Is there a way for buyers to see discount shipping fees at their end for tracked parcels?

[luv4orphans]

Slow sales. 4 in the last 3 months. 

Have had 3 of those sales since they introduced the discounted shipping rates on tracked parcels and its quite obvious buyers are not getting the discounted rates at their ends.  Paying full shipping costs and then I need to reimburse the difference. 

Am I missing something here. Do I need to adjust something here. Most of my items are listed using the calculated method because of the variety of what I sell. So the calculator should have adjusted to the new rates and buyers should see those instead. 

How is this helping our sales any? Its not. It should have been automatic that buyers see the discounted prices on their end. I am not a tech savvy person but I find this ridiculous.  Why is this not showing up.  Do I need to adjust something here or what. 

The last sale was yesterday where the buyer paid $28.09. The discounted prices was $12.96.  Its not an error on my part. It shows me the discount I am getting. Am I supposed to pocket this extra money?

Discount should have been automatically adjusted and buyers should see it on their end.  Just maybe it could boost our sales. 

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

eBay doesn't know that you will use their shipping tool. The calculated rates are likely based off counter rates, or level-1 of the Canada Post discount.

You don't really need to use calculated shipping for Tracked Packet since anything within the maximum dimensions goes by one fixed price depending on which weight category it falls under (under 99g, under 250g, etc). 

My advice would be, update your shipping policies to a fixed rate that is based around what it costs you to ship Tracked Packet. It will be a bit of a hassle, but assuming you already have your items weighed for calculated shipping, it shouldn't take too long. There is a rate chart for eBay's tracked packet discount kicking around somewhere in the first few pages of this forum. 

[luv4orphans]

I understand what you are saying up to a point.  Those discounted prices are not here to stay though are they? Only till the end of December no? What happens then? I do this all over again.

The calculator should automatically do this if the tech programming it knows what they are doing. This is ridiculous. 

Those rates only apply to US sales no? I still need to use the calculator for Canada and overseas. I do have some items that if I can fit in a prepaid box for Canada they are marked as such. You never know what its going to cost to ship items within Canada so better to be safe.   

They now have the lite packet option for Canada for packages under so many grams. Those would be easy enough to set up for small light items if here to stay. 

Hard to stay on top of all this. To me, the calculator should be able to be programmed to do this automatically.  The flat rates are different I get that.  Then the calculator cannot calculate those. 

Will look for that table you mentioned. But are those prices here to stay or not?

I sell on another site and the discounts are automatically applied using their calculator feature and that's what the buyer sees on their end. Generating more sales on there than here and its probably playing a role in sales. Big difference when a buyer sees $28.00 at their end compared to $13.00 that should have appeared. 

Its hard to follow all this and time consuming.  

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@ilikehockeyjerseys wrote:

eBay doesn't know that you will use their shipping tool. The calculated rates are likely based off counter rates, or level-1 of the Canada Post discount.

You don't really need to use calculated shipping for Tracked Packet since anything within the maximum dimensions goes by one fixed price depending on which weight category it falls under (under 99g, under 250g, etc). 

My advice would be, update your shipping policies to a fixed rate that is based around what it costs you to ship Tracked Packet. It will be a bit of a hassle, but assuming you already have your items weighed for calculated shipping, it shouldn't take too long. There is a rate chart for eBay's tracked packet discount kicking around somewhere in the first few pages of this forum. 

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@luv4orphans 

@ilikehockeyjerseys 

The option to show discounted rates  or a % is available on dot com for USPS, UPS and Fedex in settings. On ca only option is a %. Unfortunately the % varies per service. 

Dot com settings:

Dot ca settings:

Recent heavier parcel via tracked to USA. Buyer sees 32.00. Discounted rate 19.00. Difference of 13.00. In checking the sent refund it was pulled from bank account. Unsure why. There fees available in cleared. 

-Lotz

[flipistics]

eBay has said that showing the discounted rates is a priority for them, so I would think we should expect to see something sooner rather than later.  In the mean time, you can sort of fudge it by applying a set percentage off. For shipments that go somewhere close you'll likely pocket a few bucks and shipments far away you'll be eating a few. For US shipments under 2kg, definitely just use set rates. If you create shipping policies, even if the rates do go poof at the end of the year (hopefully not), you can just change the policy and your listings will update.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@flipistics wrote:

eBay has said that showing the discounted rates is a priority for them, so I would think we should expect to see something sooner rather than later.  In the mean time, you can sort of fudge it by applying a set percentage off. For shipments that go somewhere close you'll likely pocket a few bucks and shipments far away you'll be eating a few. For US shipments under 2kg, definitely just use set rates. If you create shipping policies, even if the rates do go poof at the end of the year (hopefully not), you can just change the policy and your listings will update.

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@flipistics 

Re: The unfortunately sooner vs later...

Offering a % ONLY works if you offer 1 service. The % varies per service which can all be affected by any tax or fuel surcharge. The Fedex option for Canadians was released at the end of 2022. The calculator has never shown accurate charges as long as it has been available. Difficult to offer a service to buyers when you can't privide anything close to accurate rates. Many sellers have got dinged after the fact for residential pick ups and deliveries and cubing kerfuffles (cubing should be accurate where applicable when you fill in the measurements when you creat a listing. It shouldn't change signifigantly when you process...after the calculator has done its magic). Those fees that can't be recovered after the fact.

-Lotz

[reallynicestamps]

Am I supposed to pocket this extra money?

Yes.

If you want to give it back to your customer, you are allowed, but the discount also may cover Cookie Jar Insurance against losses and frauds, packaging, PL fees and other promotions, etc. The higher profit also allows us to buy more stock for resale.

The current promotional shipping discounts, and there is no reason to believe they are permanent, are substantial on one or two services, but most are still the 5% we also get from Canada Post by signing up for  a Solutions for Small Business account.

Or move to Free Shipping, which means you include your shipping costs in the asking price. Which is cheaper? A $10 item with  $5 shipping or a  $15 item with Free Shipping?

Or use Flat Rate Shipping, working out the average cost for shipping and charging that to all buyers,no matter their location. You may lose on some close by shipments and gain on some further away, but it should even out over the year if  not the month.

[luv4orphans]

Yes.

If you want to give it back to your customer, you are allowed, but the discount also may cover Cookie Jar Insurance against losses and frauds, packaging, PL fees and other promotions, etc. The higher profit also allows us to buy more stock for resale.

The current promotional shipping discounts, and there is no reason to believe they are permanent, are substantial on one or two services, but most are still the 5% we also get from Canada Post by signing up for  a Solutions for Small Business account.

Or move to Free Shipping, which means you include your shipping costs in the asking price. Which is cheaper? A $10 item with  $5 shipping or a  $15 item with Free Shipping?

You are telling me to pocket $13.00 and up to $19.00 at one point for cookie jar insurance. That doesn't sit well with me.  I charged $2.00 for handling fees which covers this. I wouldn't want it done to me so why should I do it to somebody else. Ebay should upgrade the system to show the discounted rates. It would make things a lot simpler all around and might generate more sales. 

As to your $10.00 item with $5.00 shipping charge, I can switch that to $15.00 and free shipping. We hear that a lot on these threads mostly from sellers selling mostly small items that know what shipping costs are going to be all around.  Much easier to handle than if you are selling a variety of items where weights fluctuate a lot.  

I can't sell something at $50.00 with shipping costs of  $25.00 just for an example. So I put the total price to $75.00. I think I have one or 2 items listed like that. They haven't budge. Been there for months. I've tried that before and it doesn't move things more. Never had a sale from that so went back to a lower price with shipping costs separate. You would think that would help some but I haven't had any luck. 

I have flat rates that fit in the flat rate boxes for Canada. That help for some of my bags but not a whole lot. CP  has raised the price on those 4x in the last while. It keeps on going up every time I hit the post office. Not an environmentally conscious concept.  Just purchase this box instead of using one you might have on hand that will weigh the same in the end but this one will cost you $22.00 instead of $30.00.  And the customer most likely end up throwing it out.  What the hell. I am getting off subject on this one so will just leave that be.  

With a variety of items flat rates is not so easy to figure out as someone selling the same weighted item constantly is all I am saying. Ebay needs to fix the calculator function to reflect the actual discount at the other end if we are using that. 

I barely have time to list things, never mind all this figuring this and that out. Much easier to manage using the calculator all around. US shipping is most times easier to flat rate because it stays the same but then again it depends on the region its going to.  All time consuming. At least for me. 

[luv4orphans]

Those set rates vary depending on region they are going to no? Its finicky and picky work and time consuming. Much easier to use a calculator. Or why can't ebay set it up that when we enter the weight and dimensions into the calculator we can preview the different rates to different regions and average that out to give us a flat rate.  That would be much simpler. Computers are only as smart as the one programming them. 

eBay has said that showing the discounted rates is a priority for them, so I would think we should expect to see something sooner rather than later. 

Someone else mentioned on here not sure how long those discounted rates are going to be around so why would ebay be making this a priority. That was my understanding also. Only on till late of December, end of holiday season. Some like the light packet within Canada might be to stay. Lets hope. Then worth changing things around. 

[mrdutch1001]

As I do not use calculated shipping or shipping profiles and never have in all the years I have been selling on eBay.... (I apply my flat rate shipping>the method that I have used for the past 15 years and works very well for my items) and those shipping costs are applied in each & every listing, thereby the buyers see the shipping costs they will pay and those shipping costs are whatever I deem them to be(at current time my shipping costs do reflect a lower cost due to the eBay shipping discounts)

[flipistics]

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@luv4orphans wrote:

Those set rates vary depending on region they are going to no? I

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The Tracked Packet USA rates are based on weight and are fixed (well, they can change by a few cents a week when the fuel surcharges change, but you can probably just ignore that).  The Expedited Lite prices vary depending on the distance, so it's harder to used fixed prices on those. However, even if you charged the likely maximum as a fixed rate, it would still be cheaper than any of the other parcel options.

I really do hope they get it showing the actual rates soon though. We shouldn't have to fiddle with things to approximate the discount. I use 20% off to pass along the shipping discount. On close items I often make around $1.50 or $2.00. On ones that go somewhere remote, sometimes it will cost me $5.00 or more. That was the case for me this morning but I lucked out and was able to use the free shipping coupon on it! 🙂

Since the discount also applies to Expedited Lite, I compensate by applying a $1.60 handling fee. It ends up being pretty close.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@flipistics wrote:

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@luv4orphans wrote:

Those set rates vary depending on region they are going to no? I

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The Tracked Packet USA rates are based on weight and are fixed (well, they can change by a few cents a week when the fuel surcharges change, but you can probably just ignore that).  The Expedited Lite prices vary depending on the distance, so it's harder to used fixed prices on those. However, even if you charged the likely maximum as a fixed rate, it would still be cheaper than any of the other parcel options.

I really do hope they get it showing the actual rates soon though. We shouldn't have to fiddle with things to approximate the discount. I use 20% off to pass along the shipping discount. On close items I often make around $1.50 or $2.00. On ones that go somewhere remote, sometimes it will cost me $5.00 or more. That was the case for me this morning but I lucked out and was able to use the free shipping coupon on it! 🙂

Since the discount also applies to Expedited Lite, I compensate by applying a $1.60 handling fee. It ends up being pretty close.

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@flipistics 

I may be incorrect but from my testing, because Expedited Lite is limited to eBay sellers (as far as we know) if you add that service to your listings the rate displayed to potential buyers even when you add, for example a 1 dollar handling fee. Same when you go to process. Because you can't see the actual discount with eBay labels like you can with CP and could with Shippo any  difference basically disappears into the eBay background.

-Lotz

[reallynicestamps]

That doesn't sit well with me. I charged $2.00 for handling fees which covers this.

That's fine. Your choice.

I don't charge handling fees, allowing the difference between my Canadian dollar buying price and my US dollar selling price to cover those. My choice.

Both choices are the right ones- for us.

[reallynicestamps]

Or why can't ebay set it up that when we enter the weight and dimensions into the calculator we can preview the different rates to different regions and average that out to give us a flat rate.

https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/tools/find-a-rate.page

Use the postal codes for various city halls to give you the calculated rates to Gander/HappyValley, Iqaluit, Nanaimo, Tuktoyaktuk, St Catharines, Fort MacMurray, Golden.

And 90210 for the USA.

[luv4orphans]

My question was why doesn't ebay have that feature set up directly on their site. What you are suggesting is that we go criss cross between CP and ebay to get the pricing we need. Would be much easier to have that directly in front of us when trying to do multiple listings.  

[luv4orphans]

I looked at your listings. I didn't go far down your list but you seem like you mostly sell stamps offering free shipping so your price pretty well always stays the same all the time so you know what to charge.

Big difference between shipping a stamp and a coat or an item that falls within the discounted prices ebay is offering right now. The price varies quite a bit to the different regions. So I prefer the calculator. But the calculator needs to show the proper rates at the other end whether its the actual price or a discounted rate. The buyer needs to see that.  It might help boost our sales somewhat. Otherwise why is the calculator even there. Its not showing proper prices at the other end. How does that work?

Do you think I am asking for the impossible here. In the other breath, you are telling me that its up to me whether I want to pocket that extra $13-20 that buyers are overpaying.  Isn't there a rule on here about overcharging on shipping. And included in cost of the item hasn't worked for me before so not too keen on going to change everything again.  

[reallynicestamps]

Yep. Most of my items not only go lettermail, but I use discounted postage stamps to mail them.

The postage on the envelope may be $10 but I paid much much less for those stamps.

Those are listed on dotCOM which is where most customers look, whatever their actual location.
I also use Flat Rate shipping there for overseas shipments, which are not Free Shipping.

But that Free Shipping doesn't mean I can stick a P stamp on the envelope. It may mean using Expedited or Tracked Packet USA.

When I have bulky items, mostly hardcover books, I list them on dotCA where I can use Calculated Shipping. Most of those books are hard to find and some are even expensive.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@luv4orphans wrote:

I looked at your listings. I didn't go far down your list but you seem like you mostly sell stamps offering free shipping so your price pretty well always stays the same all the time so you know what to charge.

Big difference between shipping a stamp and a coat or an item that falls within the discounted prices ebay is offering right now. The price varies quite a bit to the different regions. So I prefer the calculator. But the calculator needs to show the proper rates at the other end whether its the actual price or a discounted rate. The buyer needs to see that.  It might help boost our sales somewhat. Otherwise why is the calculator even there. Its not showing proper prices at the other end. How does that work?

Do you think I am asking for the impossible here. In the other breath, you are telling me that its up to me whether I want to pocket that extra $13-20 that buyers are overpaying.  Isn't there a rule on here about overcharging on shipping. And included in cost of the item hasn't worked for me before so not too keen on going to change everything again.  

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@reallynicestamps 

@luv4orphans 

Another factor in play for sellers who use built in the misnomer "Free" shipping, is to not be using best offer. Which has become almost a fact of life for NOS/Vintage items. Many offers that have been arriving for the past few years are rediculously lowball. Why it is important to set your screen function. I set my prices based on what I paid originally.... from memory.

If eBay wanted to be a bit more cooperative they might consider pushing long tail items vs hiding them and pushing new listings. Most annoying when you have a longtail item that has mysteriously automagically ended with no record to show for it.

As for using calculated vs flat, strangely calculators on most other, been around for awhile websites work in a super easy transparent way. Even with businesses that have offices scattered here, there and everywhere.

-Lotz

[luv4orphans]

I have the feature set up where I don't see those low ball offers. When I go in to accept an offer, then they show up. Yes some offers are totally ridiculous. Some buyers seem to not be aware that all this stuff doesn't just magically appears on their screen. 

To me it should be automatic that the calculator shows the proper rate at the other end for buyers.  I can't imagine pissing around looking to see what flat rates for here and there. If you have a lot of the same weighted items constantly I can see where that would be easier than entering all the details all the time. Not the case with what I sell.  

As far as putting a % discount I am not sure how that would work. Gain a few bucks here and lose a few there?? If calculator was functioning properly and doing its job wouldn't need to worry about that. 

devon@ebay.com

Any way this could be fixed to reflect actual costs at the other end. The last 5 sales, I have had to reimburse 4 buyers half of what they paid in shipping fees, sometimes more. Its not a big thing for me to reimburse but it is a big thing when buyers don't see actual shipping costs at the other end. It cuts into our sales I am sure. 

[luv4orphans]

I didn't go too far down your listings to see. Yes I realize that your free shipping is not free. Its built into your price. You pretty well stick to the same things when selling. Much easier for you to figure out what it will cost. Not so much when you have different types of items and the weight changes constantly. 

Those tracked parcel to the US can vary also if being shipped to California, Florida versus mid US. The price is not always the same. Unless that's changed and its the same all across the board now no matter where you are shipping. But I don't think so. Overseas is just as bad. Prices vary so much from country to country. How do I work that out. 

I understand what you are saying if I charge a flat fee, there's a bit of room for error give or take.  But also easy to make mistakes and shortchange yourself. My bags that fit in those flat rate boxes or anything else that fits go that way inside Canada. That's easy enough.  Those lite parcels I haven't sold anything lately to know much yet. Just some reading up. They now include more than just cards is what I understand. That helps. Do I put as a flat rate or does it show up at the other end?

When it doesn't fit, I don't have time to look around here and there to figure this and that out. Easy to make mistakes also. Much prefer to enter the weight and dimensions and be done with that. But calculator needs to be programmed accordingly and that means show the discounted prices at the other end.