Shipping fees

[jesseredlands]

hello, I recently sold an item , I paid the shipping charge directly to usps, eBay also charged the buyer and collected a shipping fee from the buyer .so my question ,is it normal for eBay to charge the buyer for shipping even though the seller paid for shipping? So I (the seller) and the buyer both paid for shipping, eBay collected a shipping fee even though I paid the shipping…plus charged me 12.9% of the shipping fee,doesn’t seem right?

[candd205]

The money that ebay charged the buyer went to you. The money didn't go to eBay, it went to YOU. That's the money you used to pay for the postage when you sent the item.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@jesseredlands wrote:

The buyer didn’t pay me for shipping, I paid usps for shipping separately from eBay,eBay collected shipping from the buyer and kept that money....

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No, the buyer's entire payment (minus final value fees and sales tax) went to you.

[lacemaker3]

@jesseredlands 

Sorry, but you have a misunderstanding. Yes, the buyer did pay you for the shipping, and eBay's fees are calculated on the total amount of the buyer's payment, including shipping and sales tax.

Here's an example of how the fees for that transaction were calculated. I don't know where the buyer was located, or the exact rate of sales tax they were charged, but if you rounded off the total buyers payment to $535 when it was actually a few cents more, then this example works out correctly or pretty close.

		amount:	calculated on:  (comments)
purchase price		$ 480.00
shipping cost		$   15.57
subtotal		$ 495.57
sales tax	8.0%	$   39.65	subtotal  (at buyer's rate)
total buyer's payment		$ 535.22
variable final value fee	12.9%	$   69.04	total buyer's payment
fixed final value fee	$      0.30	$     0.30
total eBay fees		$   69.34
sales tax		$   39.65	(sent to buyer's state)
shipping label		$          -	(if purchased on eBay)
total deductions from payout		$ 108.99	(total eBay fees + sales tax + shipping label)
payout sent		$ 426.23	(total payment - total deductions)

You received the payment, less eBay fees and sales tax. So you did receive the shipping payment from the buyer. So then you use the money you received from the buyer to pay for the shipping.

If you had purchased the shipping label on eBay, then it would have been deducted from your payout as well, and it would have cost you less because eBay sellers get the commercial discount for USPS postage, which is less than buying it at the post office counter.

[jesseredlands]

eBay handled the payment,I didn’t receive any funds until the item was delivered,I went through eBay to print the shipping label on line. I had to pay for shipping because the label won’t print unless it’s paid for. I paid for shipping.the buyer paid for shipping.eBay collected the funds for shipping from the buyer and also deducted the funds from my payout.

[mtgraves7984]

I paid for shipping.the buyer paid for shipping.eBay collected the funds for shipping from the buyer and also deducted the funds from my payout.

@jesseredlands 

^^^ You've got this in the wrong order. The buyer paid you for shipping, then you paid the carrier for a shipping label.

You are correct that eBay collected the funds for shipping from the buyer. Then, correct again that eBay deducted 'funds' from you... but those are Final Value Fees. They did not keep your buyer's shipping money. Trust me.

[stainlessenginecovers]

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@jesseredlands wrote:

eBay handled the payment,I didn’t receive any funds until the item was delivered,I went through eBay to print the shipping label on line. I had to pay for shipping because the label won’t print unless it’s paid for. I paid for shipping.the buyer paid for shipping.eBay collected the funds for shipping from the buyer and also deducted the funds from my payout.

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a.) Ebay handled the payment FOR YOU. 

b.) Ebay collected the payment for shipping, which is the amount YOU CHOSE to charge the buyer (even if YOU chose 'calculated' shipping vs. 'flat amount (rate) shipping'- it is still a choice that YOU made.

c.) None of this is new to ebay; ebay has operated the same way since it's inception in the mid 90s'. Sellers choose the 'price' and choose the 'shipping price' and the buyer then pays those 2 things (forget sales tax or final value fees for a moment, which is new, or newly 'removed' immediately etc.)

So, you sell an item for $500. You 'choose' to use 'calculated' shipping (which YOU input the Size & Weight of the item for the calculator to work) and that comes out to $40. 

So THE BUYER pays YOU $540. (Whether you have that money yet or not or you paid for a shipping label 'prior' to receiving your money- you will STILL BE GETTING REIMBURSED by receiving 

$540 instead of $500 (not counting 'Final Value Fees' which are deducted, but BEFORE that deduction, the amount STARTED at $540. Not $500.

[lacemaker3]

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@jesseredlands wrote:

eBay handled the payment,I didn’t receive any funds until the item was delivered,I went through eBay to print the shipping label on line. I had to pay for shipping because the label won’t print unless it’s paid for. I paid for shipping.the buyer paid for shipping.eBay collected the funds for shipping from the buyer and also deducted the funds from my payout.

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@jesseredlands 

The funds are deposited into your managed payments account as soon as they are processed (usually 5-10 minutes in my experience).

For new or occasional sellers, eBay puts a hold on the funds until the item is delivered. However, you have been paid as soon as the funds are in your managed payments account. From there, they can't be taken back unless you don't deliver the item (item not received), or the buyer wins a case against you (if the item is not as described or damaged).

You have now said that you paid for the shipping through eBay. You have the choice to pay for shipping labels from the available funds in your managed payments account (which is taken directly from your buyer's payment to you) or you can use another payment method (like PayPal), and then you receive the shipping payment in your payout.

Either way, the buyer paid you for the shipping, and you can then use the buyer's shipping payment to pay for the shipping label. In your example, you made a few dollars on the shipping label, because you paid less than the buyer was charged.

[pickermall]

Yes... the buyer paid you for shipping. With Ebay's Managed Payments, Ebay holds that money, and what you pay the USPS gets deducted from your payout.

So if I buy something from you for $20 and you charge me (buyer) $5 for shipping...

Ebay holds that $25 (minus their 13%)

You pay $5 to USPS when you print the shipping label through Ebay

You get what's left

So TECHNICALLY you're right... you are not getting that $5 in your payout. It goes from the buyer, to Ebay, to USPS when you do your shipping label. Ebay sends that $5 before you see it.

Now, if you go to the post office and have them do the postage and you take $5 out of your pocket and pay the clerk, Ebay never used that $5 they collected to forward to USPS, so you get that in your payout and it replaces the $5 you used.

I hope I have that all explained right

[soh.maryl]

The buyer paid YOU the item cost, the shipping fee and the state sales tax.

The cost of the shipping was paid to the shipping service out of the funds that the buyer paid YOU.

eBay's final value fee to the SELLER (you) is calculated as 12.9% of the total amount that the BUYER paid to YOU, the seller.

If you've not sold for awhile, maybe a review of the fee schedule would be in order at this point.  

[mr_lincoln]

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@jesseredlands wrote:

eBay handled the payment,I didn’t receive any funds until the item was delivered,I went through eBay to print the shipping label on line. I had to pay for shipping because the label won’t print unless it’s paid for. I paid for shipping.the buyer paid for shipping.eBay collected the funds for shipping from the buyer and also deducted the funds from my payout.

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@jesseredlands   With eBay's Managed Payments the amount you see for your Payout is less the eBay Fees not any amount for shipping.  The fees as some have mentioned are based on the grand total of the Item price, the Paid shipping by the Buyer and any Sales tax levied on the transaction.  The % of eBay's fees vary based on Categories ... in general its 12.9% for non store members in most categories but say in Jewelry its up to 15% ...

So at the end of the day on a $ 100 total Gross price at 12.9% you would see $ 87.10 payout (this assumes no upgrades or promotion fees, etc).  While that amount may "seem" like the shipping was taken out it was just the eBay fees.

Mr. L