eBay Canada to Hold Focus Group on Shipping - June 4 in Toronto

http://www.ecommercebytes.com/cab/abn/y15/m05/i25/s03

 

PS - I have not been invited (maybe due to the fact I refuse to use PayPal shipping labels as I get my postage cheaper!) 

In my opinion eBay-Canada should try to help Canadian sellers find the cheapest way to ship (or buy postage) instead of trying to force them to use PayPal "postage" which is more profitable to their organization.

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eBay Canada to Hold Focus Group on Shipping - June 4 in Toronto

Uh-oh, my red flag is up!

 

(Quoted from the article you linked): 

 

"[...] eBay would like to invite you to participate in a discussion about eBay's future plans for shipping and shipping labels"

 

Now that eBay and Paypal have split, is eBay considering dumping the Paypal/eBay labelling system?  Or something even worse -- an eBay-run labelling service.  They have enough trouble just keeping eBay itself functioning properly day-to-day.  

 

Maybe some of those Canadian sellers participating should remind eBay they should "focus" first on making the checkout system work across all the sites before worrying about labels. 

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eBay Canada to Hold Focus Group on Shipping - June 4 in Toronto

eBay.com USA already has an eBay run postage and labeling system for a few years. Nothing new for eBay.

 

Maybe, just  maybe, it will be run better than the PayPal system with 6 month wait times for fixes and glitches that are never fixed.

 

Wait, I am talking about eBay Canada, they also have 6 month wait times for fixes and glitches that are never fixed. For a moment I was hoping for something better but this is eBay Canada.

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eBay Canada to Hold Focus Group on Shipping - June 4 in Toronto

"an eBay-run labelling service."

 

The system is currently administered by Pitney Bowes under contract from eBay with PayPal the payment agent.

Considering their expertize on the subject, I expect Pitney Bowes to continue on the long term, regardless whether the program comes under eBay or PayPal.

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eBay Canada to Hold Focus Group on Shipping - June 4 in Toronto

Or? Something better. We have been getting bar codes on labels for two years. Clerks at the PO still claim no knowledge of what they are about.

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eBay Canada to Hold Focus Group on Shipping - June 4 in Toronto

If you are referring to the bar codes on small packet I was told that they are for internal use so that the postal outlet gets credited for handling the package. I don't know if that's true or not but since that bar code isn't scanned anywhere else, it makes sense.

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eBay Canada to Hold Focus Group on Shipping - June 4 in Toronto

The Report on Business of the Globe and Mail has a story about Canada Post's belief that their future is in the parcel delivery business rather than lettermail.

I don't think the reporter looked very deeply into this, because she didn't ask if parcels would be picked up at POs since home delivery is being phased out. Meanwhile the competition is delivering to the door.

Nor did she mention that the competition often subcontracts delivery to Canada Post for rural and isolated areas.

This is the second story about this direction for Canada Post that I have read, the last one being about a year ago.

 

The story also expressed concern about the pension fund that CP will be paying out on. Apparently at the moment they have 10,000 fewer contributors than they have pensioners. (No mention of death rates of pensioners.)

 

For those keeping score for the upcoming election, the Liberals plan a moratorium on  community mail boxes while the NDP wants the programme dropped entirely. The Conservatives continue to want seniors to get more exercise.

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eBay Canada to Hold Focus Group on Shipping - June 4 in Toronto

I'd like to know who's been invited. I'd also like to know exactly WHAT is on the table. Global Shipping Program for Canada? My blood pressure is rising.

My bottom line is I do not want my shipping costs to rise. If this move is due to the growing unrest about door-to-door delivery ending, fine. As long as I can print the labels online at a discounted rate, drop my parcels someplace CONVENIENT and have them delivered safely and RELIABLY to buyers, I probably don't care one whit through whom it's done. I don't have any major issues with paypal shipping but I think the discounts should be greater.

Oh, and I use calculated postage on 90 per cent of my listings so I wouldn't want that to change. Or, like the others have offered, maybe it's going to be a push to offer free shipping and we're the new lab rats. Watch them invite three big department store sellers to the table (the ones with their own shipping infrastructure in place) and overlook the rest of us.
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eBay Canada to Hold Focus Group on Shipping - June 4 in Toronto


@pjcdn2005 wrote:

If you are referring to the bar codes on small packet I was told that they are for internal use so that the postal outlet gets credited for handling the package. I don't know if that's true or not but since that bar code isn't scanned anywhere else, it makes sense.


Rather not true. I am using 4 different postal outlets, some scan my items, some not. And what about Light Packet? No bar code at all.   

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eBay Canada to Hold Focus Group on Shipping - June 4 in Toronto

"Watch them invite three big department store sellers to the table (the ones with their own shipping infrastructure in place) and overlook the rest of us. "

 

Unfortunately, this comment reflects a lack of understanding how eBay works.

 

They already know what very large commercial sellers want and need.  They do not need a focus group for that. eBay is in daily communications with those very large sellers.

 

Setting up a focus group is a substantial expense for eBay to bring sellers from across the country to get their opinions and reactions to potential policy or program changes.  They generally try to get a cross section by business size, gender, categories, pricing ranges, etc...

 

Been there (several times), done that (several times) with several t-shirts to show for it! Smiley Happy

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eBay Canada to Hold Focus Group on Shipping - June 4 in Toronto

I have known individuals that have been part of eBay focus groups. Ordinary, every day, garden variety, sellers. They all came away with the same reaction of "Wow, was that ever great".

 

Odds are, they put out a net to catch a cross section of sellers that represents the whole country. They really do not need a lot as most of the concerns are the same. Most of what they hear is "CP is expensive", well, eBay has nothing to do with CP. That complaint is not helpful.

 

I have talked face to face with Meg Whitman and John Donahoe. Like it or not, those people really do care. Slagging them off because you are angry? They don't even start listening.

 

I have two shirts to show for my efforts.

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eBay Canada to Hold Focus Group on Shipping - June 4 in Toronto


@38e_avenue wrote:

@pjcdn2005 wrote:

If you are referring to the bar codes on small packet I was told that they are for internal use so that the postal outlet gets credited for handling the package. I don't know if that's true or not but since that bar code isn't scanned anywhere else, it makes sense.


Rather not true. I am using 4 different postal outlets, some scan my items, some not. And what about Light Packet? No bar code at all.   


Light packet is treated like lettermail and they don't receive a per piece fee for lettermail.

I'll have to ask again and see what they say. I can't remember if I had asked the po manager or one of the staff.

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eBay Canada to Hold Focus Group on Shipping - June 4 in Toronto


@pjcdn2005 wrote:

I'll have to ask again and see what they say. I can't remember if I had asked the po manager or one of the staff.


Good luck! They will surely answer your questions Smiley Happy

I occasionally drop off my packets everywhere. At least half of staff working there has no idea, how to handle them. 

And they are always sooooo smart: "Qatar? No such country, sir". "Singapore? This is a city. You forgot to add the destination country". Or my preferred: "United Kingdom? What country is that?" (should be "Royaume-Uni"). And the last one (about 4 weeks ago): "Why did you cut out the bar code from the Light Packet label? That's not allowed".  

 

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eBay Canada to Hold Focus Group on Shipping - June 4 in Toronto

hmmm is there a bit of sarcasm in that first statement? 🙂

 

I typically just go to one outlet but I have been to at least 2 other ones with small packets and they knew how to handle them. I doubt that they did at first but they seem to understand what they are now.

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eBay Canada to Hold Focus Group on Shipping - June 4 in Toronto

Well, I have not been invited and have not heard of anyone who has.

 

Myself, or someone very much like me, would be a  perfect example of an Ebay seller that is negatively impacted by the current state of affairs of shipping items sold on Ebay.. I am in Toronto, as many others like me are, many that I know and speak to regularly and none of them have received an invite either.

 

Between the huge increases on Canada Post's part, the 12%, or more for some, that we continue to have to pay Ebay & PayPal on shipping fees, and the over-all lack of understanding on a lot of buyers' parts as to what it costs to pack and ship items, I have seen my business negatively impacted to the point where I have lost a significant portion of items that I used to be able to profitably sell, based solely on negative changes in aspects of shipping.

 

The increase in shipping costs in just the last 2 years alone has been devastating. Canada Post has grossly increased their parcel fees however the rebate that we get from Ebay/PayPal to use their service hasn't even come close to keeping up. Quite honestly, a couple of more increases on Canada Post's part, equal to what we got hit with this year, and many sellers will be flat out of business, no longer able to subsidize the costs to the point of being competitive with US sellers.

 

So I won't be holding my breath waiting for my invite as my experience, time and time again, has been that no one at Ebay really gives a hoot about small to medium sized sellers like myself and many others.

 

Can't wait to hear what comes out of this.

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eBay Canada to Hold Focus Group on Shipping - June 4 in Toronto

I pay less today, to ship to the US and around the world, than I did three years ago. I conduct my business in US dollars and the CDN Looney has declined approximately 30% in the last three years against the US dollar.

 

ALL of my costs are built into the widget price.

 

Complaining about the cost of shipping has nothing to do with eBay. Either your business model allows for it or it doesn't. eBay has no control or influence over shipping costs or exchange rates.

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eBay Canada to Hold Focus Group on Shipping - June 4 in Toronto

@treasure.hunter.d

 

If you are in Toronto area, can you use ChitChat's Express and USPS for lower rates and low cost delivery confirmation?

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eBay Canada to Hold Focus Group on Shipping - June 4 in Toronto

Those are all really funny. I'm certainly surprised to hear someone doesn't know where UK is, considering how the baby prince and princess were all over the news the past couple of years...

There are barcodes on LP? Are those preprinted ones? I still use those CN22 labels that I got from post office months ago.
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eBay Canada to Hold Focus Group on Shipping - June 4 in Toronto

There are no bar codes on light packet labels. That's why it is funny that they thought it had been cut off...it didn't ever exist.

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eBay Canada to Hold Focus Group on Shipping - June 4 in Toronto

Be sure to ask the person at the postal counter for a receipt when you drop off your Small Packets Airmail; it's your Proof of Shipment. 

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