eBay Shipping Calculator, Seller BEWARE

specular

Member
Local time
2:13 AM
Joined
Aug 8, 2006
Messages
40
Location
Boston, MA
If you used the eBay shipping calculator in our auction be careful. I sold a Nikon lens. The buyer chose a a shipping method and provided his zipcode. eBay adds $22.10 for shipping to the final amount due for the PayPal payment. When I go to PayPal to print the shipping label for the item, it tells me the cost is $32.05. PayPal customer service tells me it is a known eBay problem and I have to contact them. eBay customer service denies there is a problem, claims the shipping calculator is only an estimate and refuses to credit me the difference. eBay passed me around to four different contacts. Billing were the worst. When I asked where does it say the shipping calculator is only an estimate, I was given two URLs to review. However, neither one says anything about estimate or estimation. To the contrary it it says,

"Shipping costs are automatically calculated for the buyer"

"eBay uses a proven shipping calculator technology, provided by Pitney Bowes. All you have to do is enter the accurate shipping information, and the calculator determines the shipping costs."

"Use the Shipping Calculator in your listings to allow buyers to see accurate shipping costs to their location worldwide and to help ensure you are in compliance with the Excessive Shipping Policy."

eBay told me that the seller is responsible for informing the seller that they need to contact the seller for the correct shipping amount.

How do you like that?
 
figure shipping on your own then send invoice. I tell buyers I will send invoice with shipping and if they have perfered method of shipping let me know. Never used calculator.
 
I hate to say this, but it was likely your error. When you list the item for sale, you have the option of using the shippping calculator AND the parameters it uses to calculate shipping.

I speak from experience - I have made that error.
 
I chose the calculator option and gave it the package weight. How could that go wrong? Now that the auction is closed where can I see what weight I entered?
I asked eBay and they could not tell me. I tried entering 5, 4 3 lbs and sing what it came up with and none matched what PayPal came up with. Besides, PayPal contacted the eBay web tech people and told me it is a known problem.
 
I would say just leave the ebay shipping calculator alone, and if you can, leave ebay alone for a while. Else, fix the shipping fees at a reasonable level and go with it.

Raid
 
It's not hard to go to the shipper's sites and use their shipping calculators.
 
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