Can I safely ignore this shipping label stuff?

[brazilian_comics]

Hello. I recently did my second sale on Ebay.  When I clicked in the notification bell, I was redirected to the page bellow

In my first sell this did not happen (or at the very least I did not see it). I don't know why the difference, perhaps related to the way the buyer purchased it? The first time after the sell, I was able to select the shipping cost this time it was already selected at prior by the buyer.

Anyway my questions are simple. 1) Why the difference (this time this screen showed up, the first not) and 2) Can I ignore this shipping label stuff and just ship it normally? I know the value is waiting to be release in my pay-pal account, as was the first time.

Thanks for your time.

[donwill8106]

Are you shipping from the United States?

[luckythewinner · Accepted solution]

You are not required to use eBay to print your shipping labels. You can mail the item any way you want, and add the tracking number manually. 

[postingid7659]

As a long time eBay seller, I always just went to the post office and paid at the counter, and I still do on some items.  So you do not have to use eBay to print a label.  

However, when you use eBay to print a label you get a discounted price on the shipping that can sometimes be very substantial. 

For me the costs of running a printer tend to outweigh the savings simply because the printer I have is a piece of junk that needs the heads cleaned if you don't use it constantly, wasting ink, and requires all four inks to be full as well.  So what I do now when I see that an eBay label will save me money is download to a thumb drive and spend 15 cents a page at FedEx Office to print plain paper labels. 

If you get into eBay deeply you will find sometimes it's to great advantage to be able to print from eBay and sometimes from the USPS website.  About half the rules the counter people have to follow don't seem to even apply when printing labels.   A couple of examples:

- ORM-D (hazardous): at the counter they wanted nine bucks to ship an 7 ounce box to the west coast.  This because it had to go via ground transport.  eBay?  I print the label, I check a box that it's hazardous, it costs me $3.75 or so.   Makes no sense. 

- international:  USPS will ship three boxes for the small flat rate price, but at the counter they will not accept two of those boxes.  At a near $20 difference it was smarter to buy the postage from the USPS website and print three pages up, than to buy postage at the counter.  eBay did not seem to show these options.  

I also found on items large enough to go FedEx Ground you save money printing the label.  A lot of times the at the counter rate was different.  

[annadryl]

By buying and printing a USPS label, you'd be buying and shipping from a US address with a 5-digit US postal code, not a Brazillian one. This item needs to be sent via Brazil Post or equivalent local. You're logged on to US ebay. But it can still be sent of course, just not with this channel. Good luck~

[extrememobility]

Is the buyer in Brazil? if so you need to check the PayPal transaction and see if you have charged and additional fee for a cross border transaction? this when a user from another country uses a credit card from same country. you get charged extra!

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@extrememobility wrote:
Is the buyer in Brazil? ...

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The seller is in Brazil.

[clu3]

You can't ship USPS (United States Postal Service) from Brazil. 

Perhaps last time it said UPS (United Parcel Service)?

You need to change the CARRIER

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@clu3 wrote: ... You need to change the CARRIER

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It will not be possible for this seller to purchase a label for a non-US carrier through eBay, because he listed on eBay.com.

[byrd69er]

You don't have to use eBay shipping labels. You can always write your own label and tape it to the package. I've been writing my own for many years. I have not printed one label from their system. Don't care to. I'm not concerned about the few pennies saved.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@byrd69er wrote:

You don't have to use eBay shipping labels.... I'm not concerned about the few pennies saved.

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FYI, the savings is more than "a few pennies."  

For instance,  for a 5-pound package going to Zone 4, the retail postage for Priority Mail is $11.60, and the online price is $9.12.  That's a difference of $2.48, or 21%. Top Rated Sellers (such as yourself) get a further 3% discount via eBay, so for that same label you'd pay just $8.84, which is a savings of $2.76.  TRS also automatically get $100 of insurance coverage, vs the $50 you'd get for Priority Mail purchased at the retail Post Office counter.

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

[luckythewinner]

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@nobody*s_perfect wrote:

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@byrd69er wrote:

You don't have to use eBay shipping labels.... I'm not concerned about the few pennies saved.

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FYI, the savings is more than "a few pennies."  

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Ditto.

Sending a $15 vinyl LP sent overseas, I charge the 2-pound USPS First Class International retail price ($24). The eBay label costs $20.52 which is a discount of $3.48 .... and that discount covers almost 90% of my eBay and Paypal fees for the transaction. 

PayPal fees = $2.01 (4.4% of $39 plus 30 cents)

eBay fees = $1.90 (10% of $18.95)

$3.48 /  $3.91 = 89%

[pink.fish.rule]

Probably you didn't see it because you just paid the postage at the post office and marked it shipped. When you click on a sale notification through the bell it always takes you to the shipping label page which you cannot use as you're in Brazil.

You may possibly have your shipping set up wrong as well. If you're in another country but listing on the dot com site you need to select International shipping options, NOT domestic.

[fab_finds4u]

@postingid7659 

- ORM-D (hazardous): at the counter they wanted nine bucks to ship an 7 ounce box to the west coast.  This because it had to go via ground transport.  eBay?  I print the label, I check a box that it's hazardous, it costs me $3.75 or so.   Makes no sense.   

It makes sense to me.  Some classifications of hazardous items are allowed in air transport if correctly packaged and labeled,  and accompanied by a Shipper's Declaration of Dangerous Goods/Material Safety Data Sheet affixed to the package in triplicate.    And some classifications of hazardous materials are never allowed in Air Transport because they're prone to leak or explode.   When you make an online First Class label, or any label, USPS is assuming you're following the rules.   Just like nothing prevents you from making a media mail label and shipping an item that doesn't qualify for media mail, you can also make a first class parcel label for an item that's not allowed in air transportation.

What was in the box?  You checked it was hazardous.  When you buy retail postage they ask if you're shipping anything fragile, liquid, perishable, etc.  and if USPS told you it has to be sent via ground then I'm assuming you deliberately   broke the law to make an online label via a method not allowed for the item.  You did this to save money on shipping costs.   WRONG of you, by the way, and you could've put people's lives at risk.     

But you're not the only one doing that.  For example, take an  item like cologne.  It  is a Class 3: Flammable and Combustible Liquid, hazardous because it's flammable.  Flammable liquid is prohibited in Air Transport.  But I see sellers shipping cologne via First Class (air) all the time.  

https://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c3_010.htm#ep1018757 

As you can see, according to the above publication from USPS  Class 3 ORM-D-material is only allowed in surface transportation.  

https://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c3_007.htm

[brazilian_comics]

Actually I list both options, domestic and international shipping.

Anyway, thanks to all, even the ones that were not directly applicable to question. From all these answers plus the customer help service, I will proceed as from the last time and ship from the usual way.