eBay shipping calculator is off

[lady.stark]

I really think the eBay shipping calculator is off... when listing items in US$ with calculated shipping: a buyer just paid $2.97 for a Light Packet item and when I go to PayPal to pay and print the label... US $3.06!! Are they kidding me? The buyer paid less than $3 and *I* have to pay MORE than what he paid?

[lady.stark]

But no, every single one of my completed listings shows today's conversion on the shipping rate not the correct one as it was when the Invoice was actually generated. Means if Buyers do not consult the Invoice, or even if they do, they can go back to the listing once the item arrives and possibly see a completely different amount than they paid and what the postage might reflect ... and there goes the S&H Star rating  X-(

I'm sorry for my late reply, but I couldn't come to the boards in the last few days. Just trying to understand the new stupid rules of eBay for sellers!

Anyway, back to the topic, you nailed it in that reply quoted above! When buyer purchased, the cost they paid was $2.97 because it was the converted amount at the time of buying. But if they came back to the listing the day after purchase, they would have seen a charge of $2.99 (just like the other posters saw). In that case, the buyer will be happy. But if he comes back to the auction at a date where conversion is $2.95, he will NOT be happy, because he will think I charged him more when in fact, it's the conversion rate from Canadian to US that varied. 😞

The same applies when a buyer look at your auction on the first day of listing. Let's say at that date, shipping was $2.97. He put it in his watch list and then comes back to the listing a day later to buy, but he now sees $3.00. He will probably think I increased the shipping when in fact it is because of the conversion rate! Now I know why I didn't sell much when calculated shipping was on many of my listings. Shipping kept changing every day!

That is why I'm sticking to a flat rate now. What the buyer paid for will always be what is shown in the listing if he comes back to verify something.

[lady.stark]

Shipping kept changing every day!

By the way, that fact only applies if you list in US dollars and use calculated shipping in US dollars.

Flate Rate doesn't have that problem.

Listing in Canadian dollars doesn't either (I mean the Canadian price always stays the same, which is the rate charged by Canada Post + your handling fee if you charge any).

[pocomocomputing]

By the way, that fact only applies if you list in US dollars and use calculated shipping in US dollars.

Flate Rate doesn't have that problem.

Listing in Canadian dollars doesn't either (I mean the Canadian price always stays the same, which is the rate charged by Canada Post + your handling fee if you charge any).

Expedited Parcel, Xpresspost and the new Tracked Packet have a fuel surcharge built into their rates. The fuel surcharge is revised in the first week of each month and may change resulting is a slight change in the rates for these services. So when using calculated shipping in CAN $$ on eBay.ca, the rate can change in a listing from month to month. So a buyer viewing a listing with Expedited Parcel with calculated shipping may see a different price by a few cents on the day before and after the fuel surcharge is changed.

So it is possible for a listing in Can $$ on eBay.ca to have a different shipping cost showing around the day the fuel surcharge is revised. Then it will be the same rate until the next month and a possible change in the fuel surcharge.

Here is the Canad Post web page on the past 3 months of fuel surcharge rates.

http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/aboutus/news/fuel/history.jsf

The fuel surcharge rate is trending down so Canada Post rates are getting slightly cheaper for Expedited Parcel, Tracked Packet and Xpresspost.

[old.crows.nest]

Thanks for sharing your experiences with variable rates displaying on shipping.

In the time before eBay started forcing the mandatory Shipping Calculator on us I used to offer Flat Rate Shipping and post it in my description. But that was in the time before Canada Post came up with rate zones for the US (and International.) Those zones meant it made it easier to offer a more accurate rate by going calculated. It was just logical since I had to use the Calculator for larger items shipped Domestic anyway.

I wish I wasn't so concerned with being honest, makes my head hurt.

The only way I can think to solve the issue with the Variable Rate Calculator is to start listing is Canada Dollars and see how that goes.

Now all I want for Christmas is for the Calculator to recognize the Pre-Paid Flat Rate Xpresspost envelopes. How hard can it be? It already knows my Postal Code, based on that it is a short go to list to vary which Postal Codes are my Region and which are National. Nothing could be simpler.

[pierrelebel]

"Variable Rate Calculator"

It is not the rate calculator that is variable, it is the exchange rate.

And, quite frankly, when you look at every angle (listings on eBay.com in US$, viewed on eBay.ca in Cdn$ or listed on eBay.ca in Cdn$ and viewed on eBay.com in US$, etc...) there is no solution that will work for everyone at all times.

Reality is that currency conversion varies from day to day.  eBay provides approximate value of the current day for information purpose.  It is a good guide for buyers.  However, the actual amount of money charged to the buyer and received by the seller may vary depending when the transaction is actually paid (not necessarily the day of purchase). And the value may change again if the seller does not purchase postage the same day using the same conversion rate!

In most instances the difference is small (pennies) and not worth obsessing about it.

[old.crows.nest]

Pierre, I am in total agreement with all the nuances regarding exchange rates and application.

I apologize for writing out my thoughts in way that did not accurately represent my understandings.

I was speaking from a perspective solely based on appearances and not on any structural reality. Unfortunately, the direction the world has taken there are those that do not care to know how things actually work and only want to concern their self with their experience and making judgments (grudge-ments) based on how those things appear to them.

[lady.stark]

So a buyer viewing a listing with Expedited Parcel with calculated shipping may see a different price by a few cents on the day before and after the fuel surcharge is changed.

I didn't know that fuel surcharge was revised every month. Thanks for the information! Another reason for NOT using the calculator. Or just use it for Light and Small Packets worldwide and regular parcel domestically. Or go for a flat rate.

[lady.stark]

Now all I want for Christmas is for the Calculator to recognize the Pre-Paid Flat Rate Xpresspost envelopes.

Yeah, me too I would like that!! Since I mostly sell photos, it would be so great for me, especially for large orders!

[lady.stark]

It is VERY strange... in message 47, some parts of what I wrote didn't get through... ?:|

The whole message was this:

Yeah, me too, I would like that!! But not just for the calculator. I would like to have a discount with PayPal too on that service, just like USPS does. Since I mostly sell photos, it would be so great for me, especially for larger orders!

[pocomocomputing]

It is VERY strange... in message 47, some parts of what I wrote didn't get through... ?:|

The whole message was this:

Yeah, me too, I would like that!! But not just for the calculator. I would like to have a discount with PayPal too on that service, just like USPS does. Since I mostly sell photos, it would be so great for me, especially for larger orders!

Forum posting bug reported to eBay a couple of months ago and not yet acknowledged or fixed.

If you reply to a post and then preview, then go back and edit, all of the editing changes and additional text after the preview can be lost. Very annoying.

I am using FireFox 18.0.2 under Windows XP SP3. I do not know if it is specific to a browser.

[pocomocomputing]

Forum posting bug reported to eBay a couple of months ago and not yet acknowledged or fixed.

If you reply to a post and then preview, then go back and edit, all of the editing changes and additional text after the preview can be lost. Very annoying.

I am using FireFox 18.0.2 under Windows XP SP3. I do not know if it is specific to a browser.

The issue with lost edits in forum posts started right after the forums were updated a couple of months ago. I am not the only one as I have seem a few posts on the issue.

[pjcdn2005]

lady stark, you can get a discount on prepaid xpresspost envelopes through Canada Post online. If you are a venture one member you can buy the envelopes in groups of 4 which are discounted.

[lady.stark]

I am using FireFox 18.0.2 under Windows XP SP3. I do not know if it is specific to a browser.

I don't think it is specific to a browser, because I use Internet Explorer (not the last version, but the one before it) with Windows Vista.

That's exactly what happened though: I went to preview and than Edit. And then Post. What I added the 2nd time disappeared... hope eBay will fix it soon.

[lady.stark]

lady stark, you can get a discount on prepaid xpresspost envelopes through Canada Post online. If you are a venture one member you can buy the envelopes in groups of 4 which are discounted.

Thanks PJ! But I once tried to become a venture one member, and when I hit the last button to make my request official, the button didn't work. I clicked many, many times, but it just would go to the next page. So I gave up. Maybe because I don't own a company?

[pjcdn2005]

You don't need to own a company so I'm not sure what the problem was. You can get an application form at the post office if online isn't working for you.

A note about editing posts......It seems that if you edit and then post directly, you lose the edited part of the post. But if you edit, review and then post, it seems to work fine.

[old.crows.nest]

Yup, I signed up at the PO, no hassle and received first discount right then 🙂

[old.crows.nest]

I buy using discount and even double dipped when there was a sale on prepackaged product a few years back.

Still want to see the ebay calculator recognize this method. I can use counter prices as an option when setting up the calculator and as far as I am concerned it does not get any more counter ready than these prepaid envelopes. I asked years ago (as imageelf) in one of the weekly gab sessions and still no progress. I live on the west coast and would just like to offer area specific flat rate without pizzing off my regional neighbours, been there as a Buyer and as a result do not want to go there as a Seller  X-(

[scorps007]

 I know this is an older thread but like to add my 2 cents, and yes I noticed a slight imbalance in shipping calculator vs. actual when I just use PayPal US dollar balance to pay.

 Couple things to keep in mind to help:

 First thing is keep in mind you do not even collect that full amount in shipping as it is! A percent is first deducted with eBay, then another amount of total by PayPal. You should account for this in your prices.

 Then, you can use your Canadian credit card you have linked to your PayPal as payment method. So then charged in Canadian, one thing I didn't check with this method is if my credit card company considers this a purchase as it is using PayPal or a kind of "cash advance" that includes all sorts of fees and interest from the moment used.

 If it is the latter, I will try to transfer some of my balance into Canadian dollars when rates are good for shipping purposes.