Community Chat, April 28 @ 1:00 pm PT - eBay standard envelope

[brittanie@ebay]

Hi everyone! 

Thanks for joining us for the Weekly Chat. This week we’re joined by the eBay standard envelope team. They are here to address any questions you may have about this shipping option and the recent expansion to additional categories. 

You can read more about the program itself here, here and here.

We are also aware that USPS First Class Package is not showing up as a shipping option in the listing flow for some members in the mobile app and desktop. This is urgently being worked on and we anticipate a quick resolution.  

To post your question, click Reply in the lower right corner of this post, type your question, and hit submit between 1-2 PM Pacific Time. The format of our chat mirrors the format of our Community Discussion Boards, where each post will appear in the thread chronologically. We’ll review each question as it comes in, and will quote the original question in our reply. This quote and the reply will appear later in the thread, so just keep scrolling down to see our answers.

The chat thread will remain open until 2 PM PT, at which point the thread will be closed from additional responses. After that time, the team will continue to work on responding to any queries that might still be unanswered.

**Please note that while off-topic questions will not be removed, they will be answered after the chat closes, to allow priority to remain on the topic for this week's chat. Thanks!

[sloppygoose]

They are only tracked between hubs.  When they say delivered they are delivered to your local post office and will be in your hands in the next day or 2.  I've sent that email 2000 times this year, lol.

[stampyboy]

Hello,

I tried eBay standard envelope for the first time today . I see that it is not compatible with creating  Shipment Conformation Acceptance Notice. While the label does have a tracking number, no part of the label is trackable by the USPS. How will ebay track delivery?

Richard

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Edit: A reply to your post can be found here

[postcardcountry]

I find the width allowed to be too small.  I want my postcards to arrive intact.  I get a lot of feedback on my great packaging (and messages asking to be sure to pack so the card does not get bent).

Have you addressed the fact that it is difficult to get stiff backing that will will not bend and still fit within the 1/4 inch criteria?

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Edit: A reply to your post can be found here

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

When creating a listing with a Standard Envelope, do I use "Flat" or "Calculated"?  

If I use Flat, can I set a price higher than the Standard Envelope price? In other words, a 3 oz envelope....could I put in $1.00 rather than 91 cents?

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Edit: A reply to your post can be found here

[sloppygoose]

It is based on weight.  I can ship 6 cards safely in a PWE, 3oz

[kinisonfan805]

Hi,    I print my shipping labels with a thermal printer. when printing 1st class postage the label prints fine. When printing an Ebay Standard Envelope label, it prints a lot of the label slightly blurred and hard to read. The address is legible but some of the smaller details are not so legible. I contacted the printer company, Rollo, and they think that maybe the file created to print might me the issue. I use multiple Rollo printers and it is the same on all of the printers. Any ideas or suggestions to get these to print better. Thank You in advance,   JD ~

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Edit: A reply to your post can be found here

[tolu31209]

I'm really excited to see I can add the Standard Envelope as a shipping option for my post card and trade token listings. A few questions:

1) On the listing form I can select standard env. as an option, but it doesn't show up at all in the shipping calculator. I know it's supposed to be $1 or less, but how do I know for sure if the shipping calculator doesn't show it?

2) if I were to select Standard Envelope as the only shipping option, is it flat rate or calculated?

3) Does my shipping envelope have to be standard sized, as are the examples on your template, or any size between the minimum and maximum?

Thanks! Will await your answers 🙂

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Edit: A reply to your post can be found here

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

when creating a listing, I obviously must put in weight. Must I include dimensions as well? (I realize when I ship I need to meet the size requirements....just asking about whether I need to fill this in when creating the listing.)

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Edit: A reply to your post can be found here

[antiques_sandy]

Will stickers and craft items that are flat like a post card and within the weight limit and size be included?

Thanks

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Edit: A reply to your post can be found here

[clarkphilatelics]

Sorry for the out of band post, but yesterday's "eBay Standard Envelope" was not the only event. The "My eBay All Selling" page quietly slipped almost into oblivion last weekend.

The new “All Selling” page lacks at-a-glance summary information:

The now almost defunct “My eBay All Selling” page included a “Totals” summary displaying “Listed”, “Will sell”, “Bids”, and “Amount”. The “Sold” panel below with the “Amount” was also useful as was payments received and not received.  The listing of active auctions was also easier to read. Now what?

The new “All Selling” page is dysfunctional. Although it displays Active listings, it does not display the number of active auctions. The Tasks panel seems to have no immediate use.  Why place it at the top? The “Sales” panel is too general to be of immediate use.

The “Active listings” view does not display enough items per page and is difficult to navigate. If I have 50, 200 listings, how do I navigate to ones with a specific price range without clicking and scrolling multiple times, if the listings are sorted by price? Navigation controls should be at the top and bottom, not just at the bottom, buried in the middle of the page. The control should navigate to any page, not just a few.

The page does not allow choice of columns. The Custom Label (SKU) is essential for searching.

While the All Selling “Active” page can be configured and does not have extraneous views at the end of the page, it cannot be sorted.

So, I see two similar pages. One cannot be configured for columns. The other cannot be configured for sorting. Why? I was able to get the “Active” page to display auctions first, but is the view stable? Does the page allow sorting by multiple columns and are settings “sticky”. Can more than one sort setting be saved and used quickly?

What about summary information? I have perhaps 30 seconds to view and understand auction status? How can I do that on eBay now that the classic “My eBay All Selling” page is all but defunct? While the information can still be grabbed with a screen shot, it goes away after a few seconds. Is that intentional?

[dees_den]

Hi - One of the requirements reads "Envelope has recipient address parallel to the longest side".

I ship postcards with rigid ebay branded mailers (5 x 7 and/or 8 x6 and use 1/2 page shipping labels which I apply vertically and address appears perpendicular to longest side.

Do I need to use a different label with this new standard envelope option?

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Edit: A reply to your post can be found here

[amy@shipping]

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@mgcman8888 wrote:

Are there plans to add Puerto Rico and other territories to the Standard Envelope service?

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@mgcman8888 we do not have immediate plans to add Puerto Rico and other territories, but are constantly looking for ways to improve the program and its reach. Thank you for the suggestion. 

[star.fighter]

Hi - the trading card people are using multiple sheets of 8.5x11" paper folded around the cards... and those come through fine in envelopes.  in fact, the key is to make sure the paper is the full length of the envelope so the envelope doesn't get bent around the contents.

also, some have cut up cereal box cardboard as backing or used more expensive plastic top-loaders.

Japanese shipments have used 1st class envelopes for expensive trading cards for years.  i guess it was common usage there.

[nate@shipping]

Hi @sloppygoose , 

Thanks for the question, and the high usage of eBay standard envelope. You should be able to see which charges are expected for this service from the shipping labels history within my eBay or Seller Hub Orders tab.

Hope that helps!

~Nate

[mgcman8888]

I've always been taught that the only stupid question is the one you don't ask. So with that in mind:

When cutting the Standard Envelope label, do you have to cut it to the size it prints, with the lines, or can you trim it smaller, to make it easier to tape onto a plain white envelope? I've been trimming them, but keep watching to see if I'm going to be hit with additional fees for not following all the requirements.

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Edit: A reply to your post can be found here