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Ebay states there is not a solution. I live in washington state. I offer 3 options on many items. UPS ground, Priority mail, medium flat rate priority. My question is… How do i set up the policy that shows them the lowest price before they get to check out. For a buyer on the west coast this will usually be priority mail, on the east coast it will usually be priority flat rate, for heavy stuff UPS. the problem is that the listing does not show the lowest price for them.. so when comparing to similar items they think i am more expensive because the price for the lowest shipping is not showing. For the time being i just added a note in the description that states that they will have the option of a priority medium flat rate box for $16.10 at checkout if that is lower than standard priority. This does not address the issue that for east coast buyers…. when they look at the listing it will show a higher price than they will need to pay which makes it not as desireable when compared to other similar listings… any ideas??? thanks, doug
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At one time, eBay updated the software saying that they would show the cheapest shipping rate depending on buyer location, but it didn’t really work. It is bad enough for me on the east coast, but Washington state is really up in a corner there.
I have Business policies, and I select the correct one for the listing and hope for the best. If I have a heavy or large item, I have a policy that is FedEx first and Parcel second. For most items, the choice is Priority, FedEx, Parcel. Then, I have policies for first class, media mail, and a few flat rate such as medium box or padded bag.
Do all your items fit in a Medium flat rate box? What happens if it doesn’t fit?
I would try setting up business policies and then using eBay’s shipping calculator to figure out which is best for each listing.
https://www.ebay.com/shp/Calculator
Some sellers add in something like “please look through all the shipping options to pick the one that is cheapest for you”.
That’s about all you can do.
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Shipping from the coastal states is definitely a challenge. I use a compromise strategy: I started sharing my ebay labels’ shipping discount with buyers, UPS and USPS started costing pretty much the same for short distances. However, UPS was much cheaper for cross-country and Global Shipping Program (I’m not using FedEx.)
So I tend to drag the UPS rate to the top in Calculated Shipping, since it is the least scary at long distances, and within a dollar of USPS in the West. Also: The East US is more densely populated, so I prioritize it, and most times I drag the flat rate USPS option above the priority mail option.
Also, slipping a box into a USPS padded flat rate envelope has been a godsend.
I’m getting a lot fewer questions/comments about shipping costs since I shared my discount and prioritized the East Coast.
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I feel the pain. Florida is a pretty bad location to ship things on a nationwide scale. I honestly gave up on offering shipping options. I’ve gone to a flat $4.50 on first class items. Sometimes I make a little extra and sometimes I lose depending on the weight. For anything over a pound it’s calculated priority and anything over 3 lbs is FedEx ground. I’m sure I lose a few sales but I’m sure I win a few too. I sell a ton of stuff to buyers here in Florida, especially the Miami area.
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