Need a little help with a weird situation

[ant-723650]

So my business partner and I sell several places including (but not limited too) Ebay, We got in a decent batch of small cheapo items for a decent price, so we sold cheap, very cheap, so cheap that shipping would be more then the item itself.

So we sold and shipped Via stamped mail and please correct me if im wrong but under $10 Ebay does not complain about tracking correct? 

The issue is, we got a USPS scale (literally their scale) and we weigh on it and apply the proper postage from either Stamps website OR USPS site, but the scale is plugged into the PC and it weighs itself, and takes the weight and prints the proper postage (non trackable due to how cheap the products were)  so with that said, some of them got returned, making late shipments, they took a good while to come back but once they did I re shipped them at my cost WITH tracking (losing money on the sale at this point) BUT they arrived late because now tracking showed late, enough so that we got below standard.

I went to the post office and well to be perfectly honest flipped out, THEY weighed them and said "they should have not been returned" I got the post master involved (apparently they are a big deal lol) and they AGREED should not have been sent back, but they were, and they got me below standard. now sales are almost never, with the search suppression its almost like might as well not even sell on the platform anymore.

What can I do? We tried contacting ebay and they didnt care what so ever.

Suggestions? 

Thanks for any help in advance

[toysaver]

"So we sold and shipped Via stamped mail and please correct me if im wrong but under $10 Ebay does not complain about tracking correct? "

Incorrect.  Tracking is everything when the platform relies on shipping.

[ant-723650]

so no item should be shipped with no tracking no matter what? 

[12345jamesstamps]

Cheapo items don't need tracking. I use a .73 cent stamp on cheapo items.

I also use tracking for high-end items.

And it seems the buyers who buy cheapo items leave 'positive feedback' vs. those who buy expensive items with tracking who usually don't leave tracking.

Plus without tracking your cheapo items arrive 4-5 days coast to coast vs. with tracking usually takes longer.

Shipping services make mistakes. It's not a perfect world.

We read 'here' all the time about sellers complaining about being overcharged...yea...they get their refund eventually back some day.

[12345jamesstamps]

Meant to say 'those who buy expensive items with tracking usually don't leave feedback'...my typo...LOL.

[ant-723650]

so under $10 Ebay will not hold it against me for no tracking #?  confirmed? 

[12345jamesstamps]

'not hold it against me'...I don't know what you mean.

Here is my account status:.

This is my new one and also I have last month here.

[redlinear]

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@ant-723650 wrote:

so no item should be shipped with no tracking no matter what? 

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That's your call.  
I offer free shipping. So, If I miscalculated somehow and a $10 total sale is going to cost me more than $10 with tracking....AND...I can do it for $2 without tracking?   (only then might I go the no tracking route).
Otherwise, I (and my customers for sure) want tracking on everything.

[luckythewinner]

please correct me if im wrong but under $10 Ebay does not complain about tracking

eBay does not "complain", they simply apply consequences when things happen. And as far as know, there is no $10 "limit" that prevents consequences. 

so with that said, some of them got returned

Why did they get returned? 

they arrived late because now tracking showed late, enough so that we got below standard.

Only two things put you below standard: 

• Cases closed without seller resolution
• Seller-initiated cancellations

Late shipments can keep you from becoming Top Rated, but late shipments do not put you Below Standard. If you went Below Standard, it was for another reason besides late tracking. 

they AGREED should not have been sent back, but they were, and they got me below standard

Late shipments can keep you from becoming Top Rated, but late shipments do not put you Below Standard. If you went Below Standard, it was for another reason besides late tracking. 

What can I do?

If you are indeed Below Standard, you need to go to your seller dashboard and tells us which if the two metrics you missed that put you there. Only when we know the specific reason you are Below Standard can we offer suggestions about how to get back to Above Standard. 

[redlinear]

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@ant-723650 wrote:

so under $10 Ebay will not hold it against me for no tracking #?  confirmed? 

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I'm pretty sure they hold it against me.  Shows up in my metrics as a late shipment.

[luckythewinner]

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@ant-723650 wrote:

so under $10 Ebay will not hold it against me for no tracking #?  confirmed? 

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Hold what against you? 

eBay always holds late shipments against you. 

eBay always hold non-delivery disputes against you. 

[southern*sweet*tea]

I ship low cost labels, cards, etc.  using just a stamp or two. 

If you ship without tracking, the ONLY metric that is affected is the "tracking uploaded on time and validated" one.  Ebay will not put you in "Ebay jail" for this metric.  You cannot be a TRS though unless that number is 95% or above and you meet the other qualifications.

These types of shipments do not count at all toward anything else UNLESS the buyer rates the item as arriving late. If that happens you get a late shipment ding.  It is my understanding that if you get too many of these Ebay can reduce your search visibility  (I could be wrong about that)  but again, if you ship without tracking you can only get a late shipment ding if the buyer physically rates the shipment as being late.

Once you went back and shipped with tracking, if you entered that tracking number into Ebay, you're automatically late because you shipped without meeting your handling time AND the items were most likely delivered outside their estimated delivery date. 

This is my current dashboard. You'll note that late shipment is zero:

Edited:  wait, you're below standard??   It's not for tracking or late shipments then.  There's something else causing that.

[ant-723650]

So 4 cases without seller resolution (from those late shipments) well late as in they came back which should not have 

[ant-723650]

To be honest guys this was like the worst 2 weeks of my life!!! So we had this "batch" of orders (and it was like 1 drop off batch this happened too) come back, meanwhile we both caught Covid (he gave it to me) I got underline medical issues so it hit me like a mack truck, we went on and replied to customers but missed the cases, not gonna lie just MISSED em.

[pjcdn2005]

As others have said, you are not required to ship with tracking unless you want to be a top rated seller. If you aren't TRS your uploaded on time with validated tracking isn't relevant.  In the past, when leaving feedback buyers were asked if the item arrive by the estimated delivery date. If they said no then the seller would get a late tracking ding but not all buyers answer that question and if they don't answer, there is no late shipment ding.   eBay has been introducing new feedback screens for buyers and the ones that I have seen don't even ask the buyers if the item was late or not so I'm not sure if they will introducing another way to know if transactions not tracked were received on time.

If a buyer opens an inr when there is no tracking, ebay often will refund a buyer 3 days after the case is opened even if the buyer does not escalate the case.  I'm assuming that you didn't refund the buyers since you resent the items but ebay must have refunded on your behalf and then given you an unresolved claim defect.  Those unresolved defects are why you are below standard.  If you had refunded within the time frame, you wouldn't be below standard.

 When you have to resend an item to a buyer, print the label outside of ebay and do not enter the new tracking number on ebay.  If you change or enter new shipping information for that transaction, it will change the first shipping date and that's how you get a late shipping ding.  That applies whether or not the original transaction had tracking or not.