Problem with postage when buyer ordered quantity of two

[TiasTreasures]

I seldom have a quantity of more than one of any item, so I wasn't aware of this problem until it happened.

A buyer bought a quantitiy of two, the number I had listed, then immediately clicked the Buy Now button and paid the total amount listed on what appears to be an invoice generated by eBid. I was not involved in the transaction at all.

Unfortunately, under US Postal Service rules, two of the items weigh too much to use First Class Mail. So eBid could not calculate the amount of postage for two items, instead charged for one and sent me an email telling me to generate a second invoice for the correct remaining amount of postage due.

Unfortunately, when I select "Send invoice to buyer" I can only get the incorrect one that was apparently generated by eBid, and I can't remove anything that is filled in.

By the time I got eBid's email, the buyer had already paid the incorrect amount. I sent an email and she said she'd be happy to pay the extra postage, but she doesn't know how to do that without an invoice. Which I cannot create.

May I make a suggestion? It is very, very easy for a seller to credit the buyer for overpaid postage after the fact, because we have access to the buyer's PayPal account. In the future, if a buyer buys two of an item . . . DOUBLE THE POSTAGE AMOUNT . . . and notify the seller that the correct postage has to be calculated and the overpayment credited to the buyer.

I'll just pay the extra postage for this one.

[burgyeb]

Why not have buyer pay you via PayPal using your email addy. You could communicate amount due with any discount applied in the ASL. It is not like you made some type of a mistake.

[TiasTreasures]

I'm not concerned about the small amount of extra postage I paid.

I am concerned because this can happen so easily. The US Postal Service has some convuluted rules, and it's very easy to move from one mailing class to another when multiples are purchased. In some cases it could stay in the same mailing class but require a surcharge.

eBid could solve this by multiplying the individual shipping charge by the number of items purchased, send it to the buyer and notify the seller. Add a note at the bottom that the seller will be adjusting the postage amount and refunding the overpayment.


AND . . . how does the seller get up a BLANK invoice for something that's already been paid for?

[burgyeb]

The amount paid in excess postage is not the key issue in your case, but it could be substantial in other cases. Also small excess cost over multiple transactions can add up to substantial revenue loss. It is the principle of the issue, and the fact that it could be easily remedied.

This is probably not an isolated incident, and it could negatively impact a large number of sellers. If one simply absorbs the cost, and the issue is not remedied, then all sellers are impacted who decide to sell in multiples.

As far as bringing up a blank invoice, I have done that in PayPal's Shipping Center. I was allowed to add details I wanted, even though I had sold the item on eBid. I used this feature some time ago, so don't know if it is still available. I would think that feature would be available in programs or via keyword search.

Payments can be refunded and a new invoice issued. Perhaps eBid could delete their faulty invoice; then you would be able to send a corrected invoice.


P.S. I would contact support directly concerning this matter. Also forward the thread to them for review and comment.

[Mountman]

When making the listing, you could just tick the box in the shipping section, Each extra item will add £x.xx to the shipping cost. Just enter the amount you want to charge for the extra item , in your case, you enter the original shipping cost.
Or am I missing something? 😕

[TiasTreasures]

The U.S. Postal Service System is incredibly complex. In this case the additional postage for the second item was $2.00 because the weight put it into another class. For a third item it would have stayed in that class and been less than $2.00. They have sliding scales within each class. And of course, every time they raise their rates, the sellers will have to locate these items and change the additional amout on the listings.

[kodakfish]

usually ebid will only combine shipping automatically if you have ticked the box [when listing] for additional postage charges for multi buys [only works with that listing]. I you tick that box BUT don't enter amount it assumes that extra shipping is free . Then when auction ends Ebid send the winner an auction ended notice. Make sure you don't tick that box unless you are entering additional postage. It's so easy to do without thinking

[TiasTreasures]

Aha! That explains it. Fortunately, I don't have many items like this, so I'll have to find them and figure it out.

Thank you!