Shipping calculator is broken

[spacehymns]

Hello,

The shipping calculator doesn't work on my listing for US buyers.  I selected 'Canada post international parcel - Surface' as the shipping method for US buyers, but no matter what ZIP code a buyer enters, they receive an error: "Shipping cost cannot be calculated. Please enter a valid ZIP Code."  How can I fix this?  I can't revise the item now.

[kawartha-ephemera]

The calculator is not working because you have chosen an incompatible service for U.S. Shipments.

Instead, select CP Expedited USA and enter the dimensions in centimeters and the weight in kilograms and grams.

When selecting CP services for the U.S. only from those services that have USA included in the name are eligible choices.

International Parcel Surface is only available to countries outside of Canada and USA.

[spacehymns]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.  How can I fix my listing now?  It appears too late to make amendments.

[kawartha-ephemera · Accepted solution]

Congrats on all the bidding activity.

Unfortunately, once an auction has a bid editing any of the details is severely limited.

The problem is your American bidders are bidding without knowing the cost of shipping which can in the end cause problems.
So, what I would do is go to the CP find a rate page, plug in your projected parcel dimensions and weight, choose CP Expedited USA and get a rough idea of what it will cost. The rate will vary a bit depending on which state you're shipping to. If you sign up for a CP Solutions for Small Business account you will get a discount off of the counter rates.

Armed with that information you could contact the bidders, explain the shipping calculator is not going to work for them, quote the amount you will be charging for any American buyer and notify them that you will send a correct invoice including shipping immediately after the auction ends.

I would probably discount the shipping so as not to scare the bidders off.

You may still be able to add a sentence or two to the end of the listing description. EBay won't let you change anything but additional information can be added to the end of the listing. I don't think bids will block that option.

[spacehymns]

That's very helpful.  Thanks for your time!

If only eBay would fix the shipping calculator feature so this kind of error wouldn't happen!  I would expect it would be a fairly easy fix.

[reallynicestamps]

The fix would be to refuse to accept services that do not fit the dimensions and weight the seller gives on the Sell Your Item form.

Which they sorta do, badly, by refusing to give a price to the buyers.

Which means sellers have to review every listing including shipping , and make corrections before the listing 'indexes'.

Which is a pain.

You are using metric measures, though? Canada Post went metric in 1974 and any others will be just a little off and can lead to this error.