Discussion on eBay showing wrong shipping cost in sold listings

[vintagesun]

As somebody who uses the sold listings daily to figure out the value of some of my items, I can’t figure out why eBay shows the shipping cost of what it would be for whoever is viewing that sold listing as opposed to the actual shipping cost that that buyer actually had to pay?

So if I look at the sold listings and see an item sold for $20 plus $15 to ship, that isn’t accurate as that $15 would be what it would have costed ME to purchase that item as opposed to what that buyer actually paid. They could have paid more or less.

I feel like it would be much more beneficial for everyone if I could see what that buyer actually paid as I could be more accurate with the value of my items and potential buyers could see what people are actually paying for items.

Does anybody have any guesses as to why eBay shows us the cost of shipping for each different person viewing the sold listing,  as opposed to what the actual shipping cost that individual buyer?

[mtgraves7984]

Does anybody have any guesses as to why eBay shows us the cost of shipping for each different person viewing the sold listing,  as opposed to what the actual shipping cost that individual buyer?

@vintagesun 

I'll take a stab at this. I'm in Tennessee, so I really don't care what it cost to ship to a buyer in Oregon, for example. 😐

[vintagesun]

Wouldn’t you rather know that an item cost $35 for someone else ($20 plus $15 shipping) but for you it cost $45 ($20 plus $25 shipping) so you know that you’d be overpaying?

or take the other way, wouldn’t you rather know that someone else was willing to pay $35 ($20 plus $15 to ship) but for you shipping is only $10 so you’d be getting a great deal?

the way it is now, you have no idea if you’re getting a good deal or not…aaaaand I just answered my question as to why eBay doesn’t do that haha

[albertabrightalberta]

If sellers use calculated shipping, the shipping price is going to vary. depending on the buyer's location. (In my listings, I use flat rate shipping for each item so it won't vary for any US buyer who checks out the listings.)

if you're trying to calculate shipping prices, why not just open a listing that shows your cost and input zip codes for say, Boston and Los Angeles and adjust your own listing's shipping price based on an average. There may be occasions that you'll slightly undercharge and others where you slightly overcharge but those cases offset. 

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@vintagesun wrote: ... Does anybody have any guesses as to why eBay shows us the cost of shipping for each different person viewing the sold listing,  as opposed to what the actual shipping cost that individual buyer?

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Because the eBay "Sold" listing just carries-over the shipping calculator that's used in active listings. It wouldn't be feasible for eBay to have a completely different way of displaying the shipping and handling after it is Sold. The Sold listings display  isn't designed to be used as a research tool.  

[ms.rodriguez*]

Ebay is showing the cost  to ship that item to the whoever is viewing that listing.  So if the seller is in NY,  and I live in NY , the cost would be less to ship to me than for someone who lives in California.    I am guessing that the poster is trying to figure out how to select the shipping price of an item so that they do not lose money. I am guessing that the poster does NOT know how to use calculated shipping.   If that is correct, then either learn to use calculated shipping OR always assume that your item will be sold to someone in the farthest state from you.   Use that price and then be ready to refund something if the buyer lives closer.     That was what I used to do until I learned how to use calculated shipping. I have n't lost a dime since then.

Do NOT forget to add the surcharges if the items are are more than a cubic foot or longer than 22".

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@ms.rodriguez* wrote: ....    I am guessing that the poster is trying to figure out how to select the shipping price of an item so that they do not lose money. ...

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We often advise buyers to "shop by total price" including item price plus shipping. I think the seller is trying to do the seller equivalent of that -- figuring out the total of what a buyer paid for an item, when they are researching "Sold" prices rather than just looking at the item price alone.  Did the buyer pay $10 plus $8 shipping (total $18), or $10 plus $15 shipping (total $25)?  The Sold listings currently don't provide that information.

[yuzuha]

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@vintagesun wrote:

Wouldn’t you rather know that an item cost $35 for someone else ($20 plus $15 shipping) but for you it cost $45 ($20 plus $25 shipping) so you know that you’d be overpaying?

or take the other way, wouldn’t you rather know that someone else was willing to pay $35 ($20 plus $15 to ship) but for you shipping is only $10 so you’d be getting a great deal?

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This is why, as a buyer, I never purchase items with free shipping. With calculated shipping I can see exactly how much it will cost to ship to me, no guessing games needed.

[toybrats]

On the very lightweight stuff, I will sometimes buy stuff with free shipping because I know the difference is not alot. I am aware that the seller needs (should cover) the shipping to the farthest state.  As a buyer,  I NEVER ever buy 2 items at the same time that say free shipping when I know that the items are lightweight and can be shipped together for 1 shipping price.   I stopped trying to convince sellers to combine shipping on items that say free shipping.  

[house*of*paws]

Hi @vintagesun 

I'm not a seller ... so may be missing the obvious ... but why should it matter what the buyer of a sold item was charged for shipping?  It's not that you'll necessarily be selling your item to a buyer living in the same area.

I'm in California.  If I'm ever curious about what the cost would be to ship an item to the east coast ... or Midwest ... there are two ZIP Codes I plug in to check that out.  [And hopefully I remember to change it back to my ZIP before leaving the listing ... or else I continue to see shipping costs to the wrong ZIP on every listing I view.]

[janet9988]

If that is YOUR personal concern then on each listing you are looking at you can change the zip code to see how much shipping changes from zone to zone.

Me, personally it is a waste of time.

[lacemaker3]

@vintagesun,

Searching eBay sold-items is not a very good way to estimate the value of sold listings. Many items don't show up in the sold-items search at all. And, the sale price is incorrect for anything that was sold to a best offer.

If you want to know what the actual sale price and shipping cost were, what was actually paid by the buyer for the sold items, then you need to be searching on Terapeak, not the eBay sold-items search. Terapeak only shows items that were paid for, not items that were cancelled or unpaid, and it was intended for sellers to do research, while the eBay-sold items search is not.

https://www.ebay.com/sh/research?marketplace=EBAY-US&tabName=SOLD

[moo*cow*corner]

Terapeak is not accurate either. I looked up one of my own purchases to see if the shipping price showing on Terapeak was the same as the amount that I paid. It was not.

Terapeak shows AVG. shipping prices. For the purchase that I looked up, I paid $5.85 shipping (per transaction details and the original listing) and the Terapeak listing shows avg shipping as $5.25. So, not accurate at all.

Terapeak is accurate only for free shipping listings.