NIGHTMARE: Selling on Ebay

[spotted_dog_design1]

Frustration with the way Ebay treats sellers is well documented here, but here in my own.  Martin Luther King holiday weekend, I got an order for over 80 items, each different.  My buyer found he could not ask for an invoice of all items together, and instead had to divide the items into 5 requests.  Once I got these and of course could not combine in one invoice so I sent back 5 invoices with adjustment of shipping costs.  The invoices were paid for and start on shipping.  I could put all the item into one small priority box so I printed out a label for the first invoice he had paid for.  I could not add the tracking number for this invoice to the other 3 orders.....the site would not let me.  I always could before and after this weekend, just this time it would just not let me.  I tried to contact Ebay to ask what to do, and I could not get through Ebay's usual road blocks to talking with a customer support person.  I am not new at this, and I know all the tricks to get through to a person...they didn't work.  I also know that sending an e-mail for a contact within 24 hours, or "the supervisor will call you back in 24 hours" has never, ever happened.

[katzrul15]

So....did you get metric dings for late shipping?  Is that the issue?

Did you try reaching about again on e-Bay social media or just the 1 time?

Can you not adjust your shipping rules to auto discount postage on a set number of items to avoid this issue for invoice adjustment in the future?

[spotted_dog_design1]

I got dinged for late shipping on over 80 items as said.  I tried and tried and tried to get someone at Ebay and couldn't.  Ebay has agreed with me twice and told me the problem would be taken care of but nothing has changed.  I went from Best Seller Plus to above standard with a list of deficiencies that I can't make up for.  I'm switching to Etsy so it's a moot point for me.  If I have to add item specifics that are all already in my ads, and I am facing being penalized for late shipping that can't be overcome for months, I might as well start fresh with a company that treats sellers better.

[luckythewinner]

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@spotted_dog_design1 wrote:

 I could not add the tracking number for this invoice to the other 3 orders.....the site would not let me.  I always could before and after this weekend, just this time it would just not let me.

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Shame you did not come here for advice first.

I think there is a way to do what you are asking, but I think you have to combined the five invoices BEFORE you print the label.

[spotted_dog_design1]

You asked very good questions and I appreciate you responding.  You also asked about shipping rules.  Mine are adjusted, but the problem was he could not request an invoice for all the purchases together.  He had to send invoice request in batches of 5 or so.  I bought a shipping label for a priority box immediately but when I tried to add the tracking number to the other purchases,  I got the message "unable to add tracking number because you purchased label from Ebay".  Never saw that message before or after.  I tried and tried to add the tracking  number because I got insurance on the first box and mailing together would save money.  I finally found a way on day 2 just by trial and error that I bet no one one here knows.  It was just a way around being blocked other ways.

[divwido]

Did you try clicking Mark as Shipped and entering the tracking number?  There should have been absolutely nothing to stop you from doing that.

And No, let's not say  "We are happy about selling 80 items at once".  No Yeah eBay for that one.

[spotted_dog_design1]

THAT'S JUST THE POINT, I PRINTED OFF THE FIRST LABEL AS USUAL, AND THEN I WENT TO "ADD OR EDIT TRACKING NUMBER", I GOT A MESSAGE SAYING "YOUR LABEL CANNOT BE CHANGED BECAUSE YOU BOUGHT YOUR POSTAGE USING THE EBAY FORMAT".  THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I HAD EVER SEEN THIS RESPONSE.  I TRIED CONTACTING EBAY AND THERE WAS NO WAY TO GET THROUGH TO ANYONE.  IN MESSAGES BACK AND FORTH TO MY BUYER, HE DOCUMENTED PROBLEMS WITH SENDING REQUEST FOR INVOICE AND I COMPLAINED OF PROBLEMS WITH COMBINING SHIPMENT FOR THE BROKEN UP ORDER, AND PROBLEMS CONTACTING EBAY, WONDERING IF THEY TOOK MLK HOLIDAY OFF, OR IF COVID HAD SHUT DOWN THEIR RESPONSE CENTERS.

I FINALLY FOUND A WAY TO DO WHAT I HAD ALWAYS BEEN ABLE TO DO, JUST BY TRIAL AND ERROR OVER THE NEXT DAY.  WHAT I DID WAS CLICK ON "REVIEW ORDER DETAILS", AND ON THAT PAGE THERE IS A PLACE FOR "CHECKING TRACKING".  THEN ON THAT PAGE, IN ADDITION TO TRACKING NUMBER, THERE WAS AGAIN:  "ADD OR EDIT TRACKING NUMBER" JUST LIKE ON THE ORDER SHEET, BUT THIS ONE WORKED, AND I WAS ABLE TO ADD THE TRACKING NUMBER TO ALL THE PACKAGES, MAIL IN ONE PRIORITY BOX WITH THE INCREASED INSURANCE.  THE PROBLEM WAS, BY THAT TIME THE SHIPMENT WAS LATE.  SO YOU MIGHT WANT TO REMEMBER THIS TRICK.  MY PROBLEM IS THAT DESPITE TWO APPEALS REPS AGREEING WITH ME, NOTHING HAS CHANGED IN REGARD TO PENALTIES.  AS AN ASIDE, IS IT FAIR FOR ONE ORDER WITH 80 ITEMS RESULT IN 80 DEFICIENCIES WHEN 10 LATE SHIPMENTS ONLY RESULTS IN 10 DEFICIENCIES?  BUT IS NOT FAIR, BUT NOT MY ISSUE AT THE TIME.  THANKS FOR YOUR RESPONSE.

[spotted_dog_design1]

YES, I DID TRY THAT AND IT DID NOT WORK.  I STILL COULD NOT GET THE TRACKING ADDED AND WORRIED ABOUT NOT BEING ABLE TO PROVE THE ITEMS WERE IN THE SHIPMENT IF THE PACKAGE WAS LOST WITHOUT TRACKING NUMBERS.  I GOT THE SAME RESPONSE:  "YOUR LABEL CANNOT BE CHANGED BECAUSE YOU BOUGHT YOUR POSTAGE USING THE EBAY PLATFORM" ON AN ORDER THIS WEEK, BUT COULD ADD THE TRACKING NUMBER THROUGH THE PROCESS DESCRIBED ABOVE.  I THINK THIS IS A PROBLEM WITH THE PROGRAM AND NEEDS TO BE FIXED....YOU CAN'T COMBINE TRACKING NUMBERS WHEN ITEMS ARE PURCHASED SEPARATELY AT THE PLACE THAT TELLS YOU "ADD OR EDIT TRACKING NUMBERS" ON THE ORDER SHEET, BUT YOU CAN IF YOU GO THROUGH "ORDER DETAILS > TRACK SHIPPING> ADD OR EDIT TRACKING NUMBERS".  I CAN'T BE THE ONLY PERSON THAT THIS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM FOR.  DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO GET THIS QUESTION TO SOMEONE AT EBAY THAT CAN ADDRESS THIS ISSUE?

[deltilogical]

I've had to use a dummy tracking number when I combined different orders under the same shipment.  

I've had to use a dummy number when Ebay would not Mark As Shipped unless I put a tracking number in the fields. 

I always notified the customer in advance.  It is not something I wanted to do.

This issue of combined orders never ends and has been going on for a long time.   Its get tiring always working around Ebay to make our customers whole.  

[duffy4444]

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@deltilogical wrote:

This issue of combined orders never ends and has been going on for a long time.   Its get tiring always working around Ebay to make our customers whole.  

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   This is one of the reasons why I don't use eBay's shipping and labeling "services" anymore. Having had constant troubles many years ago using eBay for shipping, I see a certain amount of unreliability is still there.

   That's why I switched over to Stampsdotcom. There, it's easy to do all sorts of breaking down and combining shipments in different combinations, getting tracking numbers for each shipment on a multiple order such as what the OP is describing, and getting a perfect postback right to eBay for each item sold. Ease of use and reliability are just right for me.

   $18. a month is well worth the peace of mind, in addition to excellent customer service on a site like  Stampsdotcom from a real live, US-based rep who answers the phone very quickly, speaks with understandable American English, knows his/her stuff, and has the authority to solve a problem almost immediately (or passes it along to the tech department for a solution ASAP). Consequently, I have only had to contact Stamps three times over the past 15+ years, and had the issue solved without any hassles.

   I know this doesn't help the OP in this particular situation, but it is an available solution looking forward. There are also other, more reliable shipping/labeling services out there with a direct connection to eBay's back door... something to think about.

Cheers, Duffy