eBay

bluebird555 · ‎02-24-2014

Shipping Calculator will not calculate any US Zip Code from Canada. I get the message Shipping cost cannot be calculated. Please enter a valid ZIP Code. Called Ebay Tech support and after nearly an hour on phone told me that shipping calculators will not work for anyone selling from Canada to the US. Am Confused as it seems that everyone else selling from Canada does not have this problem. Have had 3 people from ebays tech support go thru my listing and are unable to find n e thing wrong with my shipping settings. I am starting to wonder why the calculator can figure out how much it costs to ship to the Congo but Grand Rapids is too confusing for it .

pjcdn2005 · ‎02-24-2014

There are a few reasons why that might happen but the most common problem is when a seller is using calculated shipping for expedited shipping to the U.S. but the measurements are too small for that service. The minimum measurements for expedited USA are 21xm x 14 cm x .5cm. But the minimum measurements for expedited or regular parcel within Canada are 10cm x 7cm x 1mm so you could be getting a price for shipping within Canada but not to the U.S. The calculator won't tell you that the measurements are incorrect...it just gives the message that you've seen.

You don't seem to be separating U.S. shipping from shipping to other countries. For example, on item 171247684608, the shipping to the U.S. is $40 and shipping to Australia is $40. When you fill out your shipping options, do one option for shipping to the U.S. and another option for shipping to other international countries. If you are using calculated shipping, make sure that you are using a service that specifies the U.S. (ex. small packet USA) and one that specifies shipping internationally for other countries (ex. international small packet)

A suggestion..... You would do better in sales if you used lettermail for your blu ray/dvd discs within Canada, light packet USA to the US and light packet international to other countries. Most people do not want to pay $10+ for postage for an inexpensive item. Light packet has the same measurement requirements as lettermail...the package has to be less than 2cm thick. If it is more than that, you might want to use small packet. Light packet and small packet do not have tracking or insurance but in most categories, there are few packages that ever get 'lost'. Only you can decide what your risk level is...many sellers use self insurance rather than use the more expensive mail services. There is always the option of third party insurance as well.

Just in case you don't know...you can print your non lettermail shipping labels through paypal. You'll receive about 18% off of counter prices for expedited Canada and USA and about 14% off of counter prices for Tracket Packet US and international.

rroader94 · ‎02-26-2014

In my opinion PJCDN2005 took the time to offer a comprehensive reply on shipping from Canada to the USA. Good job.

I use the online shipping calculator and print my labels at home with few if any problems. But it's not easy to be on eBay.com

and sell from Canada to the USA and Worldwide because eBay.com shipping modes are US not Canadian.

elmvalefleamarket · ‎03-02-2014

Same problem. I've stopped selling in volume until this garbage is sorted out. The eBay techs are virtually useless or this problem would have been solved months ago. Just shows eBay doesn't really care too much about Canadian customers/sellers. The answer below is unacceptable,...why is it our job to 'separating US shipping from other countries'. I've been doing that, and that still doesn't work. I'm not a happy camper as it wastes hours of my time answering questions that should be handled by the automated calculator. FIX IT EBAY!@!

elmvalefleamarket · ‎03-02-2014

Tried separating mailing options, still the calculator doesn't work. DVD's and some CD's can't be sent lettermail from Canada, they're just too thick, we're stuck with the more expensive option. After using paypal for printing postage I've never received anywhere near the 18 or 14% off, usually closer to 1-5% off, plus I have to pay for paper and ink. Often lately, the paypal postage prints 2 pages, so that wastes more $ and paper for me...thanks PAYPAL!

pocomocomputing · ‎03-02-2014

Printing 2 pages usually is a printer setup issue on your browser. In the browser page setup you need to make sure margins are set to 0.5 inches and headers and footers are set to none. Also use the shrink to fit option. Then the output from PayPal should fit on one page.

ypdc_dennis · ‎03-04-2014

@elmvalefleamarket wrote:
... DVD's and some CD's can't be sent lettermail from Canada, they're just too thick, ...

A regular (14mm) DVD case in a bubble envelope is under the 2cm limit for light packet.

cousinquiller · ‎03-07-2014

I am having the same problem. I think I know why this is happening. The problem occurs when you choose Small Packet Air as a shipping choice when you are creating your listing.

If you choose this service but enter a weight figure that exceeds the allowable amount for this service, a message appears in red telling you that you have exceeded the weight requirement for this service. But if you enter parcel measurements that exceed the allowable size amount for this service, a warning message does NOT appear. You continue on with creating your listing, oblivious to the fact that your parcel cannot be sent by Small Packet Air. The result is that when US shoppers enter their zip code in the calculator, it is rejected because the service you have chosen is not available. It's a BUG IN THE SYSTEM that I hope eBay will rectify, both because of the zip code problem and because Canada Post's shipping system is so complicated and I, as a seller, rely on eBay to tell me if I have chosen the wrong shipping method for my parcel.

An example of what I mean: I am selling an item for which the parcel is 32 x 16 x 12 x 290. I choose Small Packet Air when creating my listing, did not receive an error message, and now the zip code calculator is not working for this item. I now know that it's because the measurements do not meet the service's requirements.

cousinquiller · ‎03-07-2014

CORRECTION TO MY PREVIOUS POST:

I used the wrong term. The problem is with the Light Packet Air service, not the Small Packet Air service. To solve the zip code problem in an active listing, revise it by changing the shipping service from Light Packet Air to Small Packet Air.

pjcdn2005 · ‎03-07-2014

cousinquiller, I had a quick look at your listings and it looks like you might have a couple of different problems. You mentioned the weight overage with light packet and in the example that you gave (32 x 16 x 12 x 290) and assuming that you mean 290 grams, I don't think that it is the weight that is giving you a problem but the depth of the package. The maximum weight for light packet is 500 grams but the maximum depth is the same as oversize lettermail which is 2 cm. You might have 1 or 2 items that qualify for light packet such as the pamphlet but it looks as if most of your items would be too deep. That shouldn't matter too much in your case as some cases, items over a 150gram cost more to send light packet than small packet.

On some of your listings your listings show the shipping prices of only some international countries. In some cases, that seems to be because you are either using International Air (item 261411819332) and in other cases you are using Tracked Packet International.

International Air only goes to countries that do not have Xpresspost. so if International Air is the only international service you specify, many countries do not show a price.The two services are similar in price (expensive) so you might want to be careful where you use them. Tracked Packet also only goes to specific countries so you have to show more than one service when you ship internationally using it.

You have a couple of items that have less expensive starting bids but they have expensive shipping. One example is item 261413325612 which as shipping of $72 to the UK. Unless you expect the bids to go quite high and you want to use a service with tracking, you might want to consider using small packet air for that type of item. Small packet air international goes to all international countries with the exception of the U.S. which uses small packet air USA.

These same issues have been true on the shipping calculator as long as I can remember so it is unlikely that ebay will make a change. It's best that you learn all the ins and outs of Canadian shipping which can take a while and also to check your listings yourself to make sure that buyers can see the correct shipping cost. And...you can always ask questions here 🙂

bargeefamily · ‎01-10-2018

4 years later and ebay still have not fixed these issues. Very frustrating when trying to get the U.S market. In my case it was the mesurements for expedited that created an issue. Been scratching my head on this for a long time. I had resorted to flat cost (highest quote) for all U.S buyers.

Thanks pjcdc2005!