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.

[buyselljack2016]

Within the last 3 minutes I was able to select Parcel Select as my shipping choice when using an eBay label.

As the item only weighs  3 ounces I did not continue with the label.

 

[comics-scifi-collectibles]

@pudlet64   I think that the CS agent was confused between USPS parcel select and USPS RETAIL ground.     Retail ground must be purchased at the post office.

You have to remember that the agents are 99% of the time in another country and really have no first hand knowledge of the USPS policy details so it can be very confusing for them.

I think you must have experienced a temporary glitch.

Do you know that Parcel Select is only a few cents less at most for the size of packages that you would be shipping going by your most recently sold items?

Priority mail includes $50 insurance if your package is lost or damaged in shipping. 

[nobody*s_perfect]

Parcel Select Ground is an online service, which cannot be purchased at the Post Office counter. The retail equivalent is called Retail Ground.  Both services used to be known as Parcel Post.

The USPS site that you linked to is clearly in error. eBay Sellers have never been able to purchase Retail Ground postage online. I don't know where you dug it up, but it's an ancient obsolete page in several ways. For instance, it refers to the USPS/eBay co-branded Priority Mail boxes and says that there are 3 styles.  Before those boxes were discontinued, there were 6 styles available for many years.

There are several USPS services which eBay does not print labels for, but which they allow sellers to offer.  It is the sellers' responsibility to know where they will purchase their postage.  These include not only Retail Ground, but also postage for First Class letters and packages.

[nobody*s_perfect]

Oops, that should say: "These include not only Retail Ground, but also postage for First Class letters and flats (AKA Large envelopes)."

[pudlet66]

That's really weird - I didn't have that option AND the customer service rep claims that is correct and I would NOT have that option available to me. I also saw other posts where people were having the same issue. I guess you're lucky or maybe just smarter than me.

[windlaurel]

This stinks. So many things change without any information to the sellers. Or maybe there is, buried in some 20 page message. I also just found out I can't sell coins on Ebay - what? I'm done - looking for more seller friendly places. 

Laura

[nobody*s_perfect]

There isn't any message about the removal of Parcel Select Ground because it is an error.  USPS still offers it and many eBay sellers sill see it when purchasing their postage labels.  It's some sort of selective glitch, perhaps related to browser or when an item was listed. Customer Service reps who say that Parcel Select has been discontinued are just plain wrong.

The transaction to Managed Payments has been in progress for a couple of years.

[knuck456]

At the end of November, a buyer selected parcel select ground. The price the buyer paid matched the shipping label I printed and all was good.  However, this week I've now had 2 instances where the buyers selected Parcel Select Ground and I could not find a single USPS /UPS or other service that matched the price they paid. The first time, the USPS priority price was about 30 cents more than the parcel select ground the buyer wanted, so I just picked priority for shipping and 'ate' the difference. This time when it happened with another item, I called Ebay and they told me that Parcel Select Ground was not available anymore so I had to print the shipping label using the slightly higher priority price. Ebay refunded me the difference.  Also what was interesting is that for the first item, when I was preparing to print the shipping label, I noticed that UPS would have been significantly cheaper. When I first listed the item and was reviewing shipping options, UPS was NOT cheaper at all. Something fishy is going on with shipping that is costing both buyers and sellers more money.

[nobody*s_perfect]

When you're checking prices in advance, be sure to check off the display of online ("eBay" ) rates rather than retail ("in store") rates.  There can be a substantial savings on the online rates, so that the carrier that's cheaper at retail is not the cheaper one online.

http://www.ebay.com/shp/Calculator

" I called Ebay and they told me that Parcel Select Ground was not available anymore"

I hope that you have read the discussion above.  Customer Service has been misinforming callers.  USPS has not dropped or even changed their Parcel Select service.  The absence of that option on the eBay label purchase form is a glitch that doesn't even affect all sellers.

As you have seen, the cost difference between Parcel Select and Priority is very small.  It would probably be best to forget about PS and just offer Priority. Especially with the current huge backups in USPS processing times.  Plus you get $50 of insurance and maybe a free box.

[dhbookds]

@nobody*s_perfect 

Actually, in wkly chat, blues said ebay is gradually doing away with parcel select.....which astounds me....but that's what they said....... 

We use it as a low cost choice and then bump up to Priority.....and save 10c as you said.....  Not happy........  tho perhaps they mean to leave it as a buyer choice, but then drop the choice in labels.....

@wooden_flower wrote:

Hi Tyler,

I have a question on usps ground shipping.  I can add parcel select to a listing as a flat rate choice, but not calculated.

A number of sellers have reported that they do not have parcel select as an option when they ship, even though that is the service that was on the listing.

Is eBay no longer offering parcel select?

thanks!

Sue

Hi @wooden_flower!

Yes, USPS Parcel Select is being phased out as an option for sellers using eBay Labels. This was due to it not being widely utilized, and having a higher rate of poor buyer experiences (more common INRs, etc). 

The phase out is a slow one, but eventually it will no longer be an option to use with eBay Labels. Thanks!

[nobody*s_perfect]

Thanks for the update.  But that's ridiculous.  Some packages HAVE to go by ground. Hazmat, oversize, etc.

And if this is indeed deliberate, then eBay should retrain the customer support reps, who have been giving out bad advice, such as saying that USPS no longer offers Parcel Select Ground or that it can be purchased at the Post Office.

So we can add Parcel Select to the list of services that sellers can choose when setting up a listing but can't purchase through eBay, along with Retail Ground (of course) and First Class letters and flats.

[knuck456]

I had a similar issue. Parcel select worked fine in November, but for 2 items in December when the buyers selected Parcel Select, I could not print a label that matched the service. On one item, there was no other service available that matched the $15.79 shipping price the buyer paid (seemingly for parcel select). I called ebay and they told me that parcel select wasn't available anymore, which is odd because it was available at the end of November.  Even worse, one buyer selected parcel select at $50+ (very heavy item) and when I couldn't print a label, I called ebay. Together we looked at other options and UPS was $22 vs the $50 the buyer selected for Parcel Select!  When I listed the item originally, I always look for the best option for a buyer and I can tell you that the UPS choice wasn't there.  In fairness to the buyer I would have liked to advise them that I could send the package UPS and save them $20+ dollars, but I'd have to refund what they paid and ebay made this sound complicated. Given how much time I already spent on the phone with ebay, I just said the heck with it and shipped the package priority, which was marginally more expensive than Parcel select. Ebay credited me the difference between what the buyer paid and the overage I had to pay for priority. I won't offer Parcel select anymore on heavy items and hope that won't hurt my sales. Very frustrating as shipping heavy items is not worth it. I am moving some of those items to FB Marketplace instead or offering local pick up thru ebay, if it makes sense.

[nobody*s_perfect]

@knuck456 

You don't have to give up on listing items that need to go via Parcel Select Ground. You can purchase Parcel Select labels through PayPal (or any other online postage provider) at the same price as you'd pay for an eBay Parcel Select shipping label.

www.PayPal.com/shipnow

However, you should compare the prices.  Parcel Select Ground saves less than a dollar when compared to the online prices for Priority Mail (except for Zone 9). For Zones 1 - 4 the price difference is literally 10 cents. If you're a Top Rated Seller, then the 3% discount on purchasing eBay labels makes Priority cheaper than Parcel Select. Here's a link to the current pricing chart for USPS in case you want to check on that.

http://pe.usps.com/cpim/ftp/manuals/dmm300/notice123.pdf

[madmikesmerchandise]

I have this issue - the CSR's that I have spoke with say some sellers may still be able to print because they are using the classic version of Ebay and have not updated - whatever that means - I think it is bull that they will offer it as an option on the listing, but not offer on the create label page. And we all know that if we take it to the counter, it will cost more to ship anyway.   It is also nice that they left everyone know they were taking the option away.