eBay should validate and monitor tracking numbers from sellers using USPS

[r-bitrate-r]

Over the years, people started validating forms submitted on the Internet to save time and avoid confusion. If you try typing letters into a ZIP code form field, it will tell you that only numbers are valid. If you don't have an @ sign or a period (.) in your email address it will tell you that it's not a valid email address. 

Why can't eBay do something like this with tracking numbers from sellers shipping via USPS?

A USPS tracking number has 20 digits. I got a fake one from a seller the other day that was 31 digits long. This is obviously not a legit tracking number and doesn't work. The USPS page gives an error and says it's invalid.

Why would eBay allow a seller to use a bogus tracking number like this? They should be validating the "tracking number" form field from sellers and --- if it's over 20 digits long --- give an error telling them it's an invalid tracking number. Contains letters? Invalid. Not enough digits? Invalid. 

Ebay shows tracking information from USPS --- so, their system is using an API to get information from the USPS web servers. How much harder would it be to monitor these messages?  If the message from the USPS server says: "Shipping Label Created, USPS Awaiting Item" then the status on eBay should appear as "Pending" or "Processing" or "Waiting for Seller to Ship Your Item".  Currently, the eBay system shows the status as "Shipped" which is not accurate. It doesn't become shipped until USPS receives the item.

Since eBay can monitor the Post Office API they should monitor whether the status changes. If the seller marks an item as "Shipped" and, 4 days later, the status still says: "Shipping Label Created, USPS Awaiting Item" then obviously the seller didn't ship the item. There are too many sellers on eBay taking advantage of this loophole and scamming buyers.  Once they print the label, the item is considered "Shipped".  This creates a lot of confusion and frustration for end users. 

So, to solve this problem --- eBay needs to monitor sellers more closely. 

1. Validate tracking numbers. 

2. If USPS status says "Shipping Label Created, USPS Awaiting Item" the eBay status should be "Pending"

3. Once the item starts moving through the postal system the status should change to "Shipped"

4. Any item marked as "Shipped" which hasn't changed in 3 days should revert back to "Pending" status

Many times these bad sellers will print a shipping label and then ignore the customer for 4 or 5 days. When the customer writes to complain, they will say "USPS didn't scan the item" or "USPS must have lost it".  The buyer has to waste a bunch of time trying to track down their package and get eBay involved. 

Sellers giving fake tracking numbers and not shipping items has become a huge problem on eBay.

[mudshark61369]

@r-bitrate-r,

When you click on a tracking number in your purchase history page, the info displayed is second hand. It comes from Pitney Bowes, who gets it from the USPS, sometimes with delays.  While marking an item as shipped when a seller creates a label, is misleading. In 99% of the cases it means the seller will ship within their handling time, which may show under the shipping price or be given by clicking on the Shipping and Payments tab. Not all sellers give their handling time, though the estimated delivery time frame can tell you if they ship the same/next day or not. 

The only thing that should concern you is the package arriving by its last estimated delivery date, the day after which, is the soonest you can take any action on ebay if it does not arrive. 

There are several reasons why a tracking number does not update after the label created, message.

1) A carrier may not scan the item on pickup, and it may go through several facilities before being scanned. Sometimes there is no update until the delivered scan is done.

2) Some foreign sellers use shipping partners of the USPS for the international portion of shipping, that generates a USPS label for the domestic delivery.  The tracking will not update until the package gets a USPS scan in the U.S.

3) Some high volume sellers and some drop shippers, use a system that generates a label once an order is paid for. However, the order may not be pulled for a few days, or longer.  

4)  Some sellers in rural areas may create labels on receiving payment, but are not be able to schedule pickup, and can only make it into town once or twice a week. 

5) A seller may intend to get to their P.O. the day a label is created, but something comes up that prevents that.

The fake tracking number issue is something completely different.  It is a scam, not a time between a label being created and the package receiving an accepted scan.

[fredoniacoinandtreasure]

Not to mention the ebay standard envelope which has it's own special tracking number and system.

[r-bitrate-r]

You seem to view sellers favorably and are trying to make excuses for their bad behavior. 

My experience is that there are a lot of bad sellers on eBay whose intention is to scam people. 

They purposely give out fake (non-working) tracking numbers and then lie to or ignore upset buyers. 

eBay makes this easy for them by allowing them to use fake tracking numbers. 

If an item is marked as "Shipped" in eBay ---- and 4 days later --- USPS is still showing "Awaiting for Package"... then something is wrong. Either the seller gave a broken tracking number OR they never shipped the item and are trying to mislead customers and hide their shady business practices.

[dryophelia]

@r-bitrate-r 

USPS does not scan every package at every stop. 
It is not uncommon for a package to be scanned only when it is delivered. 

[maxine*j]

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@r-bitrate-r wrote:

...  If an item is marked as "Shipped" in eBay ---- and 4 days later --- USPS is still showing "Awaiting for Package"... then something is wrong.  Either the seller gave a broken tracking number OR they never shipped the item and are trying to mislead customers and hide their shady business practices.

---

I shop on several websites, from "marketplace" websites like eBay and Amazon, and from individual businesses large and small.  What you describe is the case on all of them.  That's because the whole label generation / shipping / scanning / tracking process is complex and subject to irregularities as it involves more than one entity.

I could stress over it, but instead I just note when something is supposed to arrive, per the estimate given for every purchase on every website I use, and take action only if that delivery date has passed without my receiving my order.

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[buyselljack2016 · Accepted solution]

Buyers, and sellers are in agreement with you on the "shipped" nonsense that eBay displays.

It can not be an impossible thing to change. eBay chooses not to. Even thought the message that eBay sends a buyer has been changed there is still that glaring "shipped" when a buyer looks at their purchase history.

When I order from large retailers it does not happen. Have an order coming now. When a label was done it said "label created".................   did not say "shipped" until the carrier physically had the item in hand. eBay could do the same thing, but just continues to agitate buyers, and sellers. 

[xadexane]

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@r-bitrate-r wrote:

A USPS tracking number has 20 digits. I got a fake one from a seller the other day that was 31 digits long. This is obviously not a legit tracking number and doesn't work. The USPS page gives an error and says it's invalid. 

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USPS tracking numbers can be 22-, 30-, or 34-digits long. 

As shown by these made-up examples -- which come up as valid at the USPS website.

[r-bitrate-r]

Good to know. Thank you. My point is that there are valid tracking numbers and invalid numbers. Ebay could use the API to check to see if it's a valid number and they can also monitor to see if there are any changes to the status. If the status says the same thing for 5 days in a row -- it's not working. Rather than wait for the buyer to complain -- eBay could preemptively monitor the tracking number and go after the seller if the tracking number doesn't update. Most eBay scams now are done via non-working tracking numbers. It's a huge red flag for sellers. eBay needs to get ahead of that and monitor the status and validity of tracking numbers.

Sellers are also using it as a way to game the system to avoid paying eBay for shipping fees. So, in the long run, eBay is losing money by not monitoring the sellers' tracking numbers more carefully.

[toomuchstuffagain35]

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@r-bitrate-r wrote:

Sellers are also using it as a way to game the system to avoid paying eBay for shipping fees. 

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Huh? Could you explain this assumption?

[buyselljack2016]

Going after the seller is the buyers job. An "auto"  program by eBay to give the seller a beating would be complicated by carrier scan errors. I do understand that their are bad sellers out there, but an automatic action by eBay could unjustly enrich buyers, and damage good sellers. There are items that get delivered, and are not properly scanned by the carrier.

Sellers can not game the system and avoid paying eBay for shipping fees with invalid shipping #'s. Sellers pay fees based upon the buyer payment.

[r-bitrate-r]

A recent purchase of mine is a great example -- I purchased a cheap low-cost item (a computer cable).

Even if it does get lost, it's cheap to replace and the seller makes it up in volume.

So, here's what happened:

1. I pay immediately (BIN) and the next day I get an odd, non-working tracking number from the seller. It's close enough to fool eBay into thinking it's a legit number. But, when you try to track it on USPS site they say it is invalid. 

2. I wait a few days to see if tracking number updates. Nope. Never does. It's an invalid number. 

3. I write to the seller to ask for valid tracking number. No response. I keep checking for status updates. There are none. Tracking number is invalid at USPS site. 

4. My item arrives quickly (4 days). It's a small bubble mailer with $1.68 postage. No tracking number on the package. 

5. Since there is no tracking number, eBay has no way to know if it didn't arrive. It's still sitting in my "Purchase" page with the status of "Shipped" (with the bogus tracking number). 

6. I write to the seller to ask them how to close the order. They tell me to ignore it and to ignore any messages from eBay about it. He says the item will "close" automatically. 

He has good feedback. He's sold lots of items. Everyone seems to get what they paid for and it ships very quickly. So --- even though the buyer doesn't like the fact that there is no working tracking number -- the items arrive quickly and are as described. So, the seller gets great feedback rating. 

If he went through eBay or USPS for shipping labels and tracking numbers he'd probably be paying more than $1.68. And, I think that's why he does it. eBay bases their fees on shipping costs too. If he can drastically reduce his shipping costs -- and cut eBay out of the equation -- he makes a lot more profit. He is able to get away with his scam because he actually ships the item. He probably encounters a few bad buyers who say they never got the item and steal his packages. But, he's only out $4-5. In the bigger picture he probably gets away with this fake tracking number scam on 98% of his sales and nobody complains because he ships the items. 

Validating tracking numbers would be a pretty simple thing to do programmatically. They have access to the APIs from the USPS. They are already tracking stuff. All they have to do is add "validation" and "monitoring" to make sure that sellers are giving out valid tracking numbers. 

If a seller chooses not to use tracking numbers -- that's fine too. But, don't give me a fake number .

[blingfling123]

"A USPS tracking number has 20 digits. I got a fake one from a seller the other day that was 31 digits long. This is obviously not a legit tracking number and doesn't work. The USPS page gives an error and says it's invalid.

While the number you were giving was invalid, there is not a limit of 20 characters for a valid tracking number. 

There are tracking numbers that are longer that are in conjunction with the USPS number.  The end result is a tracking number that IS legitimate and over 20 characters long and tracks just fine. 

[buyselljack2016]

Sellers are not required to use tracking #'s, nor are they required to provide the tracking # to the buyer if they do use tracking.It would be nice, but there is no requirement for it.

Did you get the item you ordered? If you did, it's all good 🙂

[buyselljack2016]

Seller should get great feedback for the described item being delivered in a timely manner.

Again, tracking is not required, and in some cases if used would just make your purchase cost more.

If a # is invalid it would seem that eBay is not giving the seller any credit for the #. To get credit the # must be uploaded, and "scanned". If not valid, can not be scanned, seller gets no credit.