combining shipping on buy it now items from same seller

[phrenesia]

A buyer wants to buy 3 of my separate listings, all listed as 'Buy it Now''.   She put each one in her cart but said she wasn't given the option to 'request combined shipping total', instead it said she couldn't combine shipping on Buy it Now items.   Is there something special I, as the seller, or she, as the buyer, need to do on Buy it Now listings?  Or can't one combine shipping on that type of listing?

[wastingtime101]

Go to your Shipping Preferences page under Account Settings: https://www.ebay.com/ship/prf

On that page you'll see options to allow combined payments and shipping. Make sure you have things set up to allow combined payments.

Note: the number of days you set to allow combined payments directly relates to the number of days before you can cancel orders for non-payment. If you want to be able to cancel orders after 4 days when buyers don't pay, set your combined payments timeline to 3 days.

You'll also find the ability to set up combined shipping rules (ex: combine based on weight). Using a combined rule means shipping will auto-combine in the shopping cart with no need to send a revised invoice to the buyer. If you set up a combined shipping rule you have to revise the listings where you want that rule activated.

[ittybitnot]

@phrenesia 

Your listings do require a buyer to put up a payment source in order to make an offer, or bid on your listings. While the settings you retain are certainly the "combined shipping killers" per se, they should not affect "Buy it Now" listings in general. These do not apply to Buy it Now listings. 

You can check your settings here: 

https://www.ebay.com/bmgt/buyerrequirements

Buyer Rules:

*Require buyers to provide a payment method before they place a bid.

*Require buyers to provide a payment method before they make an offer.

For BIN listings, there are some things that will disallow combined shipping.  First, if the buyer is using the app, they have no "request total" feature in the cart.  eBay has been "working on it" for over three years and it is still not available in the app. 

If at least ONE of your BIN listings are "immediate payment required" or at least ONE of your listings are on sale, or they are of different shipping classes,  or you haven't selected to allow your buyers to request a total (there are more but I forget) they buyer will find even if there is a "request total" button in the cart or in their purchase history, using it will throw an error message and it won't work.   You won't be able to send an invoice because you are not allowed to know what is in their cart.  They will have to commit to buy and then request the total if all the BIN items are just plain old BINS with none of the circumstances outlined above. 

If you SEND offers on your BIN listings, and the buyer happens to get more than one from you, they will be treated as "Immediate Payment Required" fixed price (BIN) listings.  You will not be able to invoice, and the buyer must pay for each of them at full price for shipping.  They cannot be combined with regular BIN listings that they may have in their cart. 

I am sure there are other things that mess up combined shipping, eBay seemingly prefers that it doesn't happen, as they make more money. 

[wastingtime101]

---

@ittybitnot wrote:

 (there are more but I forget) they buyer will find even if there is a "request total" button in the cart or in their purchase history, using it will throw an error message and it won't work.

---

Here's the list of barriers to requesting a total in the cart:

[phrenesia]

Is 'require buyers to set up payment method prior to bidding' an automatic eBay default choice ?  I never selected that. Should I uncheck that box - it says 'may result in more unpaid items'? I've not had any problems with buyers and payments prior to this combined shipping mess.

[phrenesia]

Where do I find if I have 'immediate payment' required as I never selected that either.  As far as I know the only time immediate payment has been required has been on buy it now items.

[ittybitnot · Accepted solution]

Where do I find if I have 'immediate payment' required 

As far as I know the only time immediate payment has been required has been on buy it now items.

@phrenesia 

Generally, IPR is a choice you can  use when making your BIN listing.  In the last seller update, eBay stated that all SELLER GENERATED OFFERS would be "immediate payment required".  You cannot opt yourself out of your offers sent being IPR, and it is not effected by your BUYER RULES.  Turning them off will not help this situation, as this is eBay's call. 

Is 'require buyers to set up payment method prior to bidding' an automatic eBay default choice ?  I never selected that. Should I uncheck that box - it says 'may result in more unpaid items'?

Nobody selected them.  eBay gave them to everyone without telling them with the default set to YES.  Though it was supposedly created as a response to non-paying buyers. it has been real effective in discouraging buyers that DO pay instead.  Those settings did not start working until eBay stated to enroll the BUYER IDs into forced compliance. While eBay said they completed enrolling all buyer IDs for "making offers", they are still rolling out the forced compliance component for buyer IDs and auctions. 

It limits the payment options a buyer has.  They cannot use Google Pay, Apple Pay, Spendable Funds, PayPal balance, PayPal Pay in 4, PayPal Credit, reward points, some coupons and gift cards.  More importantly the buyer that complies will not be able to combine items for one shipping price.  If  a buyer wins ten of your auctions, or you accept ten of their offers, the payment source will be charged ten times, each with a full shipping price.  You will not be able to send an invoice, since the  items are already paid for.  For a buyer, it is like going through the grocery store and having a separate charge on their c.card for each item they bought. 

You will be able to refund a bit on each of the ten transactions to refund the buyer for excess shipping. You are not required to do this, however, and buyers feel if you don't trust them to pay, they certainly are not going to trust you to refund a small amount on each of those ten transactions. 

For a seller, they are billed the non-refundable 40 cent fee 10 times ($4.00) instead of combining for one transaction combined for 40 cents. 

It is up to you if you want to leave those "Buyer Rules" in place.  If you DO NOT want to encourage your buyers to purchase more than one item from you via an auction or by them making an offer this is for you. 

If you already know the procedure on what to do if a buyer doesn't pay, and can select the 2 in 12 block on the same Buyer Requirements page, you may just see your offers increasing and thus your sales if you change them to NO. It may take a while,   because buyers already  burned by this tend not to come back.   
I do know non-paying buyers are not going to descend your listings in droves if you turn those BUYER RULES to NO.  

[phrenesia]

Thanks so much for the info - it was really helpful.. My understanding from another reply is that if a buyer is using the eBay app, combined shipping is NOT available, and I think that's what she's using.  Looks like I'll have to send her a discounted offer on each item (to offset extra shipping charges) and ship separately - bummer.  Again, thanks for taking the time to explain so well.

[slyders_finds]

Wouldn't it be easier to end your listings and make a new listing with all three items and decide what shipping you need to charge to make them happy? And just copy/paste description. That's what I do. 

[ittybitnot]

Looks like I'll have to send her a discounted offer on each item 

@phrenesia 

No, SELLER GENERATED offers are all going to be "Immediate payment required".  Encourage your buyer NOT to use the app,  instead sign in to eBay.com on a browser or use a PC, and see if that works. 

[wastingtime101]

---

@phrenesia wrote:

Thanks so much for the info - it was really helpful.. My understanding from another reply is that if a buyer is using the eBay app, combined shipping is NOT available, and I think that's what she's using.  Looks like I'll have to send her a discounted offer on each item (to offset extra shipping charges) and ship separately - bummer.  Again, thanks for taking the time to explain so well.

---

If you follow my instructions in my first response above, that will not be necessary. Just change your preferences to allow combined payments, then set up a combined calculated shipping rule by weight, then apply it to your listings. Shipping will auto-combine based on weight in the buyer's cart.

[phrenesia]

Thanks - this shipping business seems complicated to me.  If a buyer purchases 4 items, each with a listed weight which includes the packing material and box, how can eBay get a correct shipping price when the weight will change based one one box instead of 4?  Do I have to change the weight when I invoice, or does eBay automatically bill the buyer even if the weight and shipping cost isn't correct?

[wastingtime101]

Let's say I have an item that's 8 oz packed. On the listing I enter 8 oz. Then I have another item that's 4 oz packed. On the listing I enter 4 oz.

With combined shipping rules based on weight, when a buyer adds both of those items to their shopping cart, eBay will add up the weight and charge the buyer based on the combined weight of 12 oz.

Edit to add: You can apply that rule on a per-listing basis. So if you have an item that can't be combined in the same box with another - don't apply the combined shipping rule to that listing.

eBay's system combines weight, but does not factor in larger box sizes. So only apply the rule to items where you know you can ship together in a box under a cubic foot. All other items don't apply the rule and instead combine manually (if possible) as you're currently doing.

Does that help?