How to inform eBay that two separate orders were combined and shipped together?
A buyer bought two things from me, but the orders didn't seem to merge/combine. As a result two postage labels and tracking numbers were generated but obviously one can only adhere one label to the box. How can eBay be informed that the orders were combined? And how will the Global shipping hub know that another order is also in the box? And lastly, once sorted, how does the buyer get refunded for the additional shipping that they paid for? Thank you.
25 comments
cheekychippy210
·3 weeks ago · Editedif ebay issued two, use the two.
if buyer placed items into basket and checked out ebay should combine. Items seperate then no. The labels protect you as proof of despatch.
gkmachine
OP3 weeks agoDamn, I didn't realise it was so complicated these days. Well, unfortunately most of the items I sold the other day are now en route and it made sense to find some suitable boxes and place several orders into one box. Most of these items are tiny, band memorabilia. So I now cannot prove that I shipped them? I need to get used to this system...as you can see from my feedback, it's mostly from the old days when we organised all shipping ourselves. Thanks for the input.
cheekychippy210
·3 weeks agoencourage upsales by adding combined postage via basket.
jonatjonatjonat
·3 weeks agoFor global shipping the orders don’t combine as there is a unique id number for each item for processing at the shipping hub. In addition the buyer placed two orders and paid two lots of delivery, so why would they expect it to be combined?
if they were separate orders, then going via global shipping they should have been shipped separately.
The risk now is the second item will simply not show as delivered to the hub so will leave you open and at risk to claims of item not delivered.
gkmachine
OP3 weeks agoThank you too for the input. It sounds like a ball ache. Despite my 2000+ feedback rating, these are mostly old and I'm still not familiar with the new shipping system. Firstly I wasn't aware of Global Shipping system to begin with so the first order is not part of that programme. The buyer paid for shipping (but it turns out it's nowhere near enough to cover it anyway). The subsequent two orders WERE part of the global shipping programme. However, since the 1st item is a poster and the subsequent two items both also fit into a poster tube, one would think combining shipping is common sense. However, I get the impression I am not covered and cannot prove that all items are shipped? OK, all a learning curve. I won't be making the same mistake in future.
gkmachine
OP3 weeks agoShould I unpack the parcel tube and send separately? It seems like such a waste of money.
gkmachine
OP3 weeks agoTo answer the question about why would they expect shipping to be combined if they paid separately...well, because they are in a destination on the other side of the world. Why would they want to pay shipping twice or three times? In the past you could very easily just refund the buyer the additional shipping they paid but it seems really hard to interface directly with the buyer these days. The entire checkout and payment system is removed from the control of buyer/seller. That's quite something to get used to.
jonatjonatjonat
·3 weeks agoWhy would they want to pay shipping twice or three times?
Because they did - they already did pay shipping twice or three times. A refund sure is a nice to have - but myself as a customer would never expect it on any website.
I'm unsure what is going on with your initial query as now you have increased from 2 to 3 orders. But in general, even if you had one none GSP order and two that were - they are all separate shipments.
gkmachine
OP3 weeks ago · EditedHey...thanks again. What's going on with the initial query is that it applied to a buyer in Australia who had bought two items...by the time I came back here to check this query another buyer in the US had bought three items, one of which I had listed before (semi)understanding what Global Shipping Programme was so had not opted into that to begin with. Basically I listed 23 very small collectable items over the course of 3 days. To me it makes no sense to ship these all individually...but I understand that it's not really about common sense and more to do with what has happened. Like I said, learning curve. Will not be making this mistake in future. The only thing I still need to figure out is how to combine shipments so the buyer doesn't;t have to pay two or more times.
jonatjonatjonat
·3 weeks agoFor Global Shipping - if they purchase the items together then it will present as one order - but if they purchase separately - there is no way to combine orders.
So basically - customers need to add everything to basket, then checkout.
gkmachine
OP3 weeks ago · EditedOK, so these were all auctions that ended at different times, like 5-10 mins apart...so no way to combine these at checkout? Does GSP only combine on BIN items that are purchased simultaneously?
sml192
·3 weeks ago · EditedYes, you will have to unpack the parcel and send separately. Under no circumstances can a GSP and non-GSP order be combined as the buyer has paid eBay for the International postage and any customs charges on the one and paid you for the other. If you send the non-GSP item to the hub then it won't be sent on to the buyer.
gkmachine
OP3 weeks agoOK, I have just shipped the entire parcel and paid for this myself. The three items are all listed on the customs declaration. From my understanding the buyer has paid £2.75 for each of the two GSP items, so £5.50. I will just refund them that shipping cost.
boundarycoins
·3 weeks agoSorry but I can’t believe you have done that. You’re going to get stung on this as it can’t work with the way eBay’s system is set up.
gkmachine
OP3 weeks agoCan't say I feel happy reading this. Slowly getting up-to-speed with this new system. The old system was so much simpler: a buyer would pay for the item and postage and you then arranged the postage and then dropped it off at the post office. By the way, I'm no newbie to mail order (I run a record label so have done thousands of mail orders via Bandcamp)...but just this system that I'm not familiar with is a bit of an eye-opener.
boundarycoins
·3 weeks agoAm I understanding correctly, you have a couple of GSP sales and a non-GSP sale to the same buyer and have sent them all the non-GSP way?
If so, eBay are expecting parcels to arrive at their center that will never arrive. I’d have thought they will refund the buyer on those eventually.
Also think of the import tax situation now.
jonatjonatjonat
·3 weeks agoYour buyer won't be happy either as they are likely going to get charged customs and duties AGAIN for the GSP orders they already paid customs and duties for.