eBay

bigdeals.etc · ‎08-27-2021

This is the first time I received an order with the address partially filled out in a non latin alphabet. My issue isn't really with the buyer who filled it out this way, but with ebay who allows it.

Why does ebay allow it but creates problems when trying to print out the postage label? The buyer in this instance knows how to use the latin alphabet. The shipping address is domestic and filled out using the latin alphabet. But the addressee name is in arabic and isn't recognized when printing a postage label... so it just comes out blank without any notification or error message.

Majority (not a high majority) of the time I'm sure it won't be an issue for the carrier to deliver... but it can. Ebay should either correctly accept and transfer these foreign alphabets into their systems or not allow it in the first place for buyers to input.

This also happens with Russian and Asian characters, but this is the first time I've received an address with latin characters partially written within it... and a domestic sale for that matter.

kare-bearb · ‎08-27-2021

My understanding is that only the country needs to be in English & that it is done that way so that the local carriers can read the label when it reaches the buyer's country.

Edited to add ....

Oh shoot. I didn't see that the package is staying in the US.

bigdeals.etc · ‎08-27-2021

@kare-bearb wrote:
My understanding is that only the country needs to be in English & that it is done that way so that the local carriers can read the label when it reaches the buyer's country.

Huh? So hypothetically if an international Arabic buyer purchases and uses strictly Arabic alphabet (except the country of course), when I print out the postage label thru ebay... the shipping address on the label will be blank but the country??

7794heather · ‎08-27-2021

I had a buyer whose whole address-name and all was in Russian letters. The problem was the address was too long and the label wouldn't print because it had too many characters on one line and I didnt know what I could or couldnt edit (just by putting it on another line). I messaged the buyer, explained the situation nicely, he came back all rude and told me what a stupid American I was blah blah blah, when I was only trying to get the right info to get his items to him. I immediately called ebay ( when ebay could be called) and explained. CS just told me to cancel order due to buyer address problem. I was told if I got a red donut they would take it off due to the notes on my account about this problem.

I mean....if it would have just printed, I would have just gone on my merry way, but it errored and had to be corrected.

bigdeals.etc · ‎08-27-2021

Yea that character limit is another very common problem. I get that often and usually am able to figure it out someway. Like do whatever I can to make the label print out then hand write the parts that might be "missing" from the address.

Of course you can't do this if your package is going to some sort of sorting facility where the buyer's actual address is kept internally within the postage or barcode and the facility creates another postage going directly to said address.

dbfolks166mt · ‎08-27-2021

If you cannot print a label with a valid address I would recommend canceling the sale due to a problem with the buyers address. Curious how long the buyer has been on eBay and if they have any feedback. If they are a new seller there is a possibility that their address information in their account is incorrect.

bigdeals.etc · ‎08-27-2021

@dbfolks166mt wrote:
If you cannot print a label with a valid address I would recommend canceling the sale due to a problem with the buyers address. Curious how long the buyer has been on eBay and if they have any feedback. If they are a new seller there is a possibility that their address information in their account is incorrect.

Feedback: 20. Registered Jan 2021

dbfolks166mt · ‎08-27-2021

Well it appears as though others have shipped to him/her without any problem. Depending on the value of the item you sold you will need to weight the risk. You could try contacting the buyer about the address but if his/her language skills are limited you may run into a communication barrier.

bigdeals.etc · ‎08-27-2021

@dbfolks166mt wrote:
Well it appears as though others have shipped to him/her without any problem. Depending on the value of the item you sold you will need to weight the risk. You could try contacting the buyer about the address but if his/her language skills are limited you may run into a communication barrier.

Yea, on another note, you have to wonder about the other buyers who have okay feedback (50 or more) that have shipping address on file that totally fail the ebay filter to create postage. There's times I've spent a day or two trying to make the postage work... usually involves calling CS to help me "revise" the address. There's no way that I'm the first seller whose run into that problem with that 50+ feedback buyer.

stainlessenginecovers · ‎08-27-2021

Post #6 is correct way to handle it; as you know, if you 'edit' and 'figure it out' you lose any cough-cough... seller protection.

bigdeals.etc · ‎08-27-2021

@stainlessenginecovers wrote:
Post #6 is correct way to handle it; as you know, if you 'edit' and 'figure it out' you lose any cough-cough... seller protection.

Yup... weigh your choices and pick your battles. One huge aspect of having your own business is the ability to deviate and go with your gut sometimes. At least what's left after following ebay policy.

coffeebean832 · ‎08-27-2021

I reported this to eBay FaceBook support a few days ago. It's been happening for years. The address prints, but the name is blank. Go to the same order to print a packing slip and the name generates just fine- the problem is exclusive to eBay shipping labels.

Every time this happens with a label purchased on eBay I have to open the PDF of the shipping label in Photoshop, then I take a screenshot of the buyer's name from the orders page and layer it onto the label- then print. It's a huge pain.

Next time you talk to eBay CS please bring up this problem. The more people we get added to the tech ticket the better.

bigdeals.etc · ‎08-27-2021

@coffeebean832 wrote:

Every time this happens with a label purchased on eBay I have to open the PDF of the shipping label in Photoshop, then I take a screenshot of the buyer's name from the orders page and layer it onto the label- then print. It's a huge pain.

As I was reading this part of your reply... I instinctively rolled my eyes and let out a big "Ugh..." thinking that's waaaaaay too much work for me to even do. I'm a super lazy seller. My wife says that isn't just limited to the seller part of me.

1786davycrockett · ‎08-27-2021

If the package is being shipped to a sorting facility for re-shipment to another country, it is very possible that the language being used in the destination country uses only Arabic characters, and a name written in English characters might be meaningless to the delivery agents.

Some Arabic words do not translate easily to our alphabet, by the way -- I have seen multiple English spellings of the same Arabic word -- so mistakes in translation, from Arabic to English, are possible.

It shouldn't be that difficult to do a tracing of the Arabic name on the shipping label, and your buyer may well appreciate your effort!

coffeebean832 · ‎08-27-2021

It is too much work which is why I reported the problem again. The problem has been reported several times over the years through this forum and through phone CS and it hasn't been fixed yet. I decided to try FaceBook and gave them an order number and a screenshot of the label. FB support came back and said the tech team thinks it's an issue with my printer and asked me if I could copy the name from the orders page into a word processor and see if the name would print.

There's no problem with my printer. I've had at least 4 different computers, 3 different printers and several different browsers over the years this problem has been occurring. The name with its foreign characters prints with zero issues through Word/Excel. It prints just fine when purchasing the label through stamps.com. It also prints fine if you generate the packing slip on eBay. The problem is exclusive to eBay shipping labels. I sent all this info to FB and they passed it to the tech team. With all of that additional info, the tech team opened a formal ticket. If you can get yourself added to that ticket and give them specific order numbers to reference that would be great. The more people that refuse to brush it off, the better the chance we'll see a fix.

The only reason I take the time to add the name with Photoshop is because it would be even more work to deal with delivery issues after the fact.