Cannot Ship USPS and Exclude U.S Post Office Box

[9ahau]

It's time to include post office box if a seller is shipping USPS...often this is a shortsightedness in our twenty-first century. A post office box in the U.S is possibly the most secure delivery on the planet. I open my eBay account with a post office box over twenty years ago and have had more than 1500 successful deliveries.

The post office is not the same  since 9/11; however, this silliness is an eBay issue built-in the item listing and it needs to change.

I have an agreement with the U.S Postal Service, a service I paid for to use, the street address format for shipping via UPS, FedEx, DHL, etcetera; however, when this address format is used for USPS delivery, it causes an unnecessary delay.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

You are right that PO Boxes are as safe or safer than other addresses. But Ebay set up its policies and functions to appeal to sellers who are IDIOTS.

Whenever Ebay makes a change to their system at seller request, it is to satisfy the IDIOTS who are louder than the people who are running a business.

[vilbos1]

I too have been using a PO Box for decades.  I live in a VERY rural area and the PO Box is the only option for many people.  Personally, I live less than 25 yards from the PO.

I've had a few sellers that INSIST on street addresses, as  they ship via FedEx or UPS, and I am able to comply. The problem is when the seller insists they   cannot ship to PO Boxes , yet they ship USPS to my street address, which, surprise surprise, ends up at my PO Box.

Recently our post office instituted a policy whereby they would ONLY accept mail that includes a PO Box number.  If a package has a street address and is sent USPS, it will be returned to sender.  I had 2 packages from ebay sitting at the PO today that this happened to. If I had waited another hour, they would have been returned to sender.

I had one clown cancel an auction. I emailed him after I won the auction (he was another "NO PO BOX") and explained the PO policy. I provided my PO box number in the message, and said otherwise it would have to be Fed Ex or UPS.    It must have been too difficult for the sap to write 3 numbers for my PO box, because he canceled the auction.

[pjcdn2005]

There has been a PO Box exclusion option ever since I've been selling here so it's not something that they recently changed due to sellers requests. 

It would be nice if instead of allowing sellers to exclude that option, they could automatically exclude a purchase if the buyers address was a PO box and the only shipping options was a courier. Then sellers that had some listings with couriers and other with postal services wouldn't have to worry about what options each listing used.

However, that would work with the generic shipping options such as standard shipping.

[robbie31415]

I see no issue with how the system is and no reason to change.

USPS offer a real street option if PO Box doesn't work.

The option to turn on PO Is up to the seller.

[9ahau]

The post office has an option to use its street address for FedEx, UPS, DHL, etc., for a fee. I had been using this option more than or about ten years now...address example: 1234 Government Road, Unit 9257, City, CA 92000-9275, where 9257 is your post office box. Most post office staff is not knowledgeable of this especially older ones. I think it a full feature that comes with you post office rental...ask them about it.

[9ahau]

"they could automatically exclude a purchase if the buyers address was a PO box "

They do however, that's the point of my post with hope eBay staff reads this, that once the seller selects USPS that option becomes null...it's really silly and time for eBay to resolve that. As stated in the original post, USPS post office is possibly the most secure delivery on the planet

[9ahau]

You're missing the point of the post, which is, it's silly to ship USPS yet exclude post office box.

The street address option that I have been using over or about ten years now is for UPS, FedEX, DHL, etc,....it was never intended for USPS shipping because it's more efficient using post office box for USPS shipping.

BTW, it's eBay who's selling/listing form foolishly offers this option to sellers without THINKING. That in turn attracts idiot sellers  who don't THINK also. Businesses are about efficiency...any policy that creates inefficiency is stupid and needs to change.

[soh.maryl]

Forgive me if I don't understand your message.  A buyer has ALWAYS been able to use his PO box as a shipping address.  Some sellers apparently don't understand this and do not allow buyers who have a PO box address.

This is NOT an eBay rule, nor is it a USPS rule, it's a lack of knowledge on the part of the individual seller.  If you are saying that sellers shouldn't be allowed to exclude PO boxes as delivery addresses, yes, you are right.  

[natoman777]

I have never had an issue shipping to P.O. Box.  The buyer has the option of that address.  If the town in rural, P.O. Box often is only option for them to receive USPS mail

[toysaver]

Excluding PO Boxes has been a shipping preference for a while.  Some sellers exclude PO boxes because they use UPS or FedEx who prefer not to deliver to Post Offices.   There are work arounds, but it can be a hassle.   I can't imagine where a delivery truck would have parked when I lived in an urban area.  It took me many trips around the block to secure and pay for a parking space.