eBay

thewoodguy1 · ‎07-03-2017

I received my third Shippo invoice today. Upon matching up my shipping label receipts with the Shippo invoice I had been overcharged $5.17 Cdn on an invoice total that should have been $93.12 Cdn. (Shippo billed me $101.29)

The Shippo invoices are garbage with part of the right hand column in US dollars and the subtotal and total in Cdn dollars. If the $5.17 is a currency exchange calculation, well 5% is rather stiff.

My first two invoice from Shippo were correct. The amount on my shipping label receipts matched the Cdn dollar total at the bottom of the invoice even though the right hand 'Amount' column was in US dollars.

I have issued a ticket on the Shippo system, and so far I just have an email from Shippo stating that they have received the ticket.

This invoicing method sucks. It is very time consuming. With PayPal, I knew immediately how much I had been billed for my shipping label, end of concern and onto the next package to be shipped. Now, with Shippo I have to keep the shipping label receipts so that I can match them up whenever I get billed by Shippo to make sure that they did not make a mistake. It looks like this going to have to been done faithfully going forward because I am not confident that Shippo can bill in Cdn dollars with any accuracy.

I have put this into a post so that other sellers can see that Shippo billing needs to be checked. (match the shipping label receipt amounts to the total at the bottom of the invoice)

Rodney, can you step in here. Can you contact Shippo and have them issue our invoices entirely in Cdn dollars. I would like to see the invoicing process streamlined such that we can see a current invoice status.

All the Best,

Fred

PS Personally, I would like to see ebay switch back to PayPal. PayPal did have problems from time to time but it was not nearly as cludgely as Shippo. That Shippo cludgeeness translates into a lot extra time required to get the same shipping labels printed and billed correctly. I am sure we are going to see Shippo outages etc. as well.

thewoodguy1 · ‎07-05-2017

Hello Rodney,

The problem is not the USD/CDN dollar mashup. The problem is that I was billed for more dollars on my Shippo invoice than the value of the shipping labels that I purchased (as listed on that invoice).

The purpose of my post was to inform others of the need to reconcile their own Shippo Invoices against the receipts for the individual shipping labels. If you only do 1 or 2 labels at a time, this may not be much of an issue. It is not unusual for me to create 20 - 30 labels at a time following an auction. A small issue such as this one could be costly if it had happened following an auction.

I am trading emails with Shippo support to get this resolved. I am currently waiting for a reply. I will post an update.

FAR

kiralicious · ‎07-05-2017

My issue is my clerk did the proper procedure for my domestic parcels and they showed as scanned on her screen.....but when I get home....they don't show as scanned on the CPC website. That is a huge issue ... for shipping time management and because many are time sensitive xpresspost and my customers (nor I ) can see where their parcel is.

femmefan1946 · ‎07-05-2017

Canada Post could not take my parcel

There is a mailbox at every post office and every postal outlet.

And there may be one or two on your way to the PO>

Use them.

momcqueen · ‎07-05-2017

Yes but depositing in one of the boxes doesn't work for people with acceptance scan deadlines to meet. Like those who offer same-day shipping.

femmefan1946 · ‎07-05-2017

And I cannot help but wonder if part of that problem is because my label is 'billed' but unpaid.

That sounds pretty reasonable.

We want to pay immediately. And we want to be billed immediately.

This may cost Shippo a little more to deal with hundreds of Canadian micropayments (and thousands of US mictropayments) daily, but that is their problem for not asking how the system was actually used.

thewoodguy1 · ‎07-07-2017

Just a quick update.

There is still no solution. I have been trading emails back and forth with Shippo. It is now Friday and it seems that Shippo has stopped communicating with me. At this point I do not have a credit or a refund for the amount I was over billed. I have sent Shippo .jpg's of the documents that they asked for. The communication stopped at that point.

All I can say at this point is to be sure to reconcile your Shippo invoice with the actual cost on the your shipping label receipts.

I received an invoice from Shippo today for seven shipping labels and after reconciliation it was correct. The amount that I was over billed previously was $5.17 Cdn. I have wasted too much time on this issue already so I am going to close this thread.

FAR

authenticantiques · ‎07-09-2017

I took one look at Shippo and knew this would be another hassle filled transition, filled out the account info and when getting ready to print a label I saw the ridiculous charge they would be taking to ship a tracked packet to the U.S - Way more than PayPal...So much for the discounted rates!

Decided to keep printing labels via PayPal and still works like a charm!

I`m done trying to keep up 😞

ps3launch · ‎07-10-2017

Not sure how you felt that this was an enormous upgrade, unless it's purely financial. Shippo is significantly more expensive, very clunky to use and is in no way more reliable than PayPal. I can still print from PayPal more efficiently than Shippo, just not from the eBay screen. I think that based on the comments here, you'd be in the minority thinking that it is in any way "enormous".

momcqueen · ‎07-10-2017

Can you show a screenshot of Shippo asking for more than PayPal or cite the actual example of this. I don't think that anyone else has reported that particular problem... of the many problems being reported.

Anonymous · ‎07-10-2017

@mjwl2006 wrote:

Can you show a screenshot of Shippo asking for more than PayPal or cite the actual example of this. I don't think that anyone else has reported that particular problem... of the many problems being reported.

If this was a domestic Expedited Parcel shipment, than this is expected. PayPal is cheaper for Canada Post expedited parcel domestic service until July 31st, due to a promotion that is also happening on SnapShip.

eBay is already cheaper than PayPal for Tracked Packet USA and Expedited Parcel USA, and will be cheaper for domestic Expedited Parcel from August 1st onwards.

We've also got the best prices you'll find for the Small Packets family of Canada Post product, which aren't supported by PayPal anymore.

There are still a few important customer experience issues being addressed by Shippo, but it's already a superior platform in my admittedly very biased opinion. I really like that I can see the prices for all matching services at once, without having to pogo-stick back and forth for rates like you do on PayPal. And I really like that sellers now have access to USPS labels, which will be handy for returns.

rose-dee · ‎07-10-2017

@Anonymous wrote:
@mjwl2006 wrote:
Can you show a screenshot of Shippo asking for more than PayPal or cite the actual example of this. I don't think that anyone else has reported that particular problem... of the many problems being reported.
If this was a domestic Expedited Parcel shipment, than this is expected. PayPal is cheaper for Canada Post expedited parcel domestic service until July 31st, due to a promotion that is also happening on SnapShip.

If I may -- I don't believe 'mjwl' was referring to price comparisons between the three platforms, but the very worrying discrepancy in Shippo invoicing that 'woodguy' was describing.

With respect, I understand eBay has a stake in defending and encouraging use of Shippo, but I think eBay needs to stop justifying and promoting for a while and begin listening carefully to the serious user concerns that are being reported. Then work with Shippo on a priority basis to get them resolved.

pjcdn2005 · ‎07-10-2017

I think that mj was referring to the 2 posts previous to her where both posters said Shippo was more expensive. When she ie posting from one of here devices (mobile?) all of her posts show as replying to the op rather than the poster she is replying to.

With respect rose dee, I've certainly received the impression that Rodney is listening to users here and working with Shippo on reported problems.

rose-dee · ‎07-11-2017

@pjcdn2005 wrote:

With respect rose dee, I've certainly received the impression that Rodney is listening to users here and working with Shippo on reported problems.

I was simply stating the obvious -- there should be less touting at this point and more fixing. Claiming that it's already a "superior" platform (as Rodney did above) flies in the face of the real concerns sellers are having with this service. It may become a more superior service, but right now it comes up short when compared to the previous Paypal label service.

Frankly, as others have indicated, the Canadian experience should have been far more thoroughly tested and the bugs worked out before launch, not afterward. Sorry, but I'm not yet as impressed as Rodney says I should be.

You know what I think? I think eBay was in a time crunch and about to be dumped by Paypal, so the Shippo introduction was hurried along. This is why I expect so many unanticipated issues are cropping up. All this rah-rah about how much better Shippo is reads like a smoke screen to cover the reality that eBay could no longer make a deal with Paypal. There is far more going on here behind the scenes than anyone at eBay will ever admit.

I say this because I received a card in the mail today promoting the new Paypal/Canada Post SFSB "partnership". The first paragraph reads: "Canada Post and Paypal have teamed up to make [shipping] simpler than ever". Gee, remember when eBay reps told us categorically that Paypal was getting out of the shipping label business entirely? Apparently that was a lie.

And you wonder why I have little faith left in the pronouncements of this company which treats its paying subscribers as outsiders with lies and circumvention rather than as stakeholders that deserve to know what is actually going on.

momcqueen · ‎07-11-2017

I cannot agree with any assertion that Paypal Shipping provided an overwhelmingly superior postage label purchase process.

Whether it was Pitney Bowes or Paypal itself to blame, we'll never know, but together they were the polar opposite of pro-active with changes.

Does anyone else remember the HS Code debacle? One day it was just there and no one knew the reason or how to use it. If you called Paypal, they blamed Canada Post, and if you called Canada Post, they blamed Paypal.

And I waited more than a year to see Tracked Packet offered by Paypal Shipping to all the places Canada Post offers it. Thirty-one countries were among the destinations and Paypal Shipping had less than half of those available.

And then if there was ever an error in the label completion or purchase process, the user would get some vague message that shed no light whatsoever on the actual problem which made troubleshooting impossible.

Once Shippo can incorporate real-time tracking uploading and begins to withdraw payments for labels as they are purchased, they will be the FAR SUPERIOR platform, I am certain. And I could probably learn to live with both deficiencies too if I had to, once I got used to it. Not that I want to. I still plan to complain vigorously until it's fixed to my satisfaction.

And let's not forget the fact that thanks to Shippo, we have access to USPS now. All the wailing and moaning about 'how can we create return postage labels for buyer in the USA when we can't access USPS' has just been solved for us and no one seems to appreciate that at all. So either it wasn't actually a big problem to begin with, or we're just a pile of ingrates.

ypdc_dennis · ‎07-12-2017

@mjwl2006 wrote:
....begins to withdraw payments for labels as they are purchased ...

For the most part I agree with your post, except for the instant payments part. goShippo should add that as a user selectable choice. Those that want immediate they can have it, and those (like me) that are fine with the current method can go with that.

I'll point out that goShippo has the Unbilled Transactions section on their $ Billing page. So it's easy to see what's money is needed to be available in the paypal account.

And it's really not that different from eBay's monthly invoice for fees. Imagine if eBay charged those fees as they occur.

-..-

rose-dee · ‎07-12-2017

@mjwl2006 wrote:
I cannot agree with any assertion that Paypal Shipping provided an overwhelmingly superior postage label purchase process.

Please re-read my previous post more carefully. I said no such thing, not even close.

I merely stated that at the moment Shippo does not come up to the ease and efficiency of Paypal's label service, but that -- provided eBay and Shippo get their act together -- it may become far better. I hope it does. And I'll use it again once it does and I know I can rely on it.

I agree completely that Paypal has had its issues, some very frustrating, others more on the irritation end of the spectrum. But I wouldn't exactly call the HS code changeover a debacle. Paypal was doing what international law required. The fact that they didn't post a notice was an unfortunate oversight, but after all, Paypal is not a Canadian company. They no doubt expected Canadians to know what the Canada Post shipping requirements were, and they simply provided the space in the customs form for it. That Canada Post customer service was clueless can hardly be blamed on Paypal.

With respect to Tracked Packet, I don't think we yet know whether Shippo is going to provide access to all available destinations. As I understand it, eBay has promised to look into this. It may turn out we have the same problem as we had with Paypal.

In short, all I'm saying is that I don't appreciate eBay blowing its horn before they have actually given us an efficient and thoroughly functional shipping service. It's a wee bit premature in my estimation.

momcqueen · ‎07-12-2017

@ypdc_dennis wrote:
....And it's really not that different from eBay's monthly invoice for fees. Imagine if eBay charged those fees as they occur.....

-..-
Yes, I have. It would be lovely. No more mid-month shock for me, I'd pay the balance owing as I went. I even considered doing that but realized I'd still be stuck with my store fees mid-month.... But you make a valid point. Weekly Shippo payments shouldn't be a big deal for most people. With me? I have rather a lot of bills to pay and prefer to keep the payments small and frequent as opposed to large and infrequent wherever possible.

momcqueen · ‎07-12-2017

@rose-dee wrote:
@mjwl2006 wrote:
I cannot agree with any assertion that Paypal Shipping provided an overwhelmingly superior postage label purchase process.

Please re-read my previous post more carefully. I said no such thing, not even close.

I merely stated that at the moment Shippo does not come up to the ease and efficiency of Paypal's label service, but that -- provided eBay and Shippo get their act together -- it may become far better. I hope it does. And I'll use it again once it does and I know I can rely on it.

I agree completely that Paypal has had its issues, some very frustrating, others more on the irritation end of the spectrum. But I wouldn't exactly call the HS code changeover a debacle. Paypal was doing what international law required. The fact that they didn't post a notice was an unfortunate oversight, but after all, Paypal is not a Canadian company. They no doubt expected Canadians to know what the Canada Post shipping requirements were, and they simply provided the space in the customs form for it. That Canada Post customer service was clueless can hardly be blamed on Paypal.

With respect to Tracked Packet, I don't think we yet know whether Shippo is going to provide access to all available destinations. As I understand it, eBay has promised to look into this. It may turn out we have the same problem as we had with Paypal.

In short, all I'm saying is that I don't appreciate eBay blowing its horn before they have actually given us an efficient and thoroughly functional shipping service. It's a wee bit premature in my estimation.

Neither did I.

If you care to re-read what I wrote more carefully you will see it says 'any assertion' not 'your assertion'.

rose-dee · ‎07-12-2017

@ypdc_dennis wrote:
I'll point out that goShippo has the Unbilled Transactions section on their $ Billing page. So it's easy to see what's money is needed to be available in the paypal account.

Yes, I agree, that is a help, but it's not useful in terms of being able to keep up with the seller side of accounting on a per transaction basis (see below).

And it's really not that different from eBay's monthly invoice for fees. Imagine if eBay charged those fees as they occur.

Actually I think it is quite different, at least for some of us. EBay fees represent one accounting expense item for me -- eBay fees. It doesn't matter to me when they are charged really, they all get lumped into one figure at the end.

However, from an accounting standpoint, shipping costs are best provided at the time a transaction is paid and recorded as part of that transaction. It's far easier for a seller to know and account for shipping costs when they are charged rather than having to allocate and record them to individual transactions at some later point, especially if (like me) a seller keeps paper records as well as digital.

What happens if a customer overpays and the seller wants to refund the excess and the seller doesn't have the full transaction details available? Or a buyer wants a refund before the seller gets his bulk invoice from Shippo? I may be wrong, but my understanding is that, as things stand with Shippo, the actual amount charged for shipping on a transaction is not available immediately to the seller.

I don't know how detailed a record Shippo will be providing for their once-in-a-while billing, but if it doesn't include sufficient specifics for each charge, it's going to cause a lot of confusion and waste of time for sellers at the accounting end. And I think most of us already have enough of that.

As I said earlier, it seems this introduction was very rushed. Shippo should have been able to anticipate the expectations and usage of Canadian sellers and meet those when they launched, not weeks afterward.