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There is a huge problem with eBay's Standard Envelope Shipping
Ebay, many months ago, told us that their Standard Envelope Shipping covered not only post cards, but trade cards, stickers, coins and tokens. At that time I went through all of my listings that were about those items and switched the shipping over to Standard Envelope with tracking. There are two issues with that the eBay needs to address. First of all, when eBay put out that notice, they did not specify that, for example, stickers had to be in a sticker category. They gave the option to choose Standard Envelope shipping when listing a sticker, if it was small enough to meet the measurement and weight criteria, no matter what the listing category was. Most of my stickers were in advertising categories. The problem is that when a buyer buys that sticker and pays the $1 shipping for Standard Envelope, and the seller goes to buy the shipping label, they find that Standard Shipping has been removed from their shipping options. The seller then is left with the option of contacting the buyer, explaining the problem and asking if they are willing to let the seller cancel the sale, relist the sticker in a sticker category so that the buyer can repurchase the sticker and have it shipped Standard Envelope, or not contacting the buyer, paying the extra shipping, usually over $3, and shipping it Ground Advantage. Now, here is the other problem. Even if the buyer agrees to having the sticker relisted so that the seller can use the Standard Envelope shipping, the post office is telling us that they can no longer scan in the Standard Envelopes because eBay does not have a contract with them to do that. (Did they use a 3rd party?) So, now, you have to tell the buyer that their $1 payment no longer includes tracking and tell them that the cheapest shipping available with tracking is Ground Advantage which is going to cost them considerably more. My cost for Ground Advantage with my eBay discount is $4.13 at least and the buyer's cost is more. My solution so far is to tell the buyer that I will refund shipping so that they only pay what I pay with my discount, leaving me to pay for shipping supplies out of my profits from the sale. I have spoken with eBay and they tell me that they are aware of the problem with the Post Office not tracking the Standard Envelope packages and suggest that we send all items Ground Advantage for now. They have not addressed the problem about their allowing us to list an item with Standard Envelope shipping but it not being available as an option when buying the shipping label unless it is in an exact sticker category. This is eBay's mistake, and they need to address it. If it has to be in a sticker category for purchasing the shipping label, it should not allow us to list it with Standard Envelope shipping like it does now. Their programing should recognize a sticker when it is in the title and it is in the item specific as "type: sticker".
manylittle8h99
OP2 years agoI'm sorry, but you are wrong about tokens. They aren't on the 8 item major list because they are considered as coins by eBay. If you look at the list of category paths, you will see that tokens are included. Heck, even wooden nickels are included. You also said that if a seller lists an item...lets say a sticker....in a non sticker category, that the Standard Envelope option won't be there. You are wrong there. I just went to a couple of my sticker listings that are not in sticker categories, and the Standard Envelope option is definitely still there. eBay has to fix that. If they allow a listing seller to choose Standard Envelope shipping and allow a buyer to pay for Standard Envelope shipping, they should allow the seller to pay for Standard Envelope shipping when the sticker gets purchased. This is on them. They have to take that option away at the listing point when the items are not in the right category.
fashionsandbeauty4u
Mentor2 years ago@manylittle8h99
As you mentioned, for the option to print an eBay Standard Envelope label, the qualifying item needs to be listed in the correct category. Attached is the link the the eBay page that explains all that, along with the "category path" the item needs to be listed in.
https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/shipping/choosing-a-carrier-and-service/ebay-standard-envelope
If a Seller lists a sticker in a non-sticker category, the eBay Standard Envelope option will not be available. ESE comes with $20 insurance and limited tracking and is shipped via eBay Shipping.
Tokens are not included in the list of qualifying categories. As long as a Seller lists in the correct category, there should be no need to use Ground Advantage and refund customers.