topic Re: Postage Calculated incorrectly?! in Selling

Postage Calculated incorrectly?!

stormness_1 — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 01:26:46 GMT

I'm super annoyed right now. I listed a medium-sized box of toys on ebay last week, which (thankfully) got a few bids. I packed it up and weighed it, measured the box, and all that jazz, and then entered it into my listing. It sold over the weekend, and so I go to print my labels this morning for the weekends sales, and notice it's saying $7.95. No way in hell that's a $7.95 parcel, and I knew that for sure from inputting the same dimensions and weight into the Auspost website. So I can't use my label, and I'm out another 7 bucks or so, which is half of my profit on the listing before fees.

Now I know what you're thinking. I screwed up the input on the listing. Nope, because my listings default to no tracking if the settings don't save, and it still says parcel + tracking, so it definitely saved. I distinctly remember setting up this listing, because it was the only boxed item I sold that batch, so it was different to all of my other listings, for which I used a padded envelope. I only used the stupid calculator because when the weights go up, rates can vary, so I didn't just look it up and input flat rate like I have been lately.

Re: Postage Calculated incorrectly?!

collect247 — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 02:29:09 GMT

All parcels start at $7.95

Re: Postage Calculated incorrectly?!

kopenhagen5 — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 02:37:57 GMT

And prior to Oct 1 all parcels started $7.60.

Re: Postage Calculated incorrectly?!

collect247 — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 02:45:48 GMT

What a rip off hey

Re: Postage Calculated incorrectly?!

stormness_1 — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 03:08:33 GMT

I realise this, but ebay charged my buyer $7.95, when they should have paid $14.

I had the correct dimensions and weight in the postage calculator.

The Australia Post website, and the Post Office both quoted $14.

If I'd shipped it with a $7.95 label, it would have come back as undeliverable, right?

Re: Postage Calculated incorrectly?!

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 03:18:05 GMT

Ebay have zero idea when it comes to real life postage times, it seems they have the same amount of idea about postage cost

Re: Postage Calculated incorrectly?!

collect247 — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 04:04:54 GMT

Sorry I miss understood your post then as I thought you were angry at it being $7.95 when it should have been $14.

What was the actual weight?

Up to 1kg is $11.75 so it must have been over 1kg?

Re: Postage Calculated incorrectly?!

stormness_1 — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 04:05:50 GMT

weight I believe was 1.4kg from memory.

Re: Postage Calculated incorrectly?!

tazzieterror — Tue, 10 Oct 2017 10:13:41 GMT

I have a small PO across the road from me (only two staff, often just one there at a time), and I lodge parcels with them three or four times a week.

I noticed a little while back that they don't weigh anything I lodge that's packed in an eBay branded 500g/3kg satchel (the ones where you print your own label through eBay), nor do they weigh or measure the dimensions of a carton that has been addressed with the same eBay-generated shipping label.

I assume as there's no potential for upselling extra services (insurance/S.O.D etc are already "baked-in"), and eBay has already calculated the correct postage rate to generate the label, they figure the only thing left for them to do is scan it in and give me my receipt.

So let's just say that if there were another stage in the postage delivery process where these weights and measurements were double checked....I would have expected to have had a few parcels returned to me by now...and I haven't. So it might not have been an issue after all.

In saying that, I've seen some funny prices pop up in eBay's postage calculator before, so I always use the AP website calculator to work out any costs I'm not certain of.

Re: Postage Calculated incorrectly?!

stormness_1 — Wed, 11 Oct 2017 00:15:51 GMT

I use my own boxes and mailers, but print the ebay label for the convenience of paying monthly, and so that nothing can be messed up between ebay giving me the details and me transcribing them. I could have lodged the parcel at the counter with the label, and 'run the gauntlet', but I do prefer to be honest. I spoke with the post office, and it doesn't appear to be a policy to not weigh ebay items, and they are still held to Australia Post's rules and regulations according to the postmaster there, so theoretically, they could end up as undeliverable if someone along the way were to check.

Re: Postage Calculated incorrectly?!

tazzieterror — Wed, 11 Oct 2017 03:56:57 GMT

Actually, the place across the road is an LPO, so perhaps that's the reason they're not policing it. You can also drop off your dry-cleaning there to get done...

Most of my items tend to be well under 500g, so if on occasion a 520g item ships in a 500g satchel...I figure AP is still ahead overall 😄

Re: Postage Calculated incorrectly?!

ivak245 — Wed, 11 Oct 2017 06:45:20 GMT

I too have been shafted by Ebay's non-sensical postage calculator, and to prevent this, I have sometimes put a ridiculous weight in the listing, if the buyer is too impatient to wait for an invoice, they would have paid too much. Once I have actually worked out the proper postage, I refund the excess.

Re: Postage Calculated incorrectly?!

stormness_1 — Wed, 11 Oct 2017 09:51:21 GMT

Don't you then pay excess fees, as postage is now included in the total of your Final Value Fees? Refunding the difference usually isn't taken into account, you're charged based on what you invoice and is initially paid.