Invalid Postal/Zip Code - Can not ship to address - Buyer can not complete payment

[tosports2bk1]

Hello Selling Community, 

We have been experiencing the following issue for several months and from what I can see on a few other discussions this has not been solved. The problems we are experiencing seems to be progressively getting worse. Listings that used to work fine are now problematic. New listings with existing policies are broken once submitted. 

Below is a summary of problems and eBay suggestions to address concern.

eBay has recently confirmed that all aspects of our listings, policies and settings are perfect and nothing further can be adjusted to resolve our issues.

Problems:

1. The shipping calculator will either not work at all, work for Canada only or USA only, global locations mostly don’t work.

A) Error message: Shipping costs cannot be calculated. Please enter a valid Postal Code.

2. If a customer from a region where the calculator is not working uses “buy it now” the invoice is not being sent and requiring manual input of shipping costs so it can be sent.

A) Buyer can be told when trying to check out that we will not ship to their address and won’t even create a sale to manually invoice.

3. Once shipping costs have been entered and invoice sent - Buyers are experiencing the following issues:

A) Error saying the seller will not ship to their address

B) Payment cannot be accepted

4. Listings can experience either one of or all of the listed problems, there does not appear to be any pattern

eBay Advise:

1. ebay.com will not interact with Canada Post - use eBay.ca
2. eBay is being updated and problem will be resolved with update
3. Problem is with Canada Post - eBay advised they would contact Canada Post to resolve
4. Problem is with listing - (made new on from scratch and still a problem)
5. Problem is with shipping policy - (verified policy perfect and still a problem)
6. Problem is with us using wrong shipping measurements and weights 

6. A) eBay agent advised our measurements were too large for desired service. Agent quoted MINIMUM measurements as the MAX allowed for shipping method  - That’s an obvious problem. They have not been able to confirm what their programmed MAX measurements are for the desired shipping service. 

6. B) Too many shipping options is confusing eBay calculator

6. C) Shipping options are in wrong order

6. D) Selected shipping option will not service desired location

 7. Technical issue with site that requires escalation to be investigated

 8. Invoice buyer directly though paypal and don’t use eBay for invoicing

 9. Something is corrupt within eBay the site itself that cannot be resolved and it will require seller to write new policies and ending existing listings and re-making them.

In General:

1. Problem still not resolved 
2. All reasonable attempts to fix have not worked
3. All escalation appears to have gone no where as there is no notes on our file in regards to the technical department investigating/repairing the issues and not one agent has ever been able to review what our documented concern has been.
4. Prior case numbers I’ve been given apparently do not exist
5. All follow up where eBay advised they would be call back with update in either 2-4 hours, 1 business day or 24-72 hours have not once yielded a single return call to discuss resolving the issue.

Most Recent advise from eBay:

End a listing - Write a new shipping policy - Take new Images - Write a new listing details…Don’t use anything from the prior listing (it may be corrupt).  

Trying this appears to have worked for the 1 test I’ve done. This process was their advise because if their site is corrupt and its effecting a listings they cannot repair it. 

This is not a realistic fix for any seller with hundreds of listings. 

Has anyone else been given any other advise or have any suggestions to resolve?

[Anonymous]

Actually to protect myself from grief by the buyers, I avoid using eBay's so-called features and everything is okay.  eBay features are insane and should be removed, period.

[momcqueen]

Thank you for raising this to our attention as other buyers and sellers. I have no good advice to share but it is useful to see what you are experiencing, what you've been told to do and what, if anything, can be done to fix it. 

Hang in there.

[momcqueen]

Actually, I do have some advice: the Weekly Chat on Wednesdays with eBay Canada staff. 

Can you come back next week to copy and paste this message (or update it) so that they have a chance to look into it for you?

Also, it would be good for the Important People at ebay to know just how unequipped the folks at Customer Service really are to deal with any kind of actual problem. 

[femmefan1946]

1. The shipping calculator will either not work at all, work for Canada only or USA only, global locations mostly don’t work.

A) Error message: Shipping costs cannot be calculated. Please enter a valid Postal Code.

• ebay.com will not interact with Canada Post - use eBay.ca

• Problem still not resolved 

Because it's not a problem.

You can use Fixed Price shipping on either site.

But you can only use the national postal system of the nation of a site.

EbaydotCA uses Canada Post. EbaydotCOM uses USPS. Ebay dot uk.co uses Royal Mail etc.

Problem is with us using wrong shipping measurements and weights 

And the Calculator does work if the correct dimensions weight and service are input. Problems do arise if any of these do not meet the standards or if imperial measures are used instead of metric.

Ebay could correct the Calculated Shipping section to use metric as a default. Canada Post went metric twenty years before eBay was founded and most of the developed world has used metric for over a century.

[pocomocomputing]

Most of your issues are by misunderstanding how to set up the shipping options on eBay.ca for the shipping calculator. You need to know and understand the minimum and maximum dimensions and weight for each Canad Post shipping service you use as well as what countries are served by those options. The eBay Sell Your Item form does minimal if any checking for you when you enter the data and services. However, once listed, the listing checks and will show messages like Shipping cannot be calculated with no hint as to what was wrong.

One big issue is with Expedited Parcel Canada and USA. EP Canada has a minimum dimensions of 10 x 7 x 0.1 cm while EP USA has a minimum dimensions of 21 x 14 x 0.5 cm.

So if an item is 20x10x5 cm and you entered those dimensions, the Sell Your Item listing form will accept it since it is okay for the domestic EP Canada shipping option but no error message for EP USA as your USA International shipping option. You submit the listing and think all is okay. You check the listing and shipping options and enter Canada with a Postal Code and it works. Do the same test and change the country to USA and a zip code and it shows a shipping error message. Why? Because the dimensions are too small for EP USA.

Another issue is what countries the shipping service you use are valid. For example, Tracked Packet is only available for 25 countries or so. Other countries will show shipping cannot be calculated to that country.

If you use Xpresspost, it is available to a lot of countries but not to 3rd world countries. So you get shipping cannot be calculated error. For countries that do not have Xpresspost available, International Parcel Air is offered by Canada Post.

[tosports2bk1]

Thanks, I will post this question in the next Wednesday chat thread - where would I get the phone number to call in if I'm able to attend that day?

[momcqueen]

It's a text-based chat session. If you're on a desktop, you can go to the front page of eBay Community and it's right beneath the box there. I'll post a screenshot when I'm back at my computer. You can also post from a mobile device (as I am presently) but it's more difficult to find. I think it's under News and Information. But I'll follow up later tonight with you or tomorrow morning.

[momcqueen]

Notwithstanding the other posters' answers on this thread. I'd look hard at what they're saying in the interim. There is fine-tuning to be done with shipping and it's a fine art. Regardless, the folks at Customer Service should be able to help a person when they call, not merely further confuse the matter with misdirection as is all-too frequently the case.

[tosports2bk1]

Hi pocomocomputing,

I don’t think the problem is our understanding of Shipping Policies, they have been adjusted numerous times by either myself or eBay since I first reported my concern this summer.  

We have some listings with similar products that would ship out in boxes with the same dimensions and weights - some listings work and others don’t

Example:

Listing created on eBay.ca

Selling a Baseball bat - Weight 1kg Box measurements 90cm x 10cm x 10cm

Our shipping policy on the above item includes the following options:

Regular shipping canada - works

Expedited shipping to USA - doesn’t work

Xpresspost International - doesn't work

The combined measurement exceeds the max 900mm combined LxWxH for tracked packet to USA as well Tracked packet international. (neither of these are present in the shipping policy for that reason)

Canada Post Shipping Policy

Expedited USA - Min measurements 210mm x 140mm x 5mm - MAX Length + Girth 2.74m - Max weight 30kg - MAX L / W / H is 2m 

Xpresspost international - Min measurement 210mm x 140mm x 1mm - MAX Length + Girth 3m - Max weight 30kg - destination with OS no dimension may exceed 1.5m destination w/o OS no dimension may exceed 1m 

This package is over the minimum and well under the maximum but will not provide a quote. 

What would you try next?

[pocomocomputing]

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@tosports2bk1 wrote:

Hi pocomocomputing,

I don’t think the problem is our understanding of Shipping Policies, they have been adjusted numerous times by either myself or eBay since I first reported my concern this summer.  

We have some listings with similar products that would ship out in boxes with the same dimensions and weights - some listings work and others don’t

Example:

Listing created on eBay.ca

Selling a Baseball bat - Weight 1kg Box measurements 90cm x 10cm x 10cm

---> This has to be a minimum of 140 mm or 14 cm. That is why Expedited Parcel USA Fails.

Our shipping policy on the above item includes the following options:

Regular shipping Canada - works

Expedited shipping to USA - doesn’t work

Xpresspost International - doesn't work

The combined measurement exceeds the max 900mm combined LxWxH for tracked packet to USA as well Tracked packet international. (neither of these are present in the shipping policy for that reason)

Canada Post Shipping Policy

Expedited USA - Min measurements 210mm x 140mm x 5mm - MAX Length + Girth 2.74m - Max weight 30kg - MAX L / W / H is 2m 

---> Minimum is 140 mm or 14 cm

Xpresspost international - Min measurement 210mm x 140mm x 1mm - MAX Length + Girth 3m - Max weight 30kg - destination with OS no dimension may exceed 1.5m destination w/o OS no dimension may exceed 1m 

This package is over the minimum and well under the maximum but will not provide a quote. 

What would you try next?

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Trust me. The minimum dimensions problem for Expedited Parcel has messed up almost new seller here on eBay in the past 6+ years since Calculated shipping was introduced for Canada Post shipping options in eBay Canada. eBay has been told countless times about the problem and know the problem exists but never get it fixed for budget constraints or whatever their excuse is.

Most of your issues will be GIGO problems, Garbage In Garbage out. The shipping calculator works properly. No offense intended, just reality. Shipping calculator works and if you post your issue, someone here can tell you what is wrong.

The Sell Your Item form does little or no checking for dimensions or weight. When the listing goes live it does check for valid data and gives cryptic messages saying that it can't be calculated.

As for calling eBay customer support, they have shown many times to have no idea about eBay Canada or Canada Post shipping options or shipping calculator issues. Post here with all questions on everything and anything and you will get the correct answer from someone here. The collective experience here is so vast that someone has seen the most common issues that you will have as well as some obscure ones. Just describe the problem to the best of your ability. A couple of weeks asking here and 90+% of your issues will be solved.

PS If you go to the Canada Post website Find A Rate web page, it also does little or no checking on dimension and weights also. So it might give a rate for something not meeting the minimum dimensions too.

[femmefan1946]

Regardless, the folks at Customer Service should be able to help a person when they call,

Should.

Mmm -hmm.

The Customer Service staff are in Utah or in the Phillippines.

They are obviously trained to deal with US/dotCOM problems but not with Canadians.

The Phillippinos are certainly bright enough (full disclosure, two of my many nephews have Phillippina wives.) but there is the question of dealing by phone in one's second (or fourth) language.

And of course, many of us Canadians speak English as a second (or fourth) language.

I dread talking to Utah. They do have English as a first language (although I did baffle a girl once by spelling my name with a 'zed') but they all too often cannot understand that Canada is another country with a different postal system.

Maybe Justin will change that too.

[pjcdn2005]

Most Recent advise from eBay:

End a listing - Write a new shipping policy - Take new Images - Write a new listing details…Don’t use anything from the prior listing (it may be corrupt).  

Very strange advice as I don't understand why they would think that the shipping calculator problem would have anything to do with the picture description or anything else in the listing.  

As poco mentioned, it's always best to come to this board first with problems like that as there is often is a fairly simple solution.  The shipping calculator is fairly reliable as long as the correct information has been put in. Unfortunately, it is not set up to tell you when you enter the information whether that info is correct.

 On the example that you gave, I would be tempted to change the second number to 14 so that the calculator works and so that you can print a shipping label. I doubt that Canada Post would notice that small of a change.

[pjcdn2005]

Our shipping policy on the above item includes the following options:

Regular shipping canada - works

You should use expedited within Canada as it is often a few cents cheaper.  When you use paypal shipping, there is a discount for expedited parcel but there is not one for regular parcel.

Also, have you considered sending your less expensive items to the U.S. and other countries using small packet or light packet?  The batting gloves might be able to be sent light packet if the package is under 2cm thick and you would likely have more U.S. buyers interested in paying $5 shipping rather than $14 for tracked packet. If they can be sent light packet outside of the country, then you can use lettermail within Canada. None of these services have tracking but many of us use 'self insurance' for the rare times that a parcel gets lost. 

[pocomocomputing]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

Our shipping policy on the above item includes the following options:

Regular shipping canada - works

You should use expedited within Canada as it is often a few cents cheaper.  When you use paypal shipping, there is a discount for expedited parcel but there is not one for regular parcel.

Also, have you considered sending your less expensive items to the U.S. and other countries using small packet or light packet?  The batting gloves might be able to be sent light packet if the package is under 2cm thick and you would likely have more U.S. buyers interested in paying $5 shipping rather than $14 for tracked packet. If they can be sent light packet outside of the country, then you can use lettermail within Canada. None of these services have tracking but many of us use 'self insurance' for the rare times that a parcel gets lost. 

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Just to add the following.

Expedited Parcel Canada is better than Regular Parcel Canada because it has $100 insurance included (a $2.20 value) and a guaranteed delivery time to many locations in Canada. If it does not arrive on time, call and get a refund on the shipping. Make a habit of checking Expedited Parcel Canada delivery confirmation dates and you will be surprised at how often you can get your shipping costs refunded due to late delivery. (No guarantee for Expedited Parcel USA.) Make sure you go to the Post Office and have your Expedited Parcel Canada parcels scanned so you have proof of when they were dropped off at the Post Office so that they qualify for the guarantee without any issues.

Use PayPal shipping and you save 18% over Regular Parcel over the counter rates at the Post Office for Expedited Parcel.

[momcqueen]

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@mjwl2006 wrote:
It's a text-based chat session. If you're on a desktop, you can go to the front page of eBay Community and it's right beneath the box there. I'll post a screenshot when I'm back at my computer. You can also post from a mobile device (as I am presently) but it's more difficult to find. I think it's under News and Information. But I'll follow up later tonight with you or tomorrow morning.

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The link to Board Hour, the weekly chat is here http://community.ebay.ca

[tosports2bk1]

Hi pocomocomputing

Thanks for your suggestion. 

The few listings that I have changed measurements on just like in the example are all working now. 

Thanks again,