Fed Ex shipping rates
So since Fed Ex is now a fixed rate shipping option on Ebay Canada, how am I suppose to know how much to charge the customer? There is no Fed Ex shipping calculator on Ebay and since Fed Ex rates are very different (expensive) on their own website compared to its rates that you get in Ebay, it makes it virtually impossible to know.
22 comments
reallynicestamps
·3 years ago@devon@ebay
This appears to be an ongoing problem since this thread was begun six months ago.
craigaarondurling
·3 years agoIt appears they have changed "Carrier-specific discounts" before you could check a box saying something along the lines of "Show carrier specific discounts", although this actually never worked. Now you have the option to input the percent of discount. Not sure how you're suppose to determine this %, this stuff is so messed up.
reallynicestamps
·3 years agoAnd yet some people think the postal service should be privatized.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·3 years ago@reallynicestamps
As noted above this is what happens when eBay "promises" to negotiate special shipping rates for Canadian eBay sellers.
-Lotz
shallow_karl
·3 years agoCanada's postal system is privatized, more or less, makes money and doesn't charge the horrific rates the USPS does to ship out of country. I've been quoted (and verified it) rates 2-3 TIMES the Canadian rate to ship to the same (reverse of course) person. And the USPS LOSES MONEY!! They need a MASSIVE re-organization to get rid of inefficienies and DEAD WOOD.
reallynicestamps
·3 years agoCharge the rates FedEx makes public.
Your discount is nobody else's business.
You don't tell your customers how much you paid for the products you sell do you?
sodabottle123
OP3 years agolotzofuniquegoodies
·3 years agoThe totally bazarro part of this is making an announcement about offering super discounted rates (not sure how long ago now) and then not including the calculations/calculator? Weird way to advertise a discount?
-Lotz
lotzofuniquegoodies
·3 years agoI received a message from eBay (an admin) yesterday advising me that Fedex was fully functional for Canadian sellers.
In testing it is still only partially working. Unable to confirm what rates are being displayed (Counter or discounted), you are limited if you want to offer both CP/Fedex. Fedex only gives you a few of the available services to choose from. (You can only use a total of 5 options for US/Intl. Makes it difficult to show a comprehensive comparison.)
The optional eBay Calculator is still not fully functional. Calculator still omits the US zipcode field requirement for US shipping addresses for checking rates. (Actually includes a note "Destination optional"??? When would a destination be optional for checking rates?) The dropdown at top for CP packaging does not match rates for the comparative CP prepaid available products. (Bubble mailers come in different sizes and regional/national flavours. 3 Prepaid Boxes each have their own unique size)
Have any Canadian sellers recently started to offer Fedex as an alternative option? Have you had any issues with billing? Are you dropping off or are you able to get home pick up for your parcels(free or with a charge)? Did you have any additional fees after the fact that caught you by surprise(customs, home delivery)?
eBay Canada Calculator Tool:
https://www.ebay.ca/shp/Calculator
-Lotz
@devon@ebay
Do you have any info you can add on the subject and how it relates to Canadian sellers? The orginal eBay Canada announcement was June 2022. Additional shipping options for US sellers was added to dot com in 2019.
devon@ebay
Hi @lotzofuniquegoodies! I can reach out and see if I can get an update to provide to you on this.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·3 years ago@devon@ebay
In doing a follow up test for a low weight item using Fedex ground to a local address(same city) this is what the buyer would see.
Seeing the Fedex ground rate there would be zero advantage to buyer. Cost or speed(extremely long(nonsensical) delivery window displayed, which includes 1 day handling). Please see original post concern from @sodabottle123 sent Dec 12, 2022 which still has not been properly addressed.
Thanks,
-Lotz
lotzofuniquegoodies
·3 years ago@devon@ebay
@sodabottle123
The original concern goes back to Dec 2022 so this has been a thing for over 3 months. Sellers are still in the ongoing predicament not having a working calculator for their buyers. I received the following message from eBay today on the subject.
If a fedex option is used by the seller will they(me and the buyer) see the discounted rate or counter? This is similar to the CP situation that has been in affect for years. The rate the buyer sees is counter with expedited getting thrown in even tho at the counter it is only available with business account. The seller is not able to show a discount because the discount varies for each service. (Yes, many sellers offer more than 1 service.) As a sellers to offer Fedex we need to know what the buyers will see with a fully functional calculator. Last part of this we need to know if there will be any additional fees for residential pick ups and deliveries?
-Lotz
lotzofuniquegoodies
·3 years agoHello @devon@ebay
It's 3 weeks later. Do we have any followup on this situation please? I know there are many others that would like to have this properly working. Thanks.
-Lotzofuniquegoodies.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·3 years ago@devon@ebay
As a test I added the Fedex ground option to a new listing using the built in eBay Calculated shipping option shipping to my home. Casual observation the rate the buyer sees is non discounted. There is no buyer in their right mind that would choose that option over Canadapost. Are there any plans to fix something for dot ca sellers that has worked for US sellers for several (2 +) years. Being able to have access to a tool that shows the discount would/could definitely cause an increase in sales for Canadian sellers. (Important to remember the discount varies entirely on the service so 1 standard -% does not fit all.)
eBay Calculated Shipping - What the buyer sees
eBay Stand alone tool view. CP - Canada
Ebay Stand alone view - Fedex - Canada
As for testing the same listing for shipping to the USA that was a non starter. The link below buyers will never see unless they have stumbled across it by accident so they have no choice but to use the eBay's built in calculator. (The stand alone tool shows the discount. The listing does not.) From a sellers perspective due to the limited available options for Intl shipping (5) a seller is unable to add Fedex to the USA if they wanted to show a comparison. Most important takeaway, what the buyer sees NEEDS to be the discounted rate working from the calculator. Was the calculator ONLY intended as a reference for sellers? Not a fully functional tool for buyers? For any Canadian shipping tool to work a US zipcode IS a necessity.
https://www.ebay.ca/shp/Calculator
-Lotz
bicwindsurfer
·3 years agoI'm a Canadian seller, and recently tried FedEx when the ebay.ca online shipping invoice tool was down for Canada Post. While waiting the for the invoice issue to be resolved I noticed that the Fedex shipping option advertised a big discount at $17.78, which was cheaper than Canada Post's rate so I thought I would give them try. Well, my final invoice from FedEx ended up being $23.18 or 30% higher than the amount on my shipping label invoice. What's the point of quoting a rate online only to charge a completely different final amount ? I don't do business that way, so that's the last time I will use Fedex.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·3 years ago@devon@ebay
@bicwindsurfer
@sodabottle123
Could you address this please ASAP? There are several fine folks who have reported this issue occuring lately. Why it is extremely important if Fedex is going to be an option that buyers and sellers can know what the actual rate is vs it changing(being rebilled) after the fact.
-Lotz
devon@ebay
Hi @lotzofuniquegoodies! Thanks for sharing this example with me. @bicwindsurfer I had the Shipping Team take a look into this and from what they could see there may be as surcharge that occurred when you went to purchase it. We recommend reaching out to our customer support team so they can take a deeper look into this. We also do apologize about the poor experience you had with this and if you could reach out to askcommunity@ebay.com via email we will supply you with a coupon to use for any purchase on ebay.ca.