eBay

avionsunantiques · ‎02-22-2018

I've noticed that Canadapost tracked Packet US was working on some of my listings and not others AFTER completing the deleat Canadapost Air Parcel work around.

CP tracked Packet US size limit is 90cm L+W+H and 1kg. (1 kg is about 2.2 pounds).

When I set the package weight at 2 pounds, the ebay shipping rate calculator does not show a Canadpost Tracked Packet US rate (just gives a message to the US buyer that shipping can not be calculated).

When I change the same package weight to 16 oz and zero pounds, the ebay shipping calculator works for CP Tracked Packet USA.

You can adjust the fixed charge (packing fees etc) to compensate for the additional cost of the 500g to 1kg weight.

This is also an example of the incompetent computer code produced by ebay, and the lack of support given to ebay.ca vs ebay.com

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎02-22-2018

Measurements on all of my listings are metric dot ca. I do not create listings on dot com. All I've ever used since I started selling on here.. As it has been noted by many other posters on this board, displayed info seems to change irrationally and hourly.

-CM

momcqueen · ‎02-22-2018

When I Sell Similar and convert to Imperial units of measurement, I get an error. Cannot publish.

momcqueen · ‎02-22-2018

Test 2 https://www.ebay.ca/itm/232675304384

Errors until I dropped sizes and weight to the smallest possible in weight of imperial measurements. Still getting a cost for Tracked Packet but nothing for Xpresspost. Conclusion: units of imperial measure as part of the Calculated Shipping tool is even more broken than the rest. I'm starting to wonder if ebay didn't assign this tool to someone who quit in a blaze of furious glory, messing up everything they could on the way out the door.

momcqueen · ‎02-22-2018

@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:
Measurements on all of my listings are metric dot ca. I do not create listings on dot com. All I've ever used since I started selling on here.. As it has been noted by many other posters on this board, displayed info seems to change irrationally and hourly.
-CM

We're not talking about ebay.ca versus ebay.com, per se, we're specifically discussing metric versus imperial units of measurement. Ebay.ca allows you to choose one or the other and I've used exclusively metric until this experiment tonight which shows me that imperial units of measurement are even more misunderstood by the shipping calculator than the metric ones.

pjcdn2005 · ‎02-23-2018

Yes the CP calculator will give you a price even though the measurements are wrong. I did mention that in my previous post.

I tried creating a Shippo label using those same measurements 20x16x6 and it did show a price for Xpresspost and Expedited USA...I was surprised. I didn’t try printing it though but it shouldn’t have given a price at all considering the service isn’t supposed to exist for that size.

pjcdn2005 · ‎02-23-2018

Your dimensions are slightly different. He used 20cm as the first number, you used 22. The min. for expedited and Xpresspost is 21cm.

pjcdn2005 · ‎02-23-2018

Both 6 and 8 inches are too small for Xpresspost so I can see why you are not seeing it using 6”. But I have no idea why the 8” would show an error message.

pocomocomputing · ‎02-23-2018

@westcoastart2wrote:
Why do you make this recommendation?

Are you claiming that metric measurements are more accurate than imperial measurements?

Are you claiming that an inch is not an exact length? OR that an ounce is not an exact weight?

FYI (that means FOR YOUR INFORMATION), the above problem is worst in metric.

A Canada Post Tracked Packet US item within the volumetric limit (see above), with a weight of 500 grams does not produce a shipping result, where as using 499 grams does.

For the slow learners here who are about to say that 500g exceeds the limit, the weight limit is 1kg for Canada Post Tracked Packet USA.

Just a small comment on how I understand the eBay.ca listing form works.

In the real world, the imperial measurement system and the metric system are equally accurate.

In the eBay.ca site, the way the listing form works to enter the data, metric measurements are more precise thus more accurate than imperial measurements.

The metric system use of cm and grams is more precise than the imperial system of using inches and ounces because the metric units in whole numbers are smaller than the imperial units in whole units.

1 inch = 2.54 cm so the metric system is more precise when using whole numbers. Using cm is like measuring to every 0.4 inch.

1 ounce = 28.275 grams so the metric system is much more precise when using whole numbers. Using grams is like measuring precisely to every 0.035 ounces

The eBay.ca listing form when entering dimensions and weight only accepts whole numbers and no decimals. Using imperial measurements like ounces and inches are not as precise as cm and grams because of the rounding up one does when measuring and weighing a package.

If I measure a nice straight box and one side is 5 3/8 inches using the inches scale on my tape measure, I round up to 6 inches. Using the cm scale on that tape measure, I measure read 13.6 cm and round up to 14 cm.

But the 6 inches I enter if I use the imperial system on the eBay.ca listing form will be converted to 6 x 2.54 cm = 15.4 cm. Canada Post rates are in cm so the 15.4 cm will be 16 cm, a big 2 cm larger than if I had used metric on eBay to begin with. If similar 1 or 2 cm round up errors occur on the other 2 box dimensions, the box will be much larger and possibly affect the shipping service rates especially for volumetric weight.

If I use the imperial system, a package that weighs 8.1 ounces will be entered as 9 ounces. If I used the metric system, the package would have weighed very precisely at 230 grams. But the 9 ounces entered would be converted to 258 grams. If the item was being sent Small Packet USA Air, the round up error using the imperial measurement system would have jumped from the 250 gram class to the 500 gram class and I would have paid more in shipping.

Similar issues will happen with other Canada Post shipping services at other weight breaks around 100, 250, 500, 750 grams and 1, 1.5 and 2 kg and so on.

So in the eBay listing system, metric is more precise and accurate than the imperial system because of the way the listing form data entry is designed. When someone posts in these forums posts that metric is more accurate, they mean that using metric on eBay.ca listing form is more accurate than using the imperial system.

I apologize to readers for the length of this post and if this post seems too geeky because of the math comparisons between measurement systems.

Disclaimer: I made these tests years ago when the listing form was the old Sell Your Item form and not the New Advanced Listing Tool now used. I do not think anything has changed with the new tool. If I recall correctly, the old Sell Your Item form could take a decimal value but just did not use decimal part and just lost it or rounded up. I cannot test for this post because when I tried to make a test listing, I could not switch to imperial measurements. Strange, no idea why. Maybe someone else can test using decimals in the imperial system and report back what the listing form does today.

tyler@ebay · ‎02-23-2018

Hi everyone! I just wanted to update this thread and let you know I received word this morning that the fix our product team has been working on was rolled out. Buyers are now able to calculate shipping rates on listings (including to the US).

The 'invalid postal code' message display issue remains and is being worked on currently. Thanks for your patience while this has been sorted out!

Tyler,

flyhooks4less · ‎02-23-2018

Many Thanks for the update!!! tyler@ebay

I just checked few of my listings and they worked!

avionsunantiques · ‎02-23-2018

What are you talking about?????

USA Tracked packet will accept any item who'se package size does not exceed 90L+W+H AND does not exceed 1kg in weight.

avionsunantiques · ‎02-23-2018

Sorry to disappoint tyler@ebay but your fix doesn't work on this thread.

Many of my listings on ebay.ca were created with imperial measurements.

For some reason, your updated shipping rate calculator takes the item's weight (remember this is imperial, because it was entered as imperial and stated on the listing's form to be in imperial), in imperial units and treats it as if it was metric. Although the listing still says the units are imperial, the weighs are being treated as metric. ie, a 1 pound weight is being treated as a 1kg weight. No conversion, just an exchange of the units.

This means, a CP tracked packet US item (the weight limit is 1kg, which is just over 2.2 pounds), which has an entered weight of 2 pounds, is being read by the "new and improved" ebay rate calculator as 2kg, NOT the 2 pounds as entered.

This means the "NEW AND IMPROVED" ebay rate calculator can not give a rate, because it thinks the item is now too large for the stated postal service.

I just confirmed this again (on the afternoon of Feb 23, 2018, after you said the problem was fixed). I used item 382239156575. The units are in imperial. The package weight is 2 pounds. If I use 2 pounds, ebay won't give me a US tracked packet rate. If I use 1 pound instead it will. The rate it will give is the 2 pound rate (not the 1 pound rate). Its doing this because it is reading the absolute value as kiligrams, not pounds as entered and stated.

I first discovered this problem with some of my heavy items (Canadapost has a limit of about 30kg for expedited mail and xpresspost within Canada, and other similar maximum weight limits for international locations.)

I noticed that some of my items with weights of 30-40 pounds, no longer were giving shipping rates to anywhere. It turned out , the same problem was occurring (and continues to occur despite your claim its been fixed). I remedied the problem by cutting the imperial weighs by half. This problem happened on items 282635105808 and 282635105722

This situation may also explain why some (including myself), have noticed the ebay rate calculator for tracked packet international is giving rates higher than it should. The mail rate has different price points for 0-250g, 250-500g and 500-1kg. I suspect Ebay has taken the 1.1 pound items in the imperial unit version of the shipping rate calculator and treated them as 1.1kg items, etc.

Please advise when this problem has actually been fixed.

momcqueen · ‎02-23-2018

Switch to metric in the meantime.

momcqueen · ‎02-23-2018

I identified imperial measures as being messed up within the Shipping Calculator last night.

tyler@ebay · ‎02-23-2018

@avionsunantiques wrote:

Sorry to disappoint tyler@ebay but your fix doesn't work on this thread.

Many of my listings on ebay.ca were created with imperial measurements.

For some reason, your updated shipping rate calculator takes the item's weight (remember this is imperial, because it was entered as imperial and stated on the listing's form to be in imperial), in imperial units and treats it as if it was metric. Although the listing still says the units are imperial, the weighs are being treated as metric. ie, a 1 pound weight is being treated as a 1kg weight. No conversion, just an exchange of the units.

This means, a CP tracked packet US item (the weight limit is 1kg, which is just over 2.2 pounds), which has an entered weight of 2 pounds, is being read by the "new and improved" ebay rate calculator as 2kg, NOT the 2 pounds as entered.

This means the "NEW AND IMPROVED" ebay rate calculator can not give a rate, because it thinks the item is now too large for the stated postal service.

I just confirmed this again (on the afternoon of Feb 23, 2018, after you said the problem was fixed). I used item 382239156575. The units are in imperial. The package weight is 2 pounds. If I use 2 pounds, ebay won't give me a US tracked packet rate. If I use 1 pound instead it will. The rate it will give is the 2 pound rate (not the 1 pound rate). Its doing this because it is reading the absolute value as kiligrams, not pounds as entered and stated.

I first discovered this problem with some of my heavy items (Canadapost has a limit of about 30kg for expedited mail and xpresspost within Canada, and other similar maximum weight limits for international locations.)

I noticed that some of my items with weights of 30-40 pounds, no longer were giving shipping rates to anywhere. It turned out , the same problem was occurring (and continues to occur despite your claim its been fixed). I remedied the problem by cutting the imperial weighs by half. This problem happened on items 282635105808 and 282635105722

This situation may also explain why some (including myself), have noticed the ebay rate calculator for tracked packet international is giving rates higher than it should. The mail rate has different price points for 0-250g, 250-500g and 500-1kg. I suspect Ebay has taken the 1.1 pound items in the imperial unit version of the shipping rate calculator and treated them as 1.1kg items, etc.

Please advise when this problem has actually been fixed.

Apologies for my confusion @avionsunantiques - I was updating on the status of the fix I mentioned in the weekly chat this week. It looks like this is a different issue. Thanks for pointing that out! While I don't have an update on this particular issue at the moment, it looks like Momc has given you some great advice on a workaround in the meantime.

Thanks so much for taking the time to help with this @momcqueen! Always grateful you're willing to add your insight and assistance to reported issues.

Tyler,

avionsunantiques · ‎02-23-2018

Thank you for your reply tyler@ebay

Unfortunately changing hundreds of listings one at a time from metric to imperial is not a helpful solution.

I have already spent hours and hours doing this for critically affected listings (ie those with zero shipping rates suddenly displayed, or cheapest shipping rates suddenly omitted) - because of ebay's act of changing the units to kg from pounds, without changing the absolute values.

I am not happy about having my time wasted in this way.

tyler@ebay · ‎02-23-2018

@avionsunantiques wrote:

Thank you for your reply tyler@ebay

Unfortunately changing hundreds of listings one at a time from metric to imperial is not a helpful solution.

I have already spent hours and hours doing this for critically affected listings (ie those with zero shipping rates suddenly displayed, or cheapest shipping rates suddenly omitted) - because of ebay's act of changing the units to kg from pounds, without changing the absolute values.

I am not happy about having my time wasted in this way.

I wanted to make sure you had an option to utilize to bypass the issue while it is being reviewed and worked.

I absolutely realize that this isn't an idea solution - if I had a better workaround or resolution I would definitely share it. I appreciate your patience!

Tyler,