Need some EBay selling advice?

[P_R_Rice]

Does anyone have experience selling this weekend? I was thinking of placing a listing to end tomorrow evening - post dinner time, but am unsure if that would be wise. Any experience on which would be the best day to place the auction?

This is for a Hatchimal, BTW. So it will sell no matter what, but I'm trying to get the best price. My best so far finished early last Sunday afternoon.

Edited November 23, 2016 by P_R_Rice

[Cozei]

On October 18, 2016 at 11:16 PM, Phil B said:

Where can I see that? All I have is a teeny tiny line in my EBay selling fees giving me a shipping rate (~$25), an admin fee ($2.50) and an $0.86 discount. The box I used myself was 28x19x4.

On October 18, 2016 at 11:25 PM, ravenb99 said:

yes you got hit with dimensional weight.  

that size box would probably be measured closer to 29x20x5 as box measurements are inside .

the calculator is here

http://www.fedex.com/in/tools/dimweight.html

 

My apology if seen as dead horse beating, but I have been shipping more larger packages further lately. Fedex Smartpost pricing on eBay is too tempting, especially if offering free shipping. I haven't had any problems.

Can folks help me nail this down? Are you consistently getting above quoted (at eBay label print screen) charges later on monthly invoices? Or is this more of a Fedex goofed, mismeasured/weighed, sometimes problem that needs to be hunted down occasionally?

 

This is what eBay says regarding Fedex Smartpost:

Quote

 

We’ll bill your monthly invoice for the actual label cost because you’re printing a label with FedEx. Learn more

When you buy a FedEx shipping label on eBay, we'll pay FedEx directly and then add your FedEx shipping label costs to your monthly eBay invoice.

The information you enter about your package will help us determine the estimated total. FedEx will also weigh and measure your package. A difference in weight or dimensions may change the final cost, which will be billed to your monthly invoice.

 

 

This is what Fedex says on their website about Dimensional Weight:

Quote

 

Understanding dimensional weight

Dimensional weight applies to both FedEx Express® and FedEx Ground® packages. It reflects a package’s density, which is the amount of space a package occupies in relation to its actual weight. For each shipment, your charge is based on the dimensional weight or actual weight of the package — whichever is greater.*

 

 

So does dimensional weight, which would often be greater than actual weight for decent size Lego shipping, apply for Fedex SmartPost in eBay? The dimensional weight language refers to Express and Ground as you can see above. I don't see any reference to dimensional weight in Fedex "Features of Service" for SmartPost on Fedex.com 

I don't believe I've been charged on an eBay monthly invoice for anything higher than was quoted as yet. As an example I shipped a 23x16x7 box weighing 4lb. 6oz. via Smartpost. Fedex dimensional weight tool put this package at 16lbs. Fedex Home Delivery from within eBay is estimated at ~$20. Fedex Ground shipped through Fedex website would be ~$27. 

I can clearly see the eBay printed label was estimated at $11.91, going to CA for this package. The invoiced line for Supplemental service fees on last months invoice for this is $11.91. Fine print there says: Wt. 5.0 LB. 

So while not stated anywhere I can find it my understanding is that Fedex SmartPost through eBay uses the actual weight and dimensions of a package, not dimensional weight. From what I read at BP there seems to sometimes be a goof and Fedex charges eBay dimensional weight.

Anyone know otherwise?

 

One odd thing I've noticed is that the eBay shipping calculator has an odd relationship with SmartPost. It is not always an option in the calculator as an estimate service (with packages that obviously meet the device requirements, max 70lbs and girth 130in.).  Though I have not run into an instance where I can't use it for posting or later for label printing.

Thanks, sorry for the book! 

[lazuli16]

It finally happened to me.  USPS lost my package.  How should I go about refunding the buyer.   Should they initiate the refund request or should I? 

[KShine]

1 minute ago, lazuli16 said:

It finally happened to me.  USPS lost my package.  How should I go about refunding the buyer.   Should they initiate the refund request or should I? 

How do you know it was lost?

[lazuli16]

it's been two weeks and the buyer still hasn't received it.  They live one state over and was mailed first class.

[KShine]

1 minute ago, lazuli16 said:

it's been two weeks and the buyer still hasn't received it.  They live one state over and was mailed first class.

What does the tracking show? So they have contacted you, saying that they didn't receive it?

Edited November 25, 2016 by KShine

[lazuli16]

that the labels been printed.  I dropped off two other packages that day and they have been delivered.

[KShine]

4 minutes ago, lazuli16 said:

that the labels been printed.  I dropped off two other packages that day and they have been delivered.

If the buyer hasn't contacted you, I would wait. Sometimes the tracking/scanning has issues (and it might still have been delivered).

Of course, as soon as they mention the issue (if they do) - then issue the refund.

Edited November 25, 2016 by KShine

[lazuli16]

I got the email yesterday from the buyer.  it was a $15 purchase, so it's not a issue.  My concern is that I end up hurting my rating.  Should I initiate the refund or should I ask the buyer to initiate it, or does it not even matter at all.  

[KShine]

3 minutes ago, lazuli16 said:

I got the email yesterday from the buyer.  it was a $15 purchase, so it's not a issue.  My concern is that I end up hurting my rating.  Should I initiate the refund or should I ask the buyer to initiate it, or does it not even matter at all.  

I don't believe that it matters much anymore. As long as you resolve the issue, you seem to avoid getting dinged.

I would have them submit the item not received, and then you respond/resolve. If you submit a request, some buyers can theoretically view it as if you are trying to deny any issue took place.

As far as what might have happened - One possibility is that you printed out 2 of one of the other labels from that days shipments (and that other buyer might have received the 2nd package). I have on very rare occasions over the years done this (at some sleep deprived, overworked moments). You would think that would stop USPS from delivering the 2nd package (with a duplicate postage), but it doesn't.

[midbenne]

Question: I have 3 snow globes that have all received offers that I have have since responded to. However, last night I got an offer for all 3 at a good price. I do have outstanding offers out that haven't been accepted/declined. Can I accept this offer for all 3 even tho I have offers out on the others regardless if they have accepted/declined yet? TIA. 

[fuzzy_bricks]

1 minute ago, midbenne said:

Question: I have 3 snow globes that have all received offers that I have have since responded to. However, last night I got an offer for all 3 at a good price. I do have outstanding offers out that haven't been accepted/declined. Can I accept this offer for all 3 even tho I have offers out on the others regardless if they have accepted/declined yet? TIA. 

Yes you can accept if you have offers out there.  This is similar to someone just clicking Buy it Now, all the outstanding offers should be closed when you accept the offer for three of them.

[midbenne]

Gracias senor @fuzzy_bricks Thank you for the quick reply. Off to counter, get a good price, ship and move on...

[Phil B]

19 minutes ago, midbenne said:

Question: I have 3 snow globes that have all received offers that I have have since responded to. However, last night I got an offer for all 3 at a good price. I do have outstanding offers out that haven't been accepted/declined. Can I accept this offer for all 3 even tho I have offers out on the others regardless if they have accepted/declined yet? TIA. 

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/private_offer.html

 

Quote

 

Sending an offer

If a member asks a question about an item listed in a fixed price format, you can send an offer to the member to invite them to purchase the item at a lower price. The offer is good for up to 48 hours, when the listing ends or until you cancel the offer, whichever comes first.

 

 

I would cancel the outstanding offers first, then accept the bundle offer, not the other way around

[KShine]

41 minutes ago, Phil B said:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/private_offer.html

I would cancel the outstanding offers first, then accept the bundle offer, not the other way around

This isn't necessary since "The offer is good for up to 48 hours, when the listing ends, or until you cancel the offer, whichever comes first".

When the item sells, the listing ends.

Edited November 28, 2016 by KShine

[Phil B]

4 minutes ago, KShine said:

This isn't necessary since "The offer is good for up to 48 hours, when the listing ends, or until you cancel the offer, whichever comes first".

When the item sells, the listing ends.

Great addition, but it omits one aspect: He's going to work on an offer with the bundle buyer. In other words, he's going to send him a counter-offer to the original offer. If he wouldn't cancel his outstanding offers, he would now be in a situation where one of the other buyers could accept the offer, which makes the sale final and makes the bundle offer impossible to uphold. That's why I said: first cancel the 3 offers. If he was planning to just accept (which I must admit I thought he was doing) then your addition is indeed the easiest way to proceed.

[midbenne]

2 minutes ago, Phil B said:

Great addition, but it omits one aspect: He's going to work on an offer with the bundle buyer. In other words, he's going to send him a counter-offer to the original offer. If he wouldn't cancel his outstanding offers, he would now be in a situation where one of the other buyers could accept the offer, which makes the sale final and makes the bundle offer impossible to uphold. That's why I said: first cancel the 3 offers. If he was planning to just accept (which I must admit I thought he was doing) then your addition is indeed the easiest way to proceed.

This is what I am really dealing with now. An offer for 2 @ $38 and 3 @ $37.95. I sent a message to the possible 3 buyer and told them I had another offer for a little better price but wanted to take theirs if they could do a little better...hopefully it works out...If not, might be a little sticky somewhere but only if they both accept at almost the same time...If buyer for 2 accepts, I take that...if buyer 3 accepts I take that and either will close the other out...unless they are both accepting at the same time...then I guess I have to go buy $200 more in Legos for 2x more snow globes!  

[KShine]

When an offer gets accepted that also makes any other pending offers impossible to take place (quantity), those other offers will automatically get cancelled.

Also, competing offers tend to make other buyers nervous, which increases the likelihood of them accepting the offer quickly (and at a higher price).

Edited November 28, 2016 by KShine

[Guest TabbyBoy]

I'm starting to sell on eBay for the first time in ages to milk the Xmas rush and I need some "Print Postage Label" advice please:

• When I select either Royal Mail or Collect+, I don't see an option to edit the label as most buyers never seem format their addresses correctly so, how to I do this? I've just had to pay for labels to find out that I couldn't edit them before printing so I had to cancel and request a refund.

• I don't see any option to add insurance as £50 default is crap. Does eBay just offer you basic cover only with no option to enhance? Of a £500 item got lost, would they still cover you if you printed the label via eBay?

From what I'm seeing, eBay is yet adding more difficulty to the selling process and their postage label printing doesn't provide the options I need. Therefore, it's as it as good as useless to me unless one of you knows a workaround.

Please correct me if I'm wrong but, I just can't find the options anywhere. I just sold 2 items that I need to post and had to pay £1.19 more by going direct to Collect+ as eBay had no option for me to edit the address.

Thanks!

[Voltron]

9 minutes ago, TabbyBoy said:

I'm starting to sell on eBay for the first time in ages to milk the Xmas rush and I need some "Print Postage Label" advice please:

• When I select either Royal Mail or Collect+, I don't see an option to edit the label as most buyers never seem format their addresses correctly so, how to I do this? I've just had to pay for labels to find out that I couldn't edit them before printing so I had to cancel and request a refund.

• I don't see any option to add insurance as £50 default is crap. Does eBay just offer you basic cover only with no option to enhance? Of a £500 item got lost, would they still cover you if you printed the label via eBay?

From what I'm seeing, eBay is yet adding more difficulty to the selling process and their postage label printing doesn't provide the options I need. Therefore, it's as it as good as useless to me unless one of you knows a workaround.

Please correct me if I'm wrong but, I just can't find the options anywhere. I just sold 2 items that I need to post and had to pay £1.19 more by going direct to Collect+ as eBay had no option for me to edit the address.

Thanks!

If you pay for postage on paypal website you can adjust compensation value, however you do not get the same discount as on ebay, as ebay prices are only low due to low compensation value.

To be honest if your selling 10s - 100s of pacjages a month etc, it might be worth paying for cheaper postage using lower compensation value and just eating up the occasional lost package, instead of paying more for each package. 

I've personally never lost a package inside uk using royal mail.

[Guest TabbyBoy]

36 minutes ago, Mhd747 said:

If you pay for postage on paypal website you can adjust compensation value, however you do not get the same discount as on ebay, as ebay prices are only low due to low compensation value.

To be honest if your selling 10s - 100s of pacjages a month etc, it might be worth paying for cheaper postage using lower compensation value and just eating up the occasional lost package, instead of paying more for each package. 

I've personally never lost a package inside uk using royal mail.

Thanks... I had a feeling that eBay wouldn't give anything away and that their discounted postage was too good to be true. It's not the loss of the package, it's just that there's so many dishonest buyers and fraudsters out their these days that I have to insist on full insurance, tracking and signature. Therefore, I'll just carry on as I am then as I'd rather have peace of mind. I've been in business a long time and I've found out the hard way to not trust anybody that I've not dealt with before.

But, is there a way to edit the postage label before committing to it? Arse about face addressing format is asking for trouble.

Edited November 28, 2016 by TabbyBoy

[Phil B]

On 11/12/2016 at 10:59 PM, Phil B said:

This is ridiculous - Last month I had a dimensional weight issue with EBay, where EBay told me my package (weighing 6.5lbs) would cost $13.55 to send with FedEx, but then FedEx came back with a $27.38 charge based on a dimensional weight of 20lbs. I even validated the box dimensions in FedEx dimensional tool (www.fedex.com/in/tools/dimweight.html) once I saw the charge to confirm this was dimensional weight and it matched the 20lbs. EBay opened a case with FedEx about this, even though I think it is really just EBay's problem that they provide a shipping tool that doesn't take this important aspect into account.

Called just now to check in on this. Very annoying lady tried to convince me that I shipped a 20lbs shipment, and that it wasn't dimensional weight. Of course there is no way for me to find out right now (a month later) exactly what size of box I used, and the size of box listed in the FedEx response in the "Shipping Labels" history on My EBay now suddenly brings back a 31lbs package. The rep made it sound like I was trying to pull a scam by shipping a 20lbs shipment but only declaring 6.5lbs. She is now having her "supervisor" look into this to confirm with FedEx that I was charged dimensional weight, not actual weight.

I feel like I'm really really being ripped off here by EBay. Does anyone have any tips on how to convince them that they need to fix their tool, and that telling someone who reports all his shipment weights and measurements honestly that they will be paying x and then charging them 2*x is a scam on their end?

 

Ok this story is now over, but let this be a WARNING to all (Relatively) new sellers using FedEx (or UPS for that matter) shipping through EBay/Paypal:

EBay does not acknowledge any errors in their shipping tool with regards to Dimensional Shipping. They do not give you any warnings, and claim they are covered by the "Estimated Shipping Cost" label they slap on the price. YOU as the seller are supposed to go to the FedEx/UPS website, enter package details and figure out what the dimensional weight is for your package, then use that weight in EBay's shipping tool to calculate your package price. THIS IS NOT EXPLAINED ANYWHERE.

EBay could have just included this calculation in their tool, it's a one-line math formula (HxWxDxfactor) using data they already collect from you, but they are not doing this.

I had 4 phonecalls over the course of 2 months on this matter, which just became a matter of principle to me, and ultimately after speaking with the manager of the supervisor of the agent I worked with initially, they gave me a coupon to cover the difference in quoted cost and charged costs, as they claimed they could in no way refund me the difference (I was quoted $13.55 for a FedEx smartpost shipment, and charged $27.38 - got a $15 EBay coupon expiring in 2 weeks).

I strongly advise everyone here to either avoid using FedEx/UPS when shipping from EBay, or to bookmark the dimensional weight calculators for use before purchasing a label through EBay. For reference, the links are:

FedEx: http://www.fedex.com/in/tools/dimweight.html

UPS: https://www.ups.com/content/us/en/resources/ship/packaging/dim_weight.html (but this only gives you the formula)

A combined tool is available at ShippingEasy.com if you are comfortable with using a third party calculator for this: http://shippingeasy.com/dimensional-weight-calculator/

If I had the same amount of balls as Tabby, I would have taken them to court over this, as I think this is a scam. The comparison I used with them is the following: "If I were a seller on EBay and I offered something up for sale for $100 with $10 shipping, and then charged the buyer $20 for shipping after learning the true cost, without their consent, my seller account would be banned immediately. Why do you do this to your customers then?". They admitted it was not correct, but could not refund me the money, nor commit to putting even a simple warning popup on the calculator to inform people that they need to check their dimensional weights before using the tool.

Now what to buy for $15 Can you use EBay coupons on EBay GCs ? *wink* EDIT: YES

Edited November 30, 2016 by Phil B

[minicoopers11]

A great argument to not use Fedex. Also, eBay and Paypal can calculate dimensional weight incorrectly for USPS leading to you being overcharged upfront. Read the DMM, learn the rules (dim weight only applies to certain sizes and zones), and compare the quoted price to the 123 Price List.

Edited November 30, 2016 by minicoopers11

[Lego Templar]

Need your help guys. So I use boxes at work and I printed the labels THEN went to work. I only had one "oversized" box and didn't want to wait to ship it out. The label was for media mail. My customer just messaged me this:

Hello,

The post office tried to deliver my item today. They claim you sent it media mail and they opened it and saw it was legos. They want me to pay an additional $17.29 postage or they will send it back to you. What would you like to do?


What should I do?

[kahuka]

Wow, nice customer. Refund the customer $20 and apologize.