ebay started charging commission on the shipping cost because of those oh-so-clever people who were selling their $20 item for $1 and $20 shipping. When ebay first did that, I understood and didn't really mind TOO much....but now it's a pain in the neck.
They started adding the fees to shipping years ago because unethical sellers were selling things for a $1 with $20-25 shipping to avoid paying ebay fees. Fees on taxes is criminal though.
The fees on the tax I feel is ok, as eBay provides the service to file the sales tax to all 50 states. It would be crazy if I had to do that myself. Now,charging fees on the actual shipping cost is not acceptable, that is a major $ loss on every shipment.
At the end of the day, the smart person buys the item that is lowest overall, shipping and item cost. It doesn't matter what games you play with the prices.
Not true, I am very often amazed that someone bought my item for a higher price and more costly shipping rate then another seller's exact same item one state over instead of 5 states over
I opted out immediately but am rethinking. I think eBay is trying to regain market share. I also think they should stop charging fees on shipping. Thank you for your great videos!
Years ago they didn't charge fees on shipping. But some bright minds decided to start selling items for $1.00 and charge a huge shipping rate to avoid final value fees. That's why eBay charges the fee on shipping now.
@chad_griffiths eBay should have dealt with the sellers who were doing that... Everyone wasn't cheating. If ebay is sincere, it would STOP charging fees on shipping.
I mostly sell vintage pottery, glass and collectables. I always use calculated shipping because these are not always light items. Every item shipped needs packing paper, bubble wrap and boxes. I opted out because I use the discount to cover my shipping supplies. Since it's easier to reduce your prices than to raise them, I will monitor the situation and may opt in later.
I also do calculated and give my buyers the discounted rate but I added a $1 handling fee to all my shipping policies and that helps cover my supplies 😉
I used to be a jewelry seller before quitting after 18 years. I used calculated only because more than half of my items went to the literal opposite side of the country. Sold some heavier things too. I'd have lost my shirt on flat rate or giving away the discount.
Sounds like you are doing the right thing by opting-out because breakables can range in shipping price so much. Even fine items that are lightweight need extra care when packaging... It's good to keep an eye out to see how to proceed with the options... Best of luck 🎲 gemeni-dreams
I already have mine setup for the discounted commercial rates. I also have mine setup to add $1.50 to the discounted rate to help pay for shipping boxes, packing materials and to help offset some of the fees.
You folks should take some time a SOURCE empty boxes from businesses that do "cardboard recycle" on a daily basis . I have NEVR bought a box in my life. My local drug store tossed boxes, bubble wrap and peanuts - DAILY. All clean and folded . They sell the sell the big Tupperware tote bins at this store - so I get GIANT to TINY sized boxes. Even my local Starbucks tosses good clean STRONG boxes daily ! Large , med, small . If you have a friend that manages a store OR are friendly with one- ask "Hey, what day do you toss your boxes?" .
I went in and opted out. Your are right, they are are not giving credit for our costs of packaging, boxes, tape etc. Thank you to all the youtubers that are talking about this.
@c.jjohns6758 You're welcome. Yes, Mecari now charges the buyer selling fees. There is, however, a $ 2.00 transfer fee to transfer earnings to your bank. Most people are waiting until they have a few sales added up before they cash out, others do it once a month to make it ultra cheap. Even if you cash out per sale, it is usually much cheaper than fees, and the seller can control how much they want to give mecari. I love it! My sales have been the same since they started charging the buyers, no drop. It matches my Ebay sales.
We should not have to DEAL with shipping at all. The buyer should pay shipping on their behalf. WE list the item, place it in a box with packing, weigh it, and let them choose the shipping method & Company that is available. NOW when the item shows up in 3 days or 3 weeks, they can pat THEMSELVES on the back, or BITCH AT THE SHIPPING METHOD THEY!..USED. NO MORE NEGATIVE REVIEWS ON OUR SHIPPING METHOD. We need to concentrate on our product & secure packing.
I'm a book seller on E-Bay and this change does not affect me at all. E-Bay charges 14.9% selling fees. E-Bay has never given book sellers using media Mail any discount on shipping. We pay the same price as if we go to the counter. The only reason I ship from home is because eBay shipping labels automatically send a shipping notice and tracking number to the buyer. Media mail users have to pay for their own boxes and insurance.
If you’re are selling on eBay, you’ve been shifted slowly enough for long enough that you haven’t noticed how uncomfortable you would have been with me telling you this would be your position now , when you started….. You are exactly who eBay is studying and making money on three government science programs -- look it up, you like reading , read some that
@@ginahohensee4522good call. Me too. My amount of sales seems to have a correlation to amount listed and my subscription fee as well. That's just the vibe I get from it. I know for a fact that it's probably not true because I can push a good item through but just talking about daily stock stuff that has to be advertised or noticed to move seems to be true. eBay shows a certain amount of that stuff out and it seems to be pretty consistent.
can you please do a video about doing flat rate and knowing what to charge? my problem is being on the east coast and selling things of all sizes and weights. but that is you, too, so I'd love some help with this.
I agree, I haven't decided whether or not to opt out, the biggest challenge is how to calculate a reasonable flat rate. It seems the calculators online are not accurate. Maybe I am looking at the wrong thing.
@@Yazzie101 yes. CA is where I seem to ship most! lol. for mercari I changed to free shipping and calculated it off 90210 zip (adding it into my price). go figure.... nothing has sold on mercari since I did that. lol.
I have been selling part-time on eBay since 2019, and have always used calculated shipping. I sell an assortment of items, from 3 oz. to 10 lbs. I live in SW Virginia (on the Tennessee border), and find that I have more customers in California than from any other state. Therefore, I’m happy with calculated shipping. One thing I do (that few sellers do) is package my items while listing, and bind them together with large rubber bands, in case there are questions from potential buyers. It does take much more storage space but, when an item sells, I only need to tape it, generate a label, and mail it. This way, there is no guessing about weight and what size box it will fit into. As for giving the shipping discount to buyers, I decided to implement that option in December 2023 and it did increase my sales. I have not increased the cost of items but need to do that, as well, since I’m forfeiting the discount. I enjoy your videos and learn from the content. Thanks!
I live in SC and many of my sales are west coast and TX. I have always offered the calculated with the discount too. I also prepack partly because I didn't have the right box before and I don't want to be wrong. Also my shipping takes minutes. I'm with you on this one.
I do the same thing! It's easy to pull from the shelf almost ready to go and the final shipping weight may only vary by an ounce or two. No surprises on shipping cost... I did recently reopen a package to shave ends of box flaps off because the weight was less than an ounce over 2 lbs. Was able to get back under 2 which saved a dollar on the label. But figuring out how I was going to package an item up and getting a pretty accurate weight was a lifesaver for me getting started out and I've continued the practice.
I am in TN, and I also seem to have many western buyers. I do calculated and weigh it all before listing. When I go to create a label for a sale, that whole list of shipping options is there in the drop down menu; I have never seen any flat rate be a better shipping rate, ever! I guess I am missing something. I do understand it's a total picture thing, but Ground Advantage usually comes out best, very occasionally Priority.
@@heatherhull1009 They are not talking about flat rate priority. They are talking about "a flat rate price" that you make up. You could charge $5 for anything under 4 oz, $8 for anything 4-8 oz $9 for things 8-15, $12 for items 1-2 lbs etc... depending on what you choose for your prices you may lose a little or you may gain 50 cents to $2 just depends on where you are shipping item to. I guess they look at it across the board you probably break even within the year. You lose a little, you gain a little...
@@vintagegal4919 oh!!! Huh... I didn't know that. Then the seller picks whatever shipping option seems best when the item sells, but the cost is just what it is?
I’ve always used calculated and try to get as close as possible to weights and measurements so I’m never overcharging my customers. Shipping is expensive enough w/o overcharging so you can make a little to cover your expenses. Your expenses should be coming out of your profits.
The bottom line is- If you want to continue to sell on Ebay, there are always going to be adjustments sellers have to make. Shipping is constantly going up anyway through USPS. We do have to keep up and continue to find the best balance with the cost of the item and shipping that is fair to the customer. I always have in mind to be as fair as I can on each item separately. I think of it more to adjust the item price a bit and always leave the cost of shipping very close to what it actually is. It's definitely a good challenge which is part of the fun to sell. 🙂 Thanks for all the informative videos. Enjoy watching. You have some great ideas!
"Lower shipping prices, higher asking prices" is a nice thought BUT too often our initial listing price is driven by what all the similar items are listed for by sellers who are not listing high enough IMHO. I'm so tired of having brand new with tags items that have a MSRP of $90, $120 that you have to list at 50% off to be competitive, then get offers up to 50% off your asking price. THEN when you cave, they write in the feedback, Great price! Well, yeah. 🤷
I had to revise all of my listings to Ground Advantage from priority on items that were originally listed with Priority shipping because they were weighting more than 1 pound.. I still will ship priority even if customer pays for Ground, if the price is only 50 cents more. This saves me the cost on using one of my boxes or bubble mailers. I am thinking of using several flat rates on all listings unless it is an oversize or heavy items.
I’m thinking about doing the same thing. I used to use smaller weights a few years ago to pass on savings to the buyers but that bit me too many times, so I don’t do that anymore
I used to use the calculated shipping to figure out what I wanted to price fixed shipping at. I would calculate the farthest state from me based on box dimensions and weight, then go with that as a fixed shipping price or do free shipping and increase my starting bid to cover it
I explored all my options with it and I actually wanted to opt out. I like to cover my supplies with a percentage. I don’t always ship through eBay and use their label if I can get it cheaper through one of our other shippers. I contacted eBay and they actually told me the rep through eBay for business. I didn’t have the option of opting out at this current time it wasn’t available. So now on my listings, I’ll see that much cheaper price. But I’ve already gotten the item cost me more than the buyer actually paid. In one case we actually had to cancel the item. It was showing six hours and $.97 from Pennsylvania to South Carolina. Lego Disney castle set… that would’ve come back and probably hit me with at least $20-$35 after it was delivered. I’ve already been under paid $1.75 so it’s going to add up. I’m gonna have to adjust my cost of goods to compensate for the difference. But I’ll be honest I have seen an increase in sales. We have been on eBay for a long time thank God. I’m not 100% on this yet. Time is running out..
I charge $5 the last few years on my vhs and DVDs but my actual cost for media mail went up again to $4.13 so after eBay fees and cost of padded mailers I'm losing about 25 cents. Hate to keep raising shipping. I was at $3 shipping 10 years ago.
It costs me $4.13 media mail to ship a vhs or dvd. I charge $5 for shipping and after the cost of my padded mailers and the 18% ebay fee, i break even or lose 25 cents. Hate to raise my shipping again but ebay and the po keeps screwing is. I only do free shipping on a few items.
We sell mostly vintage & antiques We almost always use calculated shipping. Most of our items are bigger. We opted out because of this. We live in Ohio sold in every state last year except for Wyoming. Top 3 destinations 12% to Calif, 9% to Texas 8%, to Florida the rest of the States the % are sprinkled through out. This is another reason
Box size matters, the ounces are not as important as it used to be. Thanks to ground advantage. I have always passed on my discount, because I want to be as competitive as possible. Currently Sometimes I lose on shipping because I don't guess the right box size since I don't pre pack items. And before ground advantage I would underestimate the weight and lose a bit.
When there’s issues with purchasing shipping labels on eBay site, (and there’s been) they will recommend you buy labels directly from the carrier. Everyone should opt out!
I’ve been having issues with shipping labels for weeks now. And EBay has been no help. My labels want to print to big and it doesn’t give me an online label record. I have to mess with every label I print. Anyone have any suggestion
@@garyperry6124I let the PO print my labels. I choose option to receive label by email. Then pull email up on phone at PO and they scan the barcode and it prints out. Saves you the printing cost of ink and paper!!
@@garyperry6124the PO prints a 4 x 6 label and puts it on the package for me too. I love it! The funds for the label comes out of my eBay funds available. Easy to do. Just look at your shipping settings.
Good vid and I appreciate all the angles you provided. I opted out, and they asked me to select an option for my decision and I chose that I use the calculated costs to help cover my costs. But actually, I use calculated, select flat rate and plug in the dimensions and weight at the time of my listing - prior to wrapping for shipping. Meaning, I measure and weigh my item as is and pad 1"-2" per dimension and add a little weight to accommodate the weight of bubble wrap, tape, boxes or envelopes. I then calculate selecting eBay seller and choose an amount afforded an eBay seller which is still cheaper for the buyer than if'n it was In-store Rates. I'm already, in most instances, underselling the lowest price being offered/sold at the time I list. I'll just have to see how it affects me once this goes into effect. I'm very small fry, I don't have a store because I don't have a place to store inventory. BTW, love your vids and I hail from Hampton Roads, VA.
I think i received a msg from ebay on all 3 accounts about the calculated shipping change. Ive not opted out but dont use calculated shipping either. Are you saying if i use the calcilated shipping my ebay fees will be less??
It's unfortunate that as a new seller I don't know the ins and outs of how this will affect me. I recognize what you are saying and it sounds right. I, right now, generally have lower cost items in my store. It sounds like I need to NOT do as many "bread and butters" but try to stock higher cost items so that the shipping costs is a much lower portion of the overall cost of the item. Or I should try to do Lots of items instead of individual items. *sigh*. I have so little capital to work with (right now I have only $42 for everything) that this new calculated shipping thing is making starting up my business much more stressful than it needs to be.
This is really one of the things that I struggle with, is knowing if I’m making the right choices with my shipping. I’m still learning with this online way of selling so it is a concern for me because I’m not 💯 sure about it. So right now I have calculated and I give the customer the discount I would get. So I’m in lower Alabama also. I’d love to do flat rate but I don’t feel comfortable enough with that yet. Only because I don’t feel I understand it all enough yet. 😅
100% calculated. Been offering the discount for awhile. I add $1.50 handling on USPS and $2.50 on bigger UPS packages. This covers my time dumpster diving for free materials.
As of a couple years ago I have charged a handling fee which has gone up from 55 cents to $1 currently. This in most cases covers my shipping material costs and the per unit fixed fee ebay charges on a sale. I can't say if it impacted sales since I am a one to two day a month seller but I can say my sales doubled the one day I sold this month to $580 in one day my store was open. I also exclusively use calculated shipping.
AMAZON pays USPS by pound of pallet not piece. So if they ship a tower of small 3,000 pieces on one pallet it can weigh like 200 lbs. that is less than $1 a piece to ship to customer. Same way with the Chinese shipping 😡 not equal platform.
Hi Catwhisperer, just read your comment, you don't know how right you are! I worked for the post office for 30 years and retired 7 years ago. As a city carrier, I watched EVERY morning UPS, AMAZON, DHL, all delivery businesses known to man, roll in HUGE pallets, some 5-6 feet tall, thru the back door! They pay by the pound, like you said, then, pocket the difference between what they pay and what their customers paid them, no delivery involved on their part, just dropping off the pallets to us! The post office is the ONLY one that does last mile delivery, every address every day! If more people were aware of this, they would ship straight thru USPS and keep some money in their pocket, USPS even offers free pickup when your mail is delivered that day, so if you print label and box your item, you don't even have to get out of your PJs!😂And you save money! Thanks for reading my comment! Have a great day!😊😅
There is a huge advantage to those living in middle America. We have two stores and one is primarily decor and large items. Cost for packaging is between $5-10 in supplies. Using Calculated now and we like that extra shipping bonus. Now we are going to get killed. We live in CA and most of the items seem to sell out of TX, FL, and NY. I don’t thing a lot of people realize that eBay includes the what you get paid for shipping is included in the overall eBay fees and this is also one reason why we use calculated. If you opt in you it’s going to cost you 15% extra for your shipping. If you are opting in and don’t do anything, you will pay extra as a seller 100% of the time. We use to use the handling cost to add a few bucks to cover the added insurance cost when it’s not covered. Now we may go back to add that extra $ in the handling.
Cheaper shipping to more distant destination... I don't really care if I sell or not to a distant destination like the opposite coast. I would rather avoid the increased risks of in transit damage, delays in route pissing off the customer, and customers angry about the high cost of shipping. I will gladly take potentially slower sales and fewer headaches. I also don't want to bother with the gymnastics of determining a fixed price shipping amount that won't lose me money on each item I list.
I opted out. I use the money for supplies. Even though it hasn't started, i think eBay has throttled my sales. I may add $1 and opt in if sales stay slow.
I wish there was an option to give up a percentage of the discount. I went ahead and opted in, but some of my low off dollar items were the first to go, and they were really too low... But the larger items are definitely getting more eyeballs now. I'd just like to give maybe 50% of the discount. However, I'm sure all will be fine once I recalibrate my mental calculator to the new price structure.
I opted in in December and saw my sales skyrocket. I exclusively use calculated shipping and it makes a difference. It also reduces a little bit of what I pay in fees by making the shipping cheaper. Now IDK what's been going on last week but sales have been down I had same slump most of May last yr. I think it's cause yard sales season ramp up.
I got the email and haven’t opted out as of yet. I sell everything with calculated shipping. I pre weigh everything to know. I honestly don’t know how to do flat rate when you don’t know where it’s going and come out ok. I’m a small seller and most of my items are lower priced. I will probably add a handling fee. I honestly started during covid and have had to trial and error learn on my own. I’m trying to sell some things of my own so my boys don’t throw everything in a dumpster when I’m gone. Thanks you for the info Kevin.
I have the discounted shipping on Etsy. It’s usually pretty close, sometimes a little over. eBay’s shipping has a noticeable difference in cost. I’m going to go with the discounted shipping will help sell my items. Plus I’m getting better at estimating weights on boxes.
Long time seller here- I rarely offer free or flat rate shipping. I pride on shipping professionally, no recycled boxes or stuffing packages with used newspaper. After debating with myself the pros and cons, I decided to experiment, offer the reduce shipping, and add $1.50 to pay for shipping materials. If it doesn't increase sales, or I feel like I am losing money- I can always go back to my original model.
I think I’m going to do the same. My wife sells alot of breakable items and I get great feedback on how things are shipped as I put a lot in to the packaging. We have to recoup the cost somehow.
And as far as the free shipping, I will offer it often if I can, and when I can build it into the cost of the item. And as long as I’m making 50 to 65% after fees, when I can offer free shipping, that item will typically sell.
Great Sales! Kevin research what the Head of USPS Is doing he’s making certain locations for mail to be shipped which is going to cause us big headaches for our buyers. He’s trying to set up 60 different locations throughout; the us like whatever Amazon calls there warehouses. Just watched a Video the other day from the Senate trying to stop this. Ex: Cheyenne, Montana‘s mail will be shipped to Denver, Colorado and then back to Cheyenne, Montana. Which will also be cutting a lot of jobs throughout the country! Think his name is DeSaul not sure. Maybe that’s why your golf pro took 9 days to get there and costed you a return. 💁♀️💜♥️🤗💪🇺🇸♥️🙏😇Hugs to wife and Children and Stay Safe and God Bless Always!
This is true. I have a great relationship with my PO and they said things will be getting much worse as more centers are closed and redirected to other centers.
Have never used calculated shipping, flat rate or priority mail. Mistakes were made with my shipping costs early on, but just like paying for an education, you learn as you move forward and now my estimating skills are WAY better. Ground Advantage, Media Mail and UPS are 99% of how I send stuff out and it's worked great!
I have mine set up to add a couple of dollars, And opted in. As a new starter its a lot easier to go for calculated shipping when you don't have the knowledge for premade flat rate shipping options.
Also, some advice, because this is a big change, if anyone does have flat rate shipping and decides to opt-in to the new calculated shipping, opt-in after the start date, and then do a full inventory edit. Helps the algorithms.
I opted out for now because I already build in the discount by listing smaller than actual measurements and lighter weight, and I don't want to go in and change all those listings. For new listings, I've started going to flat rate or free shipping for most items because, like you, I believe they will eventually make everyone opt in.
@elnorahernandez6412 check your messages. If they sent one to you, there is a link in the message for opting out. You can always rise the price,and factor the shipping cost,put free shipping
Hi, I have always passed along the discounted shipping rate. It's been over 20 years on eBay and It's never crossed my mind to change it. What makes it easy for me and cost effective is having the appropriate sized box. I also buy them in bulk so I get the best price for boxes. There's only several different sizes that I actually use, of course there's always outliers and I keep extra large boxes just in case. When I'm setting up my listings I already know what box size it's going to go into all I have to do is weigh it and put in the appropriate details. Paying for the supplies definitely eats into the profit but I Make sure to buy at a low enough cost to account for what it's going to take to ship that item.
I've been doing this for 6 months or so already. I charge flat rate for everything under a pound, 1.95 handling for medium size and 2.95 for large items. I started scoring much higher in my shipping ratings after making this change.
I didn't get the email so I won't be impacted YET but I think they are doing it to increase sales on the platform (which benefits them via fees) and possibly to move closer to a standard shipping fee rather than calculated like other platforms use. I don't use calculated shipping very often so the impact to me will be small even when it impacts me. I'm glad they at least gave people the option to opt out.
I was already opted into the discount shipping so I did add a handling charge of .75 on poly bag type items, and $1 on larger items. To help so I don't lose money I will add weight to the item and large items I always go bigger with size and weight due to added packing materials. Most of the time the difference is around $1 or less in my favor and larger items vary but I usually end on a positive there as well.
Whilst for some years I wasn't selling at all, I began all the way back before eBay was even called eBay. I've always used flat rate as yes it is always a competitive advantage and makes listing SO MUCH easier. Flat rate is far far more versatile at any time and ever so easy to change.
Another reason I think eBay might be making this change is to not lose sellers to Mercari. If eBay can say hey we still have buyers over here then they might think they can keep those sellers. Also, since the buyers pay higher prices for shipping on Mercari plus the new added fees it might give more incentive to keep those heavier items on eBay.
I didn’t get the email but when I checked I was opted in. I kept it and added $2 for handling. Sales have increased. I do flat rate for under 1lb but always calculated for items over 1lb.
Here is why I am opting out I used ground select before which usps did not give a discount and I added a handling fee when ground advantage came along I removed handling fee and just went calculated rate been working fine I sell vintage car parts so not as much competition in most cases. I also accept lower offers sometimes because of extra money being made in freight. Everybody has a different business model
I use calculated shipping for everything but underestimate the size so it is cheaper for buyer, the discount helps me do that. The percentage to ebay on shipping without the discount will make it harder. Thinking about how to adjust. Janis
I opted out because some of my items require lots of bubble wrap, tape, and, some need double boxing. If eBay stops charging a commission on the shipping, I may opt in with a small handling charge to cover my shipping supplies. I use calculated shipping on all of my items.
@@caraniko9587 I do write shipping supplies off. The little extra that I get from the shipping covers part of my time that it takes to wrap the item and take it to the Post Office. And, no, I don't have my packages picked up because I want a receipt that includes the weight of the item(s) in case a buyer does a return.
I use calculated shipping with the shoe sales. You can always work rebates to the customers who pay top shipping prices. Also with calculated you can set a percentage off shipping which i set between 10 and 20%. Customer sees a discount and you can work with asking price for the item. I like the multiple options to work with price and offer shipping discounts. I live is S Utah and have a big following in Florida which is second in cost along with the extreme N.E. Sell a good product and focus on service. I know you hate the idea of selling shoes only because of the cleaning but buy cost to sell ratio is good here. I dabble in some small items and just pride myself with excellent service as you do.
Started out doing calculated, ended up getting frustrated because we were rookies at shipping but ended up just switching to flat rate. it was a huge weight off our shoulders and things seemed to sell faster.
I will opt-in and see what happens - most of the items I sale are all media mail, so there has been much of a discount for me. Now on the video games etc. I might start adding a handling charge to cover cost. I see it could be beneficial but I think it will hurt more sellers when it comes to packing supplies. One thing I have always done is go to my local Dollar General and get free boxes that I need (Manager will pile up the box sizes I use the most and set them aside) so I rarely every pay for boxes.
Basically if you do free shipping, it doesn't matter. People that ship big items would benefit. People that sell small items and up the shipping shouldn't and look at options to make more offers
Hey Kevin, I do 100% fixed rate shipping and always have. For the people that do calculated and stay opted in they may sell more if what you said is true that their shipping fee will say "discounted shipping on this item".
I opted out because I only sell Books and postcards, so I charge a flat rate Media Mail for the books and give free shipping for the post cards (only .88 cents standard envelope) for the postcards. I'm hoping I Media Mail doesn't go away.🤞
I feel that it was also to counteract Mercari's decision to throw more fees to the buyer. It can bring in customers with the promise of cheaper fees and potentially a better deal. If a customer didn't know about ebay's fees, they are being told about part of it now.
I use calculated shipping, been selling on eBay since 1996, have almost 3000 items and got no notice. I'm going to let the discount go to the buyer for a week or two and see if my sales increase. If not I'm opting back out.
I opted out. You can't always simply change an item from calculated to flat rate. My calculated shipping items are jigsaw puzzles. There are too many variables in weight and destination because of the size of the puzzles to create flat rates.
You said the guy might return range finder due to slow shipping. The post office lost 6 of my packages all shipped on April 6th. The last one was delivered yesterday that is over a month. One buyer opened a credit card dispute and their item was delivered a few days ago. Be careful on those range finders. I bought several and they didn’t work correctly. They usually will work on short yardage but not on longer yardage. My worked 0 -140 but not over 140 yards. They get damaged from being dropped by golfers out of carts or thrown on ground.
EBay originally did not charge a fee on the cost of shipping. Then sellers used that to sell items cheap and charge a bunch for shipping, so eBay started charging a fee for the total price. I feel like if they want to do it this way, then they shouldn't charge a fee on the shipping bought through them. I opted out due to this factor. I also package all my items at the time of listing so I have the correct dimensions and weight and I do one day shipping.
I am depressed that a ton more sellers will begin passing on the savings as I started doing a couple of months ago before this opt in stuff. My sales took off and I enjoyed offering the actual product for what it was worth. I am very small time. If I ship ground advantage I charge a 75 cent handling fee and priority mail there is no handling fee since I use their box. I think I will always stay with calculated shipping though especially offering the ebay discounts to customers. So far it works out where some cents under and some over so balances. Never more than a dollar.
You inspire us to make a channel as well, as we as well resell. Be on the look out for us in the future as I'm confident we will do well in TH-cam. Thank you for everything
I live in Oregon. I used to do flat rate on most thing simply so I didn't have to weight and box until it sold. It would work if all I did was smaller stuff but for some reason I'm attracted to things that cost a lot to ship.
I use calculated shipping and pass the discount onto the customer. I add a $1.00 handling fee to everything. The customer doesn't see the $1.00 as a handling charge. it's combined into the shipping total.
I think I may start using the flat rate system at some point. I sell on depop and put a single price for shipping items already so I am getting familiar with these costs and feeling better about my abilities.
Hey! I just wanted you to know that when eBay did their update it changed my shipping address to an adress in Miami FL. I am in Mississippi. (I spelled out my state because others sometime think that it is Missourri) I had to cancel a n order for a wheel of time book because it was being shipped to the wrong address. I will repurchase. I know you look out for our selling community, thought I might be part of the process! Keep shining the light, Kevin! and family
I feel like the real push is to purchase Ebay labels (to get the discount) on their site. I'm in Canada and I got the email. The discount to ship with Ebay to US destinations has decreased significantly with the new agreements they have with Canada Post and USPS. But I wonder if they need to have a certain volume to maintain those agreements. I know that Canada Post definitely has volume expectations to keep discounts at certain levels.
My biggest issue with eBay changing the shipping is they KEEP changing it. It used to be for priority mail there was no discount to the seller, so I almost always offered ground and added a small handling fee. Then eBay changed it and suddenly all my items were REALLY expensive to ship. It took me forever to get those handling fees off. Now we are going back and I need to add in the small handling fee. Just figure it out already.
Here is another trend I have noticed on eBay.... Many Large Sellers now seem to overprice many items and then watch to see if someone watches the listing. They then send an offer to the watcher with a discount and eBay says that others are also watching the item. This will tend to get the watcher to rush and buy the item. This is a something many of the Big listers are doing. One mans opinion.
I opted out and almost instantly saw a slow down in sales. I use calculated shipping, I do not add a shipping/handling fee, and I weigh the items with the box when I list so I can get as accurate as I can. I definitely saw the dip in sales. So,punishment, maybe?
Tbh all shipping prices are done on a case by case basis for me. If most other examples are selling free shipping, I have to do the same to make it look equitable to the customer (curiously it doesn’t seem to matter if I add a couple of quid on the item cost?!). If the other samples have shipping, I feel more comfortable charging shipping.
We are working on changing all our listings to Free Shipping and building the price into the product. We have analyzed competitors pricing and shipping fees and came up with this strategy to remain competitive. A win win for us and our buyers.
Great vid Kevin! I use flat rate shipping on everything. I've been reselling for around 6 years now so I know shipping costs fairly well. I live in Michigan so I'm willing to take a small loss on sales to California but at least I made the sale. It's worth it to me. I know Lonnie uses calculated shipping so I'm waiting to see what he does.
The biggest issue I have with the shipping thing is if they're looking to attract more buyers, I wish eBay would "meet us in the middle" and at least waive the fees on the shipping portion. With these changes, we're going from making a little bit of money on the shipping to losing a little bit. If it's for the good of the platform, I think we should both have a dog in the fight. And yes, I understand why they started charging on the fees, but I have to believe the technology is there to know when calculated is being charged.
eBay needs to quit charging fees on the shipping they shouldn't still get there fees on the shipping if they expect us sellers to give ours back
Exactly. And the fact they also charge us fees on the sales tax portion seems criminal.
Fr only the item
ebay started charging commission on the shipping cost because of those oh-so-clever people who were selling their $20 item for $1 and $20 shipping. When ebay first did that, I understood and didn't really mind TOO much....but now it's a pain in the neck.
They started adding the fees to shipping years ago because unethical sellers were selling things for a $1 with $20-25 shipping to avoid paying ebay fees. Fees on taxes is criminal though.
The fees on the tax I feel is ok, as eBay provides the service to file the sales tax to all 50 states. It would be crazy if I had to do that myself. Now,charging fees on the actual shipping cost is not acceptable, that is a major $ loss on every shipment.
At the end of the day, the smart person buys the item that is lowest overall, shipping and item cost. It doesn't matter what games you play with the prices.
Not necessarily. Pics of item, description, and seller feedback factor into my decision to purchase.
Buyers are not smart.
Not true, I am very often amazed that someone bought my item for a higher price and more costly shipping rate then another seller's exact same item one state over instead of 5 states over
You're a very kind person Kevin, and that's one of the reasons why you're one of my favourite reseller channels to watch.
I opted out immediately but am rethinking. I think eBay is trying to regain market share. I also think they should stop charging fees on shipping. Thank you for your great videos!
Charging fees on shipping is ridiculous if they are charging customer for actual shipping
Years ago they didn't charge fees on shipping. But some bright minds decided to start selling items for $1.00 and charge a huge shipping rate to avoid final value fees. That's why eBay charges the fee on shipping now.
@chad_griffiths eBay should have dealt with the sellers who were doing that... Everyone wasn't cheating. If ebay is sincere, it would STOP charging fees on shipping.
☝️ what he or she said.
@@loviedebiasio8864 Agree!!
I mostly sell vintage pottery, glass and collectables. I always use calculated shipping because these are not always light items. Every item shipped needs packing paper, bubble wrap and boxes. I opted out because I use the discount to cover my shipping supplies. Since it's easier to reduce your prices than to raise them, I will monitor the situation and may opt in later.
Not to mention since ebay takes 20% off the top, you need your shipping 20% higher than cost just to break even
I also do calculated and give my buyers the discounted rate but I added a $1 handling fee to all my shipping policies and that helps cover my supplies 😉
I used to be a jewelry seller before quitting after 18 years. I used calculated only because more than half of my items went to the literal opposite side of the country. Sold some heavier things too. I'd have lost my shirt on flat rate or giving away the discount.
Sounds like you are doing the right thing by opting-out because breakables can range in shipping price so much. Even fine items that are lightweight need extra care when packaging...
It's good to keep an eye out to see how to proceed with the options... Best of luck 🎲
gemeni-dreams
@@gemeni-dreams Exactly!!!
I already have mine setup for the discounted commercial rates. I also have mine setup to add $1.50 to the discounted rate to help pay for shipping boxes, packing materials and to help offset some of the fees.
Same. Uline box cost (like .40) is always added in. And if it is comics, the .75 for the comic book Gemini mailers are added.
Same here but I add $1 for boxes, etc. I might have to increase my handling 😉
Very smart
Where do you go to do that? I don't think I've seen that option before. Thank you.
You folks should take some time a SOURCE empty boxes from businesses that do "cardboard recycle" on a daily basis . I have NEVR bought a box in my life. My local drug store tossed boxes, bubble wrap and peanuts - DAILY. All clean and folded . They sell the sell the big Tupperware tote bins at this store - so I get GIANT to TINY sized boxes. Even my local Starbucks tosses good clean STRONG boxes daily ! Large , med, small . If you have a friend that manages a store OR are friendly with one- ask "Hey, what day do you toss your boxes?" .
I went in and opted out. Your are right, they are are not giving credit for our costs of packaging, boxes, tape etc. Thank you to all the youtubers that are talking about this.
I don't use calculated shipping, but I do have my suspicions that Ebay will come up with something after Macari's no fee change.
No fee? I left ebay at the beginning of this fiscal year though I could really blame big brother. I did know about marcari being no fee thanks
@c.jjohns6758 You're welcome. Yes, Mecari now charges the buyer selling fees. There is, however, a $ 2.00 transfer fee to transfer earnings to your bank. Most people are waiting until they have a few sales added up before they cash out, others do it once a month to make it ultra cheap. Even if you cash out per sale, it is usually much cheaper than fees, and the seller can control how much they want to give mecari. I love it! My sales have been the same since they started charging the buyers, no drop. It matches my Ebay sales.
We should not have to DEAL with shipping at all. The buyer should pay shipping on their behalf. WE list the item, place it in a box with packing, weigh it, and let them choose the shipping method & Company that is available. NOW when the item shows up in 3 days or 3 weeks, they can pat THEMSELVES on the back, or BITCH AT THE SHIPPING METHOD THEY!..USED. NO MORE NEGATIVE REVIEWS ON OUR SHIPPING METHOD. We need to concentrate on our product & secure packing.
Sounds more like a rant. For success, the goal in sales has always been to make the buying process simpler, not more cumbersome for the buyer.
@@maximo6037 Pay attention. This would make it simpler. E-BAY needs to make it easier for the customer to chose how they want their items shipped.
@@maximo6037I personally don’t think choosing your shipping method is cumbersome.
I'm a book seller on E-Bay and this change does not affect me at all. E-Bay charges 14.9% selling fees. E-Bay has never given book sellers using media Mail any discount on shipping. We pay the same price as if we go to the counter. The only reason I ship from home is because eBay shipping labels automatically send a shipping notice and tracking number to the buyer. Media mail users have to pay for their own boxes and insurance.
If you’re are selling on eBay, you’ve been shifted slowly enough for long enough that you haven’t noticed how uncomfortable you would have been with me telling you this would be your position now , when you started….. You are exactly who eBay is studying and making money on three government science programs -- look it up, you like reading , read some that
Did not realize this. Is it still better than selling books on Amazon?
I am not opting out for now. I want to see if it really makes a difference in the number of sales.
@@ginahohensee4522good call. Me too. My amount of sales seems to have a correlation to amount listed and my subscription fee as well. That's just the vibe I get from it. I know for a fact that it's probably not true because I can push a good item through but just talking about daily stock stuff that has to be advertised or noticed to move seems to be true. eBay shows a certain amount of that stuff out and it seems to be pretty consistent.
can you please do a video about doing flat rate and knowing what to charge? my problem is being on the east coast and selling things of all sizes and weights. but that is you, too, so I'd love some help with this.
I agree, I haven't decided whether or not to opt out, the biggest challenge is how to calculate a reasonable flat rate. It seems the calculators online are not accurate. Maybe I am looking at the wrong thing.
Now there is ground advantage the shipping rates can vary big time so I might stay calculated .. I’m on east coast too and CA kills me ..
@@Yazzie101 yes. CA is where I seem to ship most! lol. for mercari I changed to free shipping and calculated it off 90210 zip (adding it into my price). go figure.... nothing has sold on mercari since I did that. lol.
I have been selling part-time on eBay since 2019, and have always used calculated shipping. I sell an assortment of items, from 3 oz. to 10 lbs. I live in SW Virginia (on the Tennessee border), and find that I have more customers in California than from any other state. Therefore, I’m happy with calculated shipping. One thing I do (that few sellers do) is package my items while listing, and bind them together with large rubber bands, in case there are questions from potential buyers. It does take much more storage space but, when an item sells, I only need to tape it, generate a label, and mail it. This way, there is no guessing about weight and what size box it will fit into.
As for giving the shipping discount to buyers, I decided to implement that option in December 2023 and it did increase my sales. I have not increased the cost of items but need to do that, as well, since I’m forfeiting the discount.
I enjoy your videos and learn from the content. Thanks!
I live in SC and many of my sales are west coast and TX. I have always offered the calculated with the discount too. I also prepack partly because I didn't have the right box before and I don't want to be wrong. Also my shipping takes minutes. I'm with you on this one.
I do the same thing! It's easy to pull from the shelf almost ready to go and the final shipping weight may only vary by an ounce or two. No surprises on shipping cost... I did recently reopen a package to shave ends of box flaps off because the weight was less than an ounce over 2 lbs. Was able to get back under 2 which saved a dollar on the label. But figuring out how I was going to package an item up and getting a pretty accurate weight was a lifesaver for me getting started out and I've continued the practice.
I am in TN, and I also seem to have many western buyers. I do calculated and weigh it all before listing. When I go to create a label for a sale, that whole list of shipping options is there in the drop down menu; I have never seen any flat rate be a better shipping rate, ever! I guess I am missing something. I do understand it's a total picture thing, but Ground Advantage usually comes out best, very occasionally Priority.
@@heatherhull1009 They are not talking about flat rate priority. They are talking about "a flat rate price" that you make up. You could charge $5 for anything under 4 oz, $8 for anything 4-8 oz $9 for things 8-15, $12 for items 1-2 lbs etc... depending on what you choose for your prices you may lose a little or you may gain 50 cents to $2 just depends on where you are shipping item to. I guess they look at it across the board you probably break even within the year. You lose a little, you gain a little...
@@vintagegal4919 oh!!! Huh... I didn't know that. Then the seller picks whatever shipping option seems best when the item sells, but the cost is just what it is?
You could be like Goodwill and say an item weighs twice what it actually weighs so the shipping profit is higher.
I’ve always used calculated and try to get as close as possible to weights and measurements so I’m never overcharging my customers. Shipping is expensive enough w/o overcharging so you can make a little to cover your expenses. Your expenses should be coming out of your profits.
I've been offering discounted shipping for a long time. I account for supplies in my product pricing. Really won't effect me.
My first guess why they are doing it is to help compete with other platforms maybe.
I agree. I think whatnot is taking its tole
The bottom line is- If you want to continue to sell on Ebay, there are always going to be adjustments sellers have to make. Shipping is constantly going up anyway through USPS. We do have to keep up and continue to find the best balance with the cost of the item and shipping that is fair to the customer. I always have in mind to be as fair as I can on each item separately. I think of it more to adjust the item price a bit and always leave the cost of shipping very close to what it actually is. It's definitely a good challenge which is part of the fun to sell. 🙂 Thanks for all the informative videos. Enjoy watching. You have some great ideas!
"Lower shipping prices, higher asking prices" is a nice thought BUT too often our initial listing price is driven by what all the similar items are listed for by sellers who are not listing high enough IMHO. I'm so tired of having brand new with tags items that have a MSRP of $90, $120 that you have to list at 50% off to be competitive, then get offers up to 50% off your asking price. THEN when you cave, they write in the feedback, Great price! Well, yeah. 🤷
I had to revise all of my listings to Ground Advantage from priority on items that were originally listed with Priority shipping because they were weighting more than 1 pound.. I still will ship priority even if customer pays for Ground, if the price is only 50 cents more. This saves me the cost on using one of my boxes or bubble mailers. I am thinking of using several flat rates on all listings unless it is an oversize or heavy items.
I’m thinking about doing the same thing. I used to use smaller weights a few years ago to pass on savings to the buyers but that bit me too many times, so I don’t do that anymore
I used to use the calculated shipping to figure out what I wanted to price fixed shipping at. I would calculate the farthest state from me based on box dimensions and weight, then go with that as a fixed shipping price or do free shipping and increase my starting bid to cover it
I explored all my options with it and I actually wanted to opt out. I like to cover my supplies with a percentage. I don’t always ship through eBay and use their label if I can get it cheaper through one of our other shippers. I contacted eBay and they actually told me the rep through eBay for business. I didn’t have the option of opting out at this current time it wasn’t available. So now on my listings, I’ll see that much cheaper price. But I’ve already gotten the item cost me more than the buyer actually paid. In one case we actually had to cancel the item. It was showing six hours and $.97 from Pennsylvania to South Carolina.
Lego Disney castle set… that would’ve come back and probably hit me with at least $20-$35 after it was delivered.
I’ve already been under paid $1.75 so it’s going to add up. I’m gonna have to adjust my cost of goods to compensate for the difference. But I’ll be honest I have seen an increase in sales. We have been on eBay for a long time thank God. I’m not 100% on this yet. Time is running out..
I've had the setting turned on to give my buyers the discounted rate for a long time. I use calculated on almost all my listings.
If Ebay wants to Up their Image more Free Ebay supplies for Top Rated + sellers with 1 day or same day shipping
Amazon has their brand on everything
I add $1.00 for shipping & handling just to cover packaging costs.
I charge $5 the last few years on my vhs and DVDs but my actual cost for media mail went up again to $4.13 so after eBay fees and cost of padded mailers I'm losing about 25 cents. Hate to keep raising shipping. I was at $3 shipping 10 years ago.
It costs me $4.13 media mail to ship a vhs or dvd. I charge $5 for shipping and after the cost of my padded mailers and the 18% ebay fee, i break even or lose 25 cents. Hate to raise my shipping again but ebay and the po keeps screwing is. I only do free shipping on a few items.
My father would refinish those fire extinguishers when I was a child and absolutely love the beauty.
Getting a shipping discount is supposed to be a perk for the platform.
I opted out for the same reason you gave, Kevin. I would have to go back and find which of the items I had purposely lowered the weight.
We sell mostly vintage & antiques We almost always use calculated shipping. Most of our items are bigger. We opted out because of this. We live in Ohio sold in every state last year except for Wyoming. Top 3 destinations 12% to Calif, 9% to Texas 8%, to Florida the rest of the States the % are sprinkled through out. This is another reason
Box size matters, the ounces are not as important as it used to be. Thanks to ground advantage. I have always passed on my discount, because I want to be as competitive as possible. Currently Sometimes I lose on shipping because I don't guess the right box size since I don't pre pack items. And before ground advantage I would underestimate the weight and lose a bit.
When there’s issues with purchasing shipping labels on eBay site, (and there’s been) they will recommend you buy labels directly from the carrier.
Everyone should opt out!
I’ve been having issues with shipping labels for weeks now. And EBay has been no help. My labels want to print to big and it doesn’t give me an online label record. I have to mess with every label I print. Anyone have any suggestion
@@garyperry6124
I use app for beepert label printer.
@@garyperry6124I let the PO print my labels. I choose option to receive label by email. Then pull email up on phone at PO and they scan the barcode and it prints out. Saves you the printing cost of ink and paper!!
@@garyperry6124the PO prints a 4 x 6 label and puts it on the package for me too. I love it! The funds for the label comes out of my eBay funds available. Easy to do. Just look at your shipping settings.
Good vid and I appreciate all the angles you provided. I opted out, and they asked me to select an option for my decision and I chose that I use the calculated costs to help cover my costs. But actually, I use calculated, select flat rate and plug in the dimensions and weight at the time of my listing - prior to wrapping for shipping. Meaning, I measure and weigh my item as is and pad 1"-2" per dimension and add a little weight to accommodate the weight of bubble wrap, tape, boxes or envelopes. I then calculate selecting eBay seller and choose an amount afforded an eBay seller which is still cheaper for the buyer than if'n it was In-store Rates. I'm already, in most instances, underselling the lowest price being offered/sold at the time I list. I'll just have to see how it affects me once this goes into effect. I'm very small fry, I don't have a store because I don't have a place to store inventory. BTW, love your vids and I hail from Hampton Roads, VA.
I think i received a msg from ebay on all 3 accounts about the calculated shipping change. Ive not opted out but dont use calculated shipping either. Are you saying if i use the calcilated shipping my ebay fees will be less??
It's unfortunate that as a new seller I don't know the ins and outs of how this will affect me. I recognize what you are saying and it sounds right. I, right now, generally have lower cost items in my store. It sounds like I need to NOT do as many "bread and butters" but try to stock higher cost items so that the shipping costs is a much lower portion of the overall cost of the item. Or I should try to do Lots of items instead of individual items. *sigh*. I have so little capital to work with (right now I have only $42 for everything) that this new calculated shipping thing is making starting up my business much more stressful than it needs to be.
This is really one of the things that I struggle with, is knowing if I’m making the right choices with my shipping. I’m still learning with this online way of selling so it is a concern for me because I’m not 💯 sure about it. So right now I have calculated and I give the customer the discount I would get. So I’m in lower Alabama also. I’d love to do flat rate but I don’t feel comfortable enough with that yet. Only because I don’t feel I understand it all enough yet. 😅
I feel the same way.
100% calculated. Been offering the discount for awhile. I add $1.50 handling on USPS and $2.50 on bigger UPS packages. This covers my time dumpster diving for free materials.
As of a couple years ago I have charged a handling fee which has gone up from 55 cents to $1 currently. This in most cases covers my shipping material costs and the per unit fixed fee ebay charges on a sale. I can't say if it impacted sales since I am a one to two day a month seller but I can say my sales doubled the one day I sold this month to $580 in one day my store was open. I also exclusively use calculated shipping.
AMAZON pays USPS by pound of pallet not piece. So if they ship a tower of small 3,000 pieces on one pallet it can weigh like 200 lbs. that is less than $1 a piece to ship to customer. Same way with the Chinese shipping 😡 not equal platform.
Hi Catwhisperer, just read your comment, you don't know how right you are! I worked for the post office for 30 years and retired 7 years ago. As a city carrier, I watched EVERY morning UPS, AMAZON, DHL, all delivery businesses known to man, roll in HUGE pallets, some 5-6 feet tall, thru the back door! They pay by the pound, like you said, then, pocket the difference between what they pay and what their customers paid them, no delivery involved on their part, just dropping off the pallets to us! The post office is the ONLY one that does last mile delivery, every address every day! If more people were aware of this, they would ship straight thru USPS and keep some money in their pocket, USPS even offers free pickup when your mail is delivered that day, so if you print label and box your item, you don't even have to get out of your PJs!😂And you save money! Thanks for reading my comment! Have a great day!😊😅
There is a huge advantage to those living in middle America. We have two stores and one is primarily decor and large items. Cost for packaging is between $5-10 in supplies. Using Calculated now and we like that extra shipping bonus. Now we are going to get killed. We live in CA and most of the items seem to sell out of TX, FL, and NY. I don’t thing a lot of people realize that eBay includes the what you get paid for shipping is included in the overall eBay fees and this is also one reason why we use calculated. If you opt in you it’s going to cost you 15% extra for your shipping. If you are opting in and don’t do anything, you will pay extra as a seller 100% of the time. We use to use the handling cost to add a few bucks to cover the added insurance cost when it’s not covered. Now we may go back to add that extra $ in the handling.
I do calculated shipping and I opted out of the change. For now I’m going to keep it that way.
Cheaper shipping to more distant destination... I don't really care if I sell or not to a distant destination like the opposite coast. I would rather avoid the increased risks of in transit damage, delays in route pissing off the customer, and customers angry about the high cost of shipping. I will gladly take potentially slower sales and fewer headaches. I also don't want to bother with the gymnastics of determining a fixed price shipping amount that won't lose me money on each item I list.
Agreed!
I opted out. I use the money for supplies. Even though it hasn't started, i think eBay has throttled my sales. I may add $1 and opt in if sales stay slow.
I wish there was an option to give up a percentage of the discount. I went ahead and opted in, but some of my low off dollar items were the first to go, and they were really too low... But the larger items are definitely getting more eyeballs now. I'd just like to give maybe 50% of the discount. However, I'm sure all will be fine once I recalibrate my mental calculator to the new price structure.
I opted in in December and saw my sales skyrocket. I exclusively use calculated shipping and it makes a difference. It also reduces a little bit of what I pay in fees by making the shipping cheaper. Now IDK what's been going on last week but sales have been down I had same slump most of May last yr. I think it's cause yard sales season ramp up.
I got the email and haven’t opted out as of yet. I sell everything with calculated shipping. I pre weigh everything to know. I honestly don’t know how to do flat rate when you don’t know where it’s going and come out ok. I’m a small seller and most of my items are lower priced. I will probably add a handling fee. I honestly started during covid and have had to trial and error learn on my own. I’m trying to sell some things of my own so my boys don’t throw everything in a dumpster when I’m gone. Thanks you for the info Kevin.
I have the discounted shipping on Etsy. It’s usually pretty close, sometimes a little over. eBay’s shipping has a noticeable difference in cost. I’m going to go with the discounted shipping will help sell my items. Plus I’m getting better at estimating weights on boxes.
Long time seller here- I rarely offer free or flat rate shipping. I pride on shipping professionally, no recycled boxes or stuffing packages with used newspaper. After debating with myself the pros and cons, I decided to experiment, offer the reduce shipping, and add $1.50 to pay for shipping materials. If it doesn't increase sales, or I feel like I am losing money- I can always go back to my original model.
I think I’m going to do the same. My wife sells alot of breakable items and I get great feedback on how things are shipped as I put a lot in to the packaging. We have to recoup the cost somehow.
And as far as the free shipping, I will offer it often if I can, and when I can build it into the cost of the item. And as long as I’m making 50 to 65% after fees, when I can offer free shipping, that item will typically sell.
How many people add shipping & handling to their listing? Difference in shipping price i use to cover box supplies.
Great Sales! Kevin research what the Head of USPS Is doing he’s making certain locations for mail to be shipped which is going to cause us big headaches for our buyers. He’s trying to set up 60 different locations throughout; the us like whatever Amazon calls there warehouses. Just watched a Video the other day from the Senate trying to stop this. Ex: Cheyenne, Montana‘s mail will be shipped to Denver, Colorado and then back to Cheyenne, Montana. Which will also be cutting a lot of jobs throughout the country!
Think his name is DeSaul not sure. Maybe that’s why your golf pro took 9 days to get there and costed you a return. 💁♀️💜♥️🤗💪🇺🇸♥️🙏😇Hugs to wife and Children and Stay Safe and God Bless Always!
This is true. I have a great relationship with my PO and they said things will be getting much worse as more centers are closed and redirected to other centers.
Have never used calculated shipping, flat rate or priority mail. Mistakes were made with my shipping costs early on, but just like paying for an education, you learn as you move forward and now my estimating skills are WAY better. Ground Advantage, Media Mail and UPS are 99% of how I send stuff out and it's worked great!
I have mine set up to add a couple of dollars, And opted in. As a new starter its a lot easier to go for calculated shipping when you don't have the knowledge for premade flat rate shipping options.
Also, some advice, because this is a big change, if anyone does have flat rate shipping and decides to opt-in to the new calculated shipping, opt-in after the start date, and then do a full inventory edit. Helps the algorithms.
I opted out for now because I already build in the discount by listing smaller than actual measurements and lighter weight, and I don't want to go in and change all those listings. For new listings, I've started going to flat rate or free shipping for most items because, like you, I believe they will eventually make everyone opt in.
I was doing this too and it's costing more every time 😢
How do you opt out?
@@elnorahernandez6412 ebay sends you an email asking if you want to opt out, there's a link included that you click on :)
@elnorahernandez6412 check your messages. If they sent one to you, there is a link in the message for opting out. You can always rise the price,and factor the shipping cost,put free shipping
Hi, I have always passed along the discounted shipping rate. It's been over 20 years on eBay and It's never crossed my mind to change it. What makes it easy for me and cost effective is having the appropriate sized box. I also buy them in bulk so I get the best price for boxes. There's only several different sizes that I actually use, of course there's always outliers and I keep extra large boxes just in case. When I'm setting up my listings I already know what box size it's going to go into all I have to do is weigh it and put in the appropriate details. Paying for the supplies definitely eats into the profit but I Make sure to buy at a low enough cost to account for what it's going to take to ship that item.
Thank you for your excellent business practices. Buyers like me appreciate it.
I’m trying flat rate but struggling how to set up the rates. Would be a good topic for one of your videos.
Keep extinguisher for decor worth more money later and load good decor in cabin or home. Love copper
Those brass extinguishers make beautiful lamps. Saw one in a friend's house and admired it.
I've been doing this for 6 months or so already. I charge flat rate for everything under a pound, 1.95 handling for medium size and 2.95 for large items. I started scoring much higher in my shipping ratings after making this change.
I didn't get the email so I won't be impacted YET but I think they are doing it to increase sales on the platform (which benefits them via fees) and possibly to move closer to a standard shipping fee rather than calculated like other platforms use. I don't use calculated shipping very often so the impact to me will be small even when it impacts me. I'm glad they at least gave people the option to opt out.
I was already opted into the discount shipping so I did add a handling charge of .75 on poly bag type items, and $1 on larger items. To help so I don't lose money I will add weight to the item and large items I always go bigger with size and weight due to added packing materials. Most of the time the difference is around $1 or less in my favor and larger items vary but I usually end on a positive there as well.
Whilst for some years I wasn't selling at all, I began all the way back before eBay was even called eBay. I've always used flat rate as yes it is always a competitive advantage and makes listing SO MUCH easier. Flat rate is far far more versatile at any time and ever so easy to change.
Another reason I think eBay might be making this change is to not lose sellers to Mercari. If eBay can say hey we still have buyers over here then they might think they can keep those sellers. Also, since the buyers pay higher prices for shipping on Mercari plus the new added fees it might give more incentive to keep those heavier items on eBay.
I opted out and always use calculated shipping.
I didn’t get the email but when I checked I was opted in. I kept it and added $2 for handling. Sales have increased. I do flat rate for under 1lb but always calculated for items over 1lb.
Here is why I am opting out I used ground select before which usps did not give a discount and I added a handling fee when ground advantage came along I removed handling fee and just went calculated rate been working fine I sell vintage car parts so not as much competition in most cases. I also accept lower offers sometimes because of extra money being made in freight. Everybody has a different business model
I use calculated shipping for everything but underestimate the size so it is cheaper for buyer, the discount helps me do that. The percentage to ebay on shipping without the discount will make it harder. Thinking about how to adjust. Janis
I opted out because some of my items require lots of bubble wrap, tape, and, some need double boxing. If eBay stops charging a commission on the shipping, I may opt in with a small handling charge to cover my shipping supplies. I use calculated shipping on all of my items.
Do you not write all your shipping supplies off on your taxes? Wouldn't that take care of all the supply fees?
@@caraniko9587 I do write shipping supplies off. The little extra that I get from the shipping covers part of my time that it takes to wrap the item and take it to the Post Office. And, no, I don't have my packages picked up because I want a receipt that includes the weight of the item(s) in case a buyer does a return.
My store 90% flat rate shipping - 10% free shipping. Always done this so no changes are necessary for me.
I am honestly glad Ebay is fixing the shipping customers pay. I am constantly having to refnd tbe excess shipping costs which is annoying.
I use calculated shipping with the shoe sales. You can always work rebates to the customers who pay top shipping prices. Also with calculated you can set a percentage off shipping which i set between 10 and 20%. Customer sees a discount and you can work with asking price for the item. I like the multiple options to work with price and offer shipping discounts. I live is S Utah and have a big following in Florida which is second in cost along with the extreme N.E. Sell a good product and focus on service. I know you hate the idea of selling shoes only because of the cleaning but buy cost to sell ratio is good here. I dabble in some small items and just pride myself with excellent service as you do.
Started out doing calculated, ended up getting frustrated because we were rookies at shipping but ended up just switching to flat rate. it was a huge weight off our shoulders and things seemed to sell faster.
I will opt-in and see what happens - most of the items I sale are all media mail, so there has been much of a discount for me. Now on the video games etc. I might start adding a handling charge to cover cost. I see it could be beneficial but I think it will hurt more sellers when it comes to packing supplies. One thing I have always done is go to my local Dollar General and get free boxes that I need (Manager will pile up the box sizes I use the most and set them aside) so I rarely every pay for boxes.
Basically if you do free shipping, it doesn't matter. People that ship big items would benefit. People that sell small items and up the shipping shouldn't and look at options to make more offers
Hey Kevin, I do 100% fixed rate shipping and always have. For the people that do calculated and stay opted in they may sell more if what you said is true that their shipping fee will say "discounted shipping on this item".
I opted out because I only sell Books and postcards, so I charge a flat rate Media Mail for the books and give free shipping for the post cards (only .88 cents standard envelope) for the postcards. I'm hoping I Media Mail doesn't go away.🤞
I feel that it was also to counteract Mercari's decision to throw more fees to the buyer. It can bring in customers with the promise of cheaper fees and potentially a better deal. If a customer didn't know about ebay's fees, they are being told about part of it now.
I use calculated shipping, been selling on eBay since 1996, have almost 3000 items and got no notice. I'm going to let the discount go to the buyer for a week or two and see if my sales increase. If not I'm opting back out.
That's a good idea, give it a short trial run. I might do the same, sales have been pretty slow.
I opted out. You can't always simply change an item from calculated to flat rate. My calculated shipping items are jigsaw puzzles. There are too many variables in weight and destination because of the size of the puzzles to create flat rates.
You said the guy might return range finder due to slow shipping. The post office lost 6 of my packages all shipped on April 6th. The last one was delivered yesterday that is over a month. One buyer opened a credit card dispute and their item was delivered a few days ago. Be careful on those range finders. I bought several and they didn’t work correctly. They usually will work on short yardage but not on longer yardage. My worked 0 -140 but not over 140 yards. They get damaged from being dropped by golfers out of carts or thrown on ground.
EBay originally did not charge a fee on the cost of shipping. Then sellers used that to sell items cheap and charge a bunch for shipping, so eBay started charging a fee for the total price. I feel like if they want to do it this way, then they shouldn't charge a fee on the shipping bought through them. I opted out due to this factor. I also package all my items at the time of listing so I have the correct dimensions and weight and I do one day shipping.
I am depressed that a ton more sellers will begin passing on the savings as I started doing a couple of months ago before this opt in stuff. My sales took off and I enjoyed offering the actual product for what it was worth. I am very small time. If I ship ground advantage I charge a 75 cent handling fee and priority mail there is no handling fee since I use their box. I think I will always stay with calculated shipping though especially offering the ebay discounts to customers. So far it works out where some cents under and some over so balances. Never more than a dollar.
You inspire us to make a channel as well, as we as well resell. Be on the look out for us in the future as I'm confident we will do well in TH-cam. Thank you for everything
I'm full in with calculated, love it. I am considering opting into the competitve calculated although I already opted out to cover my time mostly.
This shipping change would make more sense if eBay didn’t charge a percent off of those sellers who opt in.
Agreed!
I live in Oregon. I used to do flat rate on most thing simply so I didn't have to weight and box until it sold. It would work if all I did was smaller stuff but for some reason I'm attracted to things that cost a lot to ship.
I use calculated shipping and pass the discount onto the customer. I add a $1.00 handling fee to everything. The customer doesn't see the $1.00 as a handling charge. it's combined into the shipping total.
I think I may start using the flat rate system at some point. I sell on depop and put a single price for shipping items already so I am getting familiar with these costs and feeling better about my abilities.
I usually do free shipping, call me crazy, I get burned sometimes but overall it just saves me a bunch of other issues.
Opted out . I charge a handling fee to cover some of the price of my shipping materials
Hey! I just wanted you to know that when eBay did their update it changed my shipping address to an adress in Miami FL. I am in Mississippi. (I spelled out my state because others sometime think that it is Missourri) I had to cancel a n order for a wheel of time book because it was being shipped to the wrong address. I will repurchase. I know you look out for our selling community, thought I might be part of the process! Keep shining the light, Kevin! and family
I feel like the real push is to purchase Ebay labels (to get the discount) on their site. I'm in Canada and I got the email. The discount to ship with Ebay to US destinations has decreased significantly with the new agreements they have with Canada Post and USPS. But I wonder if they need to have a certain volume to maintain those agreements. I know that Canada Post definitely has volume expectations to keep discounts at certain levels.
My biggest issue with eBay changing the shipping is they KEEP changing it. It used to be for priority mail there was no discount to the seller, so I almost always offered ground and added a small handling fee. Then eBay changed it and suddenly all my items were REALLY expensive to ship. It took me forever to get those handling fees off.
Now we are going back and I need to add in the small handling fee. Just figure it out already.
I opted out and set a flat rate on everything - a little more than the Zone 5 rate.
Here is another trend I have noticed on eBay.... Many Large Sellers now seem to overprice many items and then watch to see if someone watches the listing. They then send an offer to the watcher with a discount and eBay says that others are also watching the item. This will tend to get the watcher to rush and buy the item. This is a something many of the Big listers are doing. One mans opinion.
I opted out and almost instantly saw a slow down in sales. I use calculated shipping, I do not add a shipping/handling fee, and I weigh the items with the box when I list so I can get as accurate as I can. I definitely saw the dip in sales. So,punishment, maybe?
Tbh all shipping prices are done on a case by case basis for me. If most other examples are selling free shipping, I have to do the same to make it look equitable to the customer (curiously it doesn’t seem to matter if I add a couple of quid on the item cost?!). If the other samples have shipping, I feel more comfortable charging shipping.
We are working on changing all our listings to Free Shipping and building the price into the product. We have analyzed competitors pricing and shipping fees and came up with this strategy to remain competitive. A win win for us and our buyers.
I've done free shipping on everything for years. It's so much easier in the long run.
Great vid Kevin! I use flat rate shipping on everything. I've been reselling for around 6 years now so I know shipping costs fairly well. I live in Michigan so I'm willing to take a small loss on sales to California but at least I made the sale. It's worth it to me. I know Lonnie uses calculated shipping so I'm waiting to see what he does.
Mercari is encouraging new sellers with no selling fees and that is a competitive strategy.
The biggest issue I have with the shipping thing is if they're looking to attract more buyers, I wish eBay would "meet us in the middle" and at least waive the fees on the shipping portion. With these changes, we're going from making a little bit of money on the shipping to losing a little bit. If it's for the good of the platform, I think we should both have a dog in the fight.
And yes, I understand why they started charging on the fees, but I have to believe the technology is there to know when calculated is being charged.