Loosing sales as i can not combine postage

[trade-price-stamps-2015]

Yes, when a buyer buys multiple items of offers i have sent them, they have to pay postage for each one, crazy, i can not combine postage and they can not combine.

I say i will refund the excess but a lot of buyers have trust issues and will not proceed.

This is costing a lot of sales, why is this the case, it needs sorting and fast.

I will be over the moon if there is a way round this and someone lets me know but i am really not happy about it, this is too far.

[tressygirl]

Yep,  it's affecting many and all we are told is that ' eBay are working on it! '.   

Some are just refunding the difference if still using  Custom Postage , delisting the items relisting as one so there's one postage and one tracking number.  Neither ideal I know !

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. '

 

@trade-price-stamps-2015

🤔

[stamp_hammer]

Flat & Promotional postage rules are still working for combined postage.

[snowylilliput-2]

Why should the seller refund any extra postage paid by the buyer considering it is Ebay who are receiving the money for postage. 

[tressygirl]

That is correct,  eBay would refund the buyer if the seller used Simple Delivery.  The refund for the unused label would take 30 days to appear back with the buyer.

Some lucky sellers can still use Custom Postage , I was explaining if this was selected,  then the seller refunds the buyer the excess postage paid if wishing to combine into  one postage item.

@snowylilliput-2 

[beddaustamps]

Last September, eBay banned combined shipping for "Send Offer" items. (Previously, buyers could combine shipping by closing the window after accepting the offer(s) and then checkout once. Now, they force immediate payment on every item, with no way of combining).

I thought it was a bug, but eBay told me it was intentional. The example they ("Idiots in Suits") used was if a buyer was watching a bunch of washing machines, then they're not going to buy more than one, so there's no need for combined shipping on Sent Offer items.  They were adamant that this will not change.

I lost a lot of regular customers because of this, some of whom became very abusive as I'm the one being seen as ripping them off.  I've currently got over 3,200 listings eligible for Send Offers (all of which I would love to send a discount to), but eBay would shut me down within a fortnight when all the negative feedback comes in.

"Send Offers" WAS brilliant and the best guaranteed boost to sales. BANNING Combined Shipping on Sent Offers was probably the biggest act of Lunacy by the Idiots in Suits in our 20 years on eBay.  USE IT AT YOUR PERIL!!

[gjalp]

I hear you on this. Ive lost buyers too. I spent ages telling various agents that not everyone sells large items and that we need combine on ALL items, regardless if its a bed or a small ‘widget’. My sales have been in a steady decline ever since with an increase in drop from when buyer protection fee came in as many private sellers are also buyers. If their sales drop, they will have less funds to buy. 

[goodibags]

Sadly, it appears that Ebay DO NOT want private sellers on the site. The inability to combine items bought by the same buyer is just another way of punishing them for failing to upgrade to a business account. If you want to continue selling without further hassles anyway.

Can't help thinking all the various Ebay excuses should be collected and published in a book. I for one have never had more than 6 washing machines in my watch list. And have never simultaneously bid on more than about 4 of them. 😁

[snowylilliput-2]

There's another person who think ebay does not want privates sellers on Ebay . When is someone like you will understand a private seller is also a buyer . Moat private seller who decides to leave will also not buy which means even buisness sellers will also get a sale . Just read and you will see even they are having a hard time at the moment . Besides if buyers who buy multiple items from a private seller he can upload everything to there basket before making payment . I had it happen to me as seller last night and it combines postage . So private sellers know longer use unable to combine postage as a reason why there are no longer able to use that excess. 

[lucy_farmer]

'That is correct,  eBay would refund the buyer if the seller used Simple Delivery.  The refund for the unused label would take 30 days to appear back with the buyer.'

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Well that works fine getting the over paid postage back to the buyer (if they were the ones who paid it...)

But we are still stuck with only one tracking number (therefore one item) being 'delivered' and hence paid within the 14 days, and a dodgy buyer being able to claim not-received for the other items in the box..... as they haven't been 'delivered' .

They've been 'working on it' for 4/5 months now;  I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but even I'm starting to think they don't *want* to solve it......☹️. 

I just don't get why *any* business would want to pee off so many of it's own customers; what are they expecting to gain?

[hugothecockapoo]

Personally, I think it is eBay's cackhanded backdoor way of forcing business sellers trading under a private account to register correctly. As usual, they are using Thor's Hammer to crack a nut instead of using the might of software to sort it..

I have a pin badge line, which has been decimated by private sellers undercutting me. Same stock, etc, but half the price of my listings..

[lucy_farmer]

'As usual, they are using Thor's Hammer to crack a nut instead of using the might of software to sort it..'

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Yes, in a nutshell ! (if you'll pardon the pun...)

Ebay's bot is very good at spotting private sellers and potential buyers swapping contact details- addresses,  email addresses and phone numbers .

Why the hell can't they just write a code to spot the words 'Brand New',  if it occurs more than a handful of times on a *private* sellers listings? (yeah a few unwanted presents is OK, but 37 pairs of trainers is pushing it a bit...)

Or the wording 'choose your size'? or 'colour'?  Or 'personalised'? etc etc.  🙁

Why is that so difficult?

[goodibags]

For info, I'm a buyer as well as seller and am only going by what I've been observing. I hope that you mean some online selling platforms need to understand this? I reckon by now their users will be well aware.

@hugothecockapoo  You mean Ebay's cackhanded backdoor way to get ALL sellers to upgrade, regardless of whether trading or not? As well as for genuine private sellers to leave? In practical terms the overall impact may be both.

[parsley2003]

A buyer has just contacted me about combining, the postage would have been £20. I have ended the listings and made one for them with the correct postage on am still on custom postage at present but if it had been SD the price of postage would have been about the same, they saved on the buyer fee as well 

[goodibags]

And if you hadn't done that the items would still be sitting there unsold.

This is why it makes no sense at all why Ebay is determined to eliminate such helpful and attentive customer service. All for the sake of a few extra pennies?

[parsley2003]

Yes they would have been unsold even though i have stopped single postcards and put into sets. Since i relisted some a week ago i have sold 1 item until now

They have lost a fair few pennies on 8 items combined in one lot.  The seller has saved £24.50 but it's a right pain having to end listings take more photos and list again. 

[edwardian-dreams]

It can’t be rocket science for eBay to put in a code in its programming to say when there is more than one purchase from a buyer to same seller then put in a request  total postage 

it just can’t be

can it?

🙄🙄🙄🙄

this pay a million lots of postage but it’s ok cos I will refund you is absolutely ridiculous at best 

[goodibags]

Yes, it's totally ridiculous. Whether it's by accident or design is another matter. Combining items and refunding buyers creates more work for Ebay's sellers, making it harder to use unless they 'upgrade'.

It also makes sellers look bad for apparently not making it possible for multiple purchases to be invoiced together. On top of which each item has inevitably attracted a 'buyer tax', for no other reason than the seller is not using a business account.

Oh, and did I mention payment retention? Not just impacting private sellers but their buyers too when they've paid for multiple postage labels and only one was actually needed. And now postage rates have apparently been hiked too?

Put together it's definitely not a good look for private sellers. Unfortunately, Ebay has ensured it.

[edwardian-dreams]

Oh

so multiple purchases get the bpf on each sale ?

you’d think there was at least a reduction in either the 75p per item or the percentage 

yes that’s dodgy looking so yes “by design “ is my opinion 

I won’t type anymore as it will be bleeped except to say I agree with your post in full