w~~_7.JPG "pjcdn2005"){kind=avatar}
"We found no way round this,"
There is a way.
A buyer could send you a list by email of all items wanted.
You then arrange for a fixed price listing for all those items one price; one shipping charge - the buyer buys - the buyer pays - you ship.
The alternative (not recommended) is to add up the value of all items in the list and send a PayPal invoice including one shipping charge. The buyer pays, you ship.
"something's not working right.'
I agree with you since many of my customers (collectors) over the years have been purchasing a large number of items per transaction.
However, eBay is more concerned to satisfy its newest, largest sellers who only care about selling one item at the time and getting paid for it quickly. eBay has been changing its systems over the years to make it more difficult to:
1) combine several items on one invoice/payment
2) effectively communicate with buyers and possible buyers (eBay is paranoid about fee avoidance)
Unfortunately, I often have to send messages to would be buyers through the eBay messaging system stating: "Please advise directly your email address so I can reply adequately. I am at myname at myprovider dot com (or ca). Not pretty but it gets the job done.
I really wish I did not have to do it.
I can't offer any solutions just additional observations.......
I normally only run Auctions, buyers has no issues combining or requesting totals for multiple items. Every time I use one of the Fixed Price promos some buyers of multiple items are forced into paying for each item individually.
I place half the blame for this directly on eBay and the other half on eBay and all those sellers who never stop complaining about non-paying buyers. Like most of the "bad" policy things on eBay they come as an ill-conceived and poorly executed response to sellers complaints.
The old adage "careful what you wish for" is very appropriate for eBay sellers.
@pjcdn2005 wrote:If they blocked the message because they thought you were trying to do an off ebay transaction, they will tell you that the message didn't go through.
Yes, and what is even more frustrating when you're trying to sort out a problem with a buyer via eBay Messages, is that eBay deletes the message you were attempting to send. Then you have to start all over again, minus the offending text.
To follow up on the OP's issue, and Pierre's comments: I fail to understand what the point is of having a "cart" system if you can only put one item in the cart and not have the shipping adjusted by the seller. I think 'recped' is right that this ostensible solution was more of a poorly conceived knee-jerk reaction on the part of eBay.
I find it harder to imagine that it's because eBay specifically wanted to cater to single-purchase buyers. Surely eBay itself makes more money if customers can easily make multiple purchases (that they might otherwise not make if they didn't get a break on the shipping). It's ridiculous.
I recall Pierre mentioning at one point that asking your buyer to log onto eBay.ca and do the purchasing from there (regardless of where the buyer was located) would solve the problem, since we don't yet have the cart system. Kind of like getting out the good ol' reliable bicycle (or maybe the horse?) when the car breaks down...
Pierre - do you think that will still work? If so, I find it a better solution than messing around with lists of items and preparing a combined listing.
I have done the same thing myself in the past when I thought the buyer was at fault. Now I can't justify charging a customer an extra 30 cents for S/H when the fault lies with eBay's shopping cart glitch. eBay should fix it and we should receive a credit for the PP fee (
).
A U.S. buyer emailed me today thanking me for a S/H refund and she also said that the "shopping cart" would not let her combine the items into one payment. Most never contact me in either regard.
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