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Pardon my screaming, but I am so excited I'm about bursting with joy!!!!
Here is the official word:
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/marketing.sh...04-09-10152753
I just revised one of my auctions to see how it looks - it is wonderful! I'm going to go through and revise them all as I get time.
Yay!
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BJ, did you do one with the calculator or just the flat shipping options?
This will be very helpful.
I had missed the announcement.
chloe
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I think the USPS Shipping Assistant program is considering something as well. The survey they did last week indicated that to me. Sounds good. Now, how will you convince the Internationals not to change their declaration amounts?
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I revised my single book auctions using flat rate and my book lots using calculated. Their Global Priority Mail rate is only the calculated one, not the flat rate, so calculated might not be the best way to go for items that will fit into the flat rate GPM mailers. Often, by the time you have to add on handling to account for the packaging, the GPM can be cheaper than Airmail or Surface, at least for Canada.
It will be helpful. I usually don't have problems with International buyers paying the US Media Mail rate, but wouldn't you know it happened to me just last week?
Did you also notice that the locations that each service is available to is now in the same size font and bolded? It's going to make it much harder for someone to claim they "didn't see" it was just for the US.
Now there is no reason for US sellers to not include shipping rates in the auction - no more hassles with hoping buyers will email for rates on heavier items, it's all there at the click of a button, custom-tailored to each country as it should be!
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Now, how will you convince the Internationals not to change their declaration amounts?
One problem at a time, one problem at a time...
It was a short while back that I ranted on the International board that they needed to do something like this. I wrote them a short note within the last week asking for a simple addition to the drop-down boxes for Canada and Other International. They went way beyond what I'd hoped for.
I know that they don't work that fast, this has probably been in the works for months now.
But you think that maybe if we start writing to ask for a separate International Payment check-off box section, we might get that, too?
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Considering the complexities of International mail and the fact that not all classes of mail or services are available to all countries, I am not sure how well this whole system will work. Also, if you are sending books, did eBay incorporate M-Bag into the calculations?
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It will be helpful. I usually don't have problems with International buyers paying the US Media Mail rate, but wouldn't you know it happened to me just last week
How are you using International Mail at Media Rates? Can you do that? I've never seen it offered and thought you may be losing money that way as well. On the shipping anyways.
Thanks.
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Originally Posted by commentary
Also, if you are sending books, did eBay incorporate M-Bag into the calculations?
I'd like to know this too...
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There is no International Media Mail rate. The buyer paid immediately after the auction closed before I had a chance to send an invoice for the correct amount for International shipping. He paid the amount for Media Mail US shipping. I had to refund his payment and invoice for the correct amount. Naturally, he wasn't too happy and blamed me, even though he never emailed me for an International shipping quote, although he bid with several days left to go and had plenty of time to find out.
Yeah, I'd definitely be losing money, I'd be out of business trying to ship overseas at US rates, wouldn't we all?
No, there is no M-Bag in the shipping calculator. I refuse to use M-bag anyway, ever since I had a couple of M-bag shipments screwed up. Very unreliable and I paid for it with angry customers and bad feedback. Never again.
If you use M-bag, you can use fixed rate shipping and select one of the generic headings in the drop-down list. Don't know why there'd be a problem with that.
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My auctions where I had "other" flat rate listed for International changed themselves automatically. I went through and tweaked adjustments. The pull down menu offers several different mail classes.
It really is the best thing eBay has done in a looooooooooong time.
Hooray!!!