EBay Standard Envelope When Shipping to Puerto Rico

[tradingcardshopco]

Hi, How could I avoid having to cancel some orders that are sent to PR using eBay Standard Envelope? Sometimes when a buyer’s shipping location is PR I am able to generate an ESE label fine. However, most times the ESE label will not generate due the buyer’s PR address. In those situations I would be able to create a USPS Ground Advantage label but that cost sometimes 3x more than what ESE would have cost. This results in me having to cancel the sale due to the issue with the buyer’s shipping address. Thank you for your time!

[1786davycrockett]

@tradingcardshopco 

Since Puerto Rico has been an American Territory since 1898 (and is not a foreign country), why is there a problem?

The ESE is good for ALL United States USPS First Class Mail, including mail to ALL American territories.

Please describe more fully the problem which you are having.

[wastingtime101]

Hey @tradingcardshopco . This problem occurs when buyers enter Puerto Rico in the country field.

You can communicate with the buyer, cancel due to "problem with buyer's address" and tell the buyer to repurchase entering PR as the state and United States as the country.

[tradingcardshopco]

Thank you for your response! I am not really sure what the problem is as sometimes when a buyer's shipping location is PR I am able to generate an eBay Standard Envelope label with no problem. Other times I get an error message "Something went wrong and we were not able to generate the label". I never have a problem with a PR address if I am purchasing a regular USPS label like Ground Advantage or Priority. I reached out to eBay Support for help with this issue and was told "I would like to inform you that for Puerto Rico eBay standard envelopes are not eligible this is the reason you do not get an option and error gets reflected on the screen." This statement from them was confusing as I have 100% shipped eBay Standard Envelope orders to PR in the past so now I'm kind of stuck on what to do. I reached out about this during eBay Open and was directed to try asking here. Thanks!

[tradingcardshopco]

Hi, Thank you @wastingtime101 for your response! I will try this suggestion next time I run into this problem! I never thought about telling the buyer to make the state PR and country USA - really good idea! Thank you for your time!!

[wastingtime101 · Accepted solution]

The problem is exactly what I stated above @tradingcardshopco .

Some buyers enter Puerto Rico in the country field and ESE will not recognize that as domestic.

For ESE specifically you won't be able to ship to Puerto Rico unless the buyer enters PR in the state field and United States in the country field. Just communicate that to your buyers when this problem arises. You can cancel and have them make the address adjustment before they repurchase.

[1786davycrockett]

@tradingcardshopco 

The statement that you received from eBay support is horse hockey -- sounds as if the "support" really didn't have an answer, and was trying to get you off the phone.

Sometimes there is an over-ride statement when attempting to print an ESE label.  I just click the acknowledgement, and proceed to print the label.

On the other hand, make sure that the shipping address is properly written -- some sellers (as pointed out above) put "Puerto Rico" in the "country" slot.  You might need to readjust the shipping address so that it reads properly -- maybe start with the ZIP  Code, and work your way backwards.

Good luck!

[tradingcardshopco]

Hi @wastingtime101 , Sorry this is my 1st time posting to the Community Board so apologies for not responding in the correct order! What you suggested makes sense and I will 100% do what you said next time I have an eBay Standard Envelope order going to PR! I'm going to look back at how my previous PR ESE orders that worked and see how those address' compare to orders with a PR address that wouldn't work. Thanks again for this information! Super helpful!

[wastingtime101]

No apologies needed @tradingcardshopco . I mistook your reply to davycrockett as a reply to me so when you said you didn't really know what the problem is I repeated my advice. Completely my fault for not paying better attention. As long as you got the info you need to solve your problem I'd call that a success overall. Come back here any time for help. 🙂

[tradingcardshopco]

Hi @1786davycrockett , LOL yeah, it seems we, sellers and eBay support reps, all learn new things about eBay Standard Envelope every day! Next time I run into this issue I will troubleshoot the address and if that won't work I will do as suggested and reach out the buyer to change the address if possible. This has been really helpful and I'm so happy I posted here! Thank you!

[tradingcardshopco]

Hi @wastingtime101 , No worries at all! Again, I really appreciate your suggestion! I've had to cancel a lot of order due to this shipping issue so if this is the fix I need then this will be great for the upcoming holiday season! Thank you!!

[bcmike0_1]

This thread was very helpful. Unfortunately I had to cancel the transaction with the buyer.

I'm not sure if eBay used to allow you to edit the shipping Country but when I went in to modify it myself, PR was grayed out in the Country field so I didn't have any way to override it.  I did fill out a survey/comment and suggested they make it editable or don't allow PR as a Country on shipping addresses...

[kh-stanley1]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread HERE if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.