Shipping Label Price Glitch?

[bigsmokesbargains]

So i was going to print out a label like i usually do. I was hit with a big surprise to see it was much more than what the buyer paid. They paid $18.20 and it's showing it's gonna cost me $32.15. The package weight and size was already filled in and i didn't change a thing. 

And while i'm typing this i decided to click on "Go back to classic label printing" and now it's showing the correct price. That has never happened to me before.  Is it a known glitch? 

[iart]

It appears to be a known glitch that they don't care about.

ebay's new label system picks the shipping service for you and it usually picks the most expensive way - even if it's a lot slower.

If you look around you'll see additional options.

It seems that most sellers haven't noticed yet and that they are paying a lot more for postage than they should be.

[a_c_green]

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@bigsmokesbargains wrote:

And while i'm typing this i decided to click on "Go back to classic label printing" and now it's showing the correct price. That has never happened to me before.  Is it a known glitch? 

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Which Shipping method was selected on the new shipping form? Was it the same Shipping method selected on the Classic form?

If you're using Free Shipping, it should select whichever your default Shipping method was that you selected when uploading your listing. If the buyer is paying for Shipping, it should select whichever Shipping method they paid for.

[bigsmokesbargains]

It was the same on both, USPS Priority. It quotes me the price of $32.15 but on the classic label page it says $18.20 (not counting any discounts) which is how much the buyer paid. And everything else is the same. Same dimension, weight and everything. It did the same thing for another package i printed a label for today. 

[a_c_green]

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@bigsmokesbargains wrote:

It was the same on both, USPS Priority. It quotes me the price of $32.15 but on the classic label page it says $18.20 (not counting any discounts) which is how much the buyer paid. And everything else is the same. Same dimension, weight and everything. It did the same thing for another package i printed a label for today. 

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Is the new form showing the correct Ship From ZIP location, matching what is shown on your classic form? They've made a bit of a mess trying to add that functionality to the new form, after initially overlooking it completely in the first release, so that would be the first thing I would check.

Do you see anything else selected in the new form (e.g. irregular package) that is not selected in the classic form? I'm wondering whether there might be a "sticky" setting in the new form that does not persist in the old form, and you selected it for one package but did not clear it afterward. Just a thought.

[dtexley3 · Accepted solution]

To tag onto a_c's post, there have also been reports that the new label form will randomly pull zipcodes from OLD addresses that you may have had.  Not sure if you ever moved, but it seems that can happen as well.

[bigsmokesbargains]

Looks like you found my issue. Some how one or more of my auctions got set to my old address as the item location. That may have been my fault since the other day i was using an old listing as listing template and i bet that changed it. So i guess using the new labels it says i'm shipping from my new address and old labels says i'm shipping from my old address. 

One thing i have to wonder about is will the post office catch my mistake about the underpaid postage.  I hope they don't notice or that's $14 extra i'll have to pay. 

[berserkerplanet]

The location bugaboo partially explains the other anomaly I.m seeing but I'm still puzzled.

$32.15 is the Commercial Base rate for 20lb to zone 5 - what you would pay for an eBay label.
$18.20 is the Retail Rate for 9 lb to zone 4 - you don't pass USPS discounts to buyers.

The Nintendo Wii? Seems like 9lb would be about correct, but dims for that item would have to be like 18x18x12 to produce a 20lb dim weight.

What must happened there is that it is > 1728 cu-in, and subject to dim weight, but dim weight doesn't apply to z1-4, only to z5-9, so the wrong listing zip code made it a z4 shipment, and charged the buyer for the actual 9lb weight, but shipping to actual Z5 destination incurs dim weight, and it actually ships at 20lb. That makes the numbers jive if it really was that large.
(that Wii listing shows shipping to me here in California as $69.95, which is the Z8 20lb retail rate which fits this zone/dim weight theory)

Those dimension assumptions are what is bothering me. Is that correct, that the shipped box was 3688 cu-in or more?

The PO may catch it, but I believe they are now supposed to defer to the USPS APV system which is likely to catch the discrepancy, but maybe not.

[bigsmokesbargains]

It was 9 pounds and the dimensions were 17, 17, 13 so you are pretty much spot on. I live in Michigan now but just moved from Tennessee which is where the auction said i was shipping from accidentally. 

[berserkerplanet]

Thanks for the numbers. They confirm the math in your issue work out, and helps confirm no calculator glitch occurred, just an odd set of consequences (dim weight mattering/not mattering) as a result of the zip differences.

Just want to add that FedEx Ground/Home Delivery or Smartpost are much less expensive options for pkgs of this size and weight.

For example, that 17x17x13 9# pkg label cost to me in California would be $60.18 for Priority Mail, $33.05 for Parcel Select, $32.79 for Smartpost, and $30.35 for FedEx Home Delivery.

Note that starting June 23, 2019, Parcel Select Prices go way up, and Priority Mail also increases when dimensional weight is involved (larger than 1728 cu-in). Parcel Select prices are in a sweet spot right now due to the delay in implementation. Dimensional weight will apply to both services for all zones starting them, and the dimensional weight divisor will change from 194 to 166.

https://shippingeasy.com/blog/2019-dimensional-weight-changes/

That means, for example, your pkg that currently ships via Parcel Select at a 9 lb rate to all zones, a Priority Mail rate at 9 lb to zones 1-4, and a 20 lb dimensional weight to zones 5-9, will ship at a dimensional weight of 17x17x13/166 = 23 lb to all zones for both services (23 lb PM rate to me in California is $62.02)

FedEx is not changing anything, so FedEx rates on pkgs like these will be approx half that of USPS for the rest of the year.

Until June 23 you might also keep Parcel Select in mind as balloon prices no longer apply, dimensional rating isn't in force yet, and pkgs ship at actual weight. (if the slower delivery works for you and your buyers)