ESUS Shipping Problems... do something about it.

[trios_aquatic_garden]

Approximately 10-25% of my orders that have the Ebay provided ESUS shipping method never arrive and 50% of them arrive significantly late (weeks to months). This is completely unacceptable for a shipping method, and Ebay needs to step in and fix their shipping method. I am not the only one having this problem, searching google "ESUS shipping doesn't arrive" shows dozens of results with ppl saying the same thing, going back at least 5 years. What is being done about this by Ebay? Does Ebay just think this is acceptable losses or something that they don't want to do anything about it? I don't consider repeatedly getting a refund to be an acceptable outcome, because it wastes my time waiting for the item to arrive and then having to order it again, and it happens way too often.

[wastingtime101]

It's not an eBay service, it's a USPS service and while some issues are regional with USPS, many of the issues are due to sellers not meeting the specific packing requirements.

We'd need more details to further assist.

[1786davycrockett]

@trios_aquatic_garden 

Currently, you have no items listed on your site, and only 2 items seem to have been sold in July 2024.

What shipped items are you causing you problems, and how were they being shipped (Ground Advantage, Priority, Priority Express, Media, or what?)

[wastingtime101]

Based on the original poster talking about getting refunds and having to place new orders, I believe they are the buyer having problems with ESE, not the seller.

[trios_aquatic_garden]

You say it's not an ebay service, it has ebay's name on it "eBay Standard Delivery: ESUS####". It lists a tracking number, and when you click on it, USPS tracking says "status not available". I have asked the postal workers in the post office to try to find my item with the tracking number and they tell me it is not a USPS service. So you're saying it's a USPS service, but the post office is saying it's not their's. So who is telling the truth?

I'm trying to buy collectible cards, I'm not selling things and having this problem by selling. 3 weeks ago I ordered 4 different items from one vendor, all were shipped ESUS shipping method. 2 of the items arrived, and the other 2 are lost and never arrived. That's a 50% non-arrival rate. One could reasonably assume that the vendor is using the same packing method for all of the items, so that is a cop-out answer that their packing wasn't correct. And even if it was the problem, based on that assumption (which I don't believe), it would appear that those packing instructions are not specific enough or it is very easy to mess up, meaning EBAY needs to change the instructions. It is consistently like this across vendors and across dozens of orders I have made over the last year. I'm not making this up, and I'm not exaggerating, there is a serious problem with the ESUS shipping method. I'm not going to be gaslit into believing there isn't a problem. FIX IT, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT don't just lazily wave your hand and dismiss what I'm telling you here. I've been ordering items with ESUS method for a while now and its consistent across basically all of the vendors I have ordered from. Average 25% non arrival rate. It's very frustrating to not get my items at all or not get them in a timely manner and not know if I should expect to actually receive the item or not, because then I have to order multiple times to just get the product I am trying to get.

[ssateneth]

It uses USPS data. But the data is not public facing. Ebay and USPS have a closed doors agreement that ebay can exfiltrate the limited data from the intelligent mail barcode and present it to the ebay seller/buyer as "tracking". This is why USPS does not say it's tracking and they won't insure it. It's not reliable information.

Ebay knows it's not reliable information. That's why they offer $20 insurance on their dollar.

As far as ESUS going lost/missing, I will say this is likely in large part from the shipping label being illegible (using an inkjet printer that smears the address or electronic stamp code in the top right), or the seller not aligning the shipping label to the top right of the envelope (this causes the envelope to not be machineable since the stamp is not in the expected location for automated machinery to scan. it must be at the top right), or the sellers ignoring USPS rules for letters by inserting materials that are far too thick or rigid to allow automated machinery to process it. Any time an envelope is non-machineable, it won't get intelligent mail barcode scans, so it won't get any tracking updates. It may also get charged non-machineable fees against the recipient, or returned to sender at the seller's cost.

[trios_aquatic_garden]

What I am seeing is that USPS is trying to say it's not their problem and to go ask Ebay, then you Ebay ppl are trying to tell me to go talk to USPS about it because it's not your problem. This is not an acceptable resolution. There is clearly some issue with the interface between Ebay and USPS with this shipping method. And I need someone at Ebay to do something about because Ebay created this issue, by listing ESUS as a shipping option for vendors and not having it be a reliable service.

[blueduece58]

@trios_aquatic_garden 

What you have to realize is that eBay Standard Delivery is not a trackable service according to the USPS. It is actually a metered mail service that most business use to ship you your junk mail and other things. It was not meant to be used as a service that has traditional tracking.

The Postal Clerks and the mail delivery persons can't scan the barcode. It also should be dropped off at the Post Office in the metered mail slot and not handed to the clerks are dropped in with the regular mail. Thuis just slows down the process. The only time this service gets scanned is when it arrives at the Sorting center closest to the seller (acceptance scan) and then when it the arrives at the sorting center closest to the buyer.

From there it can take 2 days to a couple of weeks to finally be delivered to the buyer.

There are strict rules that need to be followed by the seller such as placing the items in the envelope to the left side and the barcode to the upper right corner of the envelope. The envelope needs to be flexible enough to run through the automated sorting system and be bent roughly half-way. If it's too rigid or thick it will jam the machinery and then have to be removed and usually the envelope will incur a .46 charge for non-machinable mail.

eBay started this to help sellers of lightweight items that normally would ship by letter mail get a little protection against INR claims.

You can sign up on USPS Informed delivery and since it is technically letter mail it will actually get a picture of the envelope uploaded there showing when it might get delivered.

This is all eBay's baby and just like most things they have come up with lately not very good or efficient.

[trios_aquatic_garden]

With regards to the previously stated record of a series of items I ordered from a single vendor, 1 more of the items did arrive today, 2 weeks late, which is still a 25% non-arrival rate (3 out of 4 arrived).

@blueduece58 This answers the question of why things I have been ordering arrive late or not at all. There is usually a 1mm thick plastic card protector over the items i order, which under this description you have given me, explains that the items probably would get stuck in the machine. Since it happens so often, I would suggest that the instructions be made more clear about not including rigid objects in the packaging, because I don't think most of the vendors understand that. At least I can send the sellers a message now about what they need to do, but still, this shouldn't be on me to explain to them what they need to do for my items to arrive on time or at all. How does one escalate this to Ebay to get them to provide proper instructions to sellers not to include rigid objects in the mailer? This is probably also costing Ebay a lot of money since I presume they pay for items that don't arrive as part of the insurance on the item up to $20. Maybe their losses adding up are incentive enough to change it.

Thank you for your actually helpful response.

[worldcoinauctions]

Do keep in mind that you are not talking to anyone from ebay, just to other buyers and sellers who frequent these boards. All advice is based on the person's experience and is not at all official. I do think you are on the right track as to the source of your problems, I sell cards on another account and had to learn to only ship them in a penny sleeve and not a top loader or they are too rigid and are either damaged/destroyed or returned as non machinable. I do offer ground advantage shipping on my cards, but no one wants to pay $5 to get a $1 card delivered (good thing too or the final value fees will actually leave me negative.)

[richard1rst]

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@trios_aquatic_garden wrote:

Approximately 10-25% of my orders that have the Ebay provided ESUS shipping method never arrive and 50% of them arrive significantly late (weeks to months). This is completely unacceptable for a shipping method, and Ebay needs to step in and fix their shipping method. I am not the only one having this problem, searching google "ESUS shipping doesn't arrive" shows dozens of results with ppl saying the same thing, going back at least 5 years. What is being done about this by Ebay? Does Ebay just think this is acceptable losses or something that they don't want to do anything about it? I don't consider repeatedly getting a refund to be an acceptable outcome, because it wastes my time waiting for the item to arrive and then having to order it again, and it happens way too often.

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Actually I put it to you is is more the fault of the seller (i.,e. shipper) than it is eBay’s.

SELLERS PAY ATTENTION

You can not just slap the label in the middle of the envelope as you do with a package. That little squiggly design in the upper right corner is the equivalent of a metered mail stamp. Just as you would put a regular stamp in the upper right corner of an envelope, so must you place the metered stamp in that same upper right corner. The ESUS envelopes are handled like metered mail. The scanner ONLY looks in the upper right corner. If the metered stamp isn't there the machine assumes that no postage has been paid. So it gets kicked out.

THERE IS YOUR PROBLEM

[goodnu9]

Sending a baseball card in a soft sleeve and toploader should pass thru the machine as long as it's less than 1/4" thick and envelope flexible on both ends so the machine can grab it. My problem occasionally, I will have envelopes wrapped in an elastic band with only the top envelope marked for more postage, claiming non-machinable. **bleep**! The machine operator is playing God and determines it's non machinable by looking and handling it. (I was told this by a clerk at the PO) No proper equipment used to determine if it's machinable or not. The envelopes don't see the light of day of a machine. They are returned to me nice and clean. So the next day, I mail the same envelopes  (the top one I will re-print the label since the PO marked on it) and lord and behold, the envelopes show tracking the next day!

[wildwillyssportscard]

eBay shipping has lost 3 of my items just this month costing me time and money fighting to get my money back.

Some buyers know that tracking is never updated and the item died arrive so they submit fraudulently and eBay believes them without giving appropriate time for the package to arrive.