shipping calculator is off

[a-lotta-stuff]

Had to do combined shipping to Germany. Used the ebay's new and unimproved shipping calculator. Large envelope, one pound, our zip, Germany. Came up as $12.60. Sent invoice, buyer pays ... shipping label says $22.33. Called ebay , got Alabama, he sees same results as me  - on hold right now ... (Twenty minutes later) Only thing 'they' can come up with is to cancel both sales and let the guy re-buy. "Only' problem with this is both items had second bidder - a guy who won four of these himself - who could/would/most likely will bid.  And we used up our fifty.

I'm just gonna contact the guy and explain the siduation - ebay got a new shipping calculator that gave us the wrong price. - said $12.60, really $23.50, or $10.90 more. Please send another $10.90 or we will have to cancel both sales. Will have the price of the shipping printed on label for you to see. If we wanted to overcharge you for shipping we would have done it in the invoice, or just not contact you when you bid on the second item to tell you to wait for invoice and just let you pay. Sorry, ebay's fault. 

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@a-lotta-stuff wrote:

Had to do combined shipping to Germany. Used the ebay's new and unimproved shipping calculator. Large envelope, one pound, our zip, Germany. Came up as $12.60. Sent invoice, buyer pays ... shipping label says $22.33. ...

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Both of those prices are correct.  

$12.60 is the correct retail price for a 1-pound Large envelope, and $22.33 is the correct online postage price for a 1-pound package.

If you are going to ship a package, then you should set up the shipping calculator to show package prices, not Large envelope prices.

http://www.ebay.com/shp/Calculator

[mega-ma-roo]

http://blog.stamps.com/2017/12/26/important-usps-making-changes-first-class-mail-international-flats...

If you ship merchandise abroad using USPS First Class Mail International Flats, there’s a new rule going into effect soon that you need to know about. Effective Sunday, January 21, 2018, First Class Mail International Large Envelope/Flat service for merchandise will NO LONGER be available from the USPS. First Class Mail International Flats will only be approved for use when sending documents. This change is occurring to comply with Universal Postal Union requirements.

[pjcdn2005]

As already mentioned, the information you entered when figuring out combined service was for a different service than what you are actually using.   When I look at your recently sold listings the least expensive shipping cost for 1 item to Germany is $14 so you chose the correct service in the listings but not when you combined shipping.    It was your mistake, the calculator isn’t at fault but you are definitely not the first person to make that mistake.  But since it was your error, you should be careful on how you handle it.

[pjcdn2005]

I’m curious, did they pay for both items at one time? If you have combined calculated shipping set up so that the calculator added the weights together, there would have been no reason to send an invoice and the price should have already been correct.

[a-lotta-stuff]

To nobody*s_perfect

This is a large envelope - a 10x13 plain old brown clasp envelope. And the service is called first class .... package/thick envelope.

To pjcdn2005

We had the combined calculated shipping set up at one time but we wound up with items that couldn't be shipped together at the combined weight combined. - a just under two pound book by media and an 8 oz. mug that we could ship first class. Combined weighed four pounds. We probably had it set up wrong as we really didn't understand what we were doing.

In this case the combined weight would have still been off as we just started to enter the 'true' weight - in this case eight ounces vs one pound - for media as it's the same cost for 'us' but not 'them' - AKA international buyers - and the eight ounce price cut off point. Have been editing unsold and true weighting new listing but these were done by different people and one forgot so a few got by us. So this guy bought a pound and an 8 oz one - combined two pounds, really one.

Sent the guy basically the message in first post, haven't heard back yet. 

But as we paid what works out to 15 cents per magazine and he paid $30 for his two, when the boss hears about this he will most likely say 'our mistake - tell him don't worry and ship them' 

And THANK YOU dad and all the other VETS

[missjen831]

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@a-lotta-stuff wrote:

To nobody*s_perfect

This is a large envelope - a 10x13 plain old brown clasp envelope. And the service is called first class .... package/thick envelope.

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Thats all fine and dandy but your buyer was charged for a first class large envelope because thats what was in the shipping calculator. Thats different than a first class package/thick envelope. Thats why they were undercharged.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@a-lotta-stuff wrote:

To nobody*s_perfect

This is a large envelope - a 10x13 plain old brown clasp envelope. And the service is called first class .... package/thick envelope.

 ...

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As I noted in my original post, if you are mailing a package then that's what you should choose when setting up the shipping calcluator; not "Large envelope".

USPS has specific definitions for flats (AKA Large envelope) and packages; with dimensions of 10 x 13, your envelope could be in either of those two categories, depending on other factors like thickness and rigidity.  You just need to figure out which one it actually is, and then pick one or the other rather than use mix-and-match by choosing Large envelope in the shipping calculator and then shipping it as a package.

[muttlymob]

Sent the guy basically the message in first post, haven't heard back yet. 

But as we paid what works out to 15 cents per magazine and he paid $30 for his two, when the boss hears about this he will most likely say 'our mistake - tell him don't worry and ship them' 

The boss is right.

It was your mistake for listing the wrong mailpiece type in the listing calculator.  Then your mistake for messaging the buyer expecting him to pay a higher S&H.  You cannot ask a buyer to pay more than what was shown in the listing.

USPS has 3 classifications of mailpiece in First Class:  Letter, Large Envelope (flat) and Parcel.  There are physical characteristics differentiating the three types.  You need to determine if your envelope meets the standards for a Flat or for a Parcel.  Either way, you owe the buyer what he bought at the S&H amount showing in the listing.

[pjcdn2005]

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@muttlymob wrote:

Sent the guy basically the message in first post, haven't heard back yet. 

But as we paid what works out to 15 cents per magazine and he paid $30 for his two, when the boss hears about this he will most likely say 'our mistake - tell him don't worry and ship them' 

The boss is right.

It was your mistake for listing the wrong mailpiece type in the listing calculator.  Then your mistake for messaging the buyer expecting him to pay a higher S&H.  You cannot ask a buyer to pay more than what was shown in the listing.

USPS has 3 classifications of mailpiece in First Class:  Letter, Large Envelope (flat) and Parcel.  There are physical characteristics differentiating the three types.  You need to determine if your envelope meets the standards for a Flat or for a Parcel.  Either way, you owe the buyer what he bought at the S&H amount showing in the listing.

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As mentioned in post 3, isn’t it more than just a physical restriction when using a large envelope flat for international?  It’s my understanding that it can only be used for documents, not merchandise.

[nobody*s_perfect]

That's true about the new international restrictions: "Letters and flats may contain only documents, no goods. " But  the OP  still has to understand the difference between a package and a flat, so they can set up their listings correctly.

[a-lotta-stuff]

The boss here.

Buyer has been contacted and told to disregard message, mag's have been sent and all listings will be edited to true weight(s) and correct services. I was wondering why oversea sales had dropped 70% - we've been charging 9oz-2lb rates for under 8oz items.  Let's just say things have gotten a little loose here and not just with ebay stuff and that's gonna change.