There has been a bug on eBay for some time where the shipping methods presented to buyers at checkout were displayed in the wrong order. This has led to many buyers unintentionally upgrading to priority services and of course paying more than expected for postage.
This bug was fixed and rolled out on the site on Wednesday night and you should now find that your first shipping method offered is the first presented to buyers at checkout.
The fix has prompted me to think about shipping options presented to buyers. I still firmly believe that buyers should be offered at least a standard service as default rather than the cheapest available. Most buyers are happy if there item arrives within a couple of days but eBay still drive sellers to offer the lowest cost (free) shipping with a boost in Best Match.
My solution would be for eBay to offer a boost in Best Match for sellers offering a free delivery option even if this isn’t the first choice offered. Buyers could then downgrade to slower but free postage, or upgrade to a priority next day service if they need the item urgently.
It does mean that the shipping wouldn’t show as free in search, but just as eBay have displayed a “GIF” (Get it Fast) logo in the past they could add a logo to show that free shipping is an option for a particular item in search results.
What is your preference for shipping methods? Do you suggest the cheapest service by offering it as the buyer’s default choice, or do you offer a faster shipping service with the option to downgrade and save some money?
13 Responses
???
Well, I just had to send a combined invoice. The choices on the draft invoice presented to me were ‘wrong way around’ when compared to the choices on all my listings.
I’m not at all sure what has been ‘fixed’.
buyers should not have shipping method choice
at all,
most will always choose the cheapest and expect the best,
I don’t think it’s fixed. At least I think the fix may have spawned a new problem. When I send invoices to overseas buyers the Airmail option is duplicated and I get an error message saying I have to delete one as I have duplicate postage options.
I have reported it to eBay and they say they are aware and trying to fix it.