eBay

raphael@ebay.com · ‎08-28-2015

Hello Sellers,

As you already know, Shipping is a topic that we're talking a lot about these days at eBay Canada. We've recently hosted a couple of discussions with some Canadian sellers at our eBay offices. I'd like to also draw on anyone who would be willing to share their story with regards to online shipping labels, whether you use the PayPal labels platform, another, or none.

I'd like to know the following:

How would you describe your experience using online labels?
What works well for you?
What are some of your pain or friction points?
Are there any features you would like to see, or any that you would rather not see?
Anything else you would like to share.

Many thanks in advance!

neil_che · ‎10-14-2016

I recently sold a bunch of small items on ebay to US buyers and used small packet air for most of the items since it is the most economical and I could buy and print a shipping label through Paypal. I understood that there was no tracking but took the risk on relatively low value items. For all my items, I message the buyers indicated it was shipped, would take 4-8 business days and that there was no tracking. One of my items, was returned to me in 3 days. When I enquired with Canada Post, they indicated the package was incorrectly scanned "Return to Sender" instead of "Outgoing Mail". They issued me a refund for postage. I contacted the buyer and he still wanted the item so I re-shipped it again. After exactly 8 business days, the buyer messaged me and indicated he had not received the item. I replied indicating he should be a bit more patient and I would give him a full refund after 2 more weeks. The next day, he filed a dispute and ebay processed a full refund for him. When this happens, ebay does not refund seller fees.

For a $35 USD item, my shipping cost was $11CAD using small packets air and would have been $17CAD using a tracked service. It doesn't seem right ebay/Paypal will sell an untracked service for ebay sellers though I do understand the issue is with Canada Post not providing a cheaper tracked service.

In comparison, I recently purchased some batteries from Germany for $5.50 USD and it arrive in 10 days and with tracking.

i.am.vivian · ‎10-14-2016

@nvcheng wrote:
I recently sold a bunch of small items on ebay to US buyers and used small packet air for most of the items since it is the most economical and I could buy and print a shipping label through Paypal. I understood that there was no tracking but took the risk on relatively low value items. For all my items, I message the buyers indicated it was shipped, would take 4-8 business days and that there was no tracking. One of my items, was returned to me in 3 days. When I enquired with Canada Post, they indicated the package was incorrectly scanned "Return to Sender" instead of "Outgoing Mail". They issued me a refund for postage. I contacted the buyer and he still wanted the item so I re-shipped it again. After exactly 8 business days, the buyer messaged me and indicated he had not received the item. I replied indicating he should be a bit more patient and I would give him a full refund after 2 more weeks. The next day, he filed a dispute and ebay processed a full refund for him. When this happens, ebay does not refund seller fees.

For a $35 USD item, my shipping cost was $11CAD using small packets air and would have been $17CAD using a tracked service. It doesn't seem right ebay/Paypal will sell an untracked service for ebay sellers though I do understand the issue is with Canada Post not providing a cheaper tracked service.

The buyer may have thought you were pulling a scam because that is how scammers usually start. Endless excuses all saying "please wait some more" so that the deadline to file a claim passes. You can always send a polite message to the buyer asking them to repay the money when the item arrives. They rarely do but it can't hurt to ask.

In a case like that once you get something back you have to make a decision. Most people are honest but some are not and if you had re-mailed the $35 WITH tracking you would have been down the extra $6 but not the whole $46. The thing about gambling and hoping for the big win is that sometimes you lose.

Also it is not a good idea to announce to each buyer their item has no tracking. It just delights the thieves. Send your nice note saying the item is in the mail and that their item will be there soon. Then if they ASK for the tracking # you can explain that it would have cost them $6 more.

pjcdn2005 · ‎10-14-2016

According to your listings you are shipping from the U.S. but you mentioned Cansda Post. It's actually against the rules to give the incorrect item location and it may have worked against you in this case. When the buyer made the purchase he would have expected the item to be delivered quickly and from within the U.S. Many buyers would have been willing to wait once you explained the delay but unfortunately this one either didn't believe you or figured he had waited long enough.

Unless you have delivery confirmation proving the item was delivered, it is usually best to refund the buyer once they have opened the claim unless they agree to wait longer. I think that asking them to wait another 2 weeks was probably too long. If you had refunded before eBay stepped in and asked nicely that they let you know when they receive it, you would have recovered your fees and possibly been paid by the buyer again when they received their item.

When you list on .com you should still list your location as Canada. Also, when setting up your shipping options, use one of the "shipping from outside of the US" options as the estimated delivery time given to the buyer will be later.

custom_shop_designed · ‎11-05-2016

Hi,

I am very frustrated with printing individual packing slips each day - very slow process. I'm constantly having to enter the exact same information into the form to ship my items as I sell only one item. To speed things up I am using a thermal label printer to print the address information and then place stamps for the correct postage (for example $6 in stamps for light pkg to USA even though the rate is a bit less) then place a hand filled out CN22 form on the back of the package indicated call and what the item is.

Sometimes I will use my computer printer to print out labels on full label sheets

My questions: Is there a way to print multiple shipping labels at the same time via PayPal? Like have a temp[late or something where I wouldn't have to fill out the same info over and over and over.

I would be willing to purchase a thermal printer that prints larger labels via PayPal. What size would I need? My current thermal printer is not that wide. Currently, for some orders, I am using a full sheet of sticky label paper, then have to cut 1/2 of it off, and stick this on to the pkg, etc

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I ship using small pkg with Canada Post. I hate that there is no tracking number but the cost to the USA is bout $10 less - just for a tracking number light pkg vs. tracked pkg

For international orders it is worse. the only option for tracking is too use a larger padded envelope and it costs about $68 to Italy for example and vs 8.99 via small pkg but no tracking. How am I covered in that situation?

So my issues are speed of printing labels, what not have templates that I don't need to fill out for every item individually, multiple labels being able to be printed at the same time, Allow for the use of a thermal printer to speed up the process rather than sheet by sheet and cutting each sheet, and no tracking offered at a reasonable rate.

Thank you for your help

a52split · ‎11-05-2016

": Is there a way to print multiple shipping labels at the same time"

No. Even the post office's own software won't let them do it.

I have one item that I sell a couple of hundred of each year. It's less than 200g and costs $5.70 for LP to USA. I go to the privately run postal outlet near where I work with one of them to throw on the scale. Once they key it in, I ask for 5-10 more shipping labels exactly the same. Then when the item sells, I drop it in the red box. They will do it for me, even though CP says they're not allowed to. Been doing this for many years. When I ask for the same at the real post office they are shocked that I would make such an unreasonable request. They quote the rule and say the label has the date on it. I always say, nobody cares about the date.

Give it a try at your local postal outlet.

pjcdn2005 · ‎11-05-2016

I'm a bit confused by your post. You are saving time by stamps and filling out a customs form by hand? Have you tried PayPal shipping ? You do have to enter weight dimensions and customs info but it is fairly quick.

custom_shop_designed · ‎11-05-2016

Yes, saving time by printing the address with a thermal printer. Placing stamps and the Cn22 form is much faster than the one by one 8.5x11" label sheets, entering all the info 1 by one, calculating cost, updated customs info, and then cutting them to size.

I am looking of the most expedited way to ship a pkg.

In my opinion if Paypal shipping had templates where everything could be saved and pre-filled, including weight HS code etc. and be printed to a 4x6 thermal printer I would be happy.

I sell and ship only one item. Weight only varies by the number of items people buy

momcqueen · ‎11-05-2016

Maybe there's a third-party shipping tool supported by Canada Post that does that.

bpl521_sell · ‎12-03-2016

Canada Post and PayPal say NOT to cover the printed label with clear tape. Which seems kind of ridiculous as it's very likely the paper shipping label could be torn off. Any issues with covering the label with packing tape to protect it, maybe only covering half the barcode if the tape causes issues with the scanning..

momcqueen · ‎12-03-2016

Before I invested in adhesive pouches, I ALWAYS covered the label in clear packing tape save the spot where the barcode is printed.

maggiebvintage2010 · ‎12-03-2016

Canada Post provides adhesive pouches free to Solutions for Small Business members (also free). Look for "Labelopes" on their site.

ypdc_dennis · ‎12-03-2016

@bpl521_sell wrote:
Canada Post and PayPal say NOT to cover the printed label with clear tape. Which seems kind of ridiculous as it's very likely the paper shipping label could be torn off. Any issues with covering the label with packing tape to protect it, maybe only covering half the barcode if the tape causes issues with the scanning..

In the 1980's that may have been true...

Paypal gets their info from Canada Post and Canada Post has never bothered to check if a suggestion from the last century is still valid.

Reality: As long as the clear tape is applied smoothly (ie no bubbles and wrinkles) there is no problem with scanning (based on my 12 years of selling on eBay). And to double check I usually have the local postal outlet do originate scans when I drop my parcels off.

-..-

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-03-2016

I agree. In fact it was the postal outlet who told me that I should tape over the scan code in case it gets wet.

I use labelopes now though. As someone mentioned they are free from the CP website but you have to sign in with your venture one/small business number.

bpl521_sell · ‎12-03-2016

Thanks all, yes if one prints off a label on regular paper it doesn't take much moisture to smudge the ink, let alone the label being ripped right off by another parcel. Perhaps stick on label printed with a thermal printer would fare better, but not worth the cost for me, The labelopes seem like a good idea as well, seems a lot of commercial shippers use them.

custom_shop_designed · ‎12-12-2016

Okay, so I have sold thousands of guitar parts to over 45 countries and recently I had my first ever dispute that I wasn't able to trouble shoot myself. Of all countries, I shipped an item to the USA. I print the label through PayPal, had the system auto-send a note to the buyer, dropped the pkg in the post like so many others (1 business day turn around). After 2 weeks the buyer opened a dispute for the item not received. I mentioned that because of the Thanksgiving weekend in the USA there must be a delay. Another 2 weeks past and nothing. I am not willing to charge my buyers $15 to track an item that I can ship for $6. So, the buyer escalated this to eBay to solve the problem. Within 1 hour a full refund was given to the buyer. So if eBay is so willing and acted so fast to get a full refund to the buyer for an "item not delivered" why can I not get a full refund from Canada post? I paid for shipping. All of that is archived in the process of printing a label. I expect that my items arrive.

On a side note, I received my first negative feedback in a decade because an item was " not delivered" Likely delayed but this label process and not getting tracking for a reasonable price in this day and age of technology is ridiculous. The buyer even threatened me with negative feedback. I sent all the info to eBay and this hasn't been touched in a week. So I guess threats are allowed now too? All of this could have been avoided with a proper labelling system for a small pkg with tracking for $6.

Very frustrated.

racefan_dan · ‎01-08-2017

Prior to last month, I'd sold 20+ items in my 15+ years on eBay, but hadn't sold anything in about 8 years. In the last month, I've sold 8 items, all to international destinations, and I've used the provided shipping tools to print labels.

Only after my 6th sale did I notice that the Shipping Cost submitted by the Buyer as part of his payment had been released to my available (usable) PayPal funds--within 24 hours of the eBay sale--while the rest of the payment was, as with all other received payments recently, "On Hold" (for 21 days). In all previous sales (and on the 2 subsequent sales), I had to fund the shipping label cost out of my bank account. Nowhere was it explained to me that this would happen, so I naively shipped as soon as I could, generally with 12 hours my Buyers' purchases. UPDATE: while typing this post, the shipping cost portion from 2 of my other sales in the last 48 hours have just been released to me as usable PayPal funds - much slower than the previous transaction What's normal? Is there such a thing?
When things work as interned, the tool is pretty simple to follow and the payment process is great.
Numerous times now, when I've opened the Shipping Tool webpage (new version), the form does not completely load and the little spinning "busy" indicator never disappears. Has happened in multiple browsers. I switched to the Classic Tool and it loads without issue every time, so have continued to use that. Like Coke Classic, it's better than the newer version.
In one transaction, my foreign eBay customer's postal code was supplied as "00000", despite him being a long-time eBayer and having something like 15+ Feedback, as a buyer. I realized "00000" wasn't likely to be valid, so I used his country's postal website to verify the code for his street address. I then messaged him and said his postal code looked wrong and could he please verify, confirm the correct one, and update it on eBay/PayPal. He gave me the same code I'd found on my own, so no problem there. But because I manually updated (corrected) the provided PayPal address, a warning text appeared in the "Status" field of the the shipping label creation page saying that I have to ship to the provided address or else lose Seller Protection! Well of course I'm going to ship to the correct address rather than what I was originally given, so I waited for the Buyer to update his info, as a result of our recent discussion. By the next afternoon, it still wasn't updated so I print and ship. A couple weeks later, on an unrelated matter, I called PayPal and mentioned this issue. They put me through to eBay or someone who said they could check our eBay message history and said they could see our conversation and therefore I WOULD be covered by Seller Protection. I made a point of insisting that PayPal/eBay needs to step in and contact the Buyer to request he correct his info, or else suspend his account - because who knows how many other Sellers have or will ship to the provided address without noticing the error, and that could end up in an "item not received" that was entirely the Buyer's fault. They said initially said they wouldn't contact him and that I should do it. WHAT? WHY? I repeated that I had already and that as far as I could tell he still hadn't changed it. They confirmed this was true. In the end they told me they would contact him, but I've got a feeling they were just saying that to shut me up. It's ridiculous that I had to beg them to take action.
While attempting to create my very first label using the default (newer) tool, I noticed that the REASON FOR EXPORT field does not have "SALE OF GOODS" option. WHAT? WHY? I checked the html code for the page and no, it's not a browser issue, the option just isn't provided. As eBay's *purpose* is to enable the sale of goods, the fact that this shipping label tool is missing this import customs declaration IS INEXCUSABLE! I tried the "switch to classic shipping tool" link and found that the classic tool DOES have the option, so I've used that for all of my subsequent sales' shipping labels.
Using the Classic Tool to create a shipping label for an Australian customer, I noticed the provided address didn't get put into the correct fields and required manual adjustment. I checked the Australian Postal Corp's preferred addressing format and found that they like the city+territory+postal code in capital letters, and for international shipments like mine, the country name, too. The country field is a dropdown, so I couldn't fix that, but the others, I edited and capitalized. It was only when I printed the label that I realized that the To: address is AUTOMATICALLY CONVERETED from "as entered" to ALL CAPS! To avoid people wasting their time with needless manual conversions, it would have been helpful to mention that next to where the information! Incidentally, the From: address appears either exactly as entered or First Letter Only Caps (I'm not sure how I entered it but it is F.L.O.C. on all my labels).
On my 3rd day of shipping items internationally (on my 4th item), I noticed that on the printed label, the From: field IS MISSING THE WORD "CANADA". Okay, the shipping label does say "Canada Post" at the top, but come on, it's an incomplete return address and should be hand-written on to the label before mailing. On subsequent label creations, I noticed that the word "Canada" DOES appear on all pages PRIOR TO PRINTING, but is indeed left off. Again, this was using the Classic Tool, so I'm not sure if the newer version does the same or not.
As I was having various issues, I thought I'd see how this tool compares to the EST Online tool on CanadaPost.ca - and I noticed while testing out the EST-O tool's form that there is a "Print Postage Rate" option and "Non-Delivery Instructions" option that are NOT available on the PayPal shipping label tool(s). While there may be a reason the Print Postage Rate option has been removed from eBay-related shipping labels (customs value in some countries is dependent on it, though it's better for everyone if it could be hidden!), the absence of the Non-Delivery Instructions are a far greater concern to me as a seller. I'd much rather pay $20 return shipping from halfway around the world than have my item sent to the local "lost mail" pile because my parcel did not explicitly state that this was preferred!
It was only while I was attaching my 6th shipping label that I realized that on all of my previous shipments, I HAD NEGLECTED TO SIGN THE CUSTOMS DECLARATION "SIGNATURE" LINE that is crammed in between two blocks of text. Truth is I'd looked over the printed label and hadn't even noticed the small word "Signature" that appears just below the line. The postal clerks at my local post office had happily scanned my parcels and not mentioned that I hadn't yet signed, so I guess I'm not the only one. Either it is important or it is not, but as long as the item appears on the label, and regardless of whether the lower half instruction portion of the printed shipping label mentions it, the online Tool should do a far better job of alerting the customer to the fact that on international shipments, the customs declaration Signature Line needs to be signed before mailing.
The first few times I tried to print a shipping label, the tab that should have contained the label preview appeared but did not automatically print/did not open a print preview/Acrobat Reader/file open dialog. I was therefore unable to print the label in Firefox, Edge and Google Chrome. I finally got it to work in classic Internet Explorer. (Once again, like Coke Classic, the original can be counted on!) I tested this on 3 computers, all Windows 10. I'd checked the printer driver, rebooted the printer, rebooted one of the PCs. I can assure you most people wouldn't have had the troubleshooting skills or patience to get it to work and would have just given up! I suspect the blame lies with the Java installation on each of the computers, because a few weeks later, following Windows and other scheduled updates, I can print from any of the affected computers without issue. But it's an issue and point worth mentioning.
Not really a "label thing", per se but directly related: I've been taking my prepared parcels to the post office and after handing them over to the postal clerk have been asking for an acceptance receipt, as proof for myself AND my buyers that their item has been received by Canada Post (the barcode/number on the shipping label matches that on the receipt, as the parcel is scanned upon acceptance). When I get home, I send my buyers an eBay message with photo of their prepared parcel (ensuring the shipping label's barcode number is clear and legible in the photo) AND a photo of the matching postal acceptance receipt. I do this because tracking numbers aren't available on Small Packet International Air, which is the service all my buyers have opted for due to the absurdly high cost of services that feature Delivery Confirmation (which would benefit me, not them as if they have received their parcel they know it!) But Canada Post's post office postal acceptance receipts DO NOT FEATURE WORDS TO THE EFFECT OF "CONSTITUTES ACCEPTANCE INTO POSSESSION BY CANADA POST" on it, so to me, and to a layperson/foreigner who has never seen such a receipt before, the receipt itself, with its printed "$0.00" SUBTL/TOTAL lines - doesn't constitute proof of anything! An explanation must therefore be supplied in my message to my buyer. Now I can see someone telling me, "Well the receipt is NOT intended for your recipient, and if you to give your recipient proof or reassurance then insist on a service that includes tracking!" but to that I'll reply that and say: 1) I'm not expecting tracking, I just want a receipt that CLEARLY EXPLAINS WHAT IT'S ACTUALLY FOR; 2) my buyer paid for the postage, not me, so I believe they are entitled to proof of postage (consider that a shipping label can be voided); and 3) USPS provides international tracking numbers FREE OF CHARGE to customers who purchase postage online (while for us Canadians, it's a minimum $25+ service on packages sent internationally) so it's not unreasonable to expect that in lieu of free tracking, free proof of acceptance (only) should or could be provided. I mean it's not like any more work or cost is involved, it's just a few missing words added to a receipt.
It shouldn't be assumed that all eBay customers who create shipping labels online are experienced parcel mailers - and therefore I think it'd be beneficial to provide online Shipping Tool users with their local post office's normally scheduled mail pickup time. Let's say my nearest post office's usual pickup time is 4:00PM - that'd be good to know when I'm creating and/or printing out my label, because then I know how long I have left and if I've already missed today's anticipated cutoff (and therefore don't need to needlessly and foolishly rush to get the parcel prepared).

I think that was all for now!

racefan_dan · ‎01-08-2017

Noticed a couple of typos above and it looks like the Edit Window on here is only a minute or 2 so I can't fix them.

Corrected versions:

1. [#6] It was only when I printed the label that I realized that the To: address is AUTOMATICALLY CONVERTED from "as entered" to ALL CAPS! To avoid people wasting their time with needless manual conversions, it would have been helpful to mention that near the entry fields!

2. [#7] I noticed that on the printed label, the From: address IS MISSING THE WORD "CANADA".

3. [#7] On subsequent label creations, I noticed that the word "Canada" DOES appear on all pages PRIOR TO PRINTING, but is indeed left off the printed label.

ypdc_dennis · ‎01-08-2017

@racefan_dan wrote:
Corrected versions:
1. [#6] It was only when I printed the label that I realized that the To: address is AUTOMATICALLY CONVERTED from "as entered" to ALL CAPS! To avoid people wasting their time with needless manual conversions, it would have been helpful to mention that near the entry fields!
2. [#7] I noticed that on the printed label, the From: address IS MISSING THE WORD "CANADA".
3. [#7] On subsequent label creations, I noticed that the word "Canada" DOES appear on all pages PRIOR TO PRINTING, but is indeed left off the printed label.

PayPal prints (when they get it right) labels according to Canada Post format standards.

ALL CAPS for "to:" is the current Canada Post standard (but that might change).

No "Canada" on the return address is the current Canada Post label format (the label format was revised part way through 2016).

-..-

ypdc_dennis · ‎01-08-2017

@custom_shop_designed wrote:
... I am not willing to charge my buyers $15 to track an item that I can ship for $6. So, the buyer escalated this to eBay to solve the problem. Within 1 hour a full refund was given to the buyer. So if eBay is so willing and acted so fast to get a full refund to the buyer for an "item not delivered" why can I not get a full refund from Canada post? I paid for shipping. All of that is archived in the process of printing a label. I expect that my items arrive.

If delivery time is guaranteed then you put your claim in with Canada Post.

If delivery loss is insured you put your claim in with Canada Post.

As a seller you take the risk when you ship untracked. You have to self-insure or use 3rd party insurance.

-..-

pjcdn2005 · ‎01-08-2017

This thread was started a year ago so it's unlikely that eBay is still reading it so the comments here are from other users. In some cases you are preaching to the choir because I'm sure that many here agree there are a lot of things that could be done better on the labels and with the whole system in general. After a while though you may find that it's easier not to worry about some of the smaller annoyances.

1. After you reach a certain level there won't be a hold on your payments. The hold was started long after I started selling so I have no idea what is 'normal'.

http://pages.ebay.ca/sellerinformation/build-your-business-online/deliver-great-service/fundsavailab...

3. I use Firefox and safari and haven't had the spinning problem so I'm not sure why you are.

4. The buyer could have changed his address after you contacted him but you would not see the change. It is impossible for him to change the actual payment address once payment has been made. The only way for him to change it would have been for you to refund and have him make payment again. But unless you were using delivery confirmation you are not covered by seller protections for inr's so it wouldn't matter if you corrected the address. I've changed addresses for similar reasons and it has worked out although I would probably be more cautious if the item was expensive.

5. On the new form use 'other' and type in sale of goods or merchandise, I don't know why it is missing from the new form but that's how I handle it.

8. We used to have the option of hiding the price and I wish we still did. Ive never used CP est tool but I've been told on the boards that the cost is required on international labels so the option has been removed. It is odd though if the option is still available on other tools.

11. It has never occurred to me to send that receipt or a picture of the package to the buyer and to be honest, that seems like overkill to me. It won't help in an inr case, is a lot of extra work and could make it sound as if the buyer shouldn't trust you and/ or the mail service. Plus I don't think that it is a good idea to mention that there is no tracking unless asked by the buyer. That receipt does come in handy if you have purchased third party insurance on a package as if the buyer does an unauthorized credit card chargeback as both require just proof of shipping.

12. Sorry but that is not realistic. I live in a small city and there are at least 7 post offices or outlets where I could drop off my packages plus dozens of postal boxes. I don't expect or even want eBay to list all of those and what the pick up time is at each one. I wouldn't even trust the info as those times do change every once in a while and eBay isn't always accurate.