USPS Parcel Select Ground no longer an option???????

[teamstandy]

When I list items, 99% of the time I use USPS Parcel Select Ground. I sold an item tonight and went to print the shipping label. I see under Service that "USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope" has been selected, but over to the right it shows the seller selected USPS Parcel Select Ground (which was the only option in my listing, and this item can't be shipped in an envelope).

I contacted eBay support to see what the deal was and was informed that USPS Parcel Select Ground is no longer an option (and hasn't been for at least 5 months). I explained to the rep that I have listed dozens of items the past 5+ months and nearly always select that shipping option.

When I asked her why this was done, she said USPS chose to no longer offer that option. She also said my ability to continue to list items with this shipping option is a bug they know about. I find it hard to believe it's a bug that hasn't been fixed in 5 months.

Has anyone else here ran into this problem? This is a big deal for me. I'm not a "power seller", but I have 170 items listed, which means I now have to touch everyone one of my listings and find a different shipping method. I'm really frustrated by this.

[nobody*s_perfect · Accepted solution]

Parcel Select Ground did recently disappear from the options for purchasing eBay shipping labels.  But this is a glitch. Contrary to what Customer Support has been telling people, there has been no change in the way USPS offers Parcel Select or other Ground services.  You can still purchase a label for Parcel Select Ground through all other online postage services, including PayPal where you can purchase your label at

www.PayPal.com/shipnow

However, you will probably find that the cost difference between Parcel Select Ground and the online price for Priority Mail is just a few cents.  

IMHO it doesn't make sense to offer Parcel Select Ground in most situations.  But you can leave your listings set to Parcel Select Ground and then either purchase the labels elsewhere (such as PayPal) or spend a few extra cents to ship via Priority Mail (and you'll get free insurance and maybe a free box).

[teamstandy]

Thanks for the feedback nobody's_perfect and thank you for the PayPal tip!!  It blows my mind that the eBay rep I chatted with for about 20 minutes didn't just say "We don't offer it on our shipping page any more, but you can still purchase from PayPal". It would have turned a frustrating 20 minute conversation into a 5 minute chat.

I found out (too late) that I selected the wrong label printer when going through the process to print a shipping label. There was no option for Rollo, but in the link below from Rollo, they tell you which one to select. I haven't tried this yet as it would have required cancelling the label and dealing with USPS and PayPal to refund my money to get my original money back. I ended up just printing it to my standard printer this time:

https://support.rolloprinter.com/support/solutions/articles/29000000802-paypal-setup-for-rollo

The problem with Priority Mail is that often times, the items I'm shipping don't fit very well in a Priority Mail box (e.g a Hot Wheel is far too small for that, so I ship those in a 4"x4" box). In my experience, Parcel Select Ground is typically several dollars cheaper than any Priority mail option.  Maybe I'm misunderstanding you.

Thanks for your help!

Andy

[nobody*s_perfect]

Many years ago the price difference was dollars, but not any more.   Here are the current prices for online Priority Mail and Parcel Select Ground. As you can see, the price difference for each weight/zone combination  is a few cents. For Zones 1 - 4, Priority costs literally 10 cents more for any weight. Shipping 10 pounds to Zone 8 via Parcel Select costs $37.83 and Priority costs $38.18, which is just 65 cents more.  Top Rated Sellers get a 3% discount on Priority Mail postage when purchasing labels through eBay so for them Priority would be cheaper.  And you get insurance and maybe a free box. 

You can use Priority Mail for any box, you don't have to use the official free boxes that you get from USPS.

http://pe.usps.com/cpim/ftp/manuals/dmm300/notice123.pdf

Many sellers who ship packages up to 1 pound prefer to use First Class package postage to save money. If you purchase postage online the weight limit is 15.99 ounces.  THAT difference can be a few dollars.

[nobody*s_perfect]

Also:

eBay customer service reps sometimes just make things up, and sometimes give advice based on their own inferences rather than on actual facts. Such as concluding "Well if its not on the label form then it doesn't exist any more." As you can see from the above price chart and linked document, Parcel Select Ground is alive and well.

If you still have printer problems, try saving the label as a pdf and then send that to print.

[buyselljack2016]

@teamstandy 

I believe you when you say Parcel Select is not there for you, but for some others that may stop by this thread as they are also having a problem with the choices that eBay is showing in some instances clicking on "compare all services" may render more choices, with Parcel Select waaaaaaaay   down the page.

Below UPS,  and FedEx  

 

 

[nobody*s_perfect]

That's what makes this glitch so special: It can be seen by some sellers and not others. I'm one of the sellers who doesn't see Parcel Select.

[teamstandy]

@nobodys_perfect

Thanks for chart and info. I had no idea (obviously) that priory mail did not require USPS Priority boxes. Very good to know!

@buyselljack2016

I did end up finding that hyperlink to show all shipping choices, but Parcel Select Ground  (or even just Parcel Select) STILL wasn't showing up. I literally shipped Parcel Select Ground within 10 days ago, so I have no clue why all of a sudden it's become an issue.

For now, it's all good since I'm able to go to PayPal and ship Parcel Select Ground from there. I just expect more from a big corporation like eBay. I know there can be hiccups in the system, but the rep I chatted with should have referred me to PayPal.  

[teamstandy]

@nobody*s_perfect 

Just to confirm, when I select shipping service, as long as it doesn't say "flat rate", I can use any box, correct? So the one I have selected below (USPS Priority Mail) is what I probably should be using????

[nobody*s_perfect]

Yes. Whatever boxes you have been using for Parcel Select can be used for Priority Mail and that's the option you would choose when setting up the listing.

The shipping calculator in eBay listings defaults to show the retail postage cost for Priority Mail, so it will seem much higher than Parcel Select.  But if you want to charge buyers the online price, you can change that in your Site preferences.  Many sellers leave the calculator set to retail, so the online savings is a built-in handling fee to cover boxes, fees, etc.

Parcel Select and Parcel Select Ground are the same thing.  The retail equivalent that you'd get at the Post Office counter is called Retail Ground. Both services used to be known as Parcel Post.

And finally: The prices shown in your screen shot are for 1 pound. As noted above, you can save on postage by shipping those items via First Class package, which includes tracking but not insurance.

[teamstandy]

I was doing some reading about Priority Mail and one article said the shipping label must be placed in the upper right-hand corner of the package. Is this true?

They also mentioned Priority Mail stickers (available for free from USPS). Is that something I need to put on a box being shipped Priority Mail?

Thanks,

Andy

[buyselljack2016]

@teamstandy 

And to add to what nobody*s said about 1st class being cheaper........................  even if your listing shows Parcel Select as the shipping method you can switch it out to 1st Class when you ship, as that would be an upgrade in service.

[buyselljack2016]

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@teamstandy wrote:

I was doing some reading about Priority Mail and one article said the shipping label must be placed in the upper right-hand corner of the package. Is this true?

They also mentioned Priority Mail stickers (available for free from USPS). Is that something I need to put on a box being shipped Priority Mail?

Thanks,

Andy

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Upper right if you can, but will still go.

I like to put a couple of Priority stickers on my packages just to make it more noticeable for my carrier so that they can easily stick it in the right pile.  When they get back to the office the clerk has often departed for the day, and the carrier must put it in the right stack for the contract carrier truck.

You can order the labels along with some "free" boxes, but your P.O. would probably not have an issue with just giving you a few to use. 

[nobody*s_perfect]

I've never read that, about upper-right corner.  I might have read about putting it in the center of the box. And also you should put it on the largest side of the box, not on a narrow side.  But it probably is just a preference, I've never heard of any package having delivery problems due to label placement, other than folding it over the edge (on a small box) in which case it could be accidentally delivered to the return address.

Keep the bar code part of the label flat; don't let two flaps meet underneath it -- you could just rotate the label 90 degrees.

The Priority Mail stickers can ensure that your package is handled as a Priority Mail package rather than as Parcel.    Also they can be used to cover up information like old shipping addresses and bar codes.

[teamstandy]

@nobody*s_perfect 

Now I think I've messed up lol   I had started modifying my listings to Priority Mail, but they're typically over one pound. Are you saying the option in my screenshot is only for items up to 1 lb?

Also, can you explain a little more about the online vs. retail shipping costs? I'm not real clear on that.

Thanks,

Andy