eBay

fallsavenue · ‎10-21-2025

I'm exhausted keeping up with all this garbage and now disgusted with ebay's INTL shipping. Had my 1st order today through eIS for a magazine (300gms - made in USA) with NO applicable tariffs (only $2 CBP clearance through Zonos or Chit Chats).

My shipping was $12. eBay charged them $27.54. That would be my $12 and their $15.54. I can get the magazine to the buyer for half of that and quicker too. What is this nonsense???

AND, I do flat rate so how does eBay even know what to charge when I don't list measurements? It could be 60pp or 500pp - how did they come up with $15+?

I'm so ticked off right now. All the time wasted not posting shipping prices with built in tariffs for my toys (most made in China/HK) because I was waiting for this **bleep** program.

Now I'm opting out and desperately trying to come up with any ideas on how to manage shipping profiles and how to get US buyers to understand that, despite eBay showing them a banner that says they're on the hook, my prices include those fees.

They also see the import costs in the listing highlights so hopefully that'll go away when I opt out. Imo, this is terrible because it makes the buyer think that's their only shipping option and they might not see my other more reasonable option.

Have to say, eBay sure has been a disappointment here. We need a pricing tool for US buyers, but we'll never get it because it wants us to use this program that gives it more profit and control. All I know is it'll be near impossible to make US sales with these rates.

dinomitesales · ‎10-22-2025

I'm confused, you're upset because you made a sale through eIS?

Yes, it's expensive, but that's to be expected. The buyer was clearly fine with paying the quoted amount. For all you know it was because of eIS that you even made this sale in the first place - even if your own shipping options are cheaper, the buyer may have been hesitant to purchase using them because of the fear of tariffs (we know there won't be any if sending by Canada Post, but they don't know that). The eBay International Shipping option may have been comforting to them because it explicitly states that all import fees are included in the purchase price. Seems like the eIS is working just as intended in this specific example.

You've now disabled eIS on your account, but did you know that it shows both the eIS option and your selected Tracked Packet option on the listing (when eIS is active)? The buyer still has the choice - they may have just chosen eIS for the reasons I mentioned above.

@fallsavenue wrote:
AND, I do flat rate so how does eBay even know what to charge when I don't list measurements? It could be 60pp or 500pp - how did they come up with $15+?

If you don't have measurements and weights specified in your listing then eBay is basically estimating the weight/size of your item and using that to determine how much to show the buyer. The amount is likely to be inflated in this case because eBay doesn't want to lose money in the event that they under-estimate. If you don't want to edit all your listings to add weight/dimensions then I don't blame you since you have 700+ listings, but it's a good idea to include weight/dimensions on any future listings you make.

fallsavenue · ‎10-22-2025

Yes, I had considered that the sale came through because of eIS but eBay is putting tariff warnings on our listings even when we prepay duties and on goods with no fees. Little wonder US buyers are uncertain. eBay is taking full advantage of this fear and using it to push the eIS.

I still had some US orders coming in before the eIS so now am more concerned of how many orders I'll lose in the future because of the warnings and/or inflated shipping. The shipping/import fees show in highlights so maybe US buyers will never make it passed that to see my direct option.

Bottom line. No way for USA but will keep for overseas.

Also, why doesn't eBay partner with Zonos/CP? It could help us get those great small packet tracked rates back but no way is eBay sharing with Zonos.

visual-sound · ‎10-22-2025

Welcome to the acceptance stage!

cottagewoman · ‎10-22-2025

So this will all take some time as US buyers adjust to a new reality that the rest of the world has faced since the dawn of e-commerce. Remember that US buyers were incredibly privileged having de minimis at such a high value (800$). Suddenly they're faced with the reality of outrageous duties and are acting out like privileged private school children, pitching fits left and right since Daddy lied to them.
Also we as Canadian sellers have been incredibly sensitive to having a chance to compete in the US market by analyzing any way we can attract buyers. Shipping costs made it all so difficult until the proliferation of services like ChitChats, Stallion, etc. Now we've rewound back to the days of barriers all over the place, including elevated shipping costs not to mention the tariff complexities.
But don't forget there are US based sellers who do NOT offer discounted shipping - they leave counter rates in place as they see it as a bonus profit on their sales. So not every buyer on eBay is driven away by the cost of shipping.
What we're faced with is going from a well lubricated fairly friction free border to a gunked up mess. Tools like eIS can help remove some of that friction. Will it be the right solution for every seller? Nope. Probably not even for every individual item. eBay really needs to listen to us and help us to craft eIS as a tool, not just a one size fits all policy system.