Most buyers are unable to purchase multiple items with combined shipping.

[mattwilliams1]

Hi everyone. I rarely turn here but I am at my wit's end with the way ebay is functioning and I would like some advice.

Lately it seems that many people are unable to purchase items without paying immediately thereby making it impossible to purchase multiple items with a combined shipping discount. I am getting multiple messages per day with people trying to figure this out.

The worst part about it is that it seems to mostly affect people who have a good feedback rating. (First one of the day has over 400). I know it sounds crazy but it's true because we are still getting the regular amount of non paying zero feedback buyers.

This is hammering our business and I am sick to think about how many people are trying to do this and giving up without emailing us. Right now the only option is to have them buy their items separately then refund a huge shipping overpayment and in turn literally paying ebay for their non functioning system.

FYI - We do not and have never had any items set to require immediate payment.  Also, all listings are on ebay.ca. 

Any thoughts?

Thank you in advance,

Matt

[bb_cool_stuff]

Yes ,this is also one of few pet peeves I have with eBay.

I believe they have been trying to fix this for months.

[domsvinyl]

As of today it's still broken....very frustrating

[nan*55]

Yes still happening. Had 2 buyers complain about it. Both from Canada!

[blackranda2]

Yes you are right on about this. I have my settings set correctly but I have had numerous buyers contact me with the same problems. I send them another combined shipping invoice and although the invoice I send to them shows the shipping discount it somehow is not there when they click on the Pay Now button. The buyer gets very frustrated and sometimes decides not to purchase at all. They ask me to cancel all the Buy It Now purchases they have made and since it is through no fault of their own I agree to do so. So now I have lost a substantial sale due to a glitch in eBay's system. What baffles me is sometimes a buyer can purchase multiple items, request a combined invoice from me and all goes well. Well, I now totally understand the buyer's frustration. A couple of days ago I did the Buy It now for 3 items from a US seller. I requested a combined shipping invoice from the seller which he emailed to me. Everything on the invoice was correct so I clicked on the Pay Now button. Imagine my surprise when I saw the invoice displayed on the eBay purchase page. The total of the invoice was $90 USD more than total of the invoice the seller emailed to me. And get this. There were 4 items on the invoice not 3. The 4th item was for a transaction which had been cancelled. Ebay had sent me an email earlier confirming it was cancelled so I did the Buy It Now again for the same item which the seller had relisted for me. I have been trying for 2 days to pay for these purchases but the system refuses to update the information. There is no way I am going to pay $90 USD more than the seller is charging for these items. So now I get how frustrating this is to buyers and don't blame them one bit for wanting to give up on purchasing.  Both myself and the seller have spent a huge amount of time emailing each other trying to fix this with no luck so far. I am now on the verge of considering giving up on the purchases myself.  This issue needs to addressed by eBay and fixed asap.

[blackranda2]

I think you are right about it being an issue which has to with the shopping cart. I had placed 2 of the 3 items I purchased in the cart while shopping around around. Then went back and removed from the cart on seller's advice. Did the Buy It Now for all 3 and requested a combined shipping invoice. But no matter how how many times I try I cannot get the correct invoice which the seller emailed to me to show when I go to pay. I will avoid the shopping cart like the plaque if I ever decide to buy again.

Imagine yourself in a store with a full shopping cart. When you go to the checkout they want you to pay for each item separately. As if you are going to agree to do that, all right!! 

[ypdc_dennis]

You do realize you can start a new thread rather than tack on to one that last had a posting over 2 years ago?

[pldmedia]

Yes, this is an old issue that has been affecting my sales for quite some time.

I have found that putting a note on listings that lets buyers be aware of this issue, and that buyers can contact ebay themselves(although most buyers won't...and I don't blame them) to fix this issue on a per sale basis(it has worked for the handful of buyers that have let me know).

I really think that most buyers just give up trying to combine orders if the system is broken as it is. It affects us, the sellers mostly...the system IS broken(the cart mostly).