking the sellers with it. Keep it simple stupid (KISS), if the off the street person can figure it out and make it work....then and only then you have a good idea.

[popblox]

Hi, I can't really tell if you have a question.

[rfmtm]

Did you have combined payment and shipping enabled on all the items?  If so did you tell buyer to click on "Request Total"? 

[quicksilverdiecast]

Yes for many a year now, and there is no "Request Total" for the buyer to click on

[quicksilverdiecast]

The question is why create a system that only confuses the buyer at how to request for a combined shipping total, again I go back to how it USED TO WORK JUST FINE. The buyer sees what he wants clicks on the item, goes to the next item and so forth until he is finish picking out everything he wants, which also showed up on my hub as items a particular buyer wants, I click on one item and it shows all the buyers items in one place and I figure out the proper shipping costs and send the buyer back the new totaled invoice and he then makes payment. Just like today the buyer wanted a number of items, tells me they are in the cart, however ebay fails to show me these items in his cart, which the buyer does not understand, since you fail to instruct the buyer clearly as to how to proceed forward to completing the transaction so they get everything they wanted. To have a cart where buyers put the items in the cart, yet no one sees them is simply stupid, and they buyer expects me to see it, which I cannot! Results again in PO the buyer as well as myself for lost sales...which also generate ZERO fees for EBAY! 

[rfmtm]

If buyer purchases separates it works the same as before, you see it and can combine, or better yet if you have rules set up it does it for you.  If buyer puts everything in his cart he clicks on "Request Total", and then you see it.  Been this way for a long time now. 

Question is why buyer doesn't see the "Request Total" button. 

Is buyer in the USA?

Did buyer try a different browser?

@eburtonlab  Any thoughts on this problem?

[eburtonlab]

If the buyer is using the eBay app, there is no "request total" option, I believe.

Possibly this is a problem when using a mobile browser as well.

A seller can suggest that the buyer check out using a desktop browser, but not every user has a desktop computer or knows how to use the desktop mode of a mobile browser, and it may be difficult for a seller to walk a new user through that.

A seller might be better off setting up combined shipping rules in advance, so that when buyers put items in the cart, the shipping is adjusted automatically.

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

If sellers offer discounts or have combined shipping rules, that may affect whether the "request total" option appears as well, though.