I consider myself a business. That discount is a benefit we get as business owners. eBay gets discounts from their vendors, ie, invoices for goods and services are usually discounted by a % if paid within a certain # of days. Do they pass those discounts on to us? No. Why should I, as a business owner pass my discounts on to the buyer? Do you pass the discounts you get when you purchase your goods to the buyer?
Ebay is passing on discounts to you though. The reason why sellers get shipping discounts is because Ebay gives shipping companies business in volume. As a business owner you are buying goods at highly discounted rates and offering the buyer a cheaper price on those items even though you make a profit...so yes you are also doing the same thing. Unless you charge MSRP for everything you sell? Your comment doesn't make sense.
@@la6136no he is right the discounted rate I get is for being a top seller and helps cover shipping supplies and/ or room for error in shipping. It would be like me selling a 40 dollar item for the 5 dollars I spent on.
Well, you know what works for you. Great example. And yes, the whole point of discounts given to us is to use them to your advantage. Depending on where you are in the country, I’m sure your opinion would change - very certain on that.
On larger items (bags, luggage etc) When drafting up those listings I overestimate the weight when it’s over one pound... and size in case I can’t find a box the right size. I use recycled for nearly all my shipping boxes. This Practice end up usually splitting the shipping discount between us. On less than one pound I give it all to the buyer.
You can play Ebay's game until Ebay makes the game not worth playing anymore. Ebay's calculated shipping does nothing. I'll just raise the price of my item, or add handling fee. What did stupid Ebay do? Nothing!
Thanks a lot John I'm new to reselling just about 6 months. Your practical help has helped me a lot man. Too me you are a leader and are helping me to learn about many ebay nuances. Also showing us how to and not just saying it is helpful as there are so many different pages to get lost in sometimes. I really don't have anyone that knows or cares much about reselling online a lot think it's a joke and easy but they don't know it's for real mental and physical work. Thanks for helping pave the way. I wish you lots of success and I'm thankful for the videos you make
Thank you for the update and I learned something! I have always tried to pass on my shipping discount to the buyer and sometimes when I am off with the size or weight because I had to use a different box, I have been just eating the cost. I like the idea to build in the handling fee, small in nature to ensure that I dont end up short. Thank you for having these videos as I have learned a lot from you since I started my business on Ebay last Oct 2023.
The only thing that matters is the total price of cost plus shipping. If you can still make a profit you are comfortable with then do what's best for you.
I am bummed everyone will do it now. I changed it when you showed how on the other video and my sales soared. I added a .75 handling fee on ground advantage and none on priority. I had my highest month sales! Being very small i will probably be back in oblivion now.
Okay Jon... you talked me into it. I;ve always used Calculated shipping and taken the discount. However, on heavy items I've listed at a lower weight to make the shipping attractive to buyers further away - I'm in New Hampshire right on the Northeast coast so west coast heavy can get pricey. So I've been subsidizing some of the heavy shipping charges. So now that I'm passing the discount (as of 10 minutes ago after this video) I have to go in and make my weights real. Anyways, keep up the good work, been following for a few years through the ups and downs, I find you're a straight shooter.
My struggle is living in a rural area with yard sales that many times are junk and thrift stores that are often overpriced. New at this so idk which option to choose.
You make a great point. Be competitive, sell more, don't sweat the few pennies profit you would make on shipping. I'm in. But I have a dilemma. What I have been doing to stay competitive, is to list my shipping weights 1 or 2 pounds less than the actual item weight to compensate for the discounted rates. If I opt in, I am worried that I will end up paying more than the buyer has paid on the shipping. And to go thru my over 1000 listings and correct the shipping weights would be impossible. Do you know if we can opt in for only NEW listings? That would fix it for me. The point is, when eBay implements this change across the board, sellers who do not comply will automatically be priced out of the pack. Thanks for another informative video, Jon. Mike from NY
When you opt in it’s for all of your calculated listings. What I have found recently is with FedEx, eBay has been very aggressive with their discount, like over 60% of retail (account 25% of the time). This rate is sometimes better than my negotiated rate with FedEx where I was making a few bucks off each label while still passing on the discounted rate to my buyers. I’m finding that I am adjusting my shipping policy to add a $3 handling charge to help off set when I am buying these labels through eBay. By adding a set amount in your handling for every calculated shipping policy you have this would speed up the process.
Yeah, all flat rate shipping here - Year to date Ebay sales $30,269 Net $18,267. Up 40% over same period last year. Flat rate shipping has not hurt my little part time business.
Its amazing how many customers have contacted me to check on the quoted shipping, and how often I have lowered that to make the sale. Pirate Ship offers the discounted rate to their users and they don't require volume or anything. Many of our customers have become aware of this and its growing, and its probably giving eBay a bad name. However in my case, eBay offering the discounted rate to buyers is concerning in that I use the excess to buy signature and insurance on my high ticket items. I will have to make adjustments to S&H to make up for that.
Jon I am doing caculated shipping and its fine for me🥰. I remember Jenna saying are you selling wants or needs and that has stuck with me🥰 thank you for the info🙂
As many things that don’t work correct on eBay, it’s arrogant for them to change something that works and do nothing about what doesn’t work. I tried to attach a message to an offer that I declined and the system wouldn’t allow it..
i HAVE JUST STARTED BACK ON EBAY and I wondered how sellers are selling their products so cheap and still make money. all I saw was free shipping and a lot of the time I can't compete with free shipping. So I get the idea that maybe customers won't mind as much if I do calculated shipping. So I am guestmating stuff and I read if real shipping is more or less the real price than it will be adjusted to give money back,etc. One thing I like about calculated shipping is that you get paid for the shipping right away which flat shipping you don't and you automatically have a record with ebay and don't even have to put in a tracking no. Now I read in the boards that the shipping is different for sellers and it isn't all covered so we have to pay more for shipping. The reason flat shipping and free shipping doesn't work for me is because you never know where your customer is from. I had to cancel an order because I didn't have enough for shipping.
Yes I see this can make a difference but I am forced to use a high ad spend to get my sales and I think I have to pay 15% in ads and plus the seller fees so it close to thirty percent maybe 28% and I used the shipping fees to off set this cost and a lot of items I have are under $10 dollars these are video games. It a weird market because lowering the price does not increase my sales. If I say lower my prices by 30% sale I move only 1 or 2 percentage more in sales. But a 10% discount does help or even 5% discount helps. I think just because people see a sale. But yeah the shipping fees help off set the advertising cost I have to use. So I opt out of the discounted shipping. If I was selling higher priced items then I wouldn't care. Or even be able to offer thus on a per item basis then it think that could be an option but bulk changing everything is not going to work in my model. Most of the time maybe I can make 60 cent or even 90 cents on shipping. What ever the case the margins are tight and it strange but I don't think price matters so much when it comes to these sub 10 dollar items. I have fast shipping and processing and good reviews. I also clean and resurface scratched discs so I think compared to other seller I provide a good product. I've never tired to sell my items for 50% off so I don't know if this would increase my sell though but so far, price seem to not effect my sales so much. I've tried discounting an item that's 9.99 to say 5.99 and maybe I moved like 3 or 4 more times. But nothing major it would only be 1% of my sales for the month even with this discount. I've been looking for that magic bullet that would make my sales go from 300 to 600 sales but so far have not found it. But I sell classic video games and I just think their is a finite demand when it come to this. So I decided to opt out of the shipping discount pass to sellers.
Amazon has raised prices and squeezed sellers. The result is only low value off brand items available for sale. eBay is headed down the same road. Platforms should be showing out the door pricing. Buyers want to know how much it costs after shipping and taxes. Literally the only thing that matters. Buyers don't care about how the price is broken down. We do FREE SHIPPING to better provide the actual price a buyer pays. We only sell items under 5lbs and it can be easily calculated for our model.
I have been a flat rate shipper for 2 yrs now. I haven’t really adjusted my shipping over that time. My shipping rates are eBay average or below average by category. I am thinking that this new eBay direction could be a business opportunity. Since getting the email, I have been doing some research on whether I need to flip my shipping strategy. I would be shocked that eBay will not somehow promote those sellers that pass along their discounts as a benefit. I know it doesn’t mention it but I am thinking there will be some sort of carrot from eBay.
Starting up here(tons of prep) with a goal of opening July 1st. My goal is my cost selling at x4 - x7 depending on the market. Then offer free shipping as long as my overall profit never falls below 3x the initial cost. This should(should) allow me to be fairly competitive and attract sales early on(yes I am loosing potential profit but need those sales numbers). I am buying smart and none of my current inventory has less then a 2x multiplier. Over 80% is at that 6-7x based off market with a respectable sell through. I am being smart about my shipping supplies and stockpiling used boxes over the next 8+ weeks. I have not decided on the convince of wireless or reliability of usb thermal yet. Waiting for a sale/deal to happen and even looking at refurbished as a option to get into the black faster.
I appreciate your sentiment, and in theory, agree to some point. But isnt this a "bite off your nose to spite your face" kind of thing? Better that we tough it out and accept all the BS eBay gives us, or better yet, be proactive and make some changes with our selling practices.
@@mikemetco1966 that's what eBay wants you to do "tough it out" I don't sit around and wait for things to get better. I assess the situation and move on. eBay is a sinking ship.... 🙄
I have lots of items that require special packaging needs including special order boxes , sig confirmation, insurance ,and packaging materials. I have the cost of this added to my handling fees . It's not cheap for me and I always pass this along. It's not a few dollars like yours.
Yes. It was $1 but for my FedEx policy I am changing it to $3 since eBay has recently been offering very aggressive discounts (sometimes over 60% off retail).
For all the replies here, agreeing to opting in to make a profit ( we will ALL be forced to by resellers who can afford it ) how much are you now losing to eBay, who did NOT lower their FVF on us sellers? My calculated was to cover costs and fvf. NOT to make a huge profit, as we are being characterized as doing! This makes me sick. eBay is a money grab and sellers are the unfortunate victims.
Yeah tbh, I feel like we're being framed as being thieves for using retail rates and it's not the case? I have retail rates on my items under 1 lb and I don't really feel like I'm price gouging anyone when you take into account FVFs and price of supplies. I don't charge a handling fee. Just checked shipping prices to send my small items to zone 8: (closer zones are obviously lower) 4 oz- charging $5.55, cost on pirateship $4.36 8 oz- charging $6.15, cost on pirateship $4.68 12 oz- charging $7, cost on pirateship $5.62 16 oz- charging $9, cost on pirateship $6.33 Now that I did this deep dive, I feel like the 13-16 oz retail rate is a little too high, so I may still go ahead and make a rate table for my lighter items but I'm still going to be charging more than my cost because I'm not willing to lose money paying FVFs.
I agree with what you are saying. Remember, I am adding a fixed handling to help offset costs as well. I am not saying it is morally wrong or anything like that. I am simply suggesting that your buyers will consider what you are charging them for shipping when they finally decide to pull the trigger and buy your item.
I just wanna point something out that when I’m doing listings, Ebay occasionally automatically fills in some items specifics. It is never correct ever it never fixes any mistakes. It only creates mistakes. My question is what is the point of that it’s not helping it’s just making more work for me.
I already had discounted shipping for buyers turned on. When I didn't buyers would send me messages asking why the shipping is so high. Having discounted shipping increased my sales. If sellers really need the couple of extra dollars from the non-discounted rates they should just increase their prices. Ebay made this change very late imo. Sellers need to remember that Amazon is offering free shipping on orders $35+ even without Prime.
I started doing this after seeing a video of yours and my sales went up....unfortunately so did my returns! That is the risk of selling clothing but that is what we know the best. Was going to ask you if it's worth using the eBay promo for offsite ads? I don't think I could afford to do that for my whole store....I have over 2500 listings. If it helps temporarily, it might help the lousey sales I am getting the past couple of days.....what do you think?
I mean, Amazon and Walmart aren't requiring sellers to do this. This is stupid! I don't agree that's its a good thing, Jon. If Ebay is offering sellers a discount as a peek for selling then keep it what it is. That has nothing to do with the buyer. If Ebay wants to help buyers then they can figure out some "buyer" incentives. No matter how you try to make this work the fact is you shouldn't have to. If that's the case then ebay shouldn't offer us discount.
It’s about sales conversion and the shipping your buyer is asked to pay is no different than that same seller offering a higher price on their item. The combined price plus shipping needs to fall within the market range for that item or you will lose sales. So if you want to charge full retail shipping to the buyer then your item price needs to be competitive or you will potentially lose sales to the price sensitive buyer on a budget and there are quite a few.
if the discounted rate becomes the norm, sellers will just bump up item price, ebay just trying to get us to take less and be happy to keep the fees coming in
I feel like a good middle ground solution for this problem, would be if ebay implemented some optional flat rate shipping labels, like other platforms such as poshmark/mercari, and then not charge fees on the shipping if you use one of their labels. And sellers won't be able to overcharge on shipping to avoid FVFs. Why does poshmark get $7.97 labels that cover up to 108" dimensions and ebay can only give you insane overcharges from UPS and Fedex. I think it's because ebay has worked making money off shipping (FVFs) into their business model. Which is funny because this is what you're accusing sellers of doing but if ebay does it, it's okay? To be fair if ebay tried to implement flat price labels like this it would probably take the entire site down for a week with the amount of glitches it would cause. I won't pass on the shipping discount because of the fees charged on the shipping price. I sell small items and retail rates for those aren't that much higher than the discounted rates so I'm mainly just trying to cover the cost of the shipping FVFs and supplies. And I don't remember the last time a buyer asked why my shipping was so high, because it isn't. I think it's probably been 2 years or so since I got one of those messages.
@@bennystratton7734 That's exactly what I'm saying, they've built the money they make charging us FVFs on shipping into their business model. Apparently it's not ok when we make a couple dollars on shipping, but it's ok when ebay does it. Make it make sense!
We know that sellers are doing this to make more money and some have it engrained this into their business model. I think we can agree on this instead of saying that I am accusing sellers. With that said there is NOTHING wrong with a seller going this route if that is what they want to do for their business. I am simply suggesting that many unsuspecting sellers are losing sales due to this setting and would be better off in the long run against their competition if they did offer the shipping discount.
@@FlippinAintEasy honestly it's fine, I just think it bears mentioning that one of the reasons we are having this discussion is that ebay makes money off of shipping and if ebay is asking why sellers have their shipping costs high, they can go look in the mirror. I would definitely pass the discount if not for the fees. I sell on other platforms where I don't make money on shipping and I don't know why someone would make their whole business model dependent on making money from shipping. So that whole concept is new to me.
@@bennystratton7734 words are important Benny. I never said ALL sellers. But there are those that do count on the extra funds to help offset fees and expenses and this is part of their business model. I understand this. Some do so simply because they are unaware. One viewer who posted a comment in this video decided to pass on the discounted shipping rates over a month ago when it was brought up in my live stream. And guess what happened for her? Her sales went up once she made the change. Now this isn’t going to be the result for everyone but is an example for some that opting in can help their bottom line. You do assume in your reply that those who sell quite a bit of items per week (not the weekend warrior sellers) would be hurt by passing on the discount to their buyers over a period of time. If this is the case, how is it that I am paying about 23% in total fees to eBay on calculated shipping where the buyer pays sometimes as much as $75 for shipping and someone like me can still do quite well with our margins? I know the answer but will allow you to figure that out. I’ve been doing this for over a year now and for what we do it works quite well.
This doesn't affect me because i am a Canadian reseller and i have to do flat rate shipping to the US. Because calculated shipping is way too aggressive in pricing so ut scares off too many buyers. That being said i have a pretty good idea what things may cost to ship. I have lost money in flat rate shipping though. So as sellers losing money makes no sense. And a handling fee is almost the same as the shipping differences. We are talking a couple of dollars.
The good thing about selling higher ASP items if I lose a couple dollars on the shipping I can make it up out of what I make on the item itself. That is how we absorb any shipping losses due to fees.
Everyone has to figure out what works for their store. I sell smalls and offer free shipping and 60 day returns. Nobody returns things unless you sold them a faulty item or you get an occasional bad buyer. I work the business with offers, coupons, good pictures & descriptions, etc. Minimal dings to my service metrics. I could care less about the distractions on what you should or shouldn't do. Result since October to now is $120k sales with $62k profit. Prior to October last year, I only did $91k sales for $19k profit. I was close to being a part time seller and going to work part time. I listened to many things people were saying and implemented the changes I knew would help me. I did not change my sourcing or items either. I am sprinkling in some different items this year but still focus on video games.
You obviously have it figured out for your situation. You took bits and pieces and made reselling work for you. Unfortunately, everyone has a different situation and can benefit from opting in while in your case with free shipping, this has no impact on what you do.
@FlippinAintEasy I agree with you when it comes to passing shipping discount to buyer. Anything ebay recommends, I do because it can only help visibility and being competitive with competition.
IMAO - it does not matter how low you go some items take a long time to sell and lowest price, promoting at a high percentage will not make much difference. Your reputation, handling time, independent promotion of your business (like UA-cam) all contribute to how well you’re doing. So many ingredients probably 100s - how low you got your item is close to the top - its confusing for newbies, but they’ll learn. And yeah, they complain on price of shipping - I’d rather it be a little high than pay an extra $50 on a large package. You didn’t mention the final value fee eBay charges us on the shipping - that comes out of our pocket if the buyer pays the same amount the seller pays. So there’s that to consider, in fact, I thought that’s the main reason they offer the discount.
I believe I did mention the final value fees AND your cost of supplies. I get it which is why we charge an additional handling fee to help offset this. I assure you, with the kind of items I sell, I do not get many sales because of my UA-cam channel. A few here and there but nothing significant.
I'm beginning to wonder if some on eBay are just for themselves or their buddies and not trying to earn money for their investors. A lot of them are sellers their selves
Shipping has always been my biggest problem. I never know exactly how much to charge for shipping. I don't try to make money on shipping. So if ebay wants to assume the responsibility of that, I'm all in!
For me this is a hot button issue, is or isn't the discount on shipping given to us because of our seller rating. If the answer is yes why are we to Give our earned discount to buyers. If I do what this i will be out of business.
Hi, yes I don't see what all the fuss is about. I've always used calculated shipping and have always offered the discounted shipping rate. One thing I tell people is put yourself in the customer's shoes and as an eBay buyer I don't like to pay such a high shipping cost when I know it's lower for them.
Very disappointed in you Benny. Not a good take at all. First, I am not worried if a seller wants to opt out of this program. Every seller has to make this choice for themselves. If you somehow get this from the video then you did not hear what I said. This video is to give some sellers something to consider and how opting in can help their sales.
I see you're point in opting in to help be competitive to sell more . But.... For the life of me I just don't understand how eBay should still charge us for shipping especially if we're not making any money off shipping . It was crazy before, but really crazy mow. Something is wrong with that picture . It's called GREED. I am waiting it out and may opt-in to just do flat rate at some point but this is just absurd to still charge us a percentage of shipping when we're not making anything off of it. It's a win for ebay and a loss for us. I realize we can add a handling fee but I feel that's just because we're having to be creative because of the underhanded way ebay is doing this.
If you ship heavy items, the discount can be huge! If you sell lower weight items, it is not that big of a difference. If you want money to cover shipping supplies cost, add $1-2 in shipping & handling price to cover yourself. If you want to pocket $4+ when someone buys shipping that is overpriced than keep it the way it has been. I always send a refund to buyers anyways when they overpay on shipping. As a niche seller, it gives confidence and shows honesty to a buyer which in return will create more repeat buyers I think. One thing to consider... What would you want to happen on shipping prices if you were buying on eBay?
I use Pirate ship, so just wondering how much more eBay will charge. I'm considering the ink, as eBay has me printing out two pages to one on Pirate ship and I can save all my lables to my computer on Pirate ship. I can also reprint any labels on Pirate ship and make out a single lable if I want to send an item to my daughter
Good info. I'll have to increase prices slightly or add S&H. I take offers and I even refund some shipping if its ridiculously high. Im a casual 600-700 a month seller of a few vintage items, sometimes breakables. I buy alot of shipping supplies to protect items. Thats all i use the shipping discounts for. Many sellers will now add shipping n handling. So the buyers will not be jumpin up n down. And may actually screech to a halt at check out anyhoo. Ebay will make the changes non optional someday so ya might as well go with the flow.
If I add a handling fee, how does that show in the shipping charge? Or is it just added to the shipping charge stealth? I cover my packaging with the discount eBay currently has. I'm on the fence right now with what I will do but knowing how the handling fee is added (does the buyer see it?).
@Bennystratton7734 some sellers don't sell internationally. Raising the weight is an idea and probably one that works for him. Not sure if that is bad advice like you say it is.
eBay rolled this option out to bring awareness that this is an option available to sellers. I've brought it up many times on other content creators such as Jride who advocates charging retail shipping to buyers with calculated by over stating dimensions and weight then changing it to the actual at the point of sale. eBay themselves uses this same method in their tutorials on using calculated and the setting to change to discounted shipping is difficult to find. I changed it months ago to discounted plus and have several policies with the additional handling fee. For your model it's essential, shipping large items. I made a critical mistake using a flat rate on a heavy item and it instantly sold to a buyer in zone 8. Fortunately my buy cost was 1 dollar but this showed me two things, eBay can push an item and absolutely will do so to the furthest zone for the final value fee and their are savy buyers out there who live on eBay waiting to pounce ! I listed the exact same item with discounted calculated plus 2 and it's still sitting. I bet ol Jride does a flip flop on this topic of the day , anyone taking any bets ?
I am going to assume the reason he does this is because he doesn't buy boxes and just gets them for free so he doesn't know the dimensions of the box he will eventually use. I don't often sell large items but when I do, I usually end up cutting down a free box that I already have. If I don't do that I end up overcharging the buyer, paying more for the label, and wasting packing material inside the box.
@@mayakoyama9130 i do the same , mostly free boxes i find and use a tool to size the box down to the lowest possible dimensions and give the discounted rate to the buyer. One thing for sure , using calculated will hook up sales in closer shipping zones for the most part. Im not knocking J as he has been an invaluable learning resource but his video on packing orders may work for the high volume of sales he gets, being able to absorb the damaged returns. At my local USPS they will show you how the box is thrown from a sitting position over the shoulder into the bin. It always make me cringe as i say a silent prayer ! lol.. There are some sizes that are difficult to source and hopefully when my sales reach the point i can justify buying a few sizes that are hard to find out in the wild .
By far this is the single most informative video I have seen in a LONG time, and I have see a lot! Thank you for what you do and how you do it. No fluff, no flair, no cute music, no leaving your wife for another youtuber (I hope) Just very good information which is what most of us truly want and need. You have me rethinking A LOT.
I've always considered shipping a pass-thru cost and even a bit of an expense. Its just the cost of doing business. If you are dependent on making a profit on shipping or if paying a fee on shipping costs makes you non-profitable, then you are doing something wrong and trying to make money the hardest way possible on the platform. Buyers are not stupid. When they see 2 items priced about the same but one has substantially higher shipping costs than the other, guess who they are going to buy from. Just my 2 cents.
@bennystratton7734 there are always exceptions. I just don't manage my business around them or I'd spend (waste) a lot of time making up scenarios to theoretically work around. I also wouldn't waste my time with selling anything for $10 with or without free shipping. My time is worth more than that, as a personal business decision.
@bennystratton7734 who said anything about multi-quanitity shipping? In the rare event I get an order with multiple quantity, if I can ship them together, I am usually going to send the buyer back a little something after I figure in what my true cost is on the label, fees and supplies.
I consider myself a business. That discount is a benefit we get as business owners. eBay gets discounts from their vendors, ie, invoices for goods and services are usually discounted by a % if paid within a certain # of days. Do they pass those discounts on to us? No. Why should I, as a business owner pass my discounts on to the buyer? Do you pass the discounts you get when you purchase your goods to the buyer?
Ebay is passing on discounts to you though. The reason why sellers get shipping discounts is because Ebay gives shipping companies business in volume. As a business owner you are buying goods at highly discounted rates and offering the buyer a cheaper price on those items even though you make a profit...so yes you are also doing the same thing. Unless you charge MSRP for everything you sell? Your comment doesn't make sense.
@@la6136no he is right the discounted rate I get is for being a top seller and helps cover shipping supplies and/ or room for error in shipping. It would be like me selling a 40 dollar item for the 5 dollars I spent on.
Well, you know what works for you. Great example. And yes, the whole point of discounts given to us is to use them to your advantage. Depending on where you are in the country, I’m sure your opinion would change - very certain on that.
On larger items (bags, luggage etc) When drafting up those listings I overestimate the weight when it’s over one pound... and size in case I can’t find a box the right size. I use recycled for nearly all my shipping boxes. This Practice end up usually splitting the shipping discount between us. On less than one pound I give it all to the buyer.
You can play Ebay's game until Ebay makes the game not worth playing anymore. Ebay's calculated shipping does nothing. I'll just raise the price of my item, or add handling fee. What did stupid Ebay do? Nothing!
Thanks a lot John I'm new to reselling just about 6 months. Your practical help has helped me a lot man. Too me you are a leader and are helping me to learn about many ebay nuances. Also showing us how to and not just saying it is helpful as there are so many different pages to get lost in sometimes. I really don't have anyone that knows or cares much about reselling online a lot think it's a joke and easy but they don't know it's for real mental and physical work. Thanks for helping pave the way. I wish you lots of success and I'm thankful for the videos you make
Hey thanks for the kind words. I appreciate it. We are all in this together. I will look for you on one of the lives some day. Thanks again.
@@FlippinAintEasyGlad to hear. The advice you give is valuable and is practical. Curious what days times do you go live ?
Thank you for the update and I learned something! I have always tried to pass on my shipping discount to the buyer and sometimes when I am off with the size or weight because I had to use a different box, I have been just eating the cost. I like the idea to build in the handling fee, small in nature to ensure that I dont end up short. Thank you for having these videos as I have learned a lot from you since I started my business on Ebay last Oct 2023.
The only thing that matters is the total price of cost plus shipping. If you can still make a profit you are comfortable with then do what's best for you.
I am bummed everyone will do it now. I changed it when you showed how on the other video and my sales soared. I added a .75 handling fee on ground advantage and none on priority. I had my highest month sales! Being very small i will probably be back in oblivion now.
Okay Jon... you talked me into it. I;ve always used Calculated shipping and taken the discount. However, on heavy items I've listed at a lower weight to make the shipping attractive to buyers further away - I'm in New Hampshire right on the Northeast coast so west coast heavy can get pricey. So I've been subsidizing some of the heavy shipping charges. So now that I'm passing the discount (as of 10 minutes ago after this video) I have to go in and make my weights real. Anyways, keep up the good work, been following for a few years through the ups and downs, I find you're a straight shooter.
My struggle is living in a rural area with yard sales that many times are junk and thrift stores that are often overpriced. New at this so idk which option to choose.
You make a great point. Be competitive, sell more, don't sweat the few pennies profit you would make on shipping. I'm in. But I have a dilemma. What I have been doing to stay competitive, is to list my shipping weights 1 or 2 pounds less than the actual item weight to compensate for the discounted rates. If I opt in, I am worried that I will end up paying more than the buyer has paid on the shipping. And to go thru my over 1000 listings and correct the shipping weights would be impossible.
Do you know if we can opt in for only NEW listings? That would fix it for me. The point is, when eBay implements this change across the board, sellers who do not comply will automatically be priced out of the pack.
Thanks for another informative video, Jon.
Mike from NY
When you opt in it’s for all of your calculated listings. What I have found recently is with FedEx, eBay has been very aggressive with their discount, like over 60% of retail (account 25% of the time). This rate is sometimes better than my negotiated rate with FedEx where I was making a few bucks off each label while still passing on the discounted rate to my buyers. I’m finding that I am adjusting my shipping policy to add a $3 handling charge to help off set when I am buying these labels through eBay.
By adding a set amount in your handling for every calculated shipping policy you have this would speed up the process.
Yeah, all flat rate shipping here - Year to date Ebay sales $30,269 Net $18,267. Up 40% over same period last year. Flat rate shipping has not hurt my little part time business.
Its amazing how many customers have contacted me to check on the quoted shipping, and how often I have lowered that to make the sale. Pirate Ship offers the discounted rate to their users and they don't require volume or anything. Many of our customers have become aware of this and its growing, and its probably giving eBay a bad name. However in my case, eBay offering the discounted rate to buyers is concerning in that I use the excess to buy signature and insurance on my high ticket items. I will have to make adjustments to S&H to make up for that.
Thank you for addressing this. I couldn't find the answers to my questions about their new policies and you answered it! Whew! Flippin' Ain't Easy!
Jon I am doing caculated shipping and its fine for me🥰. I remember Jenna saying are you selling wants or needs and that has stuck with me🥰 thank you for the info🙂
Something I said stuck with you?!? LMAO!! I wish my kids said that when they were little.....LOL
I don’t think the discount is the issue since its a wise thing to flip it on its the idea that eBay makes a financial decision for you
As many things that don’t work correct on eBay, it’s arrogant for them to change something that works and do nothing about what doesn’t work.
I tried to attach a message to an offer that I declined and the system wouldn’t allow it..
i HAVE JUST STARTED BACK ON EBAY and I wondered how sellers are selling their products so cheap and still make money. all I saw was free shipping and a lot of the time I can't compete with free shipping. So I get the idea that maybe customers won't mind as much if I do calculated shipping. So I am guestmating stuff and I read if real shipping is more or less the real price than it will be adjusted to give money back,etc. One thing I like about calculated shipping is that you get paid for the shipping right away which flat shipping you don't and you automatically have a record with ebay and don't even have to put in a tracking no. Now I read in the boards that the shipping is different for sellers and it isn't all covered so we have to pay more for shipping. The reason flat shipping and free shipping doesn't work for me is because you never know where your customer is from. I had to cancel an order because I didn't have enough for shipping.
I’m glad your numbers good. My numbers get better once yard sales start. I find better items at yard sales. Have a good day.
Yes I see this can make a difference but I am forced to use a high ad spend to get my sales and I think I have to pay 15% in ads and plus the seller fees so it close to thirty percent maybe 28% and I used the shipping fees to off set this cost and a lot of items I have are under $10 dollars these are video games. It a weird market because lowering the price does not increase my sales. If I say lower my prices by 30% sale I move only 1 or 2 percentage more in sales. But a 10% discount does help or even 5% discount helps. I think just because people see a sale. But yeah the shipping fees help off set the advertising cost I have to use. So I opt out of the discounted shipping. If I was selling higher priced items then I wouldn't care. Or even be able to offer thus on a per item basis then it think that could be an option but bulk changing everything is not going to work in my model. Most of the time maybe I can make 60 cent or even 90 cents on shipping. What ever the case the margins are tight and it strange but I don't think price matters so much when it comes to these sub 10 dollar items. I have fast shipping and processing and good reviews. I also clean and resurface scratched discs so I think compared to other seller I provide a good product. I've never tired to sell my items for 50% off so I don't know if this would increase my sell though but so far, price seem to not effect my sales so much. I've tried discounting an item that's 9.99 to say 5.99 and maybe I moved like 3 or 4 more times. But nothing major it would only be 1% of my sales for the month even with this discount. I've been looking for that magic bullet that would make my sales go from 300 to 600 sales but so far have not found it. But I sell classic video games and I just think their is a finite demand when it come to this. So I decided to opt out of the shipping discount pass to sellers.
Amazon has raised prices and squeezed sellers. The result is only low value off brand items available for sale. eBay is headed down the same road. Platforms should be showing out the door pricing. Buyers want to know how much it costs after shipping and taxes. Literally the only thing that matters. Buyers don't care about how the price is broken down. We do FREE SHIPPING to better provide the actual price a buyer pays. We only sell items under 5lbs and it can be easily calculated for our model.
I can not find the high dollar item in Oklahoma like you do
I have been a flat rate shipper for 2 yrs now. I haven’t really adjusted my shipping over that time. My shipping rates are eBay average or below average by category. I am thinking that this new eBay direction could be a business opportunity. Since getting the email, I have been doing some research on whether I need to flip my shipping strategy. I would be shocked that eBay will not somehow promote those sellers that pass along their discounts as a benefit. I know it doesn’t mention it but I am thinking there will be some sort of carrot from eBay.
Starting up here(tons of prep) with a goal of opening July 1st. My goal is my cost selling at x4 - x7 depending on the market.
Then offer free shipping as long as my overall profit never falls below 3x the initial cost.
This should(should) allow me to be fairly competitive and attract sales early on(yes I am loosing potential profit but need those sales numbers). I am buying smart and none of my current inventory has less then a 2x multiplier. Over 80% is at that 6-7x based off market with a respectable sell through. I am being smart about my shipping supplies and stockpiling used boxes over the next 8+ weeks. I have not decided on the convince of wireless or reliability of usb thermal yet. Waiting for a sale/deal to happen and even looking at refurbished as a option to get into the black faster.
In 15 years eBay hasn't changed anything for the good. They deserve to go out of business at this point.
I appreciate your sentiment, and in theory, agree to some point. But isnt this a "bite off your nose to spite your face" kind of thing? Better that we tough it out and accept all the BS eBay gives us, or better yet, be proactive and make some changes with our selling practices.
Show us a platform that's better for us sellers of everything. It doesn't exist, even with all the shit ebay does
@@mikemetco1966 that's what eBay wants you to do "tough it out" I don't sit around and wait for things to get better. I assess the situation and move on. eBay is a sinking ship.... 🙄
I have lots of items that require special packaging needs including special order boxes , sig confirmation, insurance ,and packaging materials. I have the cost of this added to my handling fees . It's not cheap for me and I always pass this along. It's not a few dollars like yours.
Thank you soooo much Jon. This was so helpful!
I am opting in right now.
God bless
K.T.
P.S. Hi Jenna😊
Thanks for watching!
Do you add a handling charge with your calculated shipping to help cover costs for boxes & packing materials?
Yes. It was $1 but for my FedEx policy I am changing it to $3 since eBay has recently been offering very aggressive discounts (sometimes over 60% off retail).
I opted into passing on the discount before being " forced" into it. Coincidence? My sales have picked up enormously.
For all the replies here, agreeing to opting in to make a profit ( we will ALL be forced to by resellers who can afford it ) how much are you now losing to eBay, who did NOT lower their FVF on us sellers? My calculated was to cover costs and fvf. NOT to make a huge profit, as we are being characterized as doing! This makes me sick. eBay is a money grab and sellers are the unfortunate victims.
Yeah tbh, I feel like we're being framed as being thieves for using retail rates and it's not the case? I have retail rates on my items under 1 lb and I don't really feel like I'm price gouging anyone when you take into account FVFs and price of supplies. I don't charge a handling fee.
Just checked shipping prices to send my small items to zone 8: (closer zones are obviously lower)
4 oz- charging $5.55, cost on pirateship $4.36
8 oz- charging $6.15, cost on pirateship $4.68
12 oz- charging $7, cost on pirateship $5.62
16 oz- charging $9, cost on pirateship $6.33
Now that I did this deep dive, I feel like the 13-16 oz retail rate is a little too high, so I may still go ahead and make a rate table for my lighter items but I'm still going to be charging more than my cost because I'm not willing to lose money paying FVFs.
I agree with what you are saying. Remember, I am adding a fixed handling to help offset costs as well. I am not saying it is morally wrong or anything like that. I am simply suggesting that your buyers will consider what you are charging them for shipping when they finally decide to pull the trigger and buy your item.
I just wanna point something out that when I’m doing listings, Ebay occasionally automatically fills in some items specifics. It is never correct ever it never fixes any mistakes. It only creates mistakes. My question is what is the point of that it’s not helping it’s just making more work for me.
Good question
I have been using pirate ship and it’s way cheaper. Not sure how to add it to seller board.
I already had discounted shipping for buyers turned on. When I didn't buyers would send me messages asking why the shipping is so high. Having discounted shipping increased my sales. If sellers really need the couple of extra dollars from the non-discounted rates they should just increase their prices. Ebay made this change very late imo. Sellers need to remember that Amazon is offering free shipping on orders $35+ even without Prime.
Mine has always been that way. The buyer pays the same shipping discount I get.
I temporarily lost all my drafts too last week. I’m wondering why we can’t split shipping discounts with buyers?
I started doing this after seeing a video of yours and my sales went up....unfortunately so did my returns! That is the risk of selling clothing but that is what we know the best. Was going to ask you if it's worth using the eBay promo for offsite ads? I don't think I could afford to do that for my whole store....I have over 2500 listings. If it helps temporarily, it might help the lousey sales I am getting the past couple of days.....what do you think?
IIRC, most people found the offsite ads on ebay weren't worth it.
I agree with Maya here. At this time I don’t feel it’s worth the money spent to do off site ads. Maybe that will change in the future.
I mean, Amazon and Walmart aren't requiring sellers to do this. This is stupid! I don't agree that's its a good thing, Jon. If Ebay is offering sellers a discount as a peek for selling then keep it what it is. That has nothing to do with the buyer. If Ebay wants to help buyers then they can figure out some "buyer" incentives. No matter how you try to make this work the fact is you shouldn't have to. If that's the case then ebay shouldn't offer us discount.
It’s about sales conversion and the shipping your buyer is asked to pay is no different than that same seller offering a higher price on their item. The combined price plus shipping needs to fall within the market range for that item or you will lose sales. So if you want to charge full retail shipping to the buyer then your item price needs to be competitive or you will potentially lose sales to the price sensitive buyer on a budget and there are quite a few.
if the discounted rate becomes the norm, sellers will just bump up item price, ebay just trying to get us to take less and be happy to keep the fees coming in
I feel like a good middle ground solution for this problem, would be if ebay implemented some optional flat rate shipping labels, like other platforms such as poshmark/mercari, and then not charge fees on the shipping if you use one of their labels. And sellers won't be able to overcharge on shipping to avoid FVFs. Why does poshmark get $7.97 labels that cover up to 108" dimensions and ebay can only give you insane overcharges from UPS and Fedex. I think it's because ebay has worked making money off shipping (FVFs) into their business model. Which is funny because this is what you're accusing sellers of doing but if ebay does it, it's okay?
To be fair if ebay tried to implement flat price labels like this it would probably take the entire site down for a week with the amount of glitches it would cause.
I won't pass on the shipping discount because of the fees charged on the shipping price. I sell small items and retail rates for those aren't that much higher than the discounted rates so I'm mainly just trying to cover the cost of the shipping FVFs and supplies. And I don't remember the last time a buyer asked why my shipping was so high, because it isn't. I think it's probably been 2 years or so since I got one of those messages.
@@bennystratton7734 That's exactly what I'm saying, they've built the money they make charging us FVFs on shipping into their business model. Apparently it's not ok when we make a couple dollars on shipping, but it's ok when ebay does it. Make it make sense!
We know that sellers are doing this to make more money and some have it engrained this into their business model. I think we can agree on this instead of saying that I am accusing sellers. With that said there is NOTHING wrong with a seller going this route if that is what they want to do for their business. I am simply suggesting that many unsuspecting sellers are losing sales due to this setting and would be better off in the long run against their competition if they did offer the shipping discount.
@@FlippinAintEasy honestly it's fine, I just think it bears mentioning that one of the reasons we are having this discussion is that ebay makes money off of shipping and if ebay is asking why sellers have their shipping costs high, they can go look in the mirror. I would definitely pass the discount if not for the fees. I sell on other platforms where I don't make money on shipping and I don't know why someone would make their whole business model dependent on making money from shipping. So that whole concept is new to me.
@@bennystratton7734 words are important Benny. I never said ALL sellers. But there are those that do count on the extra funds to help offset fees and expenses and this is part of their business model. I understand this. Some do so simply because they are unaware. One viewer who posted a comment in this video decided to pass on the discounted shipping rates over a month ago when it was brought up in my live stream. And guess what happened for her? Her sales went up once she made the change. Now this isn’t going to be the result for everyone but is an example for some that opting in can help their bottom line.
You do assume in your reply that those who sell quite a bit of items per week (not the weekend warrior sellers) would be hurt by passing on the discount to their buyers over a period of time. If this is the case, how is it that I am paying about 23% in total fees to eBay on calculated shipping where the buyer pays sometimes as much as $75 for shipping and someone like me can still do quite well with our margins? I know the answer but will allow you to figure that out. I’ve been doing this for over a year now and for what we do it works quite well.
This doesn't affect me because i am a Canadian reseller and i have to do flat rate shipping to the US. Because calculated shipping is way too aggressive in pricing so ut scares off too many buyers. That being said i have a pretty good idea what things may cost to ship. I have lost money in flat rate shipping though. So as sellers losing money makes no sense. And a handling fee is almost the same as the shipping differences. We are talking a couple of dollars.
The good thing about selling higher ASP items if I lose a couple dollars on the shipping I can make it up out of what I make on the item itself. That is how we absorb any shipping losses due to fees.
Everyone has to figure out what works for their store. I sell smalls and offer free shipping and 60 day returns. Nobody returns things unless you sold them a faulty item or you get an occasional bad buyer. I work the business with offers, coupons, good pictures & descriptions, etc. Minimal dings to my service metrics. I could care less about the distractions on what you should or shouldn't do. Result since October to now is $120k sales with $62k profit. Prior to October last year, I only did $91k sales for $19k profit. I was close to being a part time seller and going to work part time. I listened to many things people were saying and implemented the changes I knew would help me. I did not change my sourcing or items either. I am sprinkling in some different items this year but still focus on video games.
You obviously have it figured out for your situation. You took bits and pieces and made reselling work for you. Unfortunately, everyone has a different situation and can benefit from opting in while in your case with free shipping, this has no impact on what you do.
@FlippinAintEasy I agree with you when it comes to passing shipping discount to buyer. Anything ebay recommends, I do because it can only help visibility and being competitive with competition.
IMAO - it does not matter how low you go some items take a long time to sell and lowest price, promoting at a high percentage will not make much difference. Your reputation, handling time, independent promotion of your business (like UA-cam) all contribute to how well you’re doing. So many ingredients probably 100s - how low you got your item is close to the top - its confusing for newbies, but they’ll learn.
And yeah, they complain on price of shipping - I’d rather it be a little high than pay an extra $50 on a large package.
You didn’t mention the final value fee eBay charges us on the shipping - that comes out of our pocket if the buyer pays the same amount the seller pays. So there’s that to consider, in fact, I thought that’s the main reason they offer the discount.
I believe I did mention the final value fees AND your cost of supplies. I get it which is why we charge an additional handling fee to help offset this. I assure you, with the kind of items I sell, I do not get many sales because of my UA-cam channel. A few here and there but nothing significant.
I'm beginning to wonder if some on eBay are just for themselves or their buddies and not trying to earn money for their investors. A lot of them are sellers their selves
When do you go live?
Mondays and Fridays 3pm pt
Shipping has always been my biggest problem. I never know exactly how much to charge for shipping. I don't try to make money on shipping. So if ebay wants to assume the responsibility of that, I'm all in!
Just done be afraid to add a couple of dollars into the handling side to help offset the eBay fees they charge on the shipping.
Is EBay going to still change you fees on shipping?
For me this is a hot button issue, is or isn't the discount on shipping given to us because of our seller rating. If the answer is yes why are we to Give our earned discount to buyers. If I do what this i will be out of business.
Most people sort by lowest price + shipping, don't they?
Many buyers do this.
1 extra ounce cost me 3 bucks on shipping so I cut back on packaging to save 1 ounce. I don’t think eBay thought this through.
my weight and measurements often change. lol
Hi, yes I don't see what all the fuss is about. I've always used calculated shipping and have always offered the discounted shipping rate. One thing I tell people is put yourself in the customer's shoes and as an eBay buyer I don't like to pay such a high shipping cost when I know it's lower for them.
Very disappointed in you Benny. Not a good take at all. First, I am not worried if a seller wants to opt out of this program. Every seller has to make this choice for themselves. If you somehow get this from the video then you did not hear what I said. This video is to give some sellers something to consider and how opting in can help their sales.
What’s ur daily listing number?
I see you're point in opting in to help be competitive to sell more . But.... For the life of me I just don't understand how eBay should still charge us for shipping especially if we're not making any money off shipping . It was crazy before, but really crazy mow. Something is wrong with that picture . It's called GREED.
I am waiting it out and may opt-in to just do flat rate at some point but this is just absurd to still charge us a percentage of shipping when we're not making anything off of it. It's a win for ebay and a loss for us. I realize we can add a handling fee but I feel that's just because we're having to be creative because of the underhanded way ebay is doing this.
If you ship heavy items, the discount can be huge! If you sell lower weight items, it is not that big of a difference. If you want money to cover shipping supplies cost, add $1-2 in shipping & handling price to cover yourself. If you want to pocket $4+ when someone buys shipping that is overpriced than keep it the way it has been. I always send a refund to buyers anyways when they overpay on shipping. As a niche seller, it gives confidence and shows honesty to a buyer which in return will create more repeat buyers I think. One thing to consider... What would you want to happen on shipping prices if you were buying on eBay?
Making a handling fee is dishonest?
13:05 - Glitch in the matrix.
I use Pirate ship, so just wondering how much more eBay will charge. I'm considering the ink, as eBay has me printing out two pages to one on Pirate ship and I can save all my lables to my computer on Pirate ship. I can also reprint any labels on Pirate ship and make out a single lable if I want to send an item to my daughter
3 days later....."eBay sales are slow."
Good info. I'll have to increase prices slightly or add S&H. I take offers and I even refund some shipping if its ridiculously high. Im a casual 600-700 a month seller of a few vintage items, sometimes breakables. I buy alot of shipping supplies to protect items. Thats all i use the shipping discounts for. Many sellers will now add shipping n handling. So the buyers will not be jumpin up n down. And may actually screech to a halt at check out anyhoo. Ebay will make the changes non optional someday so ya might as well go with the flow.
If I add a handling fee, how does that show in the shipping charge? Or is it just added to the shipping charge stealth? I cover my packaging with the discount eBay currently has. I'm on the fence right now with what I will do but knowing how the handling fee is added (does the buyer see it?).
I opted in and my sales went up
I do free shipping so I probably won't opt in
Raise the weight of item. Part of problem solved. Ebay doesnt pay for our boxes. Tape m bubble wrap. Peanuts. Etc.
@Bennystratton7734 some sellers don't sell internationally. Raising the weight is an idea and probably one that works for him. Not sure if that is bad advice like you say it is.
eBay rolled this option out to bring awareness that this is an option available to sellers. I've brought it up many times on other content creators such as Jride who advocates charging retail shipping to buyers with calculated by over stating dimensions and weight then changing it to the actual at the point of sale. eBay themselves uses this same method in their tutorials on using calculated and the setting to change to discounted shipping is difficult to find. I changed it months ago to discounted plus and have several policies with the additional handling fee. For your model it's essential, shipping large items. I made a critical mistake using a flat rate on a heavy item and it instantly sold to a buyer in zone 8. Fortunately my buy cost was 1 dollar but this showed me two things, eBay can push an item and absolutely will do so to the furthest zone for the final value fee and their are savy buyers out there who live on eBay waiting to pounce ! I listed the exact same item with discounted calculated plus 2 and it's still sitting. I bet ol Jride does a flip flop on this topic of the day , anyone taking any bets ?
I am going to assume the reason he does this is because he doesn't buy boxes and just gets them for free so he doesn't know the dimensions of the box he will eventually use. I don't often sell large items but when I do, I usually end up cutting down a free box that I already have. If I don't do that I end up overcharging the buyer, paying more for the label, and wasting packing material inside the box.
@@mayakoyama9130 i do the same , mostly free boxes i find and use a tool to size the box down to the lowest possible dimensions and give the discounted rate to the buyer. One thing for sure , using calculated will hook up sales in closer shipping zones for the most part. Im not knocking J as he has been an invaluable learning resource but his video on packing orders may work for the high volume of sales he gets, being able to absorb the damaged returns. At my local USPS they will show you how the box is thrown from a sitting position over the shoulder into the bin. It always make me cringe as i say a silent prayer ! lol.. There are some sizes that are difficult to source and hopefully when my sales reach the point i can justify buying a few sizes that are hard to find out in the wild .
Treat the buyer fair, they will return.
By far this is the single most informative video I have seen in a LONG time, and I have see a lot! Thank you for what you do and how you do it. No fluff, no flair, no cute music, no leaving your wife for another youtuber (I hope) Just very good information which is what most of us truly want and need. You have me rethinking A LOT.
I've always considered shipping a pass-thru cost and even a bit of an expense. Its just the cost of doing business. If you are dependent on making a profit on shipping or if paying a fee on shipping costs makes you non-profitable, then you are doing something wrong and trying to make money the hardest way possible on the platform. Buyers are not stupid. When they see 2 items priced about the same but one has substantially higher shipping costs than the other, guess who they are going to buy from.
Just my 2 cents.
@bennystratton7734 there are always exceptions. I just don't manage my business around them or I'd spend (waste) a lot of time making up scenarios to theoretically work around. I also wouldn't waste my time with selling anything for $10 with or without free shipping. My time is worth more than that, as a personal business decision.
@robsomething4435 I agree 100%. This was exactly my point in the video.
@bennystratton7734 who said anything about multi-quanitity shipping? In the rare event I get an order with multiple quantity, if I can ship them together, I am usually going to send the buyer back a little something after I figure in what my true cost is on the label, fees and supplies.