Ebay Shipping Question; Where Am I Going Wrong?

Ironmanfan

After about a year hiatus, I have started to sell some items again on eBay. The last two items I've sold have left me questioning if I am doing something wrong however. Ebay is calciulating the shipping cost and when I go to the PO to actually ship, the actual amount is higher...Case in point, this morning I shipped out something that I collected $11.25 in postage (PA to Calif) and the actual exepnse was like $15.50...The other item was calculated at $6 and it cost over $8...I'm obviously not getting rich on these items to be begin with and these additional costs cut into what little I'm really making anyways.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you

IMF

GB5HOF

I could be wrong, but I believe if your print your USPS labels from eBay, through Paypal...they give you a small discount. Not 100% sure...but I think they do.

mlbfan2

You should have a receipt, right? Use the USPS online postage calculator, put in the zip codes, the weight, and see what it says.

Or, you might have thought a package was 2lbs, when it was actually 2lbs, 1 oz.

stangrider

If you use ebay shipping they discount it a bit. Always cheaper to print labels online through ebay, stamps.com, ect.

LarkinCollector

Agreed, eBay's shipping calculations assume you are printing shipping labels from eBay where they get the standard bulk/online purchasing discount. If you take it to the post office without printing from eBay, you will pay a higher rate.

mlbfan2

<< <i>Agreed, eBay's shipping calculations assume you are printing shipping labels from eBay where they get the standard bulk/online purchasing discount. If you take it to the post office without printing from eBay, you will pay a higher rate. >>



He said the difference for the one package was ~$4.25 (15.50 - 11.25). They do not give that big of a discount for a $15 package.

mygotta

<< <i>After about a year hiatus, I have started to sell some items again on eBay. The last two items I've sold have left me questioning if I am doing something wrong however. Ebay is calciulating the shipping cost and when I go to the PO to actually ship, the actual amount is higher...Case in point, this morning I shipped out something that I collected $11.25 in postage (PA to Calif) and the actual exepnse was like $15.50...The other item was calculated at $6 and it cost over $8...I'm obviously not getting rich on these items to be begin with and these additional costs cut into what little I'm really making anyways.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you

IMF >>



Sounds like you charged for a Medium Flat Rate Priority Box and put it in a Large Flat Rate Priority Box. Medium is about $11 and Large is about $15.

If you dont have a digital scale, and one that is calibrated correctly, you will mis-weigh your items.

One thing I do to prevent undercharging for shipping is I will add a few ounces to a pound to the actual weight. This will help include any packaging that I may have not thought through. I sometimes also include a handling fee.

The other option is to have free shipping, but hike the price up to include the shipping cost. So when it sells, you get the amount you wanted.

LarkinCollector

<< <i>

<< <i>Agreed, eBay's shipping calculations assume you are printing shipping labels from eBay where they get the standard bulk/online purchasing discount. If you take it to the post office without printing from eBay, you will pay a higher rate. >>



He said the difference for the one package was ~$4.25 (15.50 - 11.25). They do not give that big of a discount for a $15 package. >>


Unless it's calculated at Medium Flat Rate on eBay and shipped as First Class package by weight (or flat vs. regional). Regardless, I don't let eBay calculate shipping for me when they're actually charging me fees on shipping costs (i.e. I need to charge $12.50 for shipping to cover $11.25 actual shipping cost + 10% eBay fee on shipping).