For several years we have used the standard envelopes to ship items at a total price point of $4.99 and lower. These have been an ongoing problem for many sellers (google similar problems) and Ebay apparently has no desire to correct them. The standard envelope tracking, as nearly all sellers who use them in large numbers know by now is so poor that unlike first class or priority mail, cannot be scanned at the local post office or by the carrier on the other end. Only certain machines at larger facilities can scan them so a large portion of those we ship NEVER get a single scan despite traveling cross country in many instances.
A few times over the past six months, when it looked like our seller status would drop because of 'defects' with these envelopes I would reach out to Ebay and they would research our account and remove the defects which allowed up to remain a top seller, eligible to receive the 10% off of seller fees. While frustrating, each time we were told that Ebay was working on fixing the issues but each time it took a lot of time going over various orders to show them that the tracking problem is widespread. With seller fees in the tens of thousands of dollars many years, the 10% off of those fees is real money to our business. We sell items for hundreds and thousands of dollars, so losing the discount on the selling fees of those items is not worth the $1 or $2 we may net on the items we ship with the standard envelopes. To make matters even worse this month, being lowered to 'Below Standard' seller status comes with an additional 6% Ebay fee bringing our net fees to over 20% when shipping and taxes are included in the total that the fees are calculated from.
This past Saturday I called yet again and spent two hours on the phone going over the issues. I walked 'Dennis' through the same issues I have done previously with others who I have talked with.
The conversation included giving 'Dennis' order numbers and having him check the shipping info. It went like this over and over and over:
Me: Check the tracking info and does it show as delivered or even a single scan beyond label created?
😧 No
Me: Did I ship the item?
😧 It doesn't look like it.
Me: If the customer files a non-receipt claim, will Ebay refund their money and add a defect to my account?
😧 Yes
Me: Check the feedback the customer left.
😧 You received a positive feedback and positive comment.
Me: Do you think the customer received the item?
😧 Yes
Me: Is that a problem in your eyes given that if that customer filed a non-receipt report and thus got to keep the money and my product?
😧 I can see your point, but can you give me another one to check?
Me: I can give you dozens like this and hundreds that have no feedback left AND no complaint for non receipt.
This conversation continued with multiple orders like this. I explained that once some people figure out, or have already figured out the scam, they can file a claim after checking the tracking. These issues will skyrocket for eBay, sellers, and buyers. I also noted that I have items that say they are delivered that were not. I know this because I received them back for various reasons but if I did not contact or refund the customer, they would have been out the money because the tracking says 'delivered.' I have come to learn that the 'tracking' on these standard envelopes is based off of estimates and the 'delivery' can actually occur within a day or two in either direction. Ebay uses the 'estimated' tracking info to determine if an item was actually delivered or not delivered which opens the door for nefarious actors. I have also had customers who were refunded for an item not delivered reach out weeks or months later to tell me they received their order and wanted to pay me for it as it wasn't our issue.
In the end I have a couple of options:
1- Take down HALF of our total listings that use these envelopes and go back to only selling items that have real tracking.
2- DOUBLE the price of the cheaper items and hope sales do not decline which is unlikely to happen.
3- Put my store on vacation mode for three months until the defects age out and then start over again.
4- Leave Ebay and use one of the dozens of other platforms to move inventory until Ebay figures this issue out.
The people I have spoken with at Ebay LATELY have no interest in fixing the issue despite each person starting the conversation with something along the lines of 'thank you for being a great seller since 1995' to which I reply that they need to check my seller status and the message I was sent last week essentially saying we were among the worst sellers on Ebay!
I know many people feel that they are protected from shipping issue because of the insurance promised, but the fact that some third party offers insurance once you jump through all the hoops is irrelevant to this conversation about seller status. In reality, without a single scan, the insurance company can and will deny your claim on most of these as there is no way to prove you actually mailed the item despite creating a label.
If you have similar issues or questions about this post, please reach out to us through messages. I would love to hear other sellers' problems if they have caused this level of issues.
