Just made my first sale on Amazon and shipped the item but I am confused about something

Discussion in Shipping Services started by Nickchick • Apr 15, 2014.

  1. Nickchick

    NickchickWell-Known Member

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    I feel like I did something wrong but I don't remember seeing it as changeable in the menu that pops up when you go to sell. The shipping credit was only like 4 dollars but when I went to UPS they charged me 15 dollars. Was there something I missed on the other tabs? I feel like I looked at everything but maybe I missed it somehow. I guess Amazon can't reimburse me for that now though can they?
    I have never sold anything before online so I guess that's why I really don't understand the costs of shipping
     
  2. Denis Hard

    Denis HardWell-Known Member

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    If the buyer was billed for the purchase there's nothing you can do about editing the shipping fees. Normally when you register as a seller on Amazon, they set a default shipping fee which always is meant only for domestic shipping.

    However the seller is permitted to set their shipping fees so you need to find that page, set your new shipping fees and hope for the best. My advice would be to ask other Amazon sellers if there's a way you can get your $15 paid to you [on an amazon seller forum, they're many on the net]
     
  3. Jessi

    Jessi<a href="http://www.quirkycookery.com">QuirkyCooke

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    They were likely only charged shipping for the cheapest option available. USPS (instead of UPS) would've charged you less, for example.

    So like Denis said, you should definitely adjust your own shipping settings, but you should also pay attention to the shipping that your buyer selects when purchasing.
     
  4. dconklin

    dconklinActive Member

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    I have only ever purchased from Amazon, never sold. I do notice that shipping rates vary per seller and the weight of the item so I am sure you can adjust that during the set up of the listing. I imagine that once it is listed, you probably cannot change the shipping rate. But I would also imagine that you can set different rates for each shipping method too. If you get next day or 2 day, it costs the buyer more then if they go with the standard 3-5 day shipping. I know that Amazon (when it comes from their warehouse) always ships using USPS over any other carrier. At least that has been my experience with them and I have ordered quite a few things from them. Never has UPS or FedEx delivered anything that came from Amazon, so I am assuming that the USPS can deliver cheaper. I don't know for sure tho. Could be they have a deal with them.

    I am not sure where you would change the price, but I would say the option does have to be there tho since different sellers have different shipping prices - and they are not always even prices either (like they may have $4.11 for shipping.) I would contact Amazon and ask them what to do and if you can adjust shipping rates for out of country too.
     
  5. Nickchick

    NickchickWell-Known Member

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    I don't know why I didn't think about this when it's probably really obvious but I guess if the shipping credit was higher, that would mean the buyer pays more because Amazon wouldn't make a profit otherwise and I don't think I would have had a sale if I had made the shipping higher so I don't know about asking if it turns out the 15 dollars would have to come from the buyer.

    I imagined USPS would have been less but I didn't think it would be that much difference. The reason I went with UPS was because I know with USPS they tend to deliver slower and sometimes things can even get lost. I just didn't know about using USPS especially because I know when you don't get tracking which USPS seems to be terrible at you could easily get bad ratings. I think I've bought plenty of things with sellers who use USPS and haven't had too much problem but I can definitely see a difference when they use different carriers.


    Yeah that makes sense that you wouldn't be able to change the rate once you already listed it now that you mention it.

    Also if the buyer has to pay more for shipping, which one is better to do? Make the actual price higher to accommodate for it or the shipping? I feel like I've read mixed opinions about this.
     
  6. dconklin

    dconklinActive Member

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    I would say it depends on what you are selling. If it is something that other people have, check their prices out so you do not go over them or else people will buy from them instead. If it is something that is exclusive to you, you have a little more room to play with the price. I would contact Amazon to see if you can set different shipping rates for different countries. Let them know the situation and that you don't want to have to pay a lot more to ship a product then what the customer is paying. Hopefully they can help you come up with a good plan that will help you figure out a good shipping rate. Are you in the US? If so, I would talk to UPS, USPS and FedEx to see what kind of rates they can give you for different weight classes. Compare them to see which one would be cheapest for you.

    As a buyer, I usually compare the overall price but not all buyers think the same. If a seller is selling something for 2.99 but the shipping is 6.99, I would view it the same way as a vendor selling the same item for 6.99 with a shipping rate of 2.99. To me they are still the same overall price. Hope that helps a little!
     
  7. mythman

    mythmanActive Member

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    Reminds me of ordering from Pizza Hut online. When you see their price advertised on television, that's the price WITHOUT the taxes (usually just sales-tax) and WITHOUT the delivery-charge ... I see $9.99 advertised, so I expect I can order if I have a 'Tenner' lying around here; but no!

    And they don't TELL YOU about the extra charges until AFTER you order the food! So you go to their menu, and the price ON THE SELECTION is 'without extra charge'; and so you're all excited that you're gonna get such good prices on awesome food, so there's 'a real danger' that you'll click "order" and not realize that the actual price is closer to $14 or $15 (not THAT big a risk, but a big enough risk to mean the difference between "pizza" and "no pizza" if you don't have any extra!)

    But if you're talking about SELLING something on Amazon, then yeah---I imagine you've got to tell them how much it'll be for you to ship.