international shipping COST to europe/asia, through ebay's hub in glendale, IL SUDDENLY SLASHED!??

[smilelp]

so the last 2 or 3 packages i've sent to asia or europe, standard ebay sales, nothing special, are going first to ebay's (international?) shipping hub at:  110 INTERNATIONALE BLVD, GLENDALE HTS, IL

what's odd is that packages that should cost $100 to ship to far away places, ***are coming in at the rate to ship to GLENDALE HTS, IL!***

is this a mistake on ebay's part?  on my shipping software's part?  is this a new "lower the cost" initiative on the part of ebay??

it doesn't seem to make sense that very expensive packages are now being priced as if they were domestic packages going to glendale hts, IL

anyone else encountering this?  thoughts??  thx!

[dbfolks166mt]

     That is because you are only seeing the shipping cost to the EIS hub in Illinois and/or California. EIS bills the buyer for the international leg of the shipping. It's similar to how domestic freight forwarders work. 

[12345jamesstamps]

Will International Buyers get mad being additional billed from shipping hub? Is it in the purchase price before being shipped?

[steady2304]

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@12345jamesstamps wrote:

Will International Buyers get mad being additional billed from shipping hub? Is it in the purchase price before being shipped?

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@12345jamesstamps 

When the international buyer views the listing, they are shown the total cost it takes to ship the item to their country.

eBay adds a sellers domestic shipping cost, to the hub in Illinois, to whatever the international cost is to the buyer's country and shows the buyer that total. 

[12345jamesstamps]

Would it be cheaper to mail it direct? Not using a hub?

[smilelp]

OP here...

so this is something new?  it only started last week or so.

this doesn't seem to make sense because sellers have always stated shipping cost, including for international, and buyers simply paid it.  this would be a sea-change, if they are now breaking it up and charging the buyer who lives overseas the lion's share.  how will any seller know how much to charge?  i used to charge $100 (for example) for international shipping for a large item, but now i only get charged $20 to ship to IL?  and the buyer pays some unknown amount that i'm completely unaware of??

update: today, a buyer in italy bought an item for $500.  i had put $90 for shipping, which is what it would (normally) cost.  i was charged $20 to ship it—to IL, and i see the "buyer paid" $30 "for shipping."   i'm confused!

am i supposed to only list $20 international shipping on my items from now on, because that's all *i'm* going to be charged?  and leave the rest to ebay and the customer to figure out??   (btw, i have tons of older listings that have pricey international shipping still specified)

or are we supposed to keep listing shipping at $100, if that's what it costs, and i'll be charged $20 to ship to IL, and the customer will pay the rest of the $80 i've charged?  or does ebay change the shipping amount for the buyer?

thx!

[reallynicestamps]

Probably not.

The buyer is paying your domestic shipping cost, plus his own import fees which he would be paying on arrival anyway, plus the eIS cost for international shipping.

The import fees can make the cost appear higher.

The eIS cost is based on bulk shipping of hundreds of parcels on a manifest, pre-cleared, at whatever discounted rate eIS has negotiated with whichever of dozens of shippers they choose to use for that particular pallet of packages.

If you ship directly, those import fees will be paid by the buyer on delivery.

[12345jamesstamps]

But steady2304 mentions buyer would see total cost before buying...

A new feature...will sellers get additional billed if they didn't pay enough for shipping?

Since it began on May 15th...could be interesting to see if sellers get additional shipping charges.

Or if the shipping hub gets too many packages and can't deliver them in a timely manner.

I opt-out early of course.

[1786davycrockett]

@12345jamesstamps 

"Would it be cheaper to mail it direct? Not using a hub?"

While it may be cheaper (for the buyer) if the seller were to mail it directly to the buyer, the seller would not be guaranteed the shipping safety provided by EIS:  too many eBay sellers (myself included) were being bamboozled by unscrupulous overseas buyers, who were constantly filing INR claims, knowing that the tracking method would be inconsistent, or even nonexistent -- and many of us simply chose to no longer participate in international shipping.

But EIS has changed that -- and perhaps that was one of the reasons that eBay designed EIS -- to get many eBay sellers back into international sales.

Under EIS, the seller need only have EIS confirm the delivery at the EIS hub -- and EIS is responsible for all the other paperwork, shipping methods, and INR claims.

Since EIS has begun, all of my international sales have been pain-free -- only 2 INR, and eBay took care of those without my knowledge, simply notifying me after the fact that my funds were not effected in any way.

No probs on my end.

[smilelp]

OP again

ok, so this new system began on may 15.  that answers that question, thx

i'm still confused about what to charge for shipping for int'l orders.  the $100 i might typically charge, or $20?  i don't want to get burned, but i don't want the customer overcharged either!

does ebay have a page w/info on this?  why didn't they make a bigger deal out of it and alert us to the change?  it's a huge change!

thx all

[12345jamesstamps]

Haven't had anything lost going on year 2 on International Shipping.

It not being cheaper...that's a bummer.

I think more on quick shipping...where packages don't pile up and get delayed.

There is a lot of protection using it...I suppose...but delays won't make me more "repeat buyers".

[steady2304]

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@smilelp wrote:

OP again

ok, so this new system began on may 15.  that answers that question, thx

i'm still confused about what to charge for shipping for int'l orders.  the $100 i might typically charge, or $20?  i don't want to get burned, but i don't want the customer overcharged either!

does ebay have a page w/info on this?  why didn't they make a bigger deal out of it and alert us to the change?  it's a huge change!

thx all

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@smilelp 

I looked at a few of your listings and you show both shipping directly by international standard to international buyers and also shipping though eBay International shipping. These are 2 completely different services.

If your buyer chooses the direct international standard shipping you need to have a dimensions and weight in the listing and the cost for that service and you fill out the customs forms yourself and the buyer pays you for the shipping and you ship direct to them.

With Ebay International shipping (EIS) your buyer pays you for your domestic shipping charge to the Consolidation hub in IL. Once it arrives there eBay checks it, applies the customs paperwork and ships to your buyer. Your buyer pays eBay that amount.

This is not something that just started on May 15 it has been in effect for a couple of years.

[steady2304]

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@12345jamesstamps wrote:

Would it be cheaper to mail it direct? Not using a hub?

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@12345jamesstamps 

It would really depend on the cost of the item and the risk you are willing to take if it doesn't arrive.

[wastingtime101]

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@steady2304 wrote:

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@smilelp wrote:

ok, so this new system began on may 15.  that answers that question, thx

i'm still confused about what to charge for shipping for int'l orders.  the $100 i might typically charge, or $20?  i don't want to get burned, but i don't want the customer overcharged either!

does ebay have a page w/info on this?  why didn't they make a bigger deal out of it and alert us to the change?  it's a huge change!

---

@smilelp 

I looked at a few of your listings and you show both shipping directly by international standard to international buyers and also shipping though eBay International shipping. These are 2 completely different services.

If your buyer chooses the direct international standard shipping you need to have a dimensions and weight in the listing and the cost for that service and you fill out the customs forms yourself and the buyer pays you for the shipping and you ship direct to them.

With Ebay International shipping (EIS) your buyer pays you for your domestic shipping charge to the Consolidation hub in IL. Once it arrives there eBay checks it, applies the customs paperwork and ships to your buyer. Your buyer pays eBay that amount.

This is not something that just started on May 15 it has been in effect for a couple of years.

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This ^^^^ is all accurate @smilelp .

If you have never shipped using eBay International Shipping (eIS) then either you recently opted in, perhaps inadvertently, or you offered eIS this whole time but your buyers never chose that service before now.

eBay International Standard Delivery (EISD) is a different shipping service and sounds like that's what you've been using this entire time.

The bottom line is you do not have to do anything different. Listings need accurate weight/dimensions for calculated shipping.

When you ship using EISD, it's a form of direct shipping per eBay policies even though there is a middleman involved. You will see higher ship costs.

When you ship using eIS it's basically equivalent to a domestic shipment where you see a rate to the domestic hub, ship there, then you're done. eBay takes over if the buyer files a non-receipt claim or a return request as long as you have confirmed delivery to the hub and eIS took ownership. Lots of seller protections come with this service.

Nothing involving international shipping eIS or EISD changed on May 15.

Learn more about EISD, the service you've been using for (semi-)direct shipping here:

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/shipping-items/setting-shipping-options/ebay-international-standar...

Learn more about eIS here:

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/shipping-items/setting-shipping-options/ebay-international-shippin...

[12345jamesstamps]

Agreed...some sellers need it to what they are shipping...LOL.

For me...going on year 2 nothing lost or damaged...good old USPS works for me.