Question About Shipping Fees

[sunny3301]

I'm wondering if others experience this problem:  sometimes when I sell an item, the buyer pays less shipping than I do.  This only happens ocasionnally  and I can't understand why. See photo attached showing recent example where buyer paid $10 and I paid $11.22.  It happens with USPS priority mail, FedEx Smart Post, etc... so not limited to a particular shipper. Anyone else have this happen?

[lja440]

No it doesn't happen to me. I am careful to put in the correct information when setting up my listings.

This happens when a seller guesses the weight and measurements or allows eBay to set the S/H. Simply be more careful and remember everything is 'up to but not over' in weights and measurements there is no rounding down in shipping with any carrier.

[duchess-at-speakeasy]

Your illustration shows the buyer paid $10.10 for shipping.  You paid $11.22, which is the Priority Mail commercial rate for 10 lbs. to Zone 4.  Ditto for Parcel Select.

Do you pass along your commercial rate to your buyers?  That is, do you charge exactly what you pay USPS?  Most sellers charge the retail rate and use the difference to help cover miscellaneous expenses (supplies, fees, etc.).  However, in this instance the retail rate is $18.40 so I can understand why you might want to charge less.

Now, did you offer a 10% discount to apply to the shipping amount?   If so, then $11.22 minus $1.12 = $10.10.  (There is no actual USPS rate of $10.10 for any class of mail so making an error in weight or dimensions is not the problem.)

There's your mistake.  Don't offer additional discounts when you are already quoting your discounted cost!  Had you quoted $18.40 retail and then set up a 10% discount, the buyer would have paid $16.56, still well above your cost of $11.22.

~~C~~

[kensgiftshop]

I've had that happen a couple times.

I don't remember if it was USPS priority or ground.

If I remember right the few orders were from the same area of the US so I don't know if that had anything to do with it or not.

I always make sure to round the weight up to the next pound and add an extra inch on the dimensions of the box.

It doesn't happen often, maybe a couple times in the last few years.

[fern*wood]

When using USPS I have never had it happen unless I messed up the information when I created my listing.