Purchased label, tracking number is associated with another transaction.

[margincut]

Can't reply to any of the older threads with the same issue, even though one is fairly recent.  

Bought label from third party provider, which integrates with eBay API.  Normally item would be marked shipped, but noticed my eBay app on phone still said I had to ship an item.  Opened up eBay and noticed no tracking number attached.

Tried to manually add the tracking number, told it was assoicated with another transaction.  Checked, it was not assoicated with any other transaction done by me  (eBay confirmed this).   Manually added the tracking to paypal, which was accepted, but this has not caused eBay tracking to update.

This problem seems most common with third-party label providers based on past reports, but one of the most recent threads had it occuring even with a purchase from eBay labels.

[missjen831]

USPS recycles tracking numbers so it's possible the tracking number is recycled and was associated with another eBay transaction.

[margincut]

That is possible, but given that USPS may recycle the number after a certain period, it's still an issue for them to resolve as their system doesn't seemed designed to handle it -- whereas paypal seems to work.

These tracking numbers are 22 digits long, it seems odd that doesn't give them the number space to avoid collissions.  From the reports it does seem a lot more common with third-party's using the API, only one case involved eBay labels -- and it that case they claimed it was a software glich.  So it is possible the API may have a bug that is falsely consuming the tracking number with a partial success that fails to ultimately attach the number to a transaction.

No one's been able to confirm yet that there actually was a past transaction that used this tracking number.  Again its odd they'd block a tracking number associated with some prior transaction, but be unable to find a record of the transaction.  

[duchess-at-speakeasy]

When you manually add a tracking number in Paypal, it updates eBay tracking information ONLY if the 2 accounts are linked. This is true even if you hand-write a label. Only the last 2 digits of the 22-digit USPS tracking number identify a specific package. The other 20 numbers apply to an additional 98 packages (01 through 99). It's possible you made a typo or that the 3rd party software thought you were reprinting a label, not creating a new one. Did you prepare any labels earlier? Did you check the name and address to make sure the new label was different? ~~C~~

[margincut]

> When you manually add a tracking number in Paypal, it updates eBay tracking information ONLY if the 2 accounts are linked.

My accounts are linked, I have the "unlink" option.

> It's possible you made a typo

The number is trackable on USPS and enetered exactly as on the label.   Its not associated with any prior shipment made by me.  eBay support confirmed the number is not associated with my account in anyway.

Here's some links to past times I could find this problem appearing:

links:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Archive-Shipping-Returns/Tracking-number-is-already-in-use-for-another...

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Member-To-Member-Support/The-tracking-number-is-already-associated-wit...