eBay ESUS Shipping

[senumista]

There are major problems with eBay's ESUS Shipping. In particular, eBay is selling shipping labels that are not compliant with the USPS size and weight requirements. eBay's label purchasing system requires a thickness be specified and the minimum thickness it will allow you to purchase is 1" but the USPS First Class maximum thickness is ¼".  If the package is more than ¼" thick, it cannot be machine processed, it must be hand sorted. The USPS employees do not know how to handle ESUS packages because they are shipped as First-Class mail but they have tracking and the systems and people that process First Class mail do not have any way to manually scan the tracking information. The result is a lot of lost and damaged packages and the ones that do manage to get delivered are delivered 4-8 weeks late. To complicate matters, when the buyer opens an INR request, eBay gives the seller 72 hours to resolve the request which the only possible way to do that is issue a refund because the packages aren't getting scanned or are delayed beyond the estimated delivery date that EBAY gives the buyer. So, eBay is selling us bad shipping labels and then holding the seller responsible for lost and delayed packages that eBay caused to get lost or delayed because of their shipping label problems and their failure to work with the USPS to resolve sorting and training issues. Let's add one more eBay failure. Negative feedback received because of the failure of ESUS shipping. The buyer didn't get their item or it was very late and they leave negative feedback and even though this is eBay's fault, they will not accept responsibility and remove the feedback and they do not give the seller more time in light of problems with ESUS delivery, which is eBay's fault. With Amazon, if a buyer leaves negative reviews because of shipping issues, Amazon not only removes the review, they also replace it with their accepting the responsibility for the delay. eBay promises that if a buyer leaves negative feedback for an INR and then the item is delivered, the feedback would automatically be removed. Not true. I have called eBay 5 times trying to get negative feedback removed for and INR that was delivered and 5 calls and a month later, the feedback is still there and the dishonest buyer has the item. The longer this goes on with eBay having full knowledge of this issue, the more liable they are. 

[1786davycrockett]

@senumista 

While sellers are required to enter the three dimensions (height, length & thickness) for an eBay Standard Envelope (ESE), and the lowest thickness is available is 1", once a seller clicks on the option for eBay Standard Envelope, the 1" thickness of the envelope no longer seems to be a variable -- at least, not in the couple years that I've been using the ESEs.

On the other hand -- if the ESE is definitely over 1/4" in thickness (or the ESE is not sufficiently flexible), it will require additional "nonmachinable" postage, requiring hand processing at the USPS Distribution Centers.

And keep in mind that the "Delivered" notations on the ESEs refer ONLY to the ESEs being received at the post office matching the ZIP Code on the buyer's address -- and NOT the actual home address of the buyer, which will likely take several days longer.

While the ESE has worked quite well for many eBay sellers, it has apparently been quite troublesome for other eBay sellers.  I'm sorry to hear that they are not working out for you.

[12345jamesstamps]

Those eBay ESUS shipping envelopes don't require an acceptance scan per what I read on eBay.

So somewhere along the way it has to be scanned and marked as "delivered" .

Some sellers have no problems with them and some sellers do. One inch thickness is too much for these "metered mail" envelopes. It should be under 1 / 4 inch thickness. And the envelope has to be bendable and if something is used like thin cardboard it should cover the entire envelope on the inside...like a "greeting card" of sorts. And if a "metered mail" sort is available that is where it should go.

[senumista]

Thanks for the info but that does not address the problem, eBay's failure to correct this long-running, well-known issue with ESE and the postal services challenges in handling ESEs, but more so, eBay's failure to back the seller when an item is delayed and the buyer want's a refund and leaving negative feedback. eBay is still forcing a 72 hours resolution on sellers. I do not ship anything over the USPS limits and I have still lost 30+ orders most of which were eventually delivered after a refund was made and  since it shows delivered there is no insurance reimbersment either. I've lost my item, I've lost my money, I've lost my time, I've paid for failed postage and I can't even get eBay to talk to me. What I am looking for here, is some insight into how to get eBay's attention and get this fixed. No matter how you try to twist it, this is without question an eBay problem. eBay fostered this deal with the USPS and eBay needs to finish the job. I'm a Top Rated Seller, eBay sends me 200 emails a day, but they have never even once sent an email with guidance on ESE usage and there is nothing on the shipping label page that limits the thickness to ¼". I am sorry, but I don't need coaching on shipping, eBay needs coaching on leadership and business operations. Anything like this going on inside a business is to be blamed on management alone, not the subs. This is eBay's fault, bottom line, the system is broken they have failed to fix it. I am upset because I am losing money because of a leadership failure at eBay and I can't even get them to talk to me about it. They are leaving me with no alternative but to handle this outside of eBay and outside of their control. All they need to do is give me a few minutes on the phone but they hide behind 1st. tier support and automated systems and remain silent.

[1786davycrockett]

@senumista 

"there is nothing on the shipping label page that limits the thickness to ¼". 

Sure there is -- see "Uniform thickness" below:

Things to consider

Flexibility. Shipped envelopes are processed at sorting centers that use machinery with rollers, so envelopes need to be flexible enough to bend accordingly.

Uniform thickness. The maximum thickness allowed is ¼ inch. If your envelope or flat mailer isn’t uniformly thick and/or has bumps or lumps, it may be classified as a package, which could then be returned or subjected to additional postage fees.

Which envelopes qualify? A plain, number 10 envelope works just fine, but it’s not required. You can use any envelope that fits the following specifications:

• No smaller than 3.5” x 5”
• No larger than 6.125” x 11.5”
• No heavier than 3 oz.
• No plastic, strings or closures 
• Recipient address is parallel to envelope’s longest side
• Uniform thickness not greater than .25”

If you need to use a thicker or more rigid envelope to better protect what you’re shipping, check with your local post office to ensure your envelope fits the postage bracket and guidelines.

Also -- I am not an eBay "subs."  I am not employed by eBay in any way, shape or form.

I'm fairly certain that they would find me insubordinate, insulting and intolerable.

And they would be correct.