Warning eBay sets your postage to FREE on eBay app

[labrador0627]

This morning, I sold an item $10 with postage costs $8.25

Next I receive an email from the buyer, demanding free postage. Checked listing, postage set correctly at $8.25. Buyer sent me a screenshot of their eBay app, really showing free postage. Contacted eBay who says there is a "glitch" in the system. Had to cancel transaction and endure nasty emails from buyer. What will happen next - free items with free postage? To cop negative feedback. Truly unimpressed.

[*tippy*toes*]

Is it the blue top? I just checked the listing via the app on my phone and it showed as $8.25 postage. That was both the search result and inside the listing. The buyer must have known it had postage, otherwise why would they send an email demanding free postage? I wouldn't mind betting that when they first saw it they could see the postage, then later it showed as free, hence the demand.

That said, the app is very glitchy. Pick up only items show as free postage. Make it difficult if someone is selling say a 500kg garden ornament and it's showing free postage. Then someone from Perth expects a seller in Sydney to post it!

[amber-eyed-girl]

It isn't just the app.

I had that happen with an item I put in the cart. Postage came up as free in the cart but was 8$ in the listing. I had two honest choices: pay for the item and then send a follow-up 8$ and let the seller know why.

Ask the seller to check what was going on.

So far I have just left it so the guy missed a sale.

[labrador0627]

It is the blue top yes. I have canceled and packed with the charity bin to take tomorrow. No more ebay selling for the next few weeks. The way the buyer treated me did not help, even though this was eBay glitch and they admited to it. The irony of all this that the ecommerce platform I use for my business is really pushing ebay as one of the selling channels. In the last couple of months, I had two phone calls from ebay, offering free store to start selling here, no way I would jeopardize my brand in such environment. 

eBay is good to sell second hand or seconds as such but it ends there.

[davidc4430]

i think that ebay would prefer we all opt for free postage on our listings. maybe these 'accidental gliches' are not so accidental. maybe thes 'gliches' will become more prevelant until we all feel to get out of the headache we choose the free post option and add the postage onto the items starting price.

all well and good if you know exactly how much to add to cover every destination

i used to use australia posts calculator but since it got a makeover recently it wont work for me.

so now i use ebays inbuilt calculating system, fine for small lightweight items but i'm finding anything over 1kg is constantly being over charged by $10. i'm sure when potential buyers see a charge of $30 instead of $20 its making them think twice about a purchase.

i'm sure i'm losing sales because of this.

[labrador0627]

That push for free postage has been on for years now. I used to be a powerseller (under different id, 100% positive fb) and left a few years ago because I realized I cannot have any control over the spiralling fees and possible damage to my brand here. 

[englishrosegardens]

I think there are other things going on at the moment, not just with the ebay app.  Today I sent two invoices - the first one showed parcel postage instead of the standard postage that's on ALL my listings.  The second one was for two items and should have showed $4 ($2 for first item and $2 for every subsequent item) but it only showed $2.  In this particularly case I was able to send two items for the same price as one, so it wouldn't have mattered if they'd paid straight away, but if they bought more than two and only paid $2 postage I'd be out of pocket. 

My business policies should show the same on all listings but what showed up when I initially created each invoice didn't match my business policies at all - and I was using a normal computer (I'm a dinosaur, or so I'm told).

[123angeleyes01]

this has also happened to me many times of late usually to USA buyers

Strange indeeed .......

[5kazam]

As others have said, an eBay glitch.  And my understanding is, particularly with iPhones.

When this happened to me, my buyer agreed she was using a mobile.  I saw no reason why either my buyer or I should be out of pocket as a result of a 'free post glitch'.  My post cost is set at 'freight'.  

I contacted eBay and told them that as it was their stuff up, they should pay for the postage cost.   eBay admitted it was a glitch, and reimbursed me through credits on FVF's.

So there are ways of getting it sorted without losing a sale or antagonising a buyer.

[labrador0627]

eBay should consider paying the postage costs for the seller if this happens. We pay for the privilege to sell here with minimum seller protection. What is next, free goods with free postage? This really bothers me.