Is Combined Shipping on eBay Still an Issue?

by: jantique

For the seller it is still a problem. Several years ago it seemed it worked well. For the last many years, I find it a mess and eBay keeps changing the pages so one cannot find anything!

In my description, I ask the buyer to write me first for multiple purchases and I will "fix" the postage. However, most do not read the descriptions.

by: terry55

Been dealing with this for almost 4 years, ebay still won't put combine shipping request on their app.They've come up with a bunch of other junk but their working on it. UGH. I've lost a few sales a month because of it.
So if he's trying off the app, that could be the reason but come May when they refund the fees' I'll pass it on to the buyer, I'm not eating extra fees for a known problem

by: eBaySince2006

I don't get what the problem with unpaid items is on eBay. If someone doesn't pay within one hour from purchase I just cancel the order. I've been doing that for years  

by: Bob V2

This has been an issue for years and I've had many exchanges and conversations with CS about it.  They have admitted on several occasions that the shopping cart is buggy, and say it's being looked at, but nothing get done.  Their best suggestion has been to tell buyers to access the cart via a regular browser rather than the app, although that doesn't always work either.  I've lost a lot of sales because buyers don't want to trust me to refund excess shipping charges.

by: Mighty Mouse

Not sure how combining shipping work for other sellers.  For us, it does not make any sense, since UPS/FedEx started using the dimensional weight.  The bigger the package, the higher the cost of shipping for us.

What we don't get is how some buyers can purchase a number of items together and some can only purchase each item separately.  I pretty sure everyone knows how to use a shopping cart and check out by now.

No problem with unpaid items for us, we require immediate payment on all our items.

by: 1st Armored Div. 1971-1973

Years ago combined shipping used to work reasonably well. Unless the customer bought a large number of items it easily handled 4 or 5 items in a single purchase without raping the customer.

Now it is almost worthless.

by: Amberlin

If only Ebay would put a simple line of text on ALL listings that says something like: "to receive combined shipping discount, add all items to your cart first and then check out".

Pretty simple isn't it? I've had buyers with feedback numbers of 4 digits or more who had no idea that was the secret to avoid asking for an invoice, or to avoid purchasing multiple items separately with shipping on each, forcing me to refund and delay the shipment.

by: toolguy

On eBay Motors is it. . . .

You can't combine items, you can't send an invoice and you can't add a tracking number to a additional item purchased and shipped together.

Is it still 1998?

by: Sierra

Awhile back, I contacted eBay to ask about Combined Shipping. Turns out that it's a ''Business Policy'' which I hadn't turned on.

eBay replied that to fix this, head to your business policies, and select the specific policy, then within the settings, you'll see a box that says Combined Shipping Discounts and Apply. Just check that box and save.

by: Snapped

If ‘you’ were eBay’s honcho with a board whipped edict to ‘take’ as much as possible and dang it all to the noisy torpedoes, how much of your parachute string would you donate to actually “work on” a problem with combined shipping efficiency when your real cash cow makes the whole thing ‘moo’t with a two word lie - free shipping?

If ‘you’ didn’t have any ethics that is.

by: Chicago48

It's called "bundling" and you can do it on Poshmark. ( Merc makes it difficult to do like Ebay)  Can't do it on AMZ and Ebay.  What the buyer wants to do is buy 2-3 items and be charged ONE shipping cost.  On Posh you can put together a bundle and the one shipping cost appears.
It's not $10shipping for one item, and $10 shipping for the other.  I looked it up on Ebay and it's so convoluted and cumbersome.  I told one buyer that I would have to revise the listing and include the 2nd item as a "bonus" purchase; and I did.  When the buyer bought the listing it went out with one shipping cost.
Now -- sometimes you do it and the buyer won't buy the listing, that happened also. (happened on Merc)  and I waited and waited for the purchase.  And then I reverted back to the original listings.
But to the OP buyer, the seller has to revise the one listing into 2-3 items and do it specificially for you and the buyer has to know the ID# and jump on the purchase immediately.

by: Chicago48

"to receive combined shipping discount, add all items to your cart first and then check out".
^^
The problem is that it shows up in the cart as two separate items and two separate shipping costs.  There should be a box that states "this is a bundle" and then once it's in the cart, a notification goes to the seller to combine the shipping cost. Or the highest cost for shipping shows ONLY and it eliminates the 2nd cost.   And the cart items have  to come from the same seller.

by: Fried Chicken Addiction

On January 1st I quit selling and buying on eBay after 20 years
selling and buying on eBay. I haven't been to the post office, have not dealt with
boxes, tape, labels, feedback, none of that, so no, it is not an issue.
Whooopeee!

by: Jono77

Only yesterday I was asked if I combined postage cost. This never used to be a problem until John Donahoe took over in 2008.

Sellers complained of non payment. That never bothered me to the point that I would trade it for the eradication of all multiple purchase orders. They disappeared overnight and have stayed that way ever since. Sales more than halved overnight which led me to start my own website.

eBay just don't listen to their sellers. If they did they would be a half decent dinosaur. They simply have not evolved. They still have those tiny useless arms... like a Tyrannosaurus.  

by: leavingNY

The ask seller for a total link in the cart is ONLY found when the buyer is using a laptop or desktop for the purchase. Buyers cannot see - ask seller for a total when they are using a phone for buying on Ebay. I discovered this problem a couple years ago, and have instructed buyers asking for combined shipping to use a real computer and they will see - ask seller for a total on their CART page.  

by: Jono77

eBay need to educate buyers on how to use the shopping cart. It needs simplifying.

The problem is that eBay displays a message saying "this seller is not accepting combined payments". It took over 3 years to figure out why that was happening. It's a default setting.

Nobody at eBay could tell me how to change it. Customers have seen that so many times now that when they want to buy multiple items they shop at Amazon where shipping is free with a Prime account.

And they need to stop charging fees on postage cost. Or least make or fees worth paying. Fees go up but the site and it's bugs and awful management gets worse.

by: songe-d-automne

I had a lady whine at me a few weeks ago about "not being able" to request a total - basically accused me of not letting her. lol. She told me she was "disappointed" yada yada. I don't know WHY she was even disappointed since within 30 seconds of the last item she bought, I sent a revised invoice combining the shipping anyway. SMH. I feel like eBay sets us up for failure right out of the gate with some transactions..

by: RSandy

FOUND IT! - Go to ACCOUNT SETTINGS - SHIPPING PREFERENCES - ALLOW COMBINED PAYMENTS AND SHIPPING - Select - COMBINED PAYMENTS. I'm hoping that does the trick.

by: Jono77

@RSandy this only works if eBay doesn't display the message stating that you do not accept combined payments. And of course you have to rely on the fact that the customer knows that they need to request an invoice in the first place. However most customers are used to seeing the message for just about every seller on eBay so they don't bother asking now. Too Little Too Late

by: Geetar

Bottom line is sellers are severely punished in search if they dont use free shipping.