invoicing the buyer

[lollysofraleigh]

Hi all. I will be shipping out things like china, crystal, etc. I weight the items before boxing them up. Sometimes I'm a pound off due to packaging. I usually use immediate payment once someone buys an item.  How do I or the customer "ring up" the sale, then send him the invoice for the total amt and shipping? If I do this, allow the buyer to be invoiced first before he pays?

[femmefan1946]

 You can't charge the customer more than you advertise for shipping.

Until you get used to the actual weight and dimensions of your packaging, you will have to pack every item (or at least measure the outermost box and weigh all the packaging material) before you upload your listing.

Yes, it is more work.

Use Calculated Shipping and choose the shipping service you want to use. This will allow for regional variations in shipping cost.

If the customer asks for upgraded shipping you can send him an invoice for the higher cost, using Paypal's invoicing. But most won't.

[hrbiefan14]

This is not what I am having problems with.

[lollysofraleigh]

I don't want to overcharge the buyer. Isn't there an option to "bill me later". Can the seller charge or invoice the buyer later for the items and the shipping?

What if the buyer wants to buy items in different listings? How do I combine shipping costs?

[femmefan1946]

So you want to list without any indication of shipping costs?

That is allowed, but it is not a good business decision. Especially with bulky (and fragile ) items your customer needs to know the total cost of her purchase.

I would go back to my original answer, you have to do the work of ascertaining the weight and dimensions of your parcel, then choose the appropriate shipping method and upload that information along with your description and pictures.

And the faster the method the less handling the parcel will have which is a good thing even though it is more expensive. Let the customer decide if the cost of shipping plus the cost of the item is a good deal.

[hrbiefan14]

This is not my question asked at all?

[slocode111]

Please forgive the reincarnation of an old thread but this is of interest to now because I have a buyer in Albania for an inexpensive piece of jewelry. I can't tell, using a couple of various shipping calculators, (eBay, USPS, etc) what the exact cost of shipping will be.

I decided to add a note to my invoice explaining that I was charging him the highest estimate that I had for shipping the item ($9.00 intl 1st class) and that I would send him an immediate refund for any excess shipping that he had paid me. I have done this a couple of times before with consent from the buyer.

Are there any foreseeable problems with this approach?

The item sold for $17.00 and priority intl or global express shipping would have cost a minimum of $24.00.

BTW this is a pain in the butt because you can't buy 1st class intl. labels on-line