eBay Wants to Give Buyers Our Shipping Discount. Here is How I feel About it.... 

I opted out for a couple of reasons. As a relatively new seller, the cushion in shipping has saved me from my mistakes. I like to have the control of offering discounts on a situation by situation basis. It’s crazy to me that in 9 months (my tenure) there have been 3-4 major changes in shipping. It’s no wonder that people are intimidated by it. Making mistakes in shipping can cause you to lose money - sometimes in a big way.

The main issue is eBay takes what you sold it for add shipping then adds sales tax then take their percentage. Then take the sales tax back after they take their cut. And still stuck paying for shipping. So technically we're paying 14 percent of the shipping every time

Remember, eBay's "final value fee" (illegal, imho) charges the seller a 13.55% fee on the item, on the *sales tax* (!), and on the shipping cost. So if you're not getting a discounted rate, that means you are *paying eBay* for part of the shipping cost. I refuse. I will set flat-rates and use Pirate Ship.

The question is who pays for the supplies? Label stock, boxes (particularly LP boxes, can't use random boxes found in the wild), bubble wrap, padded envelopes, tape, printer, scale? And then ebay charges final value fee on the shipping too (and sales tax as well). And then you have time. Time to pack, prepare, and drop off? And then I get low ball offers, where not passing through the shipping savings helps soften the blow. My fear is if I opt out, ebay will punish me with their algorithm. So I am reluctantly opting in. Not printing labels is a HUGE mistake. If you buy label via ebay, it makes it transparent to ebay, and eliminates mistakes on address and tracking number. Tracking numbers are long, so easy to make a mistake. In the end, its a transfer of wealth from sellers to buyers.

Sabrina, I was surprised by another reason. Ebay charges fees based on the total the customer pays. By them doing this, Ebay will lose money. I have been one of the sellers who use calculated shipping. I use the difference to compensate my promoted costs. I am not sure what I am going to do. And I am not sure this will stick when Ebay realizes it is costing them money.

I never try to rip anyone off on shipping. But the thing that drives me crazy is the fees tacked on to it.

I got an actual phone call from eBay asking if I wanted to opt in. He looked up my account and said “oh you already are in the program”. Funny, I never asked to be put in. Check your accounts, you may already be giving the buyers your discount whether you know it or not

I already give my buyers discounted shipping. My sales slowed down last fall and this helped pick it up. Like it or not customers are used to Amazon free shipping so that’s their expectations

So I can either opt out, or raise individual prices on every single item. The item will cost the customer the same in the end, no one get's "a deal". This just making us work harder for the money we're already trying to make.

I bumped my prices for listed items a few days ago because I went back to promoted listings, opted back into international sales, heard about losing the shipping discount benefit, AND the post office once again raised some of their rates (3rd time this year). Sellers will need to determine how much they need for an item, calculate how much they will actually get, and adjust pricing accordingly.

I LOVE this change as both a seller and buyer ❤ Have fun at the concert! 🥳

Hi Sabrina and everyone! Question: when searching for eBay comps and NOT clicking the “watching” heart, I’m getting offers now - just for LOOKING! Anyone else experiencing this? 🤔

Sabrina,great video as always.I watched the No Doubt show when it streamed live on RU-vid.I looked for you in the crowd but didn't see you.🥺😆

I think this is good. I despise the sneaky method of charging high shipping and pocketing some of it. If we want to make more for a listing, there are other ways to get it. Shipping is high enough

I have always given my ebay shipping discount to the buyer.

I use calculated shipping for anything over 1lb. Anything below that I do I fixed price, but like you I charge what it costs to ship it across country and that’s it. I’ve actually always wondered why eBay didn’t charge the actual cost lol. I think it helps you be competitive. Since shipping on an item will be cheaper for my customers with my top rated discounted it gives me an edge over some other listings. I’m all for what gets me more sales!

I have passed on my discount for a few months now and have seen sales on my older heavier items. I just made sure I had the correct weight and dimensions in the listing. so far it has been great.

Lucky girl! Have a great time

a label printer & scale is a must have. it takes up soo much time and energy to go to the post office, even with QR codes which I had to do until I made enough for a printer. i honestly think it's a good thing, some sellers really took advantage of that loop hole and would overcharge in shipping

Last year I switched to giving the buyer my discount. I do all my listings as calculated shipping except in 2 cases. 1) postcards I use the EBay standard envelope 2) under 3 ounces I have a flat fee I charge. I don’t feel that the discount belongs to me, it’s a postal charge and the discount belongs to the buyer. That’s just me. I schedule my pickups and love it all! Got my scale, my thermal printer and my postcard scanner! I’m all hooked up!😂 Side note: Did you know EBay has had a glitch on our listings since January? Example I have over 4,000 listings and only 3,000 plus are showing up in my store. If that’s happening and you call them, you get your store membership payment back for all those months. I got $300 back in my account from EBay today! As for the FB groups. I quit the one I was in because their are so many snotty know it alls and I got tired of asking a question and getting ripped on. LOL. Ok I’m all done. Have a great weekend Sabrina!❤

PS-- there are lots of people out there who just want what they want and don't bother comparing, reading descriptions, or even looking at shipping costs. They see the first of that item and hit buy. That's not me. It scrambles my brain but that appears to be how it is.

I got the e-mail that says sellers will be automatically opted in come May. Doesn't make a difference to me as I already pass on the discount to my buyers. I don't like high shipping cost for myself so I don't want to give it to my buyers. I hoped it would give me an edge over those who charged the full amount but honestly, I set my price (item & shipping) in an attempt to be competitive so I try to be in the lower end of the pricing. Since eBay controls who sees what items I don't know if it makes any difference.

I'm looking forward to the change. I find the postal fees the buyer pays are exorbitant. I use calculated shipping & was in the process of figuring out what to charge as a flat rate fee. Enjoy the festival!

I heard this the other day. I knew as soon as they put it as an option to give away your profit that it was going to be mandatory for all! Great work as usual.

I have been doing discounted calculated shipping + a small handling charge to cover the ebay fees on shipping. That way I can send offers without worrying that I'll lose money, but I'm giving my buyers the best deal I can. Also, pro tip for those without a scale, you can use a cheap kitchen scale for small items and a bathroom scale for large ones. Before I got my scale (it's a secondhand grocery store deli scale), I would weigh myself and then weigh myself holding the item on my digital bathroom scale for heavier items.

I honestly don't mind it, I just sell on so many platforms that you can't upcharge on shipping, that it doesn't phase me. Ebay is not my main platform though, so I could see if that is your primary one, why the change would be hard.

I already give buyers my discount! Let people opt out, their sale will drop when an item sells for $10 with $7 shipping and mine is same $10 but $4.80 shipping. I also allow my buyers to choose between ground advantage and priority mail.

Dude you were on coachella live no doubt weekend 2 at around 26 mins in lol

I USE PIRATE SHIPPING FOR MERCARI AND EBAY

I think it’s great for buyers and may help us get more sales.

Hello Sabrina, I am a new reseller and appreciate your videos and have learned so much from you. I find that if I use flat shipping, same price to everyone iit makes my lisiting process so much easier. I also gives me an extra cushion for mistakes. I don't think the listings are effected if you use flat shipping. Thanks again and have fun at your concert!

Keep in mind also being dishonest about the weight of package can cause bad reviews. I purchased a magazine which was 1 pound for shipping, based off this I was assuming magazine had some weight but no I got the package which only weighed less than 4 oz , magazine was about 5" with just a few pages but wasn't disclosed in listing, we know photos can lie, it's my fault for not asking, anyhow I left a honest review regarding incorrect shipping weight of package ,seller was careless and didn't weigh it or was intentionally dishonest.

❤

I was planning on using the USPS app and having my packages picked up. Can you do that with the eBay labels? In order to not go to the post office do I need to get a special kind of printer? Can you be a little specific about the label printer? By the way, the bread bags are pretty much sold out in all the Walmarts near me so I went to a Walmart a bit away from here. Its sooo silly but I was SOOO Excited to find them! I thought maybe everyone knows that you use them for shipping and they made a run on all the bread bags LOL!

How do I opt out? I've been trying to figure out how to add a handling cost.

💯👍

Not sure if you heard yet but you got name dropped on the Commonwealth Flipper channel :)

Someone wrote to save them on mistakes they up the shipping cost. Mistakes are so avoidable, why not just get a scale , I don't get it.