eBay Fees and postage :(

wllblsstn
Community Member

‎26-07-2022 07:28 PM - edited ‎26-07-2022 07:33 PM

Not really a question as I read a few threads before making this post. More of a rant.

Basically, sold an item for $320 + $40 shipping to the UK and I was paid out $307.50.

I paid for the shipping label directly through eBay and shipping turned out to be $78.09, which is over the $40 shipping I listed but I was fine with taking the $30 loss. I thought this was already covered in the payout I got. Just got a message that I now need to pay the $78.09 postage because the $52.50 (43.85 FVF at 12.18%, 3.60 International Fee, 0.27  FVF, and 4.78 GST) that was not paid out to me was all for fees.

 

What could I have done to ensure that the postage paid by the buyer is actually covering the postage I have to pay? Since FVF include cost of shipping, increasing the listed postage rate to an honest cost would not have done much. 

0 Helpful

countessalmirena
Community Member

on ‎26-07-2022 07:41 PM

Perhaps use calculated postage and add an $11 handling fee for international sales...?

 

 

NOTE: I'm not a seller on eBay, so perhaps one of the clued-in sellers here will have a better suggestion.

wllblsstn
Community Member
In response to countessalmirena

‎26-07-2022 07:53 PM - edited ‎26-07-2022 07:57 PM

Thank you 🙂

Yeah I probably should have used calculated postage. I usually set default international shipping cost to $40 which is roughly what I usually pay but with this listing, the item turned out heavier and the box turned out to be larger than expected. I assumed it would have been roughly the same as my previous sold listings. My fault here.

 

Problem here is that I'm basically losing another $80. I already lost $320 - $300 = $20 from fees and now it turns out eBay fees basically eradicated the shipping cost paid by the buyer and slightly more

0 Helpful

davewil1964
Community Member
In response to wllblsstn

on ‎26-07-2022 08:09 PM

There you go. Assumptions. Maybe actually determine the postage cost before listing. Or take all the windfall payments on International shipping (those that cost less than $40) and offset them against this particular sale.

 

Heavier and larger? YOU had the item, presumably, at hand and would have known the weight and size. Fail.

jellybirddesigns
Community Member
In response to wllblsstn

‎26-07-2022 08:30 PM - edited ‎26-07-2022 08:32 PM

Someone paying in GBP is not going to feel much postage pain as they have such a strong exchange rate, so you could definitely have charge the right amount plus a handling fee to cover fees, the box, fuel and sundries. 

 

Personally I don't rely on Ebay's calculated postage and would have taken it to the PO and put it in a box/satchel or whatever was appropriate and gotten quotes at the counter before listing it. When I have larger items that are outside my norms, I will always get quotes upfront to the UK and USA as they are my main international destinations.

 

 

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