Media mail?

[parkercreektrading]

when I list in the books & magazines category media mail is no longer a shipping option. Can anyone shed light on this?

[dryophelia]

@parkercreektrading 

Magazines do not qualify for Media Mail. 

[parkercreektrading]

Thanks for the info. It’s still not offering me the media option when I am listing a book. 

[dryophelia]

Make sure it’s listed in Books category and not in collectables category. 

[wastingtime101]

Why are you offering freight shipping for the magazines, greeting card lot, cuisinart base, pasta maker, frying pans, mink coat, and boots @parkercreektrading? None of those items would ship freight and it's deterring sales to not list the actual shipping method + cost.

Media Mail Eligibility Chart 

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@parkercreektrading wrote:

Thanks for the info. It’s still not offering me the media option when I am listing a book. 

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eBay's efforts to block abuse of Media Mail are based primarily on not allowing labels to be purchased for items that are listed in categories where most items aren't eligible for MM, such as magazines and collectibles.

If MM isn't offered when you're setting up the listing, you can either change your category or set a flat shipping cost and choose generic "Economy" shipping. You'll have to purchase the postage elsewhere online or at the Post Office (the postage price will be the same as through eBay).

[parkercreektrading]

I’m using freight because these are heavy items and I need a zip code to determine shipping. If you have a work-around I would be very interested. 

[pargran3]

Calculated shipping.

Not a work around, just a normal how to put shipping in a listing.

[parkercreektrading]

I guess my problem is, shipping to where? It would cost a lot less to ship large and/or heavy items to the east coast vs California. The issue is I don’t know where the buyer is located. I assumed by putting freight as the shipping category I would run a price for interested parties if they supply their zip code which I mention in the listing. I’m open to suggestions if you have a better idea. 

[theteamsetguy]

Use this solution only if the item you are shipping qualifies for media mail and not to get around eBay's block for items not eligible for media mail.

[aprilmoviebuf2000]

As suggested, just use calculated shipping.  That's the way it works, cost to buyer is based on buyer location from yours.  You don't need to know where the buyer will be located when creating the listing.
If you are referring to your Cook's magazine lot, I would suggest breaking those into smaller lots, perhaps by year (?).  Since they can't go media mail, this will make them less heavy and can either go calculated priority, flat rate priority, or parcel select ground.  

[wastingtime101]

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@parkercreektrading wrote:

I’m using freight because these are heavy items and I need a zip code to determine shipping. If you have a work-around I would be very interested. 

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Freight is intended for large items like furniture.

Instead, enter the package weight and dimensions in the listing form and use calculated shipping instead of flat rate shipping. Then select an appropriate service, like Priority Mail or Retail Ground.

This will calculate shipping based on the buyer's shipping address. You have many heavier items listed so you could use this method for any of them.

In fact, it appears you already are using this on some listings because I went to that typewriter paper and if I change the ship-to zip code I see different calculated rates for USPS Retail Ground.

I'm not sure why the handful of items listed with freight should be any different?

If the issue is packages exceeding the USPS 70 lb limit then let us know. If you need to ship in multiple boxes there are ways to handle that.

[theteamsetguy]

I would weigh the items and the box they are going in. Get the exact dimensions of the box and enter all that information in the listing. Set up calculated shipping for the listing and eBay will quote the buyer based on their zip code automatically. You may also want to add a handling charge on top of the actual shipping to cover ebay's FVF on shipping.

Something like this is probably cheaper to send via Fedex ground or UPS ground. Ebay has highly discounted rates for both. It also might cheaper to put the shipment in 2 different boxes depending on weight. UPSA, UPS, and Fedex all have surcharges for heavy packages.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@parkercreektrading wrote:

I guess my problem is, shipping to where? It would cost a lot less to ship large and/or heavy items to the east coast vs California. The issue is I don’t know where the buyer is located...

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When you set up a listing with calculated shipping, the listing will automatically show the postage cost from your ZIP Code to that of any member who looks at your listing. It's completely automatic.  You don't need to know or imagine where your buyer lives nor look anything up ; the listing will automatically charge your buyer the correct postage cost.  

As noted in another post, "Freight" shipping is for large heavy items that can't go by regular shipping services such as USPS.

[pargran3]

How can anybody with over 10,000 feedback think you need the buyer's zipcode before the sale?

That is how calculated shipping works. It figures the cost according to the potential buyer's zipcode.

Is this really your selling id?