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I messed up. Asking for help after selling an item with Free Shipping
Summary: joeyroland shared their experience of selling on eBay for the first time in over 15 years and encountered issues with managing shipping labels. After listing an item with free shipping, they used a third-party service to ship their item but faced difficulties with integrating this into eBay's systems, resulting in confusion over the prepaid label options. They asked for advice on how to resolve this and if it will affect their payment. eastlaneave provided guidance on canceling unused labels, suggested using eBay's shipping options to avoid such issues, and noted alternative shipping methods for cost efficiency.
Hello,
First time I've sold on eBay in like 15+ years and it's a world of difference. I'm actively trying to move some stuff around the house and started with some car audio. In an effort to get the stuff out as quickly as possible, I listed the first item with "free shipping". I thought I was prepared with having some Flat Rate boxes and creating a Pirate Ship account before even listing anything. Once it sold, I paid Pirate Ship, printed it , and took it to the post office for dropoff. Then it gets weird...
When I tried adding my Tracking Number to the sold listing, I keep getting error after error. I apparently didn't link my Pirate Ship account so I went back and imported my ebay account. It finds the listing, but only gives me the offer to purchase a label - not assign the postage already sent to this item. As a result, ebay is showing the item as overdue for shipping.
I tried all kinds of ways but then finally noticed the message at the top of the page that reads: This order includes a prepaid label, tracking, and package protection.
Uh-oh...
So apparently offering free shipping means I have to use ebay's prepaid label???? No wonder I can't add my own USPS tracking number!
Does anyone know of a way I can void that option and enter my own information? And moreover, if I'm not able to do that, will I ever get paid? And ultimately, is ebay going to still charge me for a prepaid label I don't need/can't use?
I really thought there would be some learning curve to jumping back in but this is not what I signed up for. I even have another auction that offers free shipping. When I try to revise it, I don't see any message about the item generating a prepaid label, etc. How should I handle that in an effort to avoid this fiasco? To keep things simple, I was going to again use a USPS flat rate priority box but I don't see any options to select the size I intend to use.
eastlaneave
Mentor1 week ago · Edited@joeyroland
"Ship with eBay" is a pilot program so I have limited information on it (I've never used it).
1) If you are unable to Cancel the "Ship with eBay" label, (and you've already shipped the item with a private label), I personally would attach it to a small brown box (not priority) and ship a 2nd item to the buyer. This isn't a perfect solution, but at least you will have tracking on your item. Send the actual tracking to the buyer via eBay messages.
I don't think you can cancel a "Ship with eBay" label, but here's how to cancel (or void) an unused shipping label you purchased on eBay:
- Go to Manage shipping labels: https://www.ebay.com/ship/labels/my-ebay
- Find the item you'd like to cancel the shipping label for, then from the Actions column, select CANCEL.
- Choose your reason for canceling the label.
- Select Cancel shipping label.
2) "Ship with eBay" can also have buyer pays shipping. I would keep your eyes peeled and assume all your new listings will have this for a while. It's intended to be a worry-free shipping method.
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/shipping-items/setting-shipping-options/ship-with-ebay?id=5575
3) Pirate Ship is a great tool, and I use it when needed, but for most packages I use eBay, and I suggest that, for now, you use eBay shipping labels; it will avoid what happened today.
4) Priority Boxes and especially Flat Rate Priority Boxes are generally an expensive way to ship these days. Ground Advantage is much less expensive. You must not use a free priority box with Ground Advantage.
You can buy boxes at Walmart, Staples, or the Post Office, or you can get free boxes at local stores like Dollar Tree.
joeyroland
OP1 week agoOMG! After using AI for over 10 minutes, I finally got the following. Does this seem on point? And seriously, what is the "I" for in AI? Holy sh!$%
You can cancel a prepaid shipping label purchased through eBay within 28 days if the label is unused. Here's how:
Go to Shipping Labels in Seller Hub or Manage shipping labels in My eBay.
Find the order and select Cancel label from the Actions column.
Choose the reason for cancellation and select Send request.
Note that labels with QR codes are considered used once scanned at a drop-off point and cannot be canceled.
After canceling the label, you can add your own tracking number to the sold item by going to Orders in Seller Hub or My eBay. Select the order, go to Shipping, then select Add tracking to upload the new tracking information.