eBay

winner188 · ‎09-17-2017

I printed my shipping label for Russia but the buyers address is just upside down question marks and other unrecognizable letters. When I created the label the address was in the correct Russian Language do.

I am not experiencing any other problems with other labels.

This is my first time creating a Russian shipping label.

Thanks in advance

Bill

rose-dee · ‎09-19-2017

I'd say it's best to machine-print the buyer's address straight off eBay (or Paypal), exactly as it appears in Russian, and tape that onto the parcel.

Unless a seller is familiar with writing in the Cyrillic alphabet, it's very easy to make a mistake transcribing the address by hand, which could result in real delivery difficulties. Also, unlike Roman letters, hand-written Russian, even if printed all in capitals, looks different than machine-printed Russian, so you really need to know what you're writing.

I'd recommend sticking with a straight printout of the address "as is" (that is, if the address doesn't automatically get filled into the shipping label). Then at least the seller is using exactly what the buyer entered and would presumably be protected by Paypal.

momcqueen · ‎09-19-2017

You make a good point about unintended results with handwriting unfamiliar characters but I see a potential pitfall.

Do you mean 'machine-print' as in print-out straight from the Order History as opposed to purchasing a postage label? Like, print 'as is' in addition to or in lieu of the postage label? Assuming the seller even has the correct typeface to render the Russian language properly on printing, how would that seller prove they pasted that print-out to the shipping container to Paypal to qualify for the Seller Protection you mention?

Paypal has no way to judge the merit of what you or I may have or may not have taped on the outside of a box.

rose-dee · ‎09-19-2017

I think it would be simple enough to take a snapshot of the package as prepared, and scan it in case needed later for comparison against the address entered by the buyer on eBay or Paypal.

You may have misunderstood me. I'm not suggesting that cutting and pasting the address off Paypal or eBay and printing it out "as is" is a better option than using one of the Canada Post label providers. I was simply responding to the earlier comment by saying that printing the address straight off Paypal/eBay would be a better choice in the event no label service at all works.

As I've said, I used to ship to Russia now and then and never had any trouble with Cyrillic addresses being loaded automatically and properly into the Paypal labels (when we had the old labelling system). I suppose these days if you don't use Shippo, you'll have to cut and paste the address lines into the Paypal or Snap-Ship label because they don't populate automatically from eBay anymore.

(If anyone is wondering, yes, the Russians love sewing and many speak enough English to be able to use Western sewing patterns).

lady.stark · ‎09-20-2017

You're not alone! I also had this problem last month. What I did is print the address on a small label at work (one that sticks) and added it on my label. Customer received its package.