Hoping for some guidance on rate tables. I am just getting back into eBay and realized I need to charge more to Alaska and Hawaii buyers for some items. (I offer free Media Mail or other economy shipping on most items, but I can’t/won’t do that outside the lower 48 because it leads to angry customers).
I was able to create my first Rate Table and apply it to a shipping policy. But after creating my second Rate Table and trying to assign it to a different shipping policy, it won’t let me do so. I just keep getting a red bar at the top of the page saying something is wrong, fix errors and try again. But it NEVER shows me what the errors are. I’ve tried creating a third Rate Table, still can’t assign it. I’ve tried everything I can think of, and I can’t assign a Rate Table to my template for non-media, heavy items.
So, is there some secret? I do have “flat, same cost to all buyers” checked. I did pretty much the same procedure for the second Rate Table as with the first one I created and assigned with no problem.
I seem to remember that Ebay treats Puerto Rico as an International Destination even though it is not one.
You might consider using calculated shipping and offering multiple service options to get around the issues. If the buyer selects media mail will be rewarded with delay for their cheapness.
My problem has nothing to do with Puerto Rico or even international shipping. Perhaps I should start a new thread. I posted on this old thread because it discusses eBay Rate Tables. My issue is that I am unable to assign a Rate Table to a shipping/business policy and thought perhaps someone would have some experience with Rate Tables and problems in assigning them to individual shipping policies. I successfully assigned my first Rate Table to one policy, but could not assign a new Rate Table to a different shipping policy.
Hoping @Setalpz or @dwat0870 or any experienced eBay user perhaps has encountered the same problem.
I just keep getting a red bar at the top of the page saying something is wrong, so I fix errors and try again. But it NEVER shows me what the errors are. I’ve tried creating a third Rate Table, still can’t assign it. I even created a new table and it won’t assign either. I’ve tried changing all sorts of things and nothing works.
All I’m trying to do is exclude Hawaii and Alaska from standard shipping. I set up the Rate Tables so that only the expedited shipping charge is shown to Hawaii and Alaska buyers, and this worked the first time, when I assigned it to my normal books shipping policy. But I want to do the same thing for my policy I use for heavy, nonmedia items, and I can’t do it.
I want to emphasize that I am not including anywhere outside the 50 United States in my Rate Tables. I participate in eBay’s international shipping program for non-50 states orders.
I haven’t had to do any tinkering with my tables in quite a while. We went away for the ‘weekend’ (meaning Sunday and Monday since Monday is a slow day for me) and got back late Monday afternoon/evening.
Let me tinker a bit since I do have to create a new one for some heavier items I need to list there.
Done! Your question warrants its own topic, for sure. I saw that you tagged @Setalpz and @dwat0870, and dwat is already on the case. But hopefully some others will also chime in when they realize that PR isn’t the specific issue.
Did you open a case with eBay support or report a problem?
I finally just had to delete the shipping policy I was using, create an identical-in-every-way shipping policy, then I was able to assign the Rate Table I wanted to use. There must have been something eBay did not like about the shipping policy, though it was in use on some listings. Seeing that red bar over and over with no issues highlighted made me angry and frustrated.
Another thing I discovered is that it is impossible to delete Rate Tables once they are created. You can rename them or change them, but you cannot delete them. I even found eBay seller forum posts about the ridiculous nature of not being able to do this.
For what it is worth, I’ve had an open support ticket with Ebay since August of last year. My listings, which are 4+ years old, combined with Ebay’s International Shipping Program, ignore the countries I’ve set to not ship to.
I get 1-3 sales a week I have to cancel because Ebay allows the customer to order to one of these countries.
I’ve had at least 4 calls with Ebay to try and resolve this. I need to call again and tell them that it is still broken. I think the only solution will be to change those listings to other products that I don’t restrict shipping on, and create new listings that will jive better with Ebay’s Global Shipping Program.
Just another reminder that eBay is not the panacea we frustrated Amazon sellers wish it was.
I’ve had very few orders through eBay’s global shipping program and have had no problems, so I’m very inexperienced with its downsides. I’m guessing things get messy in the event of INR or undeliverable parcels? Does the program accept orders to anywhere in the world unless a seller blocks that country? One would think even eBay would draw the line when it comes to war torn or otherwise inaccessible locations.
The seller is responsible for the package until it shows delivered to the shipping center. After that, it is the responsibility of the global shipping program.
“Does the program accept orders to anywhere in the world unless a seller blocks that country?”
Their help page on the program looks like they hired an AMAZON programmer. A link saying it has a list of countries does NOT go to one, but it does say that the program makes you items available to “your items available to buyers in almost 200 countries”.
I’m not sure what the issue/concern is for that. I ship all my sales to the eBay location noted on the invoice/packing slip and they handle everything after that.
I don’t have to do anything any different than if I am sending a package to CA or NY.
It’s a PIA because I have to cancel those sales. For legal reasons, we choose not to ship to Germany or nearby nations. So when Ebay lets a sale slip in, I have to:
Notify seller we are cancelling the sale due to Ebay’s shipping settings error.
Add a note on the account referencing the open case # with Ebay technical support.
Block the buyer (they often try again).
Cancel the sale.
Hope the customer doesn’t leave negative feedback.
If they do leave negative feedback, open a case with Ebay to have it removed for Ebay’s error.
