What's up with Ebay Standard Envelopes?
Anyone having an issue where Ebay Standard Envelopes shipped through the USPS don't have updated tracking and just vanish in the postal system? 🤔
I sell a lot of trading cards, and most of them are low value (under $20) so I ship using an Ebay Standard Envelope. Recently, I got an account suspension warning from Ebay threatening to suspend my account because my "items not received" rate was considered too high. I thought it was super odd, since I had had maybe four of five disputes due to items not received out of maybe 300-400 orders. I contacted Ebay, and they said that all Ebay standard Envelopes having tracking and said tracking is regularly updated just like normal packages. Well, if that is in fact the case, why am I dropping off Ebay standard envelopes to a USPS office and the tracking on some of these never update? Ebay did not have an answer, they in more or less terms just said I need to lower my rate of "items not recieved."
I have customers who purchase on say, July 1, and I ship July 2, but they message me today July 24 saying "I never got my item and tracking has not updated since the day you marked it shipped." Sometimes the tracking is never updated past "shipped," but I have customers leaving reviews that they received their item!
I don't want to get suspended, and I don't want to have to limit what items I sell because the standard envelopes are acting so bloody goofy. Is anyone else in a similar boat or having a similar issue? Much appreciated!
cardboard_plus
OP3 years ago@1786davycrockett - I am going to be honest with you, I never thought to put them in metered mail! I always took them to a physical post office & put them in their "outgoing mail" box. I have a few orders that need to go out, I am going to look around the post office see if they have one / if it helps with tracking!
@zero29zero - honestly that is my nightmare. Or the worst is people waiting a week after the item does say delivered to send blurry photos claiming the item itself was "ripped." I don't know how you rip a card through a toploader but to each their own lol
1786davycrockett
·3 years ago@cardboard_plus
"I never thought to put them in metered mail! "
Here's a perfect reason to drop the ESEs into the "Metered Mail" slot at the post office, rather than handing them to the counter clerk: Yesterday I was shipping out an ESE; but I wanted to confirm with the counter clerk that my envelope was sufficiently flexible. She confirmed the flexibility; but then stated that there was insufficient postage on the ESE (it was meter stamped at 63 cents). I explained to the counter clerk that it was "metered mail," covered under a business contract with USPS, and that information satisfied her, and she dropped it in the proper slot for me.
(Just to make sure, I checked the eBay "tracking" this morning, and, yes, it has received its initial "tracking" statements.)
Since most "metered mail" is sent in quantity from businesses, apparently some USPS counter workers become confused by a lone piece of "metered mail" handed to them over the counter.
From what other eBay sellers have been reporting, this does not seem to be a local "glitch," but perhaps somewhat endemic to the ESE system. So -- another reason to use the "Metered Mail" slot at the post office, rather than handing the ESEs to a counter person.
1786davycrockett
·3 years ago@cardboard_plus
How are you "dropping off" your ESE shipments?
Are you physically taking them to your post office, and dropping them in the "Metered Mail" slot in the post office lobby?
Or are you dropping the ESEs off at your home mailbox, or in a corner "blue-box," or with a USPS driver, or handing the ESEs over the counter to a USPS employee?
The "Metered Mail" slot option is the best, as this mail is separated from regular USPS First Class envelopes, and is treated separately at the USPS Distribution Centers, where they generally enter the automatic "tracking system," where they receive their first "tracking" acknowledgement.
However -- the other options noted are more "hit and miss," and the metered mail "tracking"may be missed entirely, as the ESEs are mixed up with other mail, and require sorting.
Which "drop off" method are you using?
zero29zero
·3 years agoNot all P.O.'s have a metered mail slot, my little P.O. does not and all ESE shipments are put in the outgoing mail slot with regular letter mail. Luckily, I seem to have a pretty good mail stream going. Mail goes out of my P.O. at 2PM and i make sure to get things shipped before that time and the great majority of my ESE shipments get their first scan later that evening at the closest distribution center 100 miles away.
Getting a "delivered" scan is another matter, hit & miss and of course sometimes shipments get no scans at all. I have an open case on another account the buyer opened a couple days ago then messaged me the next day "I found it, my neighbor picked this up when we were gone for a week. It was confusing because the tracking never showed delivered" The case is still open of course and I sent the buyer a message asking if they could close their complaint with ebay, we'll see what happens
No matter if they close the case or get their free item there will still be an INR case on my record from what I've heard. When ebay sees fit to charge me an additional 6% in FVF over the shortcomings of their ESE program I'll have to decide if I want to continue here or move on