eBay

dzines72s_emporium · ‎05-11-2014

I have once again contacted eBay after I sold 2 items to an international buyer and even though I sent a separate invoice for the item that was being shipped free with the other was charged for the domestic shipping commission/fee for both items from eBay after the buyer paid for both items after a second invoice for the one ship price. I do not want to discontinue accepting multiple purchases from international buyers, so I am going to have to add more information about sending separate invoices because they are paying the eBay fees/commission on the shipping (as are my domestic buyers) since that is not something (shipping) that I should have to take a loss on to feed the eBay coffers and sellers should not be getting charged the fee on shipping at all. eBay is the only online or even B&M (actual buildings/ Bricks and Mortar) company that charges a commission on shipping. Whether I can persue this with the FTC or not is debatable, but I am going to give it a shot, because it is beyond bad business practises for this to continue. I urge everyone to persue alternate venues and to let your customers know what is up. The international customer was quite frank about how several of her sellers that she had made purchases from said that they hated eBay. (That was the message in the first invoice for the free shipped item ~I can't remember whether I said I loathe eBay or I hate eBay) Retail is rough right now, and this company needs to be a bit more honest if they want honest people to continue using their site. Vent over ~

femmefan1946 · ‎05-12-2014

have once again contacted eBay after I sold 2 items to an international buyer and even though I sent a separate invoice for the item that was being shipped free with the other was charged for the domestic shipping commission/fee for both items from eBay after the buyer paid for both items after a second invoice for the one ship price

I think you are saying that the buyer made two purchases which you invoiced separately. One was invoiced with a shipping charge, the other without.

Since you were charged a shipping FVF, I think you mean you did not have Free (US) Shipping were charging for shipping domestically as well as internationally .

When you offer free Domestic (US) shipping, you should not have been charged any shipping FVF, because your shipping costs are part of your asking price. This ‘no fee’ policy includes no fees on International shipping.

Were you using the Global Shipping Program? One of the (many) weaknesses of this program is that the seller cannot combine shipping.

. I do not want to discontinue accepting multiple purchases from international buyers, so I am going to have to add more information about sending separate invoices because they are paying the eBay fees/commission on the shipping (as are my domestic buyers) since that is not something (shipping) that I should have to take a loss on to feed the eBay coffers and sellers should not be getting charged the fee on shipping at all.

Why are you sending separate invoices?

When you use a combined invoice, you can adjust the shipping charges manually. And you pay only one Paypal fee on the entire purchase instead of one for each invoiced payment.

I understand that American sellers pay a premium to Paypal for mediating foreign payments. Again, a combined invoice would reduce the number of these fees, since they are, as I understand it, per payment .

eBay is the only online or even B&M (actual buildings/ Bricks and Mortar) company that charges a commission on shipping.

Amazon.

B&M don't come into this arguement, since they do not have multiple sellers and it seems unlikely they would charge temselves a commission on their own charges.

Whether I can persue this with the FTC or not is debatable, but I am going to give it a shot, because it is beyond bad business practises for this to continue

The minimum wage here in Ontario Canada is 17 cents a minute. How much time are you willing to spend on this?

jeeperson4x4 · ‎05-12-2014

Your should never ship oversea with that program , items cann't be tracked and expect to be cheated by your buyer 1/4 of the time, All they have to do is make one call and they will have your funds will be removed from your PayPal acoount. Thanks you about your remarks early about my Auctions and my English your a Ace in the hole and a winner??? , When was the last time you did something really stupid like living in Canada and shipping oversea .

dzines72s_emporium · ‎05-12-2014

When I ship internationally if I send the 2 or more items free with one item I am charged a final value fee for the charge for all domestic amounts as if they had been shipped separately instead of free with the one item and the computer logic is that it is less than the international and yes I have invoiced them separately and also together and when I invoiced separately this last time it was for free shipping for the one item and I was still charged the final value fee/sales commission for that item's shipping. And further it is not right to be charging a sales commission on shipping. NO other ONLINE venue does this. So forget about the B&M. And yes I will take the time to write the FTC as it is a matter of working for the good sellers who have integrity to try to make the eBay platform a bit more honest.

jeeperson4x4 · ‎05-12-2014

EBay is here to make money fair or not if they can find a way to charge you a fee they will and about the only thing a person can do is live with it or stop shipping oversea with the strange EBay shipping programs they use.

dzines72s_emporium · ‎05-12-2014

"EBay is here to make money fair or not if they can find a way to charge you a fee they will" I can't do much about fairness, but I can about quasi-legal, and if eBay actually courted the sellers and made it more viable for sellers, they could actually improve their bottom line. That has been proven over and over again. If your worker bees have a vested interest and are considered a valuable asset, it increases said company's business, morale and reputation. Yes, I know ~ Some people call me Pollyanna (smiley face)

femmefan1946 · ‎05-13-2014

Your should never ship oversea with that program , items cann't be tracked and expect to be cheated by your buyer 1/4 of the time,

No.

The GSP protects the US seller against such claims.

If you can prove that the item was delivered to the GSP in Kentucky, then Pitney Bowes who run the program accept all responsibility for it from then on, including claims of damage and of non-delivery.

We Canadians detest the program because it adds huge 'import charges" including duty on the item if it was not manufactured in a NAFTA country (USA, Canada, Mexico and for some reason Chile) plus sales taxes of up to 15% of the stated value plus a small ($5 or so) service charge.

There are many reasons not to use the program, including not using it if your items sell for less than $50 USD or if you normally combine shipping (which can't be done with GSP), but it is secure against these phoney claims.

antique.cottage · ‎06-03-2014

@dzines72s_emporium wrote:
And further it is not right to be charging a sales commission on shipping. NO other ONLINE venue does this. So forget about the B&M. And yes I will take the time to write the FTC as it is a matter of working for the good sellers who have integrity to try to make the eBay platform a bit more honest.

Your statement is incorrect. For example, all credit card processing services also take a percentage of the shipping fees too. And not just paypal. I could list more examples, but one just disproves your point.

You need to get over the it and focus your energy on making money. If you are a top rated seller, you get up to 35% discount on shipping. That more than offsets the 10% ebay charges. ebay is entitled to configure their fees as they see fit. it's a free market and I am thankful that they allow me to sell in their international marketplace while they do lots of work in trying to keep up with the times.

It's not perfect. And it is impossible for ebay to please everyone. No reason to spew threats and cal/write the FTC.

There is money to be made here.

personal responsibility vs. entitlement. what is your persuasion?

dzines72s_emporium · ‎06-03-2014

@Antique Cottage ~ Paypal get's their percentage of my receiving their shipping charge. That is a cost of doing business. I have written to the FTC twice regarding eBay and on one occasion it made a difference. 10% commission on shipping charges from a retail venue is non-existant except here. It is passed along to my shoppers, as I charge actual shipping (This does not include the 3% - 4 % paypal charges to process the payment) They are the only venue anywhere that charges a commission on shipping and it is not anything but a cash cow. I do not threaten. I just try to make them act honestly. I have a registered copyright on my CD that is being sold by another seller on eBay. If I had unlimited funds I would do more than write the FTC. The company operates in a quasi-legal manner in multiple layers, however that is not something I have the time or inclination to address. There is no up side to this place except for reach, and that is debatable. If I was not wearing the hat of 24-7 caregiver to my 90 year old mom-in-law and my adult son who is a 35 year in body and 5 year old in intelligence, I would invest more time in alternatives and am positioning myself to do so as much as I can in my current situation. Entitlement? Can you please explain where personal responsibility and entitlement are even remotely applicable to this post? And my statement was/is correct. Were you trying to be insulting, or are you just unable to comprehend?

iankimmerly · ‎06-03-2014

Actually they got the idea from Amazon, who have charged such a fee for many years.

dzines72s_emporium · ‎06-04-2014

@Antique Cottage Are you nuts? Amazon does not charge a sales commission on shipping. They have fulfillment by Amazon, and they have a maximum shipping amount that you can charge on items which eBay started here for books, magazines etc and is one of the reasons I filed a complaint with the FTC and is what got changed when I wrtote the FTC. Magazines are not media mail according to the USPS & eBay changed magazines to $5 and at least they do have the calculated option. Amazon is an example of a high fee structure, however I for one definitely feel better shopping there as I have never had a problem service wise there. Amazon is not at all worthy of consideration if you are an individual seller. Etsy is definitely for collectibles and crafts. Booths in malls if you are an individual. My sister in law and I will be doing that in Jan as it is worth the rent for the storage for me and I plan on getting my website back up and going. eBay did an end around on their new category restrictions to get more fees. They allow dishonest sellers to sell if they build the bottom line. Etc. The sales commission on shipping is unique to eBay.