topic Re: Ask Seller for Postage Quote in Selling

Ask Seller for Postage Quote

auskywalka — Sun, 20 May 2018 01:15:50 GMT

Hi folks,

I took the time to prepack an item I’m selling. I measured it & even took it to the post office to get the exact weight. I entered all of this information into EBAY when putting it up for sale. But local & international customers are told to “Ask Seller for Postage Quote”! This also puts my item at the expensive side of “Price + Postage” results because they’re not sorted properly.

I’d love to know what’s gone wrong.

Thanks for any tips.

Re: Ask Seller for Postage Quote

digital*ghost — Sun, 20 May 2018 02:51:38 GMT

Because the auction has bids, it's too late to edit it and try to get some postage quotes showing, but just to try and work out what the issue was - aside from the package specifications, what did you select in the postage cost section (eg you should have had to select between flat rate postage, calculated postage, and freight - flat rate is where you need to input a price that applies to everyone in a specific region or country, calculated is where eBay fills the postage cost based on the package specs, and freight is for couriers, where postage is calculated after the sale and you have the buyer's location).

Re: Ask Seller for Postage Quote

auskywalka — Sun, 20 May 2018 04:27:42 GMT

I entered the package weight & dimensions so I must have chosen calculated.

Re: Ask Seller for Postage Quote

auskywalka — Sun, 20 May 2018 04:38:35 GMT

Screenshot of my postage settings:
https://imgur.com/a/aZHhqRX

Re: Ask Seller for Postage Quote

kopenhagen5 — Sun, 20 May 2018 05:20:54 GMT

When I enter my location - 'postage cannot be calculated to your location'

So in the calculated section, something is not filled out or filled out incorrectly.

Unless it's a glitch with the eBay postage calculator at the moment.

But as said, with bids it cannot be changed.

You will just need to send postage prices as you get inquiries or end the listing and relist if you think it will affect the auction much.

Re: Ask Seller for Postage Quote

chameleon54 — Sun, 20 May 2018 06:14:30 GMT

It also looks like you may be offering this to international clients. If you have to mail it to Iceland or Cuba with tracking and insurance it could cost an absolute bomb, depending on size and weight. Does it weigh less than 5 KG. and not too big ? If so it may fit in a standard Australia Post mail satchel with the same postage cost Australia Wide.

Re: Ask Seller for Postage Quote

chameleon54 — Sun, 20 May 2018 06:22:17 GMT

Your current high bidder has 19 bid retractions in the last 89 bids. This is a red alert for a difficult, problem buyer. Do you have blocks in place to prevent non paying bidders and unverified accounts from buying your items ? All up, the whole thing looks concerning to me. Personally I would cancel the bids and auction, review / fix the postage problems including excluding international bidders, unless you are confident to mail overseas, ensure problem buyer blocks are in place ( account settings ) and try again.

Re: Ask Seller for Postage Quote

digital*ghost — Sun, 20 May 2018 06:32:04 GMT

@auskywalka wrote:
Screenshot of my postage settings:
https://imgur.com/a/aZHhqRX

It looks like it's been filled out ok, but when I switch my location (to calculate postage) to the US, I get this message: "This item can be sent to United States, but the seller has not specified postage options. Contact the seller and request a postage method to your location", so it would appear the services selected are not actually being used for the postage calculation for some reason - why, I couldn't really say. Do you have access to a PC in order to open up the listing and check settings via the advanced listing tool? There might be something in there that wasn't available in the mobile or app settings.

Re: Ask Seller for Postage Quote

chameleon54 — Sun, 20 May 2018 06:33:31 GMT

@chameleon54 wrote:
It also looks like you may be offering this to international clients. If you have to mail it to Iceland or Cuba with tracking and insurance it could cost an absolute bomb, depending on size and weight. Does it weigh less than 5 KG. and not too big ? If so it may fit in a standard Australia Post mail satchel with the same postage cost Australia Wide.

The above was an example only. To clarify, I dont believe AP even offer tracking or insurance to Cuba, so you simply would not have any ebay protection from unscrupulous buyers in this instance. If a buyer from a country that is not included in the global tracking programme buys your item, there is a very high risk you will lose the item AND the postage costs.

Probably best to cancel the auction and sort out the postage now, rather than go ahead and try to sort out the problems after the auction closes.

Re: Ask Seller for Postage Quote

auskywalka — Sun, 20 May 2018 11:43:11 GMT

Thanks for the replies guys. You’ve given me a lot to think about.

For a new listing is it possible to stipulate that insurance must be taken out & will be calculated at the end of the auction?

Re: Ask Seller for Postage Quote

imastawka — Sun, 20 May 2018 12:27:14 GMT

Answers to that are on your other thread

https://community.ebay.com.au/t5/Selling/Insurance-Responsibility-etc/m-p/2157249#M170590

Re: Ask Seller for Postage Quote

*tippy*toes* — Sun, 20 May 2018 13:16:08 GMT

@auskywalka wrote:
Thanks for the replies guys. You’ve given me a lot to think about.

For a new listing is it possible to stipulate that insurance must be taken out & will be calculated at the end of the auction?

I sold a phone a few months ago. In the listing I stated that insurance and signature on delivery were a given. Not negotiable. I reflected that in the postage cost. The buyer didn't complain. He seemed happy to be getting a cheap phone, that was less than a year old. In fact I didn't hear from the buyer after I posted.

The tracking never said delivered, so I initiated a claim for the insurance, just in case I did hear from the buyer saying he hadn't received it. The 60 days for feedback passed and I'd not heard from the buyer. AP had paid out on the insurance by that point, so I cashed in the money order they sent. Just like that. Not my fault their delivery person didn't scan the item and get the buyer to sign, given I had paid extra for SOD (or the buyer had).

If you want to add insurance to the item, specify that in your description and add it to your postage cost. Insurance only covers the seller, but if you're going to charge it, mention it in the listing.

Re: Ask Seller for Postage Quote

curraone — Mon, 21 May 2018 03:27:36 GMT

Didn't we have something like that before and eventually worked out that the ebay calculator can't cope if it is over a certain length because of cubing? I can't remember how it was fixed tho, sorry.

Re: Ask Seller for Postage Quote

davidc4430 — Mon, 21 May 2018 08:46:39 GMT

the ebay postage calculator is a shocker, very unreliable.

i'm forever either taking a hit on under charges or refunding for over charges.

i measure exact, i buy a fancy set of scales to get correct weight.

but still i constantly scream when i see what ebay tells me buyers have paid.

no wonder i dont sell more when postage can be so far off reality

Re: Ask Seller for Postage Quote

brerrabbit585 — Mon, 21 May 2018 13:04:22 GMT

I've never had any problems with it but I don't use it very often these days.

Are you sure someone didn't buy it and get you to send it to someone in a different state? That would make it look as though it was way out.

Re: Ask Seller for Postage Quote

docwho2 — Fri, 19 Oct 2018 02:05:40 GMT

This BS is starting to OMO.
It's creating lengthy and unwarranted delays to using EBay - FIX IT

Re: Ask Seller for Postage Quote

davewil1964 — Fri, 19 Oct 2018 07:11:33 GMT

How do you propose the Opening Poster fixes it?