shipping fedex using ebay

[from_me_2_you]

I have a 16x16x8 box, going to a residence, weight 7 pounds and using using fedex AND it is MUCH cheaper than either USPS or UPS.

Now for the rub......are there any hidden costs that will arise when it gets to the buyer, that will be charged for after the fact? Seems I got hit with about a $4.00 more fee than the actual ebay cost collected for the shipment. I can and will drop off the box as it is only a mile from my house.

And yes I know about pirate ship as an alternative.

[auctiondibs]

It seems to be "Shipper Beware" these days when using FedEx. I was just charged with a cost adjustment for an April 5th FedEx shipment. That was my one and only FedEx shipment during March and April. I have removed FedEx as a shipping option on all of my listings.

Here is the most recent thread about this FedEx fiasco.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Shipping/What-s-wrong-with-Fedex-Cost-adjustment/td-p/34373093

[simba6]

" using fedex AND it is MUCH cheaper than either USPS or UPS. "

Fedex is the worst for billing after the fact.   I would suspect the quoted rate is not correct.  In most cases USPS costs less for smaller lighter packages than UPS or Fedex.

[az93]

Pirateship doesn't ship anything, they just print labels for usps and ups. They don't even offer fedex. Many scary reports of fedex surcharges. I would never use them.

[davidstarcher]

eBay shipping calculator is pumping out inaccurate labels (sometimes but not always) and when these get flagged by FedEx they respond by charging a higher price and tacking on surcharges which may more then double the final cost of the label; eBay then automatically deducts the difference from your account. If contacted eBay will usually reimburse you for the costs but they are simultaneously blame shifting and denying responsibility by filing claims with FedEx and faulting the seller for actually entering the correct weight and dimensions instead of manually adjusting for FedEx specific billable weight and entering that in when creating a label. eBay customer service rep told me and I've read from other that they were told the same that the shipping label creator doesn't account for surcharges including billable weight; this is of course blatantly false as it is supposed to and when it doesn't it's eBay's fault and responsibility to deal with the damages caused by their faulty tool. At this point I've been reimbursed for all but one of these faulty labels resulting in added surcharges but I don't think they have fixed the underlying problems and will probably be hit with more.

[steady2304]

I would not trust any shipping quote that eBay's shipping calculator spits out for FedEx. There have been to many complaints the last few months of sellers being back charged for extra shipping charges using FedEx labels from eBay. I would run as fast as I could the other way and use USPS Ground Advantage.

[fm2000]

You can get socked with various surcharges after the fact that were not included in the cost of the label. The "fuel surcharge" and "residential surcharge" are the most common ones. One reason I rarely used FedEx or UPS are those "gotcha" surcharges.

The USPS is always cheaper on small items under a cubic foot and under a pound.

[orangehound]

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@from_me_2_you wrote:

I have a 16x16x8 box, going to a residence, weight 7 pounds and using using fedex AND it is MUCH cheaper than either USPS or UPS.

Now for the rub......are there any hidden costs that will arise when it gets to the buyer, that will be charged for after the fact?

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FedEx is unforgiving when it comes to packaging, and most sellers I've seen get hit with surcharges have sent items in odd packaging that is normally no problem with the USPS (odd shapes, mylar bags, duct tape, etc.)

For FedEx, as long as it is a plain cardboard box, sealed with packing tape, and within normal package dimensions (nothing huge), then you should have no problem with surcharges in addition to what eBay quotes.