'eBay Called Me Yesterday' - Are Shipping Costs Too High?

Are shipping costs scaring eBay shoppers away? In a discussion board thread this morning ("eBay Called Me Yesterday"), a seller said eBay told them that passing along their shipping discounts to buyers would help their sales.

The longtime seller said eBay called them on the phone and asked if they were aware that their shipping preferences were set not to pass along postage savings to buyers. "They first asked if I was aware of this setting, and then, was I willing change my setting. They quoted some statistics about how this would help my sales."

One seller suspected eBay was going to change its policy to make it mandatory: "I have heard that eBay wanted to change this and give all buyers this discount that sellers use to cover some costs of shipping and fees. I had hoped they would leave well enough alone. Seems that eBay wants to take this away from sellers to give to buyers. I sincerely hope they rethink this plan."

One seller said they would be inclined to tell eBay that they would consider passing along shipping discounts to buyers if it stopped charging sellers fees on shipping. (eBay's commission includes price plus shipping plus sales tax.)

Frequent poster Mr_lincoln said eBay had run a test on this topic in 2023, writing in part:

"As you all probably know eBay does little tests on a regular basis and from what I understand earlier this year they were testing select Selling accounts where Sellers would give the Buyer the eBay discounted shipping rate. We are hoping it does not gain any traction and as @ittybitnot mentioned, it would be one thing if they waived FVFs on shipping AND sales tax on shipping so that shipping was a break even proposition when using the Calculated shipping setting."

Another seller who said they already pass along their shipping discounts to buyers said eBay had called them a few weeks ago asking if they would consider joining its eBay International Shipping program (EIS).

Some sellers were wary of unsolicited calls, concerned they might be scammers.

Have you received cold calls from eBay or any other marketplace recently? What was the subject of the calls?

Is eBay worried about the cost of shipping on buyer behavior? All major carriers have higher rates going into the New Year (and USPS will raise rates on January 21, 2024). What is a seller to do?