How the Hell do I combine postage for several items?

[gorragerritgone]

Someone has bought several items and wants combined postage. Can't send payment details because ebay changed the postage method!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Another has bought several...some with my normal Royal Mail postage and the others were changed by ebay to the simple postage. They want combined postage. What do I do? This whole system is absolutely rubbish. I note on another post, someone sold several items and had the same problem and the buyer promptly cancelled the order for all the items. I am sick to death of this pathetic new system. Someone please help me. Stress levels through the roof.

[wintersdawn1]

Agreed, another greedbay nightmare.

With simple delivery the buyer purchases the postage from ebay and so they *should* complain to ebay about it but do they know they bought the postage from ebay?

[selective_distribution]

Correct! The way I see it is that I don`t have many combined postage buyers, and I am am willing to take the hit of (in your example), £2 per item, and regard it as a fee in the way fees used to be applied, if I can shift the items at a profit. It`s not perfect, but it saves so much hassle.

[suelel1968]

Is it correct that if the labels are not used, they are refunded to the seller?

Tracking would not work though I suppose if you don't use the  individual labels? 

I find it frustrating if buyers want combined postage and don't ask up front though. They have this new help line, they need to use it. 

[61stephenuk]

Unless a seller lists with free postage where seller is charged for the simple delivery label any refund would likely go to the buyer if unused as they would be the one who paid eBay for the label

*I think this is correct so far but as sd is changing frequently who knows?

[clydeandrascal]

My sympathies.  This pathetic system is abysmal.  In fact, it has been impossible to combine postage for some time, as attempt to do it just led to error messages.  eBay said, charge all the individual prices then refund.  Problem is, here you don't actually have the money yourself, so can hardly refund it.  The suggestion that you might just absorb it would be OK for some, on higher priced items, but not, I suspect, for the majority.

[im1984]

Just tried that but although it says I combine my buyer 5 items when you click on continue it won't let you. 😞

[tressygirl]

Nope,  it's still an issue,  sellers still cannot combine postage,  under Simple Delivery.

Some sellers are leaving a message on their listing,  for example.....   ' If you wish to buy multiple items,  please let me know before buying,  I will relist them as one listing so only one postage cost is charged, combining postage is not currently possible. '

 

@im1984

[charbonnierhrh]

Hi There... what I have done in the past is do the calculations myself and put the cash difference in with the parcel as a refund. Then, because I posted the combined items ...'Tracked' I might add! ...plus the items were delivered ...and the buyer left a glowing Review... Ebay punished me by making me wait 2 weeks for the payment because I didn't use their service. Even though the proof of item delivery was there in plain sight. Ludicrous!! You respect the customer, give them what they want ...are out of pocket yourself by doing the customer a favour ...then you get reprimanded by Ebay ....'Because They Can'!!! Clearly Ebay lose out massively on postage commission when seller take it into their own hands to do it independently.

[eastern-lights]

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@charbonnierhrh wrote:

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Then, because I posted the combined items ...'Tracked' I might add! ...plus the items were delivered ...and the buyer left a glowing Review... Ebay punished me by making me wait 2 weeks for the payment because I didn't use their service. 

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That's odd. Perhaps it depends upon the courier used. I use Royal Mail independently from Ebay though the two accounts (RM and Ebay) are linked. The tracking number appears on Ebay (if not I enter it)  and my money becomes available two days after delivery.

[ineverycornersing]

It really is a *bleep* show. ebay don't understand posting and the complexities of multiple purchase combining. They don't have a system to allow combining because they can't work out how to do it with all the variables that would be necessary to do it. I have just had my first combined postage and the only way I could figure it out is to print both labels and put both on the parcel so they, hopefully, both get scanned on delivery. If not, I don't get paid for either one or both items. I'm selling off my last items then will never use ebay again until they sort this mess out. It's going to cause a lot of bad feelings between customers and sellers and I don't need this in my life. I've always prided myself on giving the best customer service I can so it's a pity ebay don't do the same for it's customers, the sellers. With no items listed nobody can buy. There's another thing. They have changed the fees so buyers end up paying more for their purchases and ebay keep the fees. I'd rather go back to the old way where sellers pay the fees and postage is left between sellers and buyers. Simple thing is if buyers don't like postage terms they don't have to buy. Now there is no way we sellers can make lower adjustments for postage amounts so the customers are paying even more. Well doen ebay - another pigs ear.

[charbonnierhrh]

I totally agree with you. I'm still having combined purchase issues. But
THE BIGGER ISSUE is that I have chosen on multiple sales to not go through
Ebay and use alternative tracked postage services. EBay WILL NOT recognise
the tracking of an item, or its delivery EVEN IF the customer has left
brilliant feedback on the item! They use every trick in the book not to
address it and REPRIMAND the seller by withholding funds for 14 days. I'm
not even sure if that's lawful!! It's happening to me all the time when I'm
bending over backwards to given buyers a great service. I've even worked
through all of these instances that they are giving their AI human names to
fob off situations they may have to deal with. It's an unfortunate
situation made worse by AI technology. These large companies just don't
care, or even recognise the importance of human interaction enough to deal
with phone calls from people they're making money out of. I too am looking
at other sites now. Currently studying the Shopify option. I'm going to add
you as a favourite seller, because we're of the same mindset and having the
same issues. Good luck.

[carpmadsteve]

My buyer wanted combined postage for four items in his basket. Even though I have set up combined postage in my seller hub, he wasn't given the option ????

[eastern-lights]

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@carpmadsteve wrote:

My buyer wanted combined postage for four items in his basket. Even though I have set up combined postage in my seller hub, he wasn't given the option ????

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My work-around is to engage with the buyer, explain there is a problem with Ebay and combining postage, and ask them to pay in full and I will quickly issue a partial refund to make up for combined shipping.

[coyotetower]

The options there for me as a business. It's just more confusing now. I have to make a "combo postage policy" and then activate it. Its really janky but it has worked for some items. You create this policy and choose your promotion rate or  flat rate (says add amount per item and i just put 0). No idea why they made it so complex. 

[coyotetower]

Then select the formula. I put £0 per additional item. Then save policy.

[coyotetower]

Then finally you add it into your postage policy. 

[ineverycornersing]

The trouble with partial refunding now, is that I don't get the postage money, it all goes to eBay and they should be the ones to refund the postage. I did do a partial refund so as not to upset my customer but it came off my own profit, so I made a loss.

[eastern-lights]

Sounds dire. Also sounds like you need to work out every possible combination in advance. It may not be too bad if everything you sell is the same size and weight, but depending on what you sell someone buying two dissimilar items may take a combined package up a postal size, or from below 2kg to above 2kg, or it may not, so surely you need to be able to give postal discounts once the order is placed.  

[ineverycornersing]

Yep, eBay make a great play of sellers doing the right thing by their customers but have absolutely no regard for theirs who are both sellers and buyers. This new system is actually costing buyers a lot more since they not only pay the extra for so called customer help in the event of a problem, which was always there as automatic refunds were generally given to buyers in dispute, but they now have to pay for each and every item posted if sold individually.