ebay charged me more for shipping than buyer paid

[802*carol]

This is the second time this has happened to one of my ebay sales:

A buyer paid for their item but the shipping label lists the shipping cost more than what the buyer paid. I listed the item as calculated shipping(not estimated) and had the correct weight and size and shape etc. Called ebay and they said that usps has raised it's prices. And yes they have, but usps online calculator is exactly the same price of what the buyer paid. Ebay charged more than usps cost. 

Is ebay making money over the calculated shipping cost?

[couldabeenworse]

It's always possible there's a glitch the first few days after a price change, but the most common explanation is that you input a different weight, dimension or ZIP in your listing.  If you provide those to the board, plus the exact prices charged and paid, someone here can help you figure out where the problem lies.

[green-night]

I'll bet you five bucks this is the problem.   :

You have package type set to "letter" rather than "package". 

I can tell by your recently ended listing that something is clearly wrong, along with the one listing you currently have that you are charging shipping (BTW you might want to fix that listing and delete the 'free shipping' stated at the end).  

[labs118]

If it was the bras something is not correct I see $1.84 USPS first class
USPS package had no rate as low as  $1.84 before the price increase.
Also your title says free shipping ?
You may just hit sell similar on that listing & look at what was input in the shipping area
Then just back out of the listing & delete the draft.
did you pick large envelope instead of package or thick envelope

I printed today & my labels all appeared to be fine.

and EDIT off to the slow typing corner for me green beat me to the post 

[missjen831]

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@802*carol wrote:

This is the second time this has happened to one of my ebay sales:

A buyer paid for their item but the shipping label lists the shipping cost more than what the buyer paid. I listed the item as calculated shipping(not estimated) and had the correct weight and size and shape etc. Called ebay and they said that usps has raised it's prices. And yes they have, but usps online calculator is exactly the same price of what the buyer paid. Ebay charged more than usps cost. 

Is ebay making money over the calculated shipping cost?

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No. The seller (you) is making a mistake when setting up shipping. You chose the wrong package type when you created the listing--you chose first class letter. Wrong package type. The USPS calculator is 99.9% accurate. Its almost always a seller mistake that causes the buyer to be undercharged for postage.

[802*carol]

Close, but you're right in theory, thank you! I chose Envelope instead of Package-Large envelope.

So sellers make sure when you sell a bulky item that fits into an envelope you choose Package-large Envelope. Not just Envelope. Ebay cannot calculate correct shipping for Envelopes that are thicker than the actual envelope about 1/4" especially if it's padded.

So if you listed a bulky item shipping first class and you chose Envelope instead of Package-Envelope ebay shipping label will charge you more as if it were a box, but the buyer will have paid for just a flat envelope.  I talked to the ebay manager, on the phone- very nice guy, very helpful and smart. He said they are considering changing this quirk, but for now, we sellers need to be careful how we choose the packaging options since they are not described perfectly.

Hope this helps.

[802*carol]

yes thank you. I understand what happened.

[802*carol]

yup, thanks, I messed up.

[fern*wood]

I never viewed it as a quirk since many sellers do ship via letter rate and wish to charge that price.  They can't print labels on line, but still wish to collect the money.

[hallowlee]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!  I've been experiencing the same issue and realized I had "letter" instead of "package" selected on MANY of my listings.  I am hoping this change solves these ongoing issues I too have been dealing with where the international buyer is charged way less in shipping than I have to pay, in regards to the postage labels. Cheers, Lorilee