Sellers and Buyers Beware one reason why your sales are suffering

[quicksilverdiecast]

2nd Buyer today messages me "I tried through my ebay cart but wouldn't allow me to ask for combined shipping?"

This is the latest one of over 300 instances (documented) of issues with the cart where a seller nor buyer can complete a successful accurate total. and either gave up or was forced by ebay to pay shipping(and additional ebay fees) on each item rather than letting the seller actually combine the order or even allow the buyer to "request" and new combined total...I have been over and over with them on this ebay has checked my settings in my store and say they all check out ok. I spend the time it takes to show them step by step for them to recreate the issue which they do and see there is a problem and write "IT" tickets to send upstream to those who created the problems....YET in over 2 years NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE, and we keep losing sales....In this economy it is hard enough to keep sales going, but when you pay ebay to hinder your sales....that is a bigger problem. 

[cyberontix]

Yup. Can't combine invoices for international orders either. What a mess.

[quicksilverdiecast]

and he just replied saying this.

"i did just contact ebay about the combined shipping and they were no help, said 'Seller must offer the combined shipping "..?
if i just go ahead and purchase these 2 items can you please just refund the difference? thanks much...sorry for the hassle

And there in lies another problem, the wal mart greeter on the phone has not distinguished the hole in the ground.from...as my items are all set to be able to offer combine shipping. I can think of 5 items I have listed with a "Immediate Payment" options out of 4,000 items listed....so ebay explain that one....

[quicksilverdiecast]

Yes the international orders using ebay international shipping used to be a nightmare, however I have had some trickle through actually combined (by who I have no idea) but the shipping was pretty close like within a 1.00 of where it should have been....

[12345jamesstamps]

I agree totally with you.

This has nothing to do with a "seller's" shipping set up. I was getting a few sending me a total of what shipping is for more than one item. But that has changed. 

I had to do 3 combined shipping refunds this week. Put me in the negative as usual in "available funds".

Now I have to do a shipping refund for all eight items one buyer purchased. Used to be one shipping refund. Rather than making it easy they changed it about a week ago for me anyway.

My buyers are contacting me and I tell me I will refund the shipping discount....International Shipping. I do free domestic shipping...thankfully that helps with the big hiccup. 

Do I lose sales? Yes, I do. Buyers contact me and never make that purchase they are inquiring about.

And some International Buyers have a language translation problem with questions and answers.

[toomuchstuffagain35]

Just remember that you CANNOT request a total for combined shipping on the app, OR if any of the items are on sale, already discounted, have IPR or Free Shipping.

It would be nice if ebay would pull their collective heads out from wherever they are and realise that JUST because a seller offers a discount on an ITEM price should NOT preclude the buyer from requesting a discount on SHIPPING.

I've given up hoping that we'll EVER see the RQT function on the app, and ebay doesn't develop that anyway and they see to see it as a VERY low priority if at all.

It's just one of the stupid things they do, like where the MINIMUM $ amount you can drop items in a markdown sale is $5 which obviously will NOT work for lower ASP items where $1 off definitely would.

[kensgiftshop]

Until Ebay adds the Request Total option to the app, buyers should use the web site.

[duffy4444]

   This is just one of the reasons why about 15 years ago I stopped using eBay's cumbersome, confusing, unreliable, and inadequate shipping/labeling system.

   I use Stamps.com, where with just a few clicks I can combine multiple orders into one shipment with the same commercial-based pricing discounts. Since most of my orders are free shipping, the difference is transparent to the buyer. With orders where the buyer pays shipping, I enter into the item description that I monitor all non-free shipping orders for over-payment of combined shipping costs and will refund a reasonable difference... I have never had an issue with upset buyers over this or lost sales because of eBay's continued inadequacy.

   There are other services out there that offer easy combined shipping; I just happen to be extremely happy with Stamps.com for only $20/month... it's worth it for me and my buyers.

Cheers, Duffy

[toomuchstuffagain35]

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@kensgiftshop wrote:

Until Ebay adds the Request Total option to the app, buyers should use the web site.

---

But even then sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

It's been that way ever since they first implemented the cart.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

The app is a total disaster for anything other than buying a single item which is brand new, understood by buyers and requires nothing out of the ordinary.

Things on the desktop appear to be improving, I am getting combined EIS orders now, and I am getting requests for invoices for domestic orders.

I think the app suffers from Ebay being different from other sites, and the programmers not knowing how Ebay differs from other sites. And the app developers being ignorant of the desktop software. But you  know I am just a crabby old man.

[toomuchstuffagain35]

Well of course that works with FS.

But if you didn't offer FS you'd be having the same issues combining shipping even using 3rd party shipping sites.

[stephenmorgan]

Are any of you buyers mixing items that have fixed shipping with items that have discounted shipping pre caculated?  It looks like that you can not mix discounted shipping with fixed shipping to combine shipping.

[sassykzt]

Are you setting up shipping policies (part of business policies)?  When setting up one or more policies you can use " combined shipping discounts" with a profile name ( profiles are set up in shipping preferences). The profile is how much is added per item to their  base initial shipping charge.  This works automatically if the customer puts all desired items to the cart before payment.  Once the select "checkout" the shipping is automatically recalculated based on your shipping policies.  Here you can set up rate tables that are based on location of the buyer.  Helpful since many shipping services are divided into zones based on distance btwn. you and your buyer.

  Or you can set up promotional shipping rules ( also part of shipping policies).  If neither of these are being used, the buyer receives a message " seller does not offer combined shipping" .  Then they have to take the extra step of contacting the seller and you have to generate and send an invoice -- buyers want a quick check out and may scoff at having to contact the seller or have a high shipping cost.

[theteamsetguy]

@quicksilverdiecast ,

You can automate this by creating several different shipping policies and assigning them to each of you listings. By doing this all the buyer has to do add items to their shopping cart and eBay will automatically apply the combined shipping discount you set up.

For example I have the following shipping policies saved plus several others.

1. First item $3.75 plus 50 cents for each additional.

2. First item $11.00 plus 75 cents for each additional.

3. First item $14.00 plus $1.00 for each additional.

4. Free shipping

I would group your items that weight similar and create a different policy for each group by weight. Once you have the policies created you use eBay bulk edit option to assign the policies you want to each item listed. This shouldn’t take very long even if you have 1,000’s of items. When shipping rates go up you can just update the shipping policies and not each individual listing.

By doing this there is no need for the buyer to contact you to update combined shipping charges for each order 

[ittybitnot]

@theteamsetguy 

That may work for "like items in a class", and actually I use a similar set up on my website.  However, what buyers would like is to return to the "old set up" where there was a "Commit to buy and continue shopping with this seller" format.  When you were done shopping, you simply requested a total for all the items you purchased to be shipped in one parcel, for one transaction, and one shipping price.  When eBay made the "cart" it made a mess of this, since sellers are not allowed to see what was in the cart until it was paid for, and there were numerous reasons why the "request total button" did not work i.e. there wasn't one, if there was one it was greyed out,  or if one item was on sale, one item was an auction win combined with a few fixed price, etc. etc.  it went downhill from there. 

So, if I was shopping with a seller and I committed to buy a sweater, pair of shoes, three books, two DVDs  a pillow, telescoping fishing pole, and a china tea cup there wasn't a problem.  Seller could easily combine that merchandise into one package and all was good.  There is no realistic reason why all these things could not be put in one parcel.  That is all buyers (and sellers) want.  They don't need it to be done automatically for an assortment of eclectic purchases.  They don't want eBay to decide that since one item was on sale, combined shipping for the order is "over" before it started. 

eBay would prefer individual payments.  They get a non refundable 40 cents each for ten items paid separately instead of 40 cents for a combined order.  They get to count ten items for their GMV instead of one for a combined order.  All this "auto-pay" business of recent months did away with combined shipping under the guise of dealing with non-paying buyers.  Buyers have been asking for the "request total" feature for the mobile app for years to no avail. Even if it worked 'once in a while' it would be better than nothing.  By not supplying it, eBay makes more bank.  

In the meantime, eBay insists the cart is (and always has been) "working as intended", and sellers continue to think buyers don't know how to use the cart.