eCRATER.com Forum Index

SearchSearch
ProfileProfile
  Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   
Log inLog in

Shipping USPS Calculator Option
Goto page 1, 2  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    eCRATER.com Forum Index -> Selling on eCRATER.com
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
MakersTreasureTrove



Posts: 6

PostPosted: Wed Mar 25, 2020 7:58 pm    Post subject: Shipping USPS Calculator Option Reply with quote

Hi!

I just sold two items in two days (yay!). The problem is, both were sold with media mail postage paid and both items were definitely not media mail. I took an (at least) $8 loss on the first package, but I won't do it on this 2nd order. I will contact the buyer and see if they still want the package with the increased cost.

This is the issue...I didn't list it with media mail shipping option, but I clicked the option with all of the choices from 1st class to priority mail; that menu is nowhere to be found on my listings, and the USPS calculator that is supposed to be available is also not an option in my listings. I'm not completely sure about the matrix but I went ahead and at least decided to fix the listings (at least temporarily) with the matrix option so I don't lose too much (if any) profit.

How do I fix this so this doesn't happen in the future?

Thank in advance for your help!
Back to top
View seller's profile Send private message Visit seller's eCRATER store
SheilaDeesPostcards
moderator


Posts: 4614

PostPosted: Wed Mar 25, 2020 10:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Congratulations on your two sales. Sorry you had a problem with your shipping. When you use USPS Calculated Shipping you can only select the shipping methods that can be used for EVERY item in your store. You can only select Media Mail when every item in your store can be shipped Media Mail. The only exception is for First Class Parcel which is weight based. It will only be offered when the item weight is 13 oz or less. You also can't offer Priority Mail small flat rate unless every item you sell will fit in that size package.

The mail options are shown to the buyer at checkout with the cheapest way being the default. If they don't select a more expensive method, the cheapest will be used. Since Media Mail is the cheapest, that's the default. Most customers have no idea which method to select except by price. Currently, you still have USPS Calculated shipping selected for your store.

I wrote a detailed explanation of the shipping system which you can see in the topic Selling on eCRATER.com > Setting up shipping for new seller located here:[url] https://community.ecrater.com/viewtopic.php?t=38420[/url]. After reading the information, post back here if you have additional questions.

I just took a quick look at your store and noticed you still have Cash on Delivery checked as a method of payment. That is checked by default for a new store until you set up your payment method, but you really want to uncheck that option. Cash on Delivery is a service by the USPS which is VERY expensive and risky. You have to ship the item without payment. The buyer pays the post office for the item and shipping, then the post office converts the payment to a money order and mails it to you. If they can't find the buyer, it is returned to you at your expense.
Back to top
View seller's profile Send private message Visit seller's eCRATER store
MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 6:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
I will contact the buyer and see if they still want the package with the increased cost.


This is against eCRATER rules. You are not allowed to charge a customer anymore for postage than they paid. You can cancel the sale if you like and explain to the customer why and then make sure you have the proper postage on the listing.

Definitely check out the link Sheila gave you. I only use the Matrix and so do really know how the other shipping ways work.
Back to top
View seller's profile Send private message Visit seller's eCRATER store
MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 6:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I had responded to your question without looking at your store. You appear to be new, so welcome and if I may two suggestions. Once you get your shipping figured out and before you add in any new listings, set up your categories so everything isn't all jumbled together. Such as you have stamps for cardmaking. They need to all be in one category with subcategories as needed such as the Main category; Papercrafts>Rubber stamps, Papercrafts>acryilic/Clear stamps, Papercrafts>cutting dies, Papercrafts>Paper. Etc.

You also need to increase your descriptions, because your description area is some of your best 'real estate' when it comes to selling. For instance your books lots (which should be under a Book category, then Books>Romance, Books>Christian novels, Books>Dictionaries) should name ALL the titles of the books. indicate if they are paperback or hardcover if they do or don't have a dust jacket and its condition. For single books, you want to be sure to state publisher, year published, number of pages, hardcover or paperback, etc. Anything special about the book. And so on. While a buyer can look at the photo, if they are doing a search on Google or Bing the search can't read the titles in the photo so you have to not only show what you are selling but the titles of the books.

I hope you find great success here!
Back to top
View seller's profile Send private message Visit seller's eCRATER store
MakersTreasureTrove



Posts: 6

PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 7:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you so much!!

I will check everything you mentioned and get this fixed!

SheilaDeesPostcards wrote:
Congratulations on your two sales. Sorry you had a problem with your shipping. When you use USPS Calculated Shipping you can only select the shipping methods that can be used for EVERY item in your store. You can only select Media Mail when every item in your store can be shipped Media Mail. The only exception is for First Class Parcel which is weight based. It will only be offered when the item weight is 13 oz or less. You also can't offer Priority Mail small flat rate unless every item you sell will fit in that size package.

The mail options are shown to the buyer at checkout with the cheapest way being the default. If they don't select a more expensive method, the cheapest will be used. Since Media Mail is the cheapest, that's the default. Most customers have no idea which method to select except by price. Currently, you still have USPS Calculated shipping selected for your store.

I wrote a detailed explanation of the shipping system which you can see in the topic Selling on eCRATER.com > Setting up shipping for new seller located here:[url] https://community.ecrater.com/viewtopic.php?t=38420[/url]. After reading the information, post back here if you have additional questions.

I just took a quick look at your store and noticed you still have Cash on Delivery checked as a method of payment. That is checked by default for a new store until you set up your payment method, but you really want to uncheck that option. Cash on Delivery is a service by the USPS which is VERY expensive and risky. You have to ship the item without payment. The buyer pays the post office for the item and shipping, then the post office converts the payment to a money order and mails it to you. If they can't find the buyer, it is returned to you at your expense.
Back to top
View seller's profile Send private message Visit seller's eCRATER store
MakersTreasureTrove



Posts: 6

PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 7:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you for the information. Charging the customer additionally would not have been my intention at least without asking if they were OK to fix the error. I had no idea about the default to lowest price as I've still not completely figured out ecrater.

Thank you

MoonwishesStore wrote:
Quote:
I will contact the buyer and see if they still want the package with the increased cost.


This is against eCRATER rules. You are not allowed to charge a customer anymore for postage than they paid. You can cancel the sale if you like and explain to the customer why and then make sure you have the proper postage on the listing.

Definitely check out the link Sheila gave you. I only use the Matrix and so do really know how the other shipping ways work.
Back to top
View seller's profile Send private message Visit seller's eCRATER store
MakersTreasureTrove



Posts: 6

PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 7:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello again,

I only transferred these from my eBay site so I didn't realize the incorrect categories have been suggested. Again, still figuring out ecrater. I will be sure to get these fixed.

Lisa

MoonwishesStore wrote:
I had responded to your question without looking at your store. You appear to be new, so welcome and if I may two suggestions. Once you get your shipping figured out and before you add in any new listings, set up your categories so everything isn't all jumbled together. Such as you have stamps for cardmaking. They need to all be in one category with subcategories as needed such as the Main category; Papercrafts>Rubber stamps, Papercrafts>acryilic/Clear stamps, Papercrafts>cutting dies, Papercrafts>Paper. Etc.

You also need to increase your descriptions, because your description area is some of your best 'real estate' when it comes to selling. For instance your books lots (which should be under a Book category, then Books>Romance, Books>Christian novels, Books>Dictionaries) should name ALL the titles of the books. indicate if they are paperback or hardcover if they do or don't have a dust jacket and its condition. For single books, you want to be sure to state publisher, year published, number of pages, hardcover or paperback, etc. Anything special about the book. And so on. While a buyer can look at the photo, if they are doing a search on Google or Bing the search can't read the titles in the photo so you have to not only show what you are selling but the titles of the books.

I hope you find great success here!
Back to top
View seller's profile Send private message Visit seller's eCRATER store
MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 7:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some never go to the 'bother' of setting up categories so a buyer has to wade through the entire 'my eBay' category to even see if you carry anything they would be interested in. I have always had my listings in categories, but a year or so ago I realized that one of my categories had 5000 items in it -- OOPS! So, whenever I tweak a listing, I now put it into the proper category. It is going to take me a while. I do think it is making a difference. I wish I had done it sooner. Very Happy

Last edited by MoonwishesStore on Thu Mar 26, 2020 9:31 am; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View seller's profile Send private message Visit seller's eCRATER store
SheilaDeesPostcards
moderator


Posts: 4614

PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 8:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

MakersTreasureTrove wrote:

I only transferred these from my eBay site so I didn't realize the incorrect categories have been suggested. Again, still figuring out ecrater. I will be sure to get these fixed.
I think your eBay import adds your items to the "correct" global Categories and Sub-categories. These would be the marketplace categories. Each seller must create their own store categories. Check an item in your store (click on the pencil to the right of the title after clicking on products) to see what it says for Local Category, Global Category, and Global Sub Cat. I think you will find the Local Category says My eBay and the other two will be completed based on the category they were in on eBay and/or the system's best guess. You really need to double check that those global categories are correct because the feed to Google Shopping will be based on the Global categories.

Also, two quick FYIs:
1. You can not delete the My eBay category, but you can change the name.
2. On eCrater, your packaged weight must be entered as a whole number and decimal. For example, if something weights 1 lb 8 oz, it would be entered as 1.5 and 2 lbs 12 oz. would be entered as 2.75. If the item only weighs 4 oz. you would enter 0.25. There is a chart located in the FAQ section. Look for the topic in that section that talks about the Shipping Matrix and you'll find a chart with all the decimal weights.
Back to top
View seller's profile Send private message Visit seller's eCRATER store
MakersTreasureTrove



Posts: 6

PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 8:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi,

So far all of my category shows is eBay from which to choose (which was defaulted from my eBay transfer of items, so I didn't make the category myself). I can't see where I'd make additional categories.

Lisa

MoonwishesStore wrote:
Some never go to the 'bother' of setting up categories so a buyer has to wade through the entire 'my eBay' category to even see if you carry anything they would be interested in. I have always had my listings in categories, but a year or so ago I realized that one of my categories had 5000 items in it -- OOPS! So, whenever I tweak a listing, I know put it into the proper category. It is going to take me a while. I do think it is making a difference. I wish I had done it sooner. Very Happy
Back to top
View seller's profile Send private message Visit seller's eCRATER store
SheilaDeesPostcards
moderator


Posts: 4614

PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 9:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

My suggestion is to start with pen & Paper to design the system you want in your store. What major categories do you want and what sub-categories do you want under those major categories. Once you have decided what you want, in your admin. click on Categories in the Basic Set-up section. The next screen will say Manage Categories and the Current category: root. Below you'll see Categories with one listed (My eBay). Looking to the right you can click on the pencil to edit a category (change the name). At the bottom is a button that says Add New Category. When your click on that button you'll see a place to enter the name of your new category. DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE PICTURE OR THE FEATURED POSITION AT THIS TIME, you can come back and add that later if you want to. After you enter the name, you must click on the Add button. Once you click the Add Button you are returned to the prior screen where you will now see Categories with the list showing My eBay and you newly created category. Now on the item page for the Local Category, you'll see the option of My eBay AND you newly created category.

For this example I'm going to pretend I created a New Category in the root called ZZZ. If I want a sub-category called Ztt, then from the main page, click on the Add New Category and add a new category called Ztt and click ADD. Back on the main page, click on green file folder to the right. The next screen will show your category is in the Parrent category of root, but when you click on the arrow you'll see a list of all the categories you've created. Select the one you want and click on the UPDATE button. Now you'll only see the category ZZZ in the root. When you click on the name ZZZ the next screen says Manage Categories and shows the Current category: root > zzz with the SUBCATEGORIES list showing ztt. There is a button "Add New Category" which you can used to add additional categories to the current category: root > ZZZ.

On eCRATER, categories will always appear in alphabetical order. That can not be changed so consider the order before you create your categories. You can also start your categories with a number and the numbers will sort lowest number first, with letters after the numbers.

IMPORTANT ... BE CAREFUL OF THE RED X BUTTON TO THE RIGHT OF EVERY CATEGORY. Use it ONLY to delete a category that has NO products AND has NO subcategories. When you click on the red X, the category name, all products in that category, all subcategories under that category and the products in those subcategories will be deleted and can not be retrived. So, be careful when you delete and make sure you check twice.
Back to top
View seller's profile Send private message Visit seller's eCRATER store
cosmicray



Posts: 7286

PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 9:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

@MakersTreasureTrove

The eBay importer merely moves your listings over. Once that happens, there is much work to be done on your part. You need to review each listing. Use the Preview button to see how things look as a customer will see them, that will give you ideas about what needs to be corrected.
Back to top
View seller's profile Send private message Visit seller's eCRATER store
MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 9:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
My suggestion is to start with pen & Paper to design the system you want in your store


Preach it, sister! When I went to add in my different sub-categories so I had to keep changing things or I needed to add things. For many of my categories, the sub-categories were the same such as Misses, Women's, Juniors, all had sub-categories such as dresses, pants, tops, nightwear, coats, fashion accessories, that type of thing. If I had written it down first, It would have taken me half the time.
Back to top
View seller's profile Send private message Visit seller's eCRATER store
MakersTreasureTrove



Posts: 6

PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 5:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi!

Thank you so much. I think I finally figured it out (with your help).

If you take a look, I've begun making the changes (although I have quite a few to go, but I'm on my way).

Lisa

SheilaDeesPostcards wrote:
My suggestion is to start with pen & Paper to design the system you want in your store. What major categories do you want and what sub-categories do you want under those major categories. Once you have decided what you want, in your admin. click on Categories in the Basic Set-up section. The next screen will say Manage Categories and the Current category: root. Below you'll see Categories with one listed (My eBay). Looking to the right you can click on the pencil to edit a category (change the name). At the bottom is a button that says Add New Category. When your click on that button you'll see a place to enter the name of your new category. DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE PICTURE OR THE FEATURED POSITION AT THIS TIME, you can come back and add that later if you want to. After you enter the name, you must click on the Add button. Once you click the Add Button you are returned to the prior screen where you will now see Categories with the list showing My eBay and you newly created category. Now on the item page for the Local Category, you'll see the option of My eBay AND you newly created category.

For this example I'm going to pretend I created a New Category in the root called ZZZ. If I want a sub-category called Ztt, then from the main page, click on the Add New Category and add a new category called Ztt and click ADD. Back on the main page, click on green file folder to the right. The next screen will show your category is in the Parrent category of root, but when you click on the arrow you'll see a list of all the categories you've created. Select the one you want and click on the UPDATE button. Now you'll only see the category ZZZ in the root. When you click on the name ZZZ the next screen says Manage Categories and shows the Current category: root > zzz with the SUBCATEGORIES list showing ztt. There is a button "Add New Category" which you can used to add additional categories to the current category: root > ZZZ.

On eCRATER, categories will always appear in alphabetical order. That can not be changed so consider the order before you create your categories. You can also start your categories with a number and the numbers will sort lowest number first, with letters after the numbers.

IMPORTANT ... BE CAREFUL OF THE RED X BUTTON TO THE RIGHT OF EVERY CATEGORY. Use it ONLY to delete a category that has NO products AND has NO subcategories. When you click on the red X, the category name, all products in that category, all subcategories under that category and the products in those subcategories will be deleted and can not be retrived. So, be careful when you delete and make sure you check twice.
Back to top
View seller's profile Send private message Visit seller's eCRATER store
secretarybird



Posts: 11

PostPosted: Thu Apr 23, 2020 10:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

SheilaDeesPostcards wrote:
You can only select Media Mail when every item in your store can be shipped Media Mail. The only exception is for First Class Parcel which is weight based. It will only be offered when the item weight is 13 oz or less.


Sounds like someone needs to update some code here then. First Class Parcel is good for up to 1 pound, and has been for a few years now. Why are they limiting it to 13 ounces or less?
Back to top
View seller's profile Send private message Visit seller's eCRATER store
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    eCRATER.com Forum Index -> Selling on eCRATER.com
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum