An eBay buyer wrote to us this week saying he could no long request a total for combined shipping from his cart when purchasing multiple items from a seller. At first he thought it was because the seller required Immediate Payment, but the seller said he had never set his items to Immediate Payment.
eBay CEO Jamie Iannone has touted the company's efforts to reduce unpaid items (UPIs),
telling Wall Street analysts eBay had effectively eliminated "Unpaid Items" on Fixed Price transactions and had continued to reduce this issue for Best Offers, and promising to do the same for
auction-format listings.
So are these efforts to reduce unpaid items impacting buyers who purchase multiple items from a single buyer?
One option for sellers who wish to pass along combined-shipping discounts to buyers who have paid the full shipping for multiple items is to offer a partial refund. As a seller wrote
in October, "There is no penalty for issuing partial refunds for shipping. They actually have "Shipping discount" as one of the reasons for a refund. One thing to keep in mind though is that eBay does not credit your FVFs on any partial refunds you issue."
Soon, however, eBay *
will* credit Final Value Fees on partial refunds, as announced in last week's
2022 Winter Seller Update:
Prorated final value fee credits for partial refunds
Starting May 2022, when you issue a partial refund to a buyer, we'll automatically credit a prorated portion of your final value fee based on the adjusted total amount of the sale. Along with this, we'll automatically credit prorated portions of other applicable fees including Promoted Listings Standard and international fees. Fees such as the $0.30 per-order fee, Promoted Listings Express fee, and Promoted Listings Advanced fee will not be refunded. We want to support your efforts to make things right for your buyers and adjust your fees accordingly.
So overall, it sounds like positive news: reduced incidents of unpaid items for sellers, and the ability to issue refunds without a monetary cost (FVFs).
But the question remains - why wasn't the eBay buyer who wrote to EcommerceBytes able to request a total for combined shipping from his cart when purchasing multiple items from a seller?
Allowing buyers to get reduced shipping for multi-item purchases before paying would be ideal. We're hoping sellers who deal with multiple-item purchases can weigh in on this issue. What should buyers (and sellers) know to make things flow more smoothly?
And, have you found eBay's efforts to reduce unpaid items effective?
Is Combined Shipping on eBay Still an Issue?
by: toolguy