eBay

Anonymous · ‎03-13-2017

I am HOPING this is a one off/glitch but for the first time in 15 years of printing labels off of Paypal, the drop down bar did NOT offer light packet as an option - it was totally missing.

I plugged in the dimensions (25"x10"x2" -- 70 grams) as I have a million times before, but was only offered XpressPost, Expedited, Small Packet Air & Surface to the US - the light packet option would not appear!!

Not about to pay the 0-250g Small Packet rate for some flat fingernail dangles, so I am forced to send these out manually with a whack load of stamps and green customs sticker -- but the point is WHY has Canada Post taken this option away????? I know it has never been offered when printing labels off the CP website directly (which is fine) but Ebay linked Paypal has always had this.

Anyone else experienced this??? I actually hope not and this is just a one off glitch with me - what a not great thing to happen!!!

Rant is now over!

rose-dee · ‎07-15-2017

@ypdc_dennis wrote:
PayPal did get out of the business of special rate labels (eBay Light Packet and parcel rate discounts).

Not to belabour the point, but that's not exactly what we were told by eBay Canada reps when they first sprang the notice about Shippo on us. They said Paypal was getting out of the shipping label business, no qualifications or elaboration, and that was why eBay had needed to find another partner.

What you say is obviously quite accurate, but what I was voicing an objection to was that we weren't given that explanation by eBay.

As an aside, I'm still curious why eBay was able to make a discount rate deal with Shippo for in-house labels, yet not able to come to an agreement with Paypal and Canada Post to continue as things were. Not that we'll ever know.

momcqueen · ‎07-15-2017

Why would we need to know that? Under what circumstances do companies ever publicly discuss backroom negotiations?

pjcdn2005 · ‎07-15-2017

Could someone please confirm who is offering the 15% discount right now in addition to Snap Ship.

I'm a little confused too but from what I remember.....PP has a 15 percent discount on expedited In Canada until July 31.

Shippo has an "up to" a 25% discount on small packet until Jan. 15. Small packet US is $7.05 for 250gr or less . The UK rate is $8.39. I didn't have any problems using Shippo for the small packets.

ypdc_dennis · ‎07-15-2017

@rose-dee wrote:
@ypdc_dennis wrote:
PayPal did get out of the business of special rate labels (eBay Light Packet and parcel rate discounts).
Not to belabour the point, but that's not exactly what we were told by eBay Canada reps when they first sprang the notice about Shippo on us. They said Paypal was getting out of the shipping label business, no qualifications or elaboration, and that was why eBay had needed to find another partner.

What you say is obviously quite accurate, but what I was voicing an objection to was that we weren't given that explanation by eBay.

As an aside, I'm still curious why eBay was able to make a discount rate deal with Shippo for in-house labels, yet not able to come to an agreement with Paypal and Canada Post to continue as things were. Not that we'll ever know.

eBay has the rate deal with Canada Post. Shippo implements that rate for eBay sales.

Supposedly, you can buy Canada Post labels through Shippo for non-eBay sales at your Solutions for Small Business rate (but as far as I can see, you can't use paypal to pay).

ypdc_dennis · ‎07-15-2017

@jt-libra wrote:

Could someone please confirm who is offering the 15% discount right now in addition to Snap Ship.

PayPal only matches the Snap Ship ~~beta-teste~~r 15% discount for Expedited Parcel (Canada).

eBay (via Shippo) has their own rates. The Small Packet (air) rate beats the Snap Ship ~~beta-teste~~r 15% discount. All other services -- use (if you can) Snap Ship until July 31.

-..-

hlmacdon · ‎07-15-2017

@the-dart-guy wrote:
IT'S that simple if you still want light packet then you have to go back to the old way and write up the padded mailer and write up the customs..for me light packet $6.81 .....shippo small packet air $7.05...after the new year if the discounts go away then for $2 difference I will do it the old way..So far no one at the post office knows anything about them discontinuing Light Packet...

I'm aware it is still available at the PO, but that is not what I am referring to. You should read up on the 2018 changes the UPU is implementing under the integrated product plan, specifically as it relates to what classes of mailing can be used to send physical goods. Specifically it targets the elimination of the 0-500g packet class for sending physical goods and replaces it with a parcel specific class for 0-2kg. It remains to be seen if CPC/USPS will have a bilateral agreement that supersedes those changes, but it is worth reading up on. Services will be updating in some fashion as they are pushing forward to segregate services for lettermail and services for sending physical goods.

jt-libra · ‎07-15-2017

@pjcdn2005 wrote:

Could someone please confirm who is offering the 15% discount right now in addition to Snap Ship.

I'm a little confused too but from what I remember.....PP has a 15 percent discount on expedited In Canada until July 31.
Shippo has an "up to" a 25% discount on small packet until Jan. 15. Small packet US is $7.05 for 250gr or less . The UK rate is $8.39. I didn't have any problems using Shippo for the small packets.

Thanks. I may try Shippo again .... when I'm in a good mood. The Small Packet US rate is only slightly more than the old Light Packet rate and offers the flexibility of being more than 2 cm thick.

What I didn't like was the difficulty in getting the weights the same -- the package weight and the customs weight. After trying several different methods, I gave up. I was told to lessen the weight on one to allow for the packaging, but that didn't work either.

I don't have a lot of patience for eBay right now. I spent two months switching over a lot of listings to .com and then removing active content and now dealing with the demise of PayPal shipping and the introduction of Shippo and, frankly, I've lost my motivation to even sell anything. But then looking at all the inventory I still have, I realize I have no choice but to stick with it. So it's become more like a job you hate instead of a pleasant and, at times, profitable sideline.

jt-libra · ‎07-15-2017

@ypdc_dennis wrote:
@jt-libra wrote:

Could someone please confirm who is offering the 15% discount right now in addition to Snap Ship.

PayPal only matches the Snap Ship ~~beta-teste~~r 15% discount for Expedited Parcel (Canada).

eBay (via Shippo) has their own rates. The Small Packet (air) rate beats the Snap Ship ~~beta-teste~~r 15% discount. All other services -- use (if you can) Snap Ship until July 31.

-..-

Thanks. I guess I could have got a better rate on my Small Packet Air labels if I had used Shippo. At least they were cheaper than PayPal.

hlmacdon · ‎07-15-2017

@rose-dee wrote:

It seems this is a permanent collaboration between Paypal and CPC. What's interesting to me about this is that I recall the eBay Canada reps told us categorically a few weeks (months?) ago that Paypal was getting out of the shipping label business entirely. Apparently not. I suppose they just found a better partner.

When they are referring to the shipping label business, they are likely referring to the fact that Paypal is no longer reselling postage via their own separate contract rates. That is what is generally referred to the shipping label business, aggregators that use their volume to negotiate lower rates, and in turn resell postage at a margin based on those rates. In order for paypal to do so they would have had to negotiate their own contract with Canada Post, which apparently they have decided is a non-priority. The current system is a pass through as a service to merchant accounts.

pjcdn2005 · ‎07-15-2017

I can relate to what you are feeling, it does get frustrating trying to keep up. I haven been super motivated lately.

The first time I used Shippo I came across that weight problem and I think that what it is that the type of measurement used has to be the same in the customs form as on the first part of the label and that isn't necessarily the default. If you list the weight as .75 kg in one area and 75 grams in another, you will get an error message. You have to use either .75 kg in both areas or 75 gr in both.

jt-libra · ‎07-15-2017

@pjcdn2005 wrote:
I can relate to what you are feeling, it does get frustrating trying to keep up. I haven been super motivated lately.

The first time I used Shippo I came across that weight problem and I think that what it is that the type of measurement used has to be the same in the customs form as on the first part of the label and that isn't necessarily the default. If you list the weight as .75 kg in one area and 75 grams in another, you will get an error message. You have to use either .75 kg in both areas or 75 gr in both.

I'll try that. It seemed to me that even though I entered metric weight on the label, the customs form defaulted to Imperial. It's quite possible, as you suggest, that I might have then entered the grams differently. I'll give it another go.

pjcdn2005 · ‎07-15-2017

I think you are right, that it does default to imperial so when you change it you have to remember if it needs to be changed to kg or Gram. No promises, but it worked for me, hope that it helps you. 🙂

the-dart-guy · ‎07-15-2017

Exactly my friend.....I feel the same

rose-dee · ‎07-16-2017

@mjwl2006 wrote:
Why would we need to know that? Under what circumstances do companies ever publicly discuss backroom negotiations?

I think you're missing the point. I didn't say we needed to know, but that I objected to our being patted on the head and told another fairy tale. I'd rather have eBay simply tell us they can't discuss internal negotiations, than invent a cover story. Fine. We're adults, thank you, much appreciated.

As subscribers we are stakeholders in this enterprise, and long term ones at that. We deserve the respect of honesty I'd say. Unfortunately, where sellers are concerned, prevarication seems to be eBay's first response to many things.

Although I'm no so naive as to think we're operating as a co-operative, some of us (not me in particular) may have almost as much of an annual investment in an eBay subscription as many of its shareholders do. And companies are required to report backroom negotiations to shareholders. I don't expect or need to know what they know, but I wouldn't mind being treated with similar regard.

rose-dee · ‎07-16-2017

@mjwl2006 wrote:
Under what circumstances do companies ever publicly discuss backroom negotiations?

Actually, to answer your question directly, publicly trading companies (such as eBay) are obliged by law to report all negotiations and dealings with other parties to the relevant securities and exchange authorities, albeit after the fact.

So for anyone who is interested in the real story behind eBay's move from Paypal shipping to Shippo, the detailed reports are available online from the U.S. S.E.C., although they do take a few months to be prepared and submitted.

momcqueen · ‎07-16-2017

Thanks, I'll wait for you to post the link when that happens.

rose-dee · ‎07-16-2017

@mjwl2006 wrote:
Thanks, I'll wait for you to post the link when that happens.

Here you are. These reports make for illuminating, if rather tiresome, reading.

EBay's fiscal year end is December 31st, so their 10-K for 2017 to the U.S. S.E.C. won't be available until early 2018, but you can bookmark the page and check again. Who knows if I'll be around to post a link by then. 🙂

https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?company=eBay&owner=exclude&action=getcompany

EBay's recent corporate restructuring into Canada may mean they'll also be required to file analogous reports with the authorities here, but there won't be anything published yet.

mrdutch1001 · ‎07-16-2017

Although I initially signed up for Shippo, there were just too many inconveniences & glitches to proceed. I am quite content to sit back & let everything take its course and if or when I feel Shippo may be right for me, I will give it a go at some point in the future. In the meantime I will either use PayPal directly or Snap Ship, depending on how much difference there is in the shipping costs. I'd rather pay for the ease & convenience of a shipping method that works for me, rather than what eBay seems to think is their best solution, when their best solution is not one that works well for my needs.

momcqueen · ‎07-16-2017

That ebay sellers have a comfortable, convenient way to purchase and print postage is probably all that ebay cares about, not the specific platform used. If ebay didn't attempt to replace Paypal Shipping as a postage-purchasing platform with something, anything, there would have been lynch mobs marching on the headquarters in Toronto.

dutchman48 · ‎07-16-2017

@jt-libra wrote:
@pjcdn2005 wrote:

Could someone please confirm who is offering the 15% discount right now in addition to Snap Ship.

I'm a little confused too but from what I remember.....PP has a 15 percent discount on expedited In Canada until July 31.
Shippo has an "up to" a 25% discount on small packet until Jan. 15. Small packet US is $7.05 for 250gr or less . The UK rate is $8.39. I didn't have any problems using Shippo for the small packets.
Thanks. I may try Shippo again .... when I'm in a good mood. The Small Packet US rate is only slightly more than the old Light Packet rate and offers the flexibility of being more than 2 cm thick.

What I didn't like was the difficulty in getting the weights the same -- the package weight and the customs weight. After trying several different methods, I gave up. I was told to lessen the weight on one to allow for the packaging, but that didn't work either.

I don't have a lot of patience for eBay right now. I spent two months switching over a lot of listings to .com and then removing active content and now dealing with the demise of PayPal shipping and the introduction of Shippo and, frankly, I've lost my motivation to even sell anything. But then looking at all the inventory I still have, I realize I have no choice but to stick with it. So it's become more like a job you hate instead of a pleasant and, at times, profitable sideline.