Are you still including invoices with your shipments?

[kathy507]

I bought several items on eBay recently and they all arrived fine, but none of them had an invoice or anything enclosed.

Is there a trend to not include invoices?  Maybe buyers no longer care?

Now that the invoices you can print from eBay do not include the price and shipping charge, is it worth wasting the paper  to include one?  Is it worth the extra effort to print one from PayPal?  (I don't know if managed payments lets you print invoices somewhere else if the buyer does not use PayPal but if you are in managed payments and know the answer please respond.)

I know buyers can print a receipt from their purchase notice, but in the past it seemed they wanted a receipt in the box too.

[southern*sweet*tea]

I always include a packing slip. Never had any comments about it good, bad or otherwise. 

When I bag or overwrap the item, I include that packing slip. If my box or envelope gets damaged, the slip with the buyer's name and address are bagged/wrapped with the item so the PO will know where it is supposed to go. 

To my knowledge as a seller I've never had a package get damaged that badly, but through the years as a buyer I've received a couple of items delivered in a bag with no outer packaging at all (just the item, packing slip and damage note delivered in a bag),  and I assume they used the packing slip info to deliver it to me. That really made an impression with me, and is why I will always include a packing slip.

[turquoisetulips]

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@kathy507 wrote:

I bought several items on eBay recently and they all arrived fine, but none of them had an invoice or anything enclosed.

Is there a trend to not include invoices?  Maybe buyers no longer care?

Now that the invoices you can print from eBay do not include the price and shipping charge, is it worth wasting the paper  to include one?  Is it worth the extra effort to print one from PayPal?  (I don't know if managed payments lets you print invoices somewhere else if the buyer does not use PayPal but if you are in managed payments and know the answer please respond.)

I know buyers can print a receipt from their purchase notice, but in the past it seemed they wanted a receipt in the box too.

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I usually only sell and ship small inexpensive items  .The only time I'll include a packing slip is when I ship something heavier and more expensive or when one buyer purchases multiple items  . No problems thus far. Tulips

[packratville]

I also always include a packing slip, primarily in case the packaging gets damaged. I don't often receive damaged packages but in my last job I worked in a mailroom and occasionally we'd received packages that were torn open and re-bagged with an apology from the post office.

My own preferences when receiving packages is to have a packing slip included with the contents listed. I receive a lot of packages from various places, not necessarily eBay.

[a_c_green]

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@kathy507 wrote:

Is there a trend to not include [packing slips]?  Maybe buyers no longer care?

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It's never been a matter of whether my buyers care; it's to state what items are in the package, and to provide a backup address in case the outside gets obliterated. I print the packing slip on a full-sized (letter-sized) sheet of paper, cut it off, pack the item, then drop the remainder of the paper back in the printer and print the shipping label on that. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. 

[luckythewinner]

@kathy507 wrote:

Is there a trend to not include invoices?  Maybe buyers no longer care?

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I have been selling here for almost 20 years, and I have never included a packing slip in a package. No buyer has ever mentioned the lack of one, nor have I had an issue with lost packages because of a missing packing slip.  

I have also been buyer here for almost 20 years, and I see a packing slip with perhaps 10% of my packages. I have no use for them and do not care.

[byrd69er]

Still?

Never have. Never been asked to. Probably never will.

Why?

[7606dennis]

Actually, an invoice that doesn't include any prices isn't really an invoice.  While packing slips don't really need to include them.

I ordinarily include a copy of my company invoice stamped PAID if the buyer hasn't indicated it is being sent as a gift directly to someone.  I would merely include a packing list so the recipient can verify that everything on it is there.  I usually send the PAID invoice copy by mail to the buyer if requested to act as a receipt.  Otherwise, they merely get the one I send them through eBay.

[turquoisetulips]

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@luckythewinner wrote:

@kathy507 wrote:

Is there a trend to not include invoices?  Maybe buyers no longer care?

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I have been selling here for almost 20 years, and I have never included a packing slip in a package. No buyer has ever mentioned the lack of one, nor have I had an issue with lost packages because of a missing packing slip.  

I have also been buyer here for almost 20 years, and I see a packing slip with perhaps 10% of my packages. I have no use for them and do not care.

Eco friendly - : ]   Tulips 

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[buyselljack2016]

Like some others, I include a packing slip.

That allows the buyer to match up their purchases with what they have received. Could avoid an INR request.

Had one item many, many yeas ago bust it's way out of the packaging. USPS only had the outer packaging.   I was either contacted by USPS, or got the empty back with a # to call  to provide a description of what had been in there. (mind won't let me remember which)They were able to match it up to return it. 

I had not included a packing slip. Now one is always included.

Small slip. Prints from the same 8 1/2 X 11 sheet of paper as my label, and Online Label Record.

[stanleysoverstock]

I always do including a hand written Thank You. Andrew

[a_c_green]

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@7606dennis wrote:

Actually, an invoice that doesn't include any prices isn't really an invoice.  While packing slips don't really need to include them.

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Ayup; despite the title, we're really talking about packing slips here, not invoices. An invoice is a request for payment; a packing slip is a list of package contents. In fact, eBay packing slips actually state "This is not an invoice" just below the title. 

[7606dennis]

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@a_c_green wrote:

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@7606dennis wrote:

Actually, an invoice that doesn't include any prices isn't really an invoice.  While packing slips don't really need to include them.

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Ayup; despite the title, we're really talking about packing slips here, not invoices. An invoice is a request for payment; a packing slip is a list of package contents. In fact, eBay packing slips actually state "This is not an invoice" just below the title. 

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Thank you for confirming what I said.

[rockusone]

It's SOP for any established mail-order business to include a packing slip. Not doing so is a bit unprofessional. Then again, selling on eBay is hardly a means of running a professional level business.

[evry1nositswindy]

No invoice and I never have.  I send a small piece of paper I print on the computer that says thanks for your purchase with the item written on it.  I write a note of thanks with my initial.  I also use the nice thank you postcards from eBay when I get them for free.