Bulk Labels show shipping date as Jan. 1 but Dec. 31 not available -- why??

[sassykzt]

As I went to pay and print labels using bulk shipping I noticed shipping on Friday, Dec 31 is NOT available but Saturday, Jan. 1 is available. WTH?  Does eBay realize Jan. 1 is a holiday???  My 50+ packages all say they must be shipped by 12/31.  I'm just going to print the labels and the SCAN sheet -- my carrier said it would make no difference and USPS would initiate shipping on 12/31 regardless of the label date of 1/1/2022.  Why does eBay do this to sellers?😖

[wastingtime101]

It doesn't make a difference. You can ship packages on 12/31 with a label dated 1/1.

As to the "why" of it:

eBay did not require shipments on 12/24 this year due to irregular PO schedules, despite it being a regular business day for many (link).

It was handled last minute and some theorized that eBay put 12/24 in the system as a holiday as the fastest and easiest way to make sure seller protections were applied and sellers didn't get late shipping marks.

Others said that eBay's botched up holidays in the past with shipping labels so that might have happened again.

We've heard nothing from eBay about giving sellers protections or an optional day off from shipping 12/31. So either eBay botched the dates in the system again, or there are 12/31 protections we weren't notified about (or both). Maybe velvet@ebay has an answer she can share.

[a_c_green]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

It was handled last minute and some theorized that eBay put 12/24 in the system as a holiday as the fastest and easiest way to make sure seller protections were applied and sellers didn't get late shipping marks.

Others said that eBay's botched up holidays in the past with shipping labels so that might have happened again.

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Either sounds plausible, though the reality as far as the USPS is concerned is that it doesn't matter what print date is showing on the label; paid is paid. The PO will accept the package regardless of whether it's dated yesterday or tomorrow; all they're concerned about is that the postage is correct for the package (including verifying that the label matches the special packages such as Flat Rate, Regional Rate A, RRB, etc., if applicable). The tracking scans are what will record the actual date of mailing, delivery and so on.

[klhmdg]

@sassykzt  If you look on the USPS website Federal Hoilday because the holiday is on a Saturday is observed on the Friday before.

Many PO are closed on the Friday date.

It is not a mistake. eBay is following the USPSs website for closures.

It really isnt a big deal. Print the labels and get them scanned as soon as your PO is able.

[wastingtime101]

Pic links to USPS website. I assume that just like Christmas Eve, individual POs may choose not to open or to close early, particularly in smaller rural areas. But generally speaking, POs should be open to some degree.

[velvet@ebay]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

It doesn't make a difference. You can ship packages on 12/31 with a label dated 1/1.

As to the "why" of it:

eBay did not require shipments on 12/24 this year due to irregular PO schedules, despite it being a regular business day for many (link).

It was handled last minute and some theorized that eBay put 12/24 in the system as a holiday as the fastest and easiest way to make sure seller protections were applied and sellers didn't get late shipping marks.

Others said that eBay's botched up holidays in the past with shipping labels so that might have happened again.

We've heard nothing from eBay about giving sellers protections or an optional day off from shipping 12/31. So either eBay botched the dates in the system again, or there are 12/31 protections we weren't notified about (or both). Maybe velvet@ebay has an answer she can share.

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Hi @wastingtime101! I don't believe we should be omitting the 12/31 shipping option. I've also not heard of any seller protections since carriers are business as usual tomorrow. I've reached out to the shipping team and will follow-up when I have news to share. Thanks!

[mookie550]

I've read the comments and understand what everyone is saying that it does not matter, and for the most part, it doesn't. 

BUT...Here is the problem, I have had 2 occasions where my Post Office did NOT accept packages unless the date on the package is the actual date I am dropping them off.  Both occasions were on a Friday and the packages were dated the next day, Saturday.  And both times, they denied taking the packages.  So the first occasion, I had to take them back and had to go out of my way to drop them back off the next day. 

The second time, I literally drove to another Post Office where they had a drop off section away from the counter, and I just threw my packages in there.  Who knows, maybe they sat them aside for the next day, or maybe they were processed that day- I don't remember checking.  Eietherway, it was a huge inconvenience, not to mention the long legal explanation I was given by the Manager why they could not take the packages if dated incorrectly.   It was ridiculous.

BUT, I just wanted to put that out there, that if is possible, drop the packages off yourself at a location that has those drop off sections, because the only times they did not take them was due to an actual employee handling the drop off.  

[deb@shipping · Accepted solution]

Hi @sassykzt thank you for your post. This was an internal issue that has now been corrected. Friday, Dec 31 is now an available 'Ship on' date, and Saturday, Jan 1 has been removed as an available 'Ship on' date, as Saturday is a holiday.  Apologies for any issues this may have caused.

[wastingtime101]

Thanks deb@shipping and velvet@ebay. Can you tell us why this happens and whether or not eBay is putting plans in place to ensure it doesn't happen again? If it was a one-off I wouldn't care, but we've seen it happen a lot over the years.

[wastingtime101]

Apparently nobody checked the work that was done on the fix deb@shipping because now we can't purchase labels for Monday, January 3rd. Why is this so complicated?

[kosmosattik]

"Why does eBay do this to sellers?"

It's just another flub among myriad by the B students from Fresno State.  Some are more consequential than others.  This one not so much.

[d-k_treasures]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

Apparently nobody checked the work that was done on the fix deb@shipping because now we can't purchase labels for Monday, January 3rd. Why is this so complicated?

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It's a new experience every holiday when you ship via ebay.

[a_c_green]

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@mookie550 wrote:

I've read the comments and understand what everyone is saying that it does not matter, and for the most part, it doesn't. 

BUT...Here is the problem, I have had 2 occasions where my Post Office did NOT accept packages unless the date on the package is the actual date I am dropping them off.  Both occasions were on a Friday and the packages were dated the next day, Saturday.  And both times, they denied taking the packages.  So the first occasion, I had to take them back and had to go out of my way to drop them back off the next day. 
[...]

it was a huge inconvenience, not to mention the long legal explanation I was given by the Manager why they could not take the packages if dated incorrectly. 

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It's because they are confusing Metered Mail with PC Postage. Pre-paid mailpieces (packages) using postage purchased on-line, which is what you get using eBay/PayPal, Pirateship, Endicia and so on, are classified as PC Postage, which bears trackable, scannable barcodes, so the USPS can record the time and date of the initial Acceptance as well as travel and delivery at the other end. The date of printing is shown on the label, but is not the date of actual mailing; that is what the Acceptance scan is for.

Metered Mail is the older type of pre-paid postage but is still active (generally for business envelope mailings), using a postage meter and label printer at your home or office that's preloaded with a setting for printing postage that you purchased in advance. (I assume they have on-line payment plans available as well.) That does not print a trackable barcode, only a small label with a date of mailing, so you must get those mailpieces into USPS hands on the date printed on the envelope. It's the same as a round-stamp date cancellation that they use on stamps, showing the date that it was presented for mailing. If your Metered mail is showing the wrong date when you bring it in for mailing, you will have a problem.

[deb@shipping]

Hi @d-k_treasures thanks for flagging, this has been corrected. Apologies for any inconvenience.