eBay labels costing more than USPS

[sunsco_28]

Twice in August 2021, buyers and I agreed I would ship low price, small items USPS First Class, without insurance [thus without tracking-  any other shipping would have wiped out both our margins]. eBay twice tried to sell me labels at more than twice USPS fees, e.g. @$3.06 when USPS charged only $1.15. [So much for eBay's claim to be cheaper.]  I want to mark both in the eBay records as shipped. eBay says do it through Seller Hub, which I cannot do-- I am not an eBay Business and do not have such a tab. ... Any suggestions?

[the-tell]

From the look of the postal charges, the $3.06 is USPS First Class Package Service, and the $1.15 you were hoping for is a First Class Mail (envelopes mainly) cost.  When setting shipping info for a listing check carefully what you set.   

[kensgiftshop]

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@sunsco_28 wrote:

eBay twice tried to sell me labels at more than twice USPS fees, e.g. @$3.06 when USPS charged only $1.15. [So much for eBay's claim to be cheaper.]

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On Ebay, you can't buy a shipping label without tracking.

When you ship without tracking, you're giving up what little seller protection you have.

[itscalledapostingid]

A 1st Class Package definitely costs a lot more to mail at the USPS counter.

[mtgraves7984]

I want to mark both in the eBay records as shipped. eBay says do it through Seller Hub, which I cannot do-- I am not an eBay Business and do not have such a tab. ... Any suggestions?

@sunsco_28 

Seller Hub isn't a tab... but it has  various tabs. Those of us who use Seller Hub would go to our Orders tab, find the particular Order and using the drop-down menu to the left, we'd 'Mark as shipped'.

Hopefully a poster will come along that uses your setup... I sure don't know what it is, sorry. Good luck.

[sunsco_28]

Thanks for responding. I proofread my posted listings and both had been listed as USPS First Class envelopes. When buyers paid that, eBay tried to sell me the more expensive labels. 

[sunsco_28]

Thanks for responding.  When an item can only be listed competitively at, say, $2.12, it seems to me that it would kill any deal-- it certainly kills any profit-- to require the shipping be with tracking at, say, $7.35. My wife says I should just toss the low-price items in the trash and forget eBay. It looks like she is right. 

[sunsco_28]

Thanks for responding.  However, these items were listed as First Class envelopes, not packages. The first one cost 75 cents postage; and the second was $1.15 postage. eBay wanted nearly three times as much for labels. 

[sunsco_28]

Thanks for responding.  I do not have an Orders tab.  The solution here seems to be either to revise these low listings to require buyers to pay for tracking, e.g. $7.35 for a $2.12 item-- and I will be surprised if any buyer pays that, or simply to delist these low-priced items and toss them in the trash.

[nobody*s_perfect · Accepted solution]

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@sunsco_28 wrote:

Thanks for responding.  However, these items were listed as First Class envelopes, not packages. The first one cost 75 cents postage; and the second was $1.15 postage. eBay wanted nearly three times as much for labels. 

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eBay does not sell labels for First Class letters or flats.  You can offer those services in your listing but you cannot purchase postage for them through eBay.

eBay only offers postage for packages, so that's what they offered you when you tried to purchase postage through eBay. They were not charging three times as much for the same service.

If you want to mail an item as a letter or flat, just put some stamps on it or take it to the  Post Office.

[sunsco_28]

Thanks again for responding. You have explained what eBay did NOT-- i.e. that it was possible to list the cost of a USPS First Class envelope in the item listing but that eBay, without saying anything to the seller, would not sell a label for that amount.  Like you say, Nobody's Perfect !

[sunsco_28]

Thanks again to all Community members for your comments. Follow-up on the mysterious Seller Hub business -- i.e. how to record a non-tracking shipment as shipped if you are not an eBay Business and do not have an "Orders" tab anywhere [I do not].  Finally, I figured this out by trial and error.  First, select the "Selling Overview" on the left column. Scroll down in the center of the page to the item you had shipped without tracking-- it will still have a blank "Shipped" box. On the right column for that entry is a dropdown arrow or box. Click on that. Among the selections is "Mark as Shipped." Select that. Voila. The "Sold" entries now will show that item as shipped. 

[north40sales]

it does pay to shop the shipping options.   Sometimes paying for postage on PayPal is cheaper than the shipstation that eBay uses.   Same with UPS.  Compare the price with shipping options and chose the best one for your package. 

[bettimoor-0]

I thought all EBay sellers had Seller Hub, regardless of their status.

[bettimoor-0]

Sometimes it's worth it. I inform my buyer that I am shipping 1st Class to save them money and if they could kindly let me know when their item arrives I would appreciate it.

I have been lucky so far I guess, haven't had any issues with it.