Why is the eBay shipping calculator so inaccurate?

[csan2c]

I just lost a sale after an auction ended because the winning bidder wanted to pay the ridiculously low shipping amount given instead of the actual shipping amount (I had to look up) which was 3 times higher. I've noticed in the past, I always had to pay more for shipping than what eBay indicated/a winning bidder paid. 

Also, I've noticed the shipping defaults seem to favor USPS, seemingly reverting to USPS any time I navigate around a new listing I'm preparing even after I deliberately chose fedex ground. 

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@tctoyman wrote: .... I have sold literally more than 100 of the same large item. I have used the same u-line box for all 100 and the same weight and dimensions for all 100. Only the last 8 or so that have sold since the USPS Dimensional Weight Charge went into effect have been wrong. Not one of the earlier ones was ever wrong. It has something to do with the Dimensional Weight ....

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Which item is it? Are you sure that you (or the eBay gremlins) haven't changed the shipping service from Parcel Select Ground to Retail Ground? That would cause an undercharge, because Retail Ground isn't subject to the "dimensional weight" surcharge.

[7606dennis]

I've found eBay's shipping calculator to be quite accurate when the correct data is fed into it during set up.  However, if the seller doesn't enter accurate information when listing, the calculator is not likely to be accurate.

[compyguy85]

I've noticed that sometimes for packages between 1-6 pounds that the priority calculator tends to be a little expensive. I switch to Pirateship and enter the same info and it's 30% less, but other than that, no, not at all. 90% of the time the Ebay calculator gives me the cheapest prices available. 

[tctoyman]

I have USPS Parcel Select Ground selected. I do NOT HAVE Retail Ground Selected.

[tctoyman]

All the data is correct. The problem is on ebay’s end. I have spent over 20 hrs on hold with support and no one can figure it out.

[nobody*s_perfect]

Which listing is it?

[tctoyman]

Item number 352798052761 has been set as “Large Package” and the irregular package box has been checked. Parcel Select Ground was selected as the shipping. Retail Ground was not a shipping service option set up by and was not offered as a shipping option by me. The item was going from 37043 to 65275 so it a real close state to me. If it had been a West Coast  ship to zip, the amount I lost would be even greater. Sometimes it’s more than $10 lost. The buyer paid $31.53 for Shipping and it says the service they paid for is USPS Parcel Select Ground. When I click on “print shipping label” from “my eBay” it says USPS Parcel Select Ground is $36.99. That is $5.46 in money that I’m losing. I haven’t done anything to make this amount wrong. THE PROBLEM IS ON EBAY’S END AND THEY CONTINUE TO FO NOTHING TO CORRECT THIS!! Probably because it is extra $ for them. I’ll bet if the buyer was overpaying and I was the one making extra $, they would find it fast and get it corrected. I have over 1000 auctions running and this was NEVER A PROBLEM up until the day the USPS instituted the DIMENSIONAL RATE CHARGE about 6-8 months ago. Now, I call in to support every week!!!! I even have the weight set at 15 lbs when the actual weight is 9 lbs and still the buyer isn’t being undercharged. On “my eBay” shipping page, I can change the weight from 7 up to 34 lbs before the price increases from the $36.99. 

[tctoyman]

It’s not just one item, it’s any item I sell that may be big enough for dimensional weight to apply. When you sell a lot of big automotive parts, it’s a large part of my auctions. I have had almost 20 sold auctions this month that it hasn’t happened to and it was almost 30 items last month. I was on the phone with tech support about the problem on one last week, and had actually been passed onto a supervisor by that point because I was frustrated because a lot of the tech people spend the first parts of the call trying to figure out what you did wrong, when you know you didn’t do anything wrong. While I was on the phone with the supervisor, a second similar item sold and was wrong with all the exact same amounts as the one I was calling in about. He tried for almost an hour to get to the bottom of it. He even followed up a few days later and couldn’t ever figure out the glitch. He was the only person at eBay to ever follow up with me. His name was Keane and he was great. He honestly seemed like the only person who wanted to help figure it out.  

[thomasandtheraggedtiger]

I was having trouble with items selling with a low shipping charge to buyers as well.  I started charging for shipping again this year on heavier items. I had a few things sell where the buyer paid a very low amount but the shipping cost more than the item price and shipping charged. I found the error. I am in Wisconsin working for a year and my "shipping from" address was still coming up California. My listings had the right state, but it would not change in site preferences no matter how many times I changed it. Customer service worked on it for a while until it switched. I thought it might be something you could check to see if that is what has your calculator out of whack.

[fern*wood]

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@tctoyman wrote:

Item number 352798052761 has been set as “Large Package” and the irregular package box has been checked. Parcel Select Ground was selected as the shipping. Retail Ground was not a shipping service option set up by and was not offered as a shipping option by me. The item was going from 37043 to 65275 so it a real close state to me. If it had been a West Coast  ship to zip, the amount I lost would be even greater. Sometimes it’s more than $10 lost. The buyer paid $31.53 for Shipping and it says the service they paid for is USPS Parcel Select Ground. When I click on “print shipping label” from “my eBay” it says USPS Parcel Select Ground is $36.99. That is $5.46 in money that I’m losing. I haven’t done anything to make this amount wrong. THE PROBLEM IS ON EBAY’S END AND THEY CONTINUE TO FO NOTHING TO CORRECT THIS!! Probably because it is extra $ for them. I’ll bet if the buyer was overpaying and I was the one making extra $, they would find it fast and get it corrected. I have over 1000 auctions running and this was NEVER A PROBLEM up until the day the USPS instituted the DIMENSIONAL RATE CHARGE about 6-8 months ago. Now, I call in to support every week!!!! I even have the weight set at 15 lbs when the actual weight is 9 lbs and still the buyer isn’t being undercharged. On “my eBay” shipping page, I can change the weight from 7 up to 34 lbs before the price increases from the $36.99. 

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What box dimensions were entered in your example?

[tctoyman]

55 x 10 x 10

[tctoyman]

I already checked that. My ship from address is the same as my personal address. It’s the only address I have on file with eBay. I can assure you this problem is an eBay problem. This never started happening until the USPS instituted the Dimensional Rate Charge. These same items sold a hundred times before with all the same specifics and the shipping was always correct. It has only started being wrong over the last 6-8 months which is the same time frame that the Dimensional Rate Charge started. The two are related!

[Anonymous]

Uncheck the 'Irregular package size' for exact dimensions such as your stated "55 x 10 x 10"... the cost estimate will show the drop. I always round up, as opposed to 55.1 x 9.8 x 10.3 with that box checked. It saves me tons in shipping costs to use rounded measurements and was what USPS service clerks told me to do at my local post office.

[Anonymous]

I'm fairly certain, after feeding some figures into the shipping calculator to double check my information to you, that Irregular package size is code for "knocking your wallet naked." The cost differences are shocking. 🙂

[mtgraves7984]

I've not had problems of inaccuracy with eBay's calculator. I do, however, shimmy over to the USPS site when I'm shipping oversize/overweight items and verify with them what the 'non-discounted' price would be. That's always confirmed that I'm safe... but if I was to see a big difference, I'd manipulate my eBay calculator sizes before listing to cover the actual USPS charge. You know, the old 'measure twice, cut once' school of thought.