Unable to print USPS Parcel Ground label through eBay....

[pudlet64]

This was in answer to another post I read but I could not reply to it. I thought this info would be useful to others users.

I had this issue where I listed an item with USPS Parcel Ground shipping but was unable to print a label through eBay for this shipping option.  So I just chatted with eBay customer service and apparently USPS changed some of their options earlier in 2020.

One of them is that USPS Parcel Ground can only be purchased at a USPS retail counter. The option still appears when you do a listing but there is no notice that you would NOT be able to print that through eBay and would have to use some other means to do so. 

The rep did NOT indicate there were plans for eBay to update the listing options so that if you choose USPS Parcel Ground there would be a message stating you could no longer print that label through ebay - which would be very helpful to sellers especially for ones like me that sell here and there.

The rep indicated that it is something eBay has no control over - USPS changes - which is true but they do have control to display a helpful message to sellers.

When pressed to see if eBay would fix the issue by displaying a message, she said, "Sellers do have full control as to what shipping services they can offer to their buyers, that's one selling       best practice to be flexible and accommodating to your buyers, given the fact that you're aware of the restrictions that USPS has in place.". 

When I asked how I would be aware that a USPS change would impact my ability to print labels through eBay, she seemed to indicate it may have been posted on the eBay announcement page or seller center pages. I don't recall seeing it but may have missed it. She also sent me a slew of USPS, FedEx and UPS websites for updates and changes which she said would somehow indicate I could not print a specific label through eBay and the sites actually just had shipping rate tables with no real info. Then finally she gave me a couple of eBay seller center links which had dead links and didn't tell me about this change either but did give me a list of services that I guess can be printed through eBay as of today at least:

Print shipping labels with postage on eBay and pay with your
PayPal account for the following services:

• Priority Mail Express™
• Priority Mail Express™ Flat Rate Envelopes
• Priority Mail®
• Priority Mail Flat Rate™
• Priority Mail Regional Rate™
• First-Class Mail®
• Media Mail®
• Parcel Post®
• First-Class Mail International®
• Priority Mail Express International™
• Priority Mail International™

There is a specific site on USPS for eBay but that site actually indicate you CAN use USPS Retail Ground print through eBay so even, as sellers, if we were totally up to date on the USPS news, we still would be misinformed. The site is https://faq.usps.com/s/article/eBay. 

There was also no offer to escalate the issue to maybe include a message that you cannot print certain labels through eBay during the listing process. 

So, for now follows others advice on other posts with this same topic and you can print through PayPal or third party for certain labels that you are unable to print on eBay.

I hope this helps future inquires on this same subject.

[nobody*s_perfect]

I agree that's annoying. But it's an improvement over the CS reps who tell callers that the problem is that USPS doesn't offer Parcel Select Ground any more.

[en*chanted]

Today is January 8, 2021 and I JUST purchased a Parcel Select Ground label at my post office counter. Similar to pudlet64, I offered this shipping option to a customer, but although they paid for this option, I was unable to print a label for Parcel Select Ground from eBay as I have done many times in the past.

The first time this happened (about a month ago) I called eBay and the person I spoke with said something about "only labels for certain shipping methods" were available to print from eBay, but she sent me a link to be able to print my Parcel Select Ground label. I WAS able to print it, but it doesn't seem like you should have to call eBay every time you want to use an economical shipping method. I know that Priority is sometimes only a few cents more than Parcel, but NOT always.

I get that policies at the PO have changed, but agree that this option should then be removed from a sellers shipping options. If you haven't sold in a while, it makes for a lot of confusion. The PO is forcing you to use Priority Mail when you could offer cheaper shipping. Even the Postal site itself does not let you print any economy labels. Only Priority Mail. This is unfair. I will be contacting the Post Office to ask why this is so. I will also ask them why I have to round up to 3 lbs. if the item weighs 2 lbs. 2 oz.. I have had to pay the difference more than a few times. Between the PO and eBay, they are making selling anything very unattractive.

Just venting.

[nobody*s_perfect]

" I know that Priority is sometimes only a few cents more than Parcel, but NOT always."

Yes, always.  For Zones 1 - 4, Priority Mail costs literally 10 cents more (regardless of weight). For other zones, the maximum difference is 65 cents.

You must have purchased either Priority Mail or Retail Ground at your Post Office, since Parcel Select Ground is strictly an online service.  Whichever it was, it cost more than you would have paid to purchase a Priority Mail label through eBay.

As noted in an earlier post, you could have purchased a label for Parcel Select Ground through PayPal.

" I will also ask them why I have to round up to 3 lbs. if the item weighs 2 lbs. 2 oz."

Because the price is per one-pound increment.  Anything above 2 pounds, up to 3 pounds, pays the same rate. It's not a matter of rounding or not; it's about how the price ranges are set up.  

[beanieflower]

I'm having the same problem. I just sold an item in the same state I ship from but was unable to print a label through eBay for USPS Parcel Select Ground. Luckily the priority label isn't much higher than the parcel select label because I'm shipping in the same state, but in the future it will be problematic, especially for large packages shipping across the country. So now I have to remove all the Parcel Select Ground choices from all of my remaining listings which is very time consuming. Plus I'm a small seller and am going to lose money because most buyers don't want to pay for Priority Mail labels. It's very expensive to buy a Parcel Select label for a large package mailed anywhere that's not in my state directly from the post office without the eBay discount. I'm **bleep**.

[beanieflower]

Thank you so much for the link to PayPal shipping. I couldn't believe it! I didn't print it out yet but it looks like I will still be able to ship Parcel Select Ground using PayPal shipping for the same discounted price even though eBay is now using managed payments instead of PayPal.

[nobody*s_perfect]

PayPal's postage prices are all the same as eBay's, except they don't give Top Rated Sellers that 3% discount on Priority Mail.

If you took your package to the PO, you wouldn't be able to buy Parcel Select Ground, because it's strictly an online service. The retail equivalent is called Retail Ground. Both services used to be known as Parcel Post.  The  Retail Ground label would cost you more than an online Priority Mail label for the same weight and Zone, except for some very heavy packages going to Zones 7 or 8.

[pooh333piglet]

You can buy parcel select on app and use your ebay MP payout funds. Right after paying option is there to print or email. Simply email it to yourself if you cannot print from phone. 

 

 

[dalliedog]

Found out today --last week I could today no

customer service also indicated I could print through pay-pal -BUT I CANNOT DO THIS BECAUSE I AM ON E-BAYS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM AND THE TRANSACTION DOES NOT GO THROUGH PAY-PAL ANY,MORE-TOTAL DISGUSTED WITH THIS ANY OTHER OPTIONS ?????

[giftbylinda]

I tried this option of doing it through the app, however I only had priority options or FedEx.  No ground option available, but I downloaded the app recently.  I also used to go to PayPal to purchase the USPS ground until I recently moved to Managed Payments.  What irks me also is that many of my boxes are small and lightweight and I can't even choose USPS First Class.  I feel eBay is trying to get more profit by forcing a higher total sale.  

[cp2ca59]

I don't feel that eBay is very helpful for the seller. For example in this case, seller beware...

[kaylstickelma0]

Totally agree that ebay should should put a note that you cannot print certain labels. I had to do any economy label or USPS Parcel Select Ground through paypal.  It seems that the USPS and ebay want you to pick the more expensive options for shipping.  Also, when you print through paypal you have to hand enter the tracking number and mark the item shipped yourself.  New update sucks on the ebay shipping pages.

[silverfalcor]

I just used Pirate Ship to purchase USPS Parcel Ground--finally. It has been very frustrating to me to offer this as an option via ebay and then not be able to select it after the item has sold. My buyers seem to want to save money on shipping & I'm glad I found a work around so I'm not losing money on shipping by having to choose a more expensive option. It seems like a simple fix for ebay and from what I can see has been going on for way too long.

[roddy722]

yesterday I selected this when creating a listing for a 40lb box of Beanie Babies:

USPS Parcel Select Ground 2-9 business days

Today it sold, buyer  selected the above choice and paid 45.67 for shipping.

When I went to print my shipping label Ebay selected a $7.40 flat rate envelope! (i think this happened the other day on a much smaller pkg and I did not catch it)

Chatted with customer service and he stated they having been slowly phasing out USPS ground shipping and you cannot print a label. I asked why is it still an option when setting up a sell? Answer, because you can take the box to the post office!  Kinda defeats the whole purpose of the ease of printing at home and just drop off the box without waiting in a long line.

[mr_lincoln]

@pudlet64  I offer both Parcel Select and Priority Mail on every item over a pound, I listed another dozen items just today with those options ... most Buyer pick the Parcel Select because it is less expensive then what they see as the counter price for Priority Mail ...

[imjustlooking4agooddealman]

Yes, I have just encountered this problem for the first time in 5 years. I have been listing the Parcel Select Ground for a while now with NO issues until today. The real problem is the Ebay listing tool which is quite primitive and prone to glitches which could easily be fixed if they actually gave a **bleep**. I don't understand this attitude , since helping sellers list correctly will only help them make more money as well. Extremely frustrating. Instead, they use their time and resources to harass members to buy more things from them.