Free shipping question
Summary: rosscd57 discussed transitioning to free shipping for vintage radios sent to Canada and was curious if US buyers would incur additional shipping costs from the hub. john_koenig99 clarified that the buyer pays for shipping from the hub in Mississauga. kawartha-ephemera emphasized the need for accurate package dimensions and weight in listings to avoid excessive charges, while sylviebee found this process cumbersome. lotzofuniquegoodies suggested testing the listing changes to verify results and mentioned potential issues with shipping eligibility for radios with tubes. rosscd57 noted challenges in checking US pricing and plans to involve a friend to help with verification.
I changed to free shipping just before the end of last year and am happy that I have actually sold a few vintage radios. The sales were all to Canada. I have assumed that if I get a US buyer the free shipping is only to the Toronto Hub and When they relabel the shipping box at the Hub, they will charge the customer the actual Shipping from the hub to the USA plus any other fees.
The big question is: AM I WRONG in assuming the customer will be charged Shipping from the hub to the USA plus any other fees. Or will I be paying free shipping in both Countries. Cause if that is the case, I will be out some serious money as my shipping boxes are big and heavy.
follow up question: if I am wrong is there a way to do this correctly.
sylviebee
·1 week agoThat is the way it works when buying from the US via the International Shipping Program. It probably works the same way when using the Canadian version, or at least it should.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·1 week ago@rosscd57
You can test by updating a current listing (temporarily) and then check what the shipping would be to a US address with your free shipping policy. You can put it back to the way it was right after your test, if you so choose. Because the radios you are selling with tubes the other question would be would those items qualify for eIS shipping. There have been reports in the past that they do not.
rosscd57
OP1 week ago · EditedYa I tried that but they do not allow the seller in Canada to look at what the final listing/ purchasing price is the US on eBay.com. They just pop up a bubble saying you cannot purchase your own listing. I figure the only way to do it is to get a buddy of mine in the States to see what the final purchase price is and report it back to me.
Plus they need to get the package measurements and weight before they can do that. They must get if from the Canada Post label as they do have access to it.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·1 week ago@rosscd57
You should be able to check the listing without committing to purchase from shipping options tab. That's all I have been doing. Another way would be to sign out to check. According to the restored model estimated shipping to 90210 would be 262.08. The restored GE 1946 would be 319.42. <traumatized expression>. What happens when couriers are involved plus the shipping from Toronto part. Are you using generic measurements for your items?
john_koenig99
·1 week agoeIS shipping and fees are paid by the buyer in the US (or any country where eIS currently ships to). In your case, you only pay to have the item delivered to the hub in Mississauga.
rosscd57
OP1 week agoOK thanks. So free shipping just includes shipping to the Toronto Hub - good
In the Hub, do they measure and weight the shipping box received from me in order to get the final shipping costs, plus any additional fees or tariffs - that does not seem right. Or am I supposed to do that before shipping to he Hub. And if so where - I do not see a place to include that information while filling out a listing page - unless it is entered on their servers when I purchase the Canada Post label for it.
kawartha-ephemera
·1 week ago · Edited@rosscd57 Yes, you are supposed to provide the dimensions and weight of your packaged item for all of your listings. If this info is not provided EIS has to guesstimate how much shipping to charge, and they guess extremely high which is understandable. It is therefore very important to provide EIS with accurate package details in all listings. When creating or editing listings look closely in the shipping section for package details, as I recall you'll find it below the domestic shipping service dropdown menu. If you're using shipping policies then edit those as appropriate.
sylviebee
·1 week agoI wanted to use eIS for some items but this sounds very inconvenient and cumbersome. I just charge a flat rate for shipping but every item is different. Sounds like every item would have to be pre-packaged so it could be weighed and measured when the listing is created. Sounds like a lot of extra wasted hours of work.
reallynicestamps
·1 week agoNot really.
Do you use standardized boxes for shipping? Or standard envelopes?
I use greeting card envelopes for stamps, which are approx 1x14x1cm. And most weigh less than 50g with stiffeners.
So that takes care of an entire category.
And sewing patterns go in an eBay branded poly envelope, 21x17x2 most weighing under 150 gr.
Another category done and dusted.
I just put the "usual " dimensions into the template, and only adjust if necessary.
ES takes care of the rest.
Your glorious little purses - do most of them fit in a 21x17x 2cm envelope? Would you trust it? (I wouldn't) Does a 4x4x3" box work?
https://www.uline.ca/Product/GuidedNav?t=184360&R=1%3b1
Once you know the size of the box and the usual wrapped weight, you can guessimate what numbers to put into the shipping information. (Go a bit high).
Fourteen cents for a box is an expense, but foraging for boxes is also expensive in time if not money.
flipistics
·1 week agoI find buyers are really sensitive to shipping costs. You don't have to prepackage everything, but you should be able to guesstimate pretty accurately what the dimensions and weight will be. You should always have a plan to ship something before you list it.
In the case of something like electronics, figurines, dishes etc I generally prepack them anyway to make sure they stay protected. For other things you figure it out pretty quickly. I use rate tables for everything other than eIS and expedited lite.