Buyer selected Parcel Select Shipping and I am unable to print a label

[travelnurse74]

The buyer selected USPS parcel select shipping for  a littler under $20.  When I go to print up a label it goes to an envelope option which is weird, but  allows me to pick other options.  But the option for parcel select ground is not there.  There is only basic ground shipping and the cost is $30 ship and that is with the online discount.  Normal USPS ground fees are outrageous!   Do I reach out to Ebay for clarification? I really don't want to eat this extra $10 for shipping. 

[wastingtime101]

eBay allows sellers to offer a wide range of shipping services through their listings, but they don't offer every one of those services through their label purchase page.

A few examples include:
- Retail Ground (a retail service available exclusively at USPS retail locations)
- Parcel Select (currently available through eBay labels only to Top Rated Sellers, but can be purchased through any other online shipping provider that offers USPS)
- Media Mail (can only be purchased through eBay for select categories due to how much the service is abused. An item might qualify for MM even though eBay labels doesn't offer it for that category, but you can purchase it through any other online shipping provider that offers USPS or at the retail counter)
- Letter/Flat service (it's an untracked USPS First Class service which is the likely reason eBay doesn't offer it through their label platform)

The system will typically default to the first shipping option on the list (often Priority Flat Rate Envelope). You can purchase an alternate service through eBay, but if you want to purchase a label for the one designated on the listing then you can go to pirateship.com or to paypal.com/shipnow

[nobody*s_perfect]

eBay has decided to phase out access to Parcel Select Ground labels, even though USPS has made no changes in their services or policies, and it's offered by all other online postage sellers including PayPal (at www.PayPal.com/shipnow ), endicia, stamps.com, etc. You can even get it at usps.com's Click N Ship!

When Parcel Select Ground is not offered on the label page, it often shows Priority flat rate envelope instead. But that doesn't mean that's what your buyer chose or paid for, it's just the default.

eBay has not made any official announcement about this policy. The only reference I have seen is comment #15 made by an eBay staffer in this thread: "USPS Parcel Select is being phased out as an option for sellers using eBay Labels. This was due to it not being widely utilized, and having a higher rate of poor buyer experiences (more common INRs, etc). "

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Weekly-Discussion-with-eBay/Community-Chat-December-9-1-00-pm-PT-Gener...

Compare prices before you decide to purchase Parcel Select elsewhere rather than using an eBay label for regular Priority Mail. The USPS online price for Priority Mail is sometimes not much more than Parcel Select Ground, especially for lighter weights and closer Zones. If you're a TRS you get a 3% discount when purchasing Priority labels through eBay.

[travelnurse74]

Thanks for replying.  I have used Parcel ground labels before and Ebay allowed me to choose that as a shipping option for this item, so I find it strange they wouldn't allow the label.  I have always used Ebay shipping labels and they only give me shipping options based on the item I am selling.  I guess I will try one of the other shipping options 

[nobody*s_perfect]

Complaints about access to Parcel Select Ground labels started some time in late 2019.  The above comment about "phasing out" was posted by an eBay employee in December 2020. AFAIK the phase-out is now complete, except that eBay has made an exception for Top Rated Sellers. So, if we believe the staff comments,  TRS can purchase Parcel Select labels through eBay but if you lose TRS status then you lose access to those labels.

The shipping calculator in eBay listings defaults to show the retail price for Priority Mail, which exaggerates the price difference between Priority and Parcel Select.