Ebay is changing my correct package weight (I use a scale). I'm losing money!

[bagpiper3]

There is a new thing on the weight of the package where Ebay actually uses it's own "estimate" and changes the actual weight of the package.  This has happened many times to me.  When the item sells, the buyer pays the ebay estimate, not the ACTUAL weight.  I am losing money on every sale!  Should we all take Ebay to small claims court for cheating us?

[worldcoinauctions]

This is one reason I use flat rate shipping. But I figured out how much shipping would be to anywhere in the US for the most common items I sell and use a rate that is about right. Sometimes it costs me a few cents, sometimes I make a few cents extra. I don't trust calculated shipping and since shipping with UPS and Fed Ex years ago I don't trust them since they can change rates, add surcharges, fuel adjustments etc. and you don't know your final cost even after you paid. Also the experience can be different on a PC vs a phone.

[toca26]

They change mine all the time and its infuriating! They lower weights by 5xs and shrink the box dimensions by 30%. And yes, I have to pay the difference.  I took all my auctions down after catching this. 

[wastingtime101]

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@toca26 wrote:

They change mine all the time and its infuriating! They lower weights by 5xs and shrink the box dimensions by 30%. And yes, I have to pay the difference.  I took all my auctions down after catching this. 

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eBay does not change seller-entered weight or dimensions unless you choose to publish your listing with eBay's autofill shipping setting @toca26 . Make sure eBay's recommended shipping autofill is turned off and you shouldn't have problems.

[toca26]

Yes it does, it has several times. I am very careful about entering weight and size. It has changed it both directions too. I just refunded a buyer because he paid $70 for shipping that should've been 20. It was listed at 2lbs calculated the buyers shipping at 10lbs. I sold a lego set that I listed for 5lbs and the shipping was paid for 1lb. I've been searching how to turn off auto nonsense and I can't for the life me find where.  

[trent-9556]

I listed an item with a weight of 6 lbs 14 oz and dimensions of 21", 16", 12". After it sold, I went to generate a shipping label and eBay listed the weight as 8 oz and dimensions of 8", 8", 8". I tried to verify in the order details the original weight and dimensions, but they weren't listed.

I contacted support and they verified that my original listing had the 6 lbs 14 oz weight and dimensions of 21", 16", 12", and blamed it on a "hiccup" on their end. They suggested I enter the original weight and dimensions and purchase a $76 shipping label. I refused and requested they email me the verification of my original shipping info, as well CC me on an email to the buyer stating that eBay changed the shipping info and were requesting they buyer cancel the order. I'm awaiting the emails.

[wastingtime101]

I can see by viewing your sold listing that it did not have accurate weight and dimensions as the public-facing shipping rate is for an 8 oz package. Points to an error in the listing set up.

At this stage there's no way to say whether the error was on your end or eBay's, but since you did not look at the listing after it was live and spot the error, this does fall to you. Your listing advertised the rate for an 8 oz package.

Also note CS is well-known for giving out wrong info, especially when it's a new rep without experience that can't explain anything off-book. They will tell you there was a tech error when there wasn't one.

At this point, eBay expects you to either ship as advertised, absorbing the shipping loss, or cancel as out of stock and take your lumps (account defect).

Generally speaking you want to avoid that out of stock cancellation, but in this case that's a pretty big financial hit so I suggest you consider it, along with a profuse apology to the buyer for the error.

[trent-9556]

eBay sent this CC email:

"Item will be canceled due to errors on the current listing. Seller will be Re listing it with the correct details and will be ready to be repurchased for a couple of hours.

Thanks,

eBay"

[wastingtime101]

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@trent-9556 wrote:

eBay sent this CC email:

"Item will be canceled due to errors on the current listing. Seller will be Re listing it with the correct details and will be ready to be repurchased for a couple of hours.

Thanks,

eBay"

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Yeah, but that still means eBay expects you to cancel as "out of stock" and take the account defect. They're just trying to help you explain to your buyer.

[trent-9556]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

I can see by viewing your sold listing that it did not have accurate weight and dimensions as the public-facing shipping rate is for an 8 oz package. Points to an error in the listing set up.

 Nope, I entered the correct weight and dimensions in the Shipping details of the original listing.

[roccotacodad54]

   Yes welcome to the world of AI (artificial ignorance).

[fern*wood]

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@trent-9556 wrote:

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

I can see by viewing your sold listing that it did not have accurate weight and dimensions as the public-facing shipping rate is for an 8 oz package. Points to an error in the listing set up.

 Nope, I entered the correct weight and dimensions in the Shipping details of the original listing.

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Did you do a sell similar of your sold item to see what you entered initially?

[wastingtime101]

Some sellers will enter weight and dimensions.

Then below that they will click "apply" next to eBay's estimates, not realizing or noticing it will override their manually entered weight/dim.

If I had to guess, I'd say that's what happened here. eBay offers those estimates to new sellers.

[fern*wood]

Thanks, I've never seen (or noticed) that before.  It's like they try to set up newish sellers for failure.

[trent-9556]

When I created the listing I started with a similar item. Then I manually edited the Shipping info to enter the correct weight and dimensions, then clicked List Item. I never clicked an Apply button.

[wastingtime101]

If you used "sell one like this" from another seller's listing, that automatically imports that other seller's shipping settings. I've seen various reports where overriding that other seller's shipping info does not always work. When it doesn't work, you can see your changes didn't "take" and your listing is published with the wrong info. It's super important to check your live listing when you started out by copying a different listing.

So while the issue may have stemmed from something to do with eBay's listing form, the info was visible and ultimately you didn't review your listing to make sure all was good before/after hitting publish. Whether seen as fair or not, eBay puts that responsibility on you.

**Not defending this kind of thing, just explaining how it works so you can avoid a repeat situation in the future.