The cost of shipping FedEx packages to residential addresses through eBay’s shipping program actually dropped, the marketplace announced on Tuesday. But there is a caveat for sellers.
eBay said sellers can now enjoy deeper discounts on FedEx Home Delivery, though it didn’t provide a link to the actual rates or discounts, so it’s hard to know how much sellers will save over the rates it had been offering. Instead, eBay linked to its holiday shipping landing page on Seller Central.
Sellers wondering what FedEx “Home Delivery” is should know that a $4 residential surcharge applies. According to the FedEx Ground website:
- FedEx Ground delivers packages 150 lbs. or less to businesses or commercial addresses Monday–Friday.
- FedEx Home Delivery, which is part of the FedEx Ground network, delivers packages 150 lbs. or less to residences every day of the week. It delivers faster to more U.S. households on Saturday and Sunday than UPS Ground. A $4 residential surcharge is added per package with FedEx Home Delivery.
Another issue worth pointing out: sellers have chronically complained that eBay underquotes the cost of FedEx, leaving sellers with an unexpected bill after delivery.
In fact, we recently received a letter from a seller who grosses sales of $200,000 on eBay and Amazon who said FedEx charges came in around the $50 mark in cases where eBay had estimated charges in the $20-$29 mark.
“I would imagine that most sellers (Myself included) don’t usually follow up on the quote vs actual cost, as the billing does not come in for 5-10 days after shipping and is buried. Maybe you could mention this in an upcoming newsletter so sellers can check their actual charges (the eBay quoted cost remains under “shipping charges” but the actual charges show up under all transactions). It does seem ridiculous that eBay can quote one price and FedEx can randomly charge a different (over twice as much) amount.”
According to a recent thread on the eBay Shipping forums, this can happen to UPS packages as well. In response to a seller who said they were charged an extra $10 for a package after it was delivered, another seller wrote:
“With UPS and FedEx, the price that eBay shows you is only an estimate. You don’t pay for the shipping until after the package has been delivered. Both like to add extra charges to your final bill.”
We’ve heard reports of such problems from sellers for years, as we reported on the EcommerceBytes Blog in 2020.
Adding fees AFTER the time of shipment is the main reason I refuse to print postage online. They can bill me in-person at the post office. If I have a problem with the amount they charge (on occasion, I have encountered scales that were not zeroed properly and weighing packages incorrectly), I can take that up with the postmaster BEFORE making payment. Once I leave the post office, they have no ability to charge me anything beyond what I just paid. People say you save money printing postage online… yeah, until you don’t!