Why ebay always ask sellers to provide tracking number if the item is sent through regular mail?

[canadiancellparts]

There is no support to sellers as ebay rouine them with their poliocy.  Give me call on  and i am seller let you know in detail 

[reallynicestamps]

Tracking (actually Proof of Delivery, a lower level of service) is a Seller Protection.

If an unhappy customer claims his item has not arrived and opens a Dispute, the seller can show the item is delivered by uploading the number.

If the seller can't do that, she loses the Dispute and is forced to refund the customer in full.

However.

Tracking, for those of us who do not use USPS, is very expensive.

I had a small but expensive item the other day that I could ship LetterPost for $1.20 or Tracked Parcel for $14.70, the cheapest service available to the USA.

And this is where Cookie Jar Insurance comes in.

This just means that on every sale you add a few pennies, rarely more than a dime, as a self-insurance premium. You put those virtual pennies in a virtual Cookie Jar.

If you have a complaint, you refund the unhappy buyer promptly from the Cookie Jar. No arguements and eBay does not get involved.

And no you don't try to make the buyer prove anything (but do remember, No Refunds Without Return, even if you pay for the return).

This is not personal. It's not an arguement. Keep the testosterone in check.

It's just business and this is the Customer Service desk.

And remember, if you sold an item for $19.99 and had to refund, you are not out $19.99.

You are only out your costs.

And if the item is returned, you may find you have a saleable item (because buyers are just as human and weird as any of us) to relist.

It's not a good idea to post personal contact information in public forums like this where scammers can harvest the information.

[kitschnvintage]

Hi, first off this board is for ebay members and general public ~ you shouldn't put your phone number in with your question ~ ebay employees don't read the boards and reply to questions. 

You do not have to used tracked shipping ~ you can mark off an item as shipped without having to input a tracking number (if that is your literal concern). 

ReallyNiceStamps beat me to it 🙂

[tellephoto]

This does open up a can of worms.  I think Ebay should offer the buyer a choice of shipping.  What do I mean?  If they want cheap untracked mail and they select that as their option they get no buyer protection (no refund for lost mail) but get cheap shipping rates.  Also pay pal shipping labels are proof that the seller spent the money on shipping out the item so there is no scam that the item was not mailed out in the first place.  International mail is outrageous with tracking.  Both buyer and seller lose out. Seller doesn't sell, and the buyer can't afford the tracked shipping.  Since us Canadians lost the ability to insure up to $100. on small packets it could also be an option for buyers to select a non insured cheaper shipping method locally.  Tracked pack makes sense for expensive items, but not so much for lower priced goods.

[i.am.vivian]

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@tellephoto wrote:

This does open up a can of worms.  I think Ebay should offer the buyer a choice of shipping.  What do I mean?  If they want cheap untracked mail and they select that as their option they get no buyer protection (no refund for lost mail) but get cheap shipping rates.  Also pay pal shipping labels are proof that the seller spent the money on shipping out the item so there is no scam that the item was not mailed out in the first place.  International mail is outrageous with tracking.  Both buyer and seller lose out. Seller doesn't sell, and the buyer can't afford the tracked shipping.  Since us Canadians lost the ability to insure up to $100. on small packets it could also be an option for buyers to select a non insured cheaper shipping method locally.  Tracked pack makes sense for expensive items, but not so much for lower priced goods.

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Who cans worms?  I've always wondered that.   🙂  

EBay does not offer any type of shipping at all.  The seller chooses the service from those available from their post office or courier.  If a seller is particularly paranoid and convinced absolutely every buyer will steal the item if it is not tracked, they will only ship with tracking.  That is why you see listings for postcards but a $15 shipping fee.  

The reason that eBay does not allow what you suggest is that too many sellers (think in world terms) would offer amazing items and cheap shipping, and when the buyer picks the cheap shipping the seller doesn't mail anything.  Why would they?  With a policy like that they wouldn't need to.  

PayPal labels are not "proof" that the seller actually mailed the item.  It it was, sellers would sell a $200 item, print of a $18 label, and not send the item because with a policy like that they wouldn't need to.  A PP label does not itself mean an item was shipped.  To prove shipping an item has to have an acceptance scan.  And right now only a DELIVERY SCAN is accepted as "proof" that the buyer received the item.  

It is up to the seller to choose a reliable enough service that buyers will get their items.  Either that or refund the occasional loss.  

[tellephoto]

I was referring to low cost items, not $200. items that can either justify free shipping / tracked pack.  No one is going to pay and print a shipping label for $10 and then not ship an item that is only worth say $20.......or am I out to lunch?

[esclyons]

your not out to lunch, but this is the system we have to work with,  i can buy postage to the usa for a 20$ item for 2.95$ with proof of mailing, with the buyers zip code, but it doesn't matter, if the buyer says they didn't get it.. all that maTTERS IS THE PROOF THAT THE ITEM WAS DELIVERED..sorry for the caPS....

so long story short, proof of delivery is all that counts.. so even if you delivery scan says it was delivered and the buyer says it wasn't you are covered,,,

[reallynicestamps]

I think Ebay should offer the buyer a choice of shipping.

The seller controls the cost of shipping and the shipping service.

It is not unusual for a seller to charge for an untracked service and then because of a feeling she needs extra protection, spring for the tracked one.

Sometimes even if that means losing money. Because.... Defects.

Some sellers do offer their customers a choice in shipping, usually both would be tracked but one is faster and more expensive. We know that because they come here to vent about customers who choose the cheaper service and complain that it is slower than the one they did not pay for.

No one is going to pay and print a shipping label for $10 and then not ship an item that is only worth say $20.......or am I out to lunch?

Since the shipping is paid by the buyer (even Free Shipping where the cost of shipping is included in the selling price) yep, someone would be doing it.

• This already happens with some sketchey (often overseas) sellers of cheap gimcracks.
• The seller has a picture but no stock. 
• Sell for a buck with Free Shipping.
• Ship nothing.
• Most buyers will forget they ordered.
• A few will complain and be fobbed off with promises of a replacement, which is never sent either
• A few will refuse the replacement and get a refund.
• The scammer keeps all those dollars from the first two groups.

[i.am.vivian]

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@tellephoto wrote:

I was referring to low cost items, not $200. items that can either justify free shipping / tracked pack.  No one is going to pay and print a shipping label for $10 and then not ship an item that is only worth say $20.......or am I out to lunch?

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Actually your ideas have been raised from time to time before on the boards before, whether the issue is a need for cheap tracking or just an entry scan that would be accepted as proof of shipment.  Even with your $20 item, if the printing of the label was all that was needed, there are sellers around the world who would not always mail the item.  

You said that if buyers "want cheap untracked mail and they select that as their option they get no buyer protection".  Buyers don't want untracked items, what buyers want is cheap TRACKED items.  It just so happens that this does not exist with Canada Post.  Keep in mind all of eBay is formulated on the American model.  Americans can mail items tracked within the US for really cheap. 

To put your proposal in place, eBay would have to ensure every seller always listed a tracked service as well as any "economy" service.  How would that work for items with "Free Shipping"?  A CD that has FS could raise the total price enough to include the tracking, but how then would a buyer "choose"?  And what about all those sellers that don't mail the item anyway, saying "What did you expect for Free Shipping?"

You said, "pay pal shipping labels are proof that the seller spent the money on shipping out the item so there is no scam that the item was not mailed out in the first place".  The label is not proof that the seller mailed the item.  There are sellers in the world who will enter dimensions for a much smaller item and send nothing.  Through no fault of its own eBay is a perfect place for scammers if there are not tight rules in place.  

Thieves exist.  What you as a seller do is pad the cost of your items just a little bit and put these bits aside for a "rainy day" insurance fund.  "Cookie jar" insurance, some call it.  If you sell much you have to keep a ledger and add those extras on so that when you need to refund a scammer it comes out of this insurance.  That's what everyone else does.  

I would agree it is not a perfect system but for eBay the way to boost sales is by offering a site where buyers are protected, leaving sellers to protect themselves a lot of the time.  If you can't afford to risk an INR claim, use tracking.  Some sellers here have said the day they switched to tracked-only for their items, those false claims vanished completely.  Even if they don't sell quite as may items, they are happier because of no false claims.  

Each seller has to find what works best for themselves.  EBay has been at this a long time, and all things considered it is about the best system that can be had under the circumstances.  

[momcqueen]

Some sellers here have said the day they switched to tracked-only for their items, those false claims vanished completely.  Even if they don't sell quite as may items, they are happier because of no false claims.  

I am one of those. 

When Small Packet began to generate a barcode on the label, I began to always take my parcels to the postal counter for mailing and have forgone street deposit boxes completely. The rates of my Items Not Received dropped sharply. It had been about six to eight per cent of items sold without tracking before that and it fell immediately to less than one per cent. Then I switched a few years later to tracked services only for international shipments (to combat potential Late Shipment Defects) and have no Items Not Received whatsoever.

I don't sell as many $10 to $15 items to Europe as I once did but switching to tracked packet didn't affect my USA sales whatsoever. It somewhat slowed orders to UK but didn't halt them. Overall, I sleep better at night, even though the switch to costlier tracking affected my sales performance a bit. I can live with that. It's not that I coulld't afford to lose the items, I didn't enjoy the the blatant examples of theft wherein I could do nothing. The icing on the cake for me was two cases that occurred back-to-back. One from a zero-feedback buyer in France who left feedback on ebay stating the item was lovely but later than they hoped to receive it and then immediately opened an INR through paypal. Another was from a consumer seller in UK who ordered an item for me and listed it for resale while opening an INR simultaneously. Who then left me feedback that taunted me about the great deal they got on the item. 

I don't like to grind my teeth. Now I do it less often. 

I've said it often but it only takes a few dishonest buyers to ruin it for a seller for all buyers to come, just as it takes only one dishonest seller to ruin it for a buyer for all sellers to come. This is the nature of online sales.

[jimmy_wg]

What I do is taking photo of package in the post office and sent to buyers to proof the item is shipped. I know it doesn't matter and I still have no choice to refund if scammer open the not received case, but I will tell them that item was shipped and you should receive it,therefore, I will still send you refund but I am blocking you as well until you returned my item.

[clemowbooks]

ZOMBIE POST FROM 2017

The problem with zombie posts is taht they may be out of date and no longer accurate.

As you say, photographing a package is pointless, since no one can show that the photographed package was the one shipped.

You are not saving any money doing this, since the complaining buyer will win and get her refund.

You cannot force a return of the item-- although even with a No Returns policy you can insist on the return before refunding*-- and threatening the customer does not usually lead to cooperation or positive feedback.

If you are getting more than one percent of your sales with any kind of claim, it would be sensible to look in the mirror.

*you will probably pay for return shipping though

[darak10]

because ebay is an American company that has no understanding of the Canadian postal system and does not provide accomodation or allowance within their system infrastructure for the differences.  They have created a blanket expectation across the board that confuses American buyers who dont understand that Canada is a foreign country with a postal system that doesnt work the same as theirs, as well as Canadian sellers, who may not be aware that in the US virtually everything can be sent tracked, including lettermail items that cannot be sent the same way here unless we charge significantly more.  

While in practice stuff like this sets us up potentially to fail, the vast majority of domestic and international customers I and many fellow sellers have are honest and will not lie about not receiving an item because thankfully they believe without questioning it that to do this is morally wrong.  Sure, people can make the argument that its a bit dicey to hang your hat on expecting others to be honest but it can be safely done in my estimation, with some exceptions of course, we all know what these are haha 

[mrdutch1001]

ZOMBIE THREAD from 2017!

[darak10]

the issue is still the same today, given confusion encountered all the time by customers, that its a zombie thread is totally irrelevant.  

[carszczersk0]

Different year same problem as always, Canada Post releally needs a delivery scan option, for non tracked packets to the US.  Frustrating....very...frustrating.

[byto253]

But then it is a tracked packet and the cheap option goes away.   

[mrdutch1001]

if there is no tracking/no delivery bar code, no need for scanning...

what Canada Post needs is an option to ADD tracking/delivery barcode to any package that is not automatically a tracked/delivery bar coded item. This would come with a fee of course, so then would that be any more economical than the already in place tracked/delivery barcoded shipping options?

[reallynicestamps]

We can, within Canada, add Registration to a letter.

But there is an added fee of $9.75(?).

So if the shipment is already at the high end of LetterMail of $5.47 there is no saving.

On a 92c shipment, it might be worth while.

For outside the country, Tracked Package is the cheapest.

There is a school of thought that is willing to use Small Packet USA, which has a barcode and is cheaper than Tracked Packet, but which is NOT tracked.

However, eBay and USPS often, perhaps usually, accept those as Confirmation of Delivery.

And since most people are honest, it's probably safe enough for bulky but relatively low value items.

I wouldn't rely on it in an INR dispute.

You might win or you might not. YMMV.

[darak10]

they have the ability to do it as the barcode is right there, but they wont as they want to enact a user fee on it.   As long as they have a legal monopoly on mail delivery in the country they'll continue to nickel and dime consumers to death.  Even if parcel mail gets diverted thru Chit Chats etc they dont really care either as they still get a piece of the pie thru them.  

CPC have absolutely no idea how far behind the 8 ball their policies and practices put Canadian ecommerce sellers compared to other intl sellers, and they just dont care either.