eBay

mrsaad27 · ‎02-04-2019

I shipped two boxes, those of which were purchases and Canada Post cleaned me out of $43.00 and that doesn't include tracking. That's the bulk of my earnings up in smoke and service never improved...smh

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎02-04-2019

Without having all the details, if you sent parcels and they got lost in transit and included insurance you could make a claim to cover your actual losses + original postage. Otherwise, Canadapost may be able to track and locate for them to arrive at their intended destination.

-lotz

recped · ‎02-04-2019

@mrsaad27 wrote:
I shipped two boxes, those of which were purchases and Canada Post cleaned me out of $43.00 and that doesn't include tracking. That's the bulk of my earnings up in smoke and service never improved...smh

You are the one who chose to list the items with Free Shipping so how is this the fault of Canada Post?

Seems to me you robbed yourself!

"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.

zee-chan-jpn-books · ‎02-04-2019

Did you ship something super heavy, or was it to Nunavut/somewhere rural?
Did you do your research on shipping rates prior to listing?
If you thought the shipping was too pricey, you could've always taken the item back, cancel the sale, and refund the buyer... I'm sure Canada Post didn't point a knife at you to ship them, so how is that robbing you?

recped · ‎02-04-2019

@zee-chan-jpn-books wrote:
Did you ship something super heavy, or was it to Nunavut/somewhere rural?
Did you do your research on shipping rates prior to listing?
If you thought the shipping was too pricey, you could've always taken the item back, cancel the sale, and refund the buyer... I'm sure Canada Post didn't point a knife at you to ship them, so how is that robbing you?

OP has Free Shipping (worldwide!!!!).

Maybe they thought Free Shipping for the buyer means Canada Post ships for free?

"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.

recped · ‎02-04-2019

@mrsaad27

You have an Active listing right now that also offers Free worldwide shipping, you are going to get "robbed" on that one as well if you don't change it.

"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.

mrsaad27 · ‎02-05-2019

Not super heavy at all! I had one going to Spain and the other going to Singapore. I was expecting to pay half that. I was shocked at how much I got ripped off of. The reason I list free shipping is to make it easier on the buyers.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎02-05-2019

Always best to do the research before you set a price for something when you are including free shipping. Shipping can vary substantially depending weight/dim's/Services available and location its going to. Same if you are shipping from Canada's middle to the east or west. Another way to go is Free Shipping in Canada and then calculated for USA/Intl to take out part of the guesswork and so you don't feel "robbed."

-Lotz

momcqueen · ‎02-05-2019

If you underestimated the cost of postage, I’m sorry to hear it, but that’s a mistake we sellers only make once.

Canada Post makes no secret of their rates. Spend ten minutes analyzing their rates predictor function. Or use Calculated shipping when you list and let the software do that postal calculation for you.

femmefan1946 · ‎02-05-2019

First- close your current listings. There are expensive shipping errors. Don't worry, they will go into your Unsold Items list for 60 days.

Second- Bookmark this link.

https://www.canadapost.ca/cpotools/apps/far/business/findARate?execution=e1s1

Third- Free Shipping is NOT FREE.

It is adspeak for "shipping cost is included in the asking price".

Which is cheaper?

A $20 item with $5 shipping ?

Or a $25 item with Free Shipping?

Fourth- Never offer Free International Shipping. You can't afford it.

Fifth - Do not ship by Surface. NEVER NEVER NEVER.

Sixth- Do not sell internationally until you have at least 10 DSRs and know why they are irrelevant.

Seventh- go to Canada Post and sign up for a Small Business Solutions card. You will need one to get discounted shipping from Shippo, Paypal and SnapShip/Canada Post.

Tyler@ebay is putting together a list of things experienced sellers want newbies to know.

Read it.

zee-chan-jpn-books · ‎02-05-2019

@mrsaad27 wrote:
Not super heavy at all! I had one going to Spain and the other going to Singapore. I was expecting to pay half that. I was shocked at how much I got ripped off of. The reason I list free shipping is to make it easier on the buyers.

Oh, I assumed you were only shipping domestically since you were listing with "free shipping", and I didn't realize that $43 was for two parcel, not just one.

Canada Post didn't rob you then; you robbed yourself by not doing any research ahead of time. Spain and Singapore, even for something as light as 250g, you're looking at $11-12 to ship there.

$43 for two parcel to those two places, so I guess it's under 500g? It's around $20-23 each to ship things under 500g there with small packet air.

We all make mistakes, it's okay as long as we learn from it. $43 is not too horrible; it could be way worse. Other commenters gave good advice up there so have a look.

cumos55 · ‎02-05-2019

You would be most surprised to learn what happened to me over the years so that I will learn what not to do ..... in order to be successful on eBay.

I have learned that success as a seller on eBay is knowing what NOT to do.

A seller must be in control... and know how to deal with something that is not quite ... right.

-----------------------------

My learning process started with my reading about the problems that sellers encountered on eBay.com.

Sellers had problems... and knowledgeable sellers helped them.

mrsaad27 · ‎02-05-2019

Going forward I will be adjusting the next item accordingly as I will offer free shipping domestically from now on.

recped · ‎02-05-2019

Even if you sell to a Canadian buyer it's going to cost you $12 just to ship to Ottawa, maybe $15 to BC. I don't think Free Shipping is a good idea unless you'll be happy netting $20 on your $40 listing.

By the way, there is a glaring omission in that listing, there are no dimensions. A real collector might not need them but a more casual buyer does.

"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.

zee-chan-jpn-books · ‎02-05-2019

You might want to look up shipping from your location to Nunavut. It's still part Canada but for smaller items it might cost more to ship there than to Europe, just saying. Shipping to US is usually cheaper than to rural areas in Canada.

Again, do your research. Don't assume that domestic shipping is gonna be cheaper. Only things that are small enough to be shipped with lettermail is cheap within Canada.