Seller Performance Dinged FOr USPS failure to scan

[paisleycrazy]

I ship the old-fashioned way by taking my items into the post office to get labels and be shipped.  My Top Seller designation is being dinged for not having the tracking scanned.  I provide the tracking number myself to the buyer, but I cannot make the carrier scan it.  It is the fault of the USPS - not me - if it is not scanned.  Why do I get penalized for it!!

[wastingtime101 · Accepted solution]

Generally when you buy labels at the post office counter, it's an automatic acceptance.

Your "tracking uploaded on time and validated" rating was impacted, correct?

Are you adding tracking to the transaction within your handling time, or are you just messaging the buyer with the tracking number?

[brightlightbookseller]

What do you mean the tracking isn't scanned?  If you're going to the counter, they should scan it accepted right there.  If you were printing labels and then just dropping it in a box or whatever I could see this being more likely, but I don't know why they wouldn't be scanning it at the counter.  If that's truly not happening, I'd complain to the postmaster at your post office.  This isn't an eBay issue, it's a USPS issue, if we're getting the correct information.

[luckythewinner]

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@paisleycrazy wrote:

I ship the old-fashioned way by taking my items into the post office to get labels and be shipped.  My Top Seller designation is being dinged for not having the tracking scanned.  I provide the tracking number myself to the buyer, but I cannot make the carrier scan it.  It is the fault of the USPS - not me - if it is not scanned.  Why do I get penalized for it!!

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When you purchase a label at the post office, the clerk should be scanning the label as accepted.

Providing the number to the buyer is not enough - you need to get the receipt from the postal clerk, and then promptly add the tracking number to the eBay transaction. 

This is exactly why so many sellers buy their labels from eBay. In addition to the discounts that eBay offers over the price you pay at the USPS counter, the tracking number is also automatically added to the transaction so you do not have to do that task.

[redmodelt]

My question would be: why are you not taking advantage of the discount you get by buying your postage through eBay and having the tracking automatically uploaded? The buyer would be getting messages that keeps them updated. 

[tobaccocardyahoo]

If you insist on doing things the old-fashioned way, you need to add the tracking number to the order and mark the order shipped when you get home.

More work than buying postage online, and more expensive for your non-media sales and possibly your light weight media sales,  but your choice.

You might serve your best interests by adding a day to your handling time IF the issue is no origin scan.

[itsjustasprain]

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@paisleycrazy wrote:

I ship the old-fashioned way by taking my items into the post office to get labels and be shipped.

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You are paying full retail for the postage that way as well as assigning yourself the task of adding the tracking number to the sale as soon as you get home. The USPS puts a tracking barcode on every package - but if you are buying the label over the counter then Ebay has no way of knowing how to track your package if you do not upload that number to the sale. Sending the number to your buyer is fine but you have to add it to the transaction in order for Ebay to see your shipping.

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@paisleycrazy wrote:

I provide the tracking number myself to the buyer, but I cannot make the carrier scan it.  It is the fault of the USPS - not me - if it is not scanned.  Why do I get penalized for it!!

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Your package is scanned at the time you buy the label and at multiple points through to delivery. But Ebay cannot see that tracking unless you provide them with the number for that sale.

If you have a printer you can purchase your labels at a discount through Ebay and the tracking number will be automatically uploaded. If you do not have a printer you can still make the purchase through Ebay and get a QR code sent to your phone. The USPS can scan that code at the front counter and print the label for you.

[buyselljack2016]

When purchasing a label at the USPS counter , unless this is being done at some little "podunk" manual office where all they have is a handheld scanner, there is "no scan" to be done. The purchasing, generating of that label automatically enters that tracking # into the system.

[buyselljack2016]

To be noted. OP does lots of MM shipping which costs the same at the PO as online.

[brightlightbookseller]

Yeah, I wouldn't be worried about that part for them, just the fact that they're probably not putting the tracking number into the eBay order, just sending it to the buyer.  I didn't think about that for my first comment, but it makes sense.

[mybigsale]

@paisleycrazy

I ship the old-fashioned way by taking my items into the post office to get labels and be shipped.

If you ever decide to purchase postage from eBay you will pay less than the USPS office rate and the tracking number will be automatically entered into eBay for you. If you don't have a printer, you can use scan codes at the post office to print labels for free.

Personally, I choose to drop my packages off at the post office and scan the packages using the USPS self-service kiosk. 100% Tracking uploaded on time and validated for years.

Little to no waiting, even during Christmas holiday season when lines are out the door and the USPS PLANS to not scan for days at times (I was told during the Christmas rush, packages are often not scanned, and trucks may wait for days at the distribution center for processing).

- Long Time TRS

[mr_lincoln]

Hi @paisleycrazy 

I see your account has been around since 1999, first, I'm impressed with that longevity!!!

I am sure in all of those years you know eBay changed and has relied on the carrier (USPS in your example) scan at the counter to record the Acceptance scan within your Handling time when you print your discounted shipping labels through eBay.  This method insures you against Late shipping defects.

I also assume you know that if you buy un-discounted labels at the counter you have to manually load the tracking information to the sold file in order to be protected against Late shipping defects right?

The solution to your problem is simple to correct moving forward as mentioned here and by the first post from @wastingtime101 up thread.

[12345jamesstamps]

I don't want to steps on anyone's toes here...but I ship the old-fashioned way also.

So, some eBay USA sellers will auction those priority stamps or high value stamps and buyer gets lucky with 25-50% off of them at face value thus making it cheaper than using eBay shipping labels...I still get tracking going to the post office using them.

There are a lot of reasons some don't use eBay shipping labels.

I wouldn't like getting an additional charge for incorrect dimensions or I am just in a hurry to mail the item off.

So, rather than knock this post around just stick to the subject.

Package might be 'media mail'...and I have been there as well...when the tracking did not pop up right away but later on. I always mark package with black ink as 'media mail' on it.

Mistakes will always happen with this or that with tracking. It is not a perfect system.

Some sellers try to be like Amazon...and maybe that is a push for eBay to push them with fast shipping and tracking and returns of anything whenever.

But there are some sellers who are still the old fashioned way.

No one should get a 'ding' for this since it's not a perfect system no matter what a seller uses for shipping.

[brightlightbookseller]

The trick (and we're waiting for the OP to confirm) is whether items are not getting scanned, or tracking is not being uploaded.  I expect you put the tracking numbers into eBay, or else you'd also be experiencing problems.

[12345jamesstamps]

Seller sounds and writes like a pro and not a newbie...so it was probably one of those one time mistakes somewhere along the grapevine.