Someplace in your computer a cookie MAY be sending a zip code when you change your zip code to do a test and that may result in you getting a false estimate in prices? I had this same result when I was trying to find out why a local competitor of mine selling the same items with a close zip code to mine got 1-2 day shipping estimates and my listings were showing 3 or 4 days. A cookie in my computer was getting precedence over what my “test” zip code was changed to. This might be occurring to you? This is what ebay told me when I called about it. I don’t know if it was true or just them spitballing.
I’ve used a separate computer with a separate eBay account as a buyer to double check the results, and sadly it is not a cookie issue. And since I just had a buyer spend $11.96 on shipping to Calif and the real cost was over $44, I know it’s not a cookie issue. When I have the same weight item and tested it with the same zip code as the Calif buyer, it came to over $44 as well.
Also, the feature works just fine if I supply any dimensions at all from GS when doing a new listing or revising a current listing. Then ebay uses the weight for the zoned/dimension based shipping.
Any update on this? Because I can use the same policy listing items via the eBay website and not encounter this bug, this does seem like something that GS is sending or that eBay is processing what GS is sending, that is triggering this bug. Since the GS UI shows a default packaging dimension of 0x0x0, I am still wondering if that is the issue. You stated that it is not sending dimensions at all if I keep the dimensions blank, and if I do a “revise listing” on the ebay website, it does in fact show no dimensions listed for the item. If I save the revision without any changes, the bug is still there. So something is triggering this when I start a new listing from GS.
If I use the website to update the dimensions on an existing listing, the bug goes away. But then if I go back into GS and do a full revise listing and keep the dimensions blank for the listing, but change the price only, then I notice something very, very interesting - the lack of dimensions from GS are not sent to eBay. The weight is [I changed the weight to 12 pounds, 1oz on the website and added dimensions - in GS the weight is 12 pounds, blank oz and no dimensions, but 0x0x0 is shown in the UI].
So GS did not send the “updated” dimensions to ebay when I did a full revise, so eBay kept the dimensions I put in when I used the website to revise the listing. Hmmm…
Not yet. I did the best I could describing the issue and attaching your log to my report. Let’s hope somebody at eBay dev support is taking the time to deep dive into their code base…
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Okay, this issue has been solved…it is 100% not Garage Sale that is causing this issue. It is eBay. If you do not provide a set of dimensions to a package, eBay assumes it is 1x1x1 inches. This results in an $11.55 rate from east coast to west coast no matter how heavy the package is, when using Priority Mail.
What I now need to do is going through all of my eBay listings in GS and search for those that lack dimensions. Then change them to 12x12x12 and revise those listings.
NOTE: This only affects eBay accounts that have enabled eBay Shipping Discounts. I don’t use eBay postage - I use Endicia, but the commercial rate of shipping in Endicia matches that of eBay, Pirate Ship, Stamps.com, etc. But this bug only appears on eBay’s website if you have eBay Shipping Discounts turned on.
If you want to test this on your own - use any postal software, select priority mail, and dimensions of 1x1x1. Make the item go from coast to coast and make it 16 pounds. You will see the base postage is $80.50, but the online savings for using Commercial Rate is $68.95. So you have to only pay $11.55. If you change the weight to 1 pound, the $11.55 rate is still there.
I had tested this issue with a family member’s eBay account and they didn’t hit this bug. Now I know why - they have not enabled eBay Shipping Discounts on their account. In fact, I am now thinking that when I first did this test, I may have been at their house and used their account to test it with, by listing something on eBay via the website rather than GS. Saw the postal rates were fine, and deleted the listing. But if I was logged in as them rather than me, that would explain why the bug was not present.
So…not GS’ fault. 100% eBay’s fault and they should really assume a 12x12x12 dimension if left blank. If someone ships something over a cubic foot, the USPS will charge a hefty fee to the shipper’s account [this happened to me when I forgot to include dimensions when shipping a large Lego set via Ground Advantage - they charged my Endicia account a hefty fine for failing to properly document the dimensions since they took up more than one cubic foot.
Hope this helps someone out there. Many thanks for the patience of @ilja as he had to tolerate even more test results from me via DM.
EDIT: actually a 12x12x12 shipment would cost a LOT more than an 8x8x8 shipment from coast to coast - $54 compared to $18 - so I will probably just try and change everything to 8x8x8