Ebay Plus $4 express upgrade problems

[sfor8673]

I am experiencing a problem with the Ebay Plus Express Parcel upgrade.

Low value items that are small and normally ship as an un-tracked large letter class item.

Cost Seller $2.20 to post.

Same day handling time

Retail price of item is $9.90

Buyer has 3 x domestic shipping options on the listing:

Free Postage: Standard Postage (Australia Post Domestic Regular Letter) 

$6.95: Standard Postage (Australia Post Domestic Regular Letter With Tracking) 

$11.95: Express delivery

Buyer selects free standard shipping and is upgraded by Ebay Plus to Express Shipping at no cost to buyer.

Ebay only compensates seller $4 towards the Express upgrade when the upgrade actually costs $9.30 (difference between the letter price and the Express Parcel price).

Shipping by express parcel service will cost $11.50 + packaging materials and time to process order.

Seller now has to make up the $5.30 out of their own pocket to upgrade a "free" letter class item to a tracked express service. Impossible not to lose money on an iten priced <$15

Ebay chat support only suggestions is to modify the handling time to 2 days so these listings will be exempted, but naturally increase the deliver time estimate (and potentially lose sales)

Any Suggestions other than opting out of Ebay Plus all together or removing the free shipping option?

[andrew0123]

A buyer has just purchased a book that i didn't list as an ebay plus item. Although it says free express post which is either an ebay mistake or I made an error when listing item (It would cost me more to send express than what i sold item for). 

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/James-Follett-Torus-fiction-novel-paperback-book-science-fiction-suspens...

Where do I see ebay's rebate for the $4 express post charge on ebay plus items?

[andrew0123]

Also, is there a way to tell if a buyer is ebay plus? 

[gec2002]

Items are automatically included in eBay Plus if you and the item meet eBays criteria, ie You're Above Std or higher, and Postage and Returns are: Free domestic postage, A reasonably price express postage option, 0-1 day handling, No additional postage charge for multiple items and Accept 30-day+ returns.

If you don't meet those criteria your item won't be part of the program.  eBay regard "reasonably price express postage" as being less than $15.00.  Make an item Express Post $15.10 and it won't be included in the program.  Other items with less than $15 Express will still be included (assuming they meet the other criteria.

Also this is not an promotion it is on going.

[ozheatwave]

i always make your express postage higher

i have all my standard postage packaging ready for next day dispatch, doing express postage for same day dispatch + express postage is extra work for me therefore means need extra money

also, don't forget your ebay fee is the "percentage of the total sale of the item" not "sale of item excluding postage", you will be making a loss if you put your express postage same as what auspost or other carriers charges you

[andrew0123]

The only reason Ebay have the whole free postage fiasco (to my knowledge) is to compete with amazon prime which is a completely different system which actually benefits the sellers because amazon also store, send and do the packaging for the items (at a monthly cost). This is typical business practice to compete; the AFL do it by adding extra teams in New South Wales and Queensland to compete with the NRL but both teams do not draw any audiences. If the sellers are not happy with the system they simply will not use it; if ebay plus was effective everyone would use it. 

As for your problem with postage, my ebay plus items are only those above $50 and prices are marked up to cover for the loss in postage and I offer free express on all these items. I justify this by using tracking and getting the extra security that comes with tracking for all otherwise untracked letters. For otherwise tracked parcels (mine weigh 400 grams sent with stamps and a tracking sticker) it costs me just $3 to upgrade to express ($9 to $12). 

Hope this helps.

[andrew0123]

Also you might want to try sendle or another cheap courier service. With sendle for example, if you are a bulk seller you can send state to state for as little as $5 and nationally for $6.50 on the top level subscription. I have sent with Sendle and parcels always arrive within 3-5 days, sometimes next day and haven't had any issues and I think sendle are considered express.

[parties_balloons]

This programme is costing me a fortune. Is the answer to fill the order and then,  block people, who are actually costing you money, when you deal with them?

[imastawka]

Make yourself ineligible for the programme.

Extend your handling time (but still post within 1 day)

Or don't have free delivery.

[parties_balloons]

Thank you. Best advice ever. It only took a few minutes to bulk edit all my items to "2 days handling". I will also put in my profile that items will always be posted within 24 hours. This idea also means that customers will often receive their orders before the time estimated by eBay, which can't be a bad thing........win / win.

Thanks, again.

[imastawka]

Yay, I had a good idea