Quarterly $25 coupon for shipping supplies not so good a deal any longer

[piedmontvarietystore]

In the past I have been pleased and thankful to get my $25 quarterly coupon to be used in the ebay shipping supplies store.  However, now the deal is not so good due to the lack of inventory and change to the products they are stocking.  In the past I used my coupon to get  the 12"x12"x12" boxes but was told they were "discontinued as the buyer demand for this size was too low or they were cost prohibitive."  I also asked about getting some of the larger padded bubble mailers but only needed 50 (not the minimum 100 pack they sell).  I was told that they receive the mailers in packs of 100 from their supplier and can't break them down to sell to us.  On the smaller boxes I put my shipping labels on the side where the new big blue logo is now located.  I would think that the dark blue logo  would look horrible behind a white label (image bleed through).   Maybe ebay could give us a real coupon to use in a variety of stores that sell shipping supplies or just give us a $25 credit each quarter to use as we see fit. 

[richards*rock*collection]

I thought the tape was very nice, when the first tape came out it was low quality, but now it is good tape, I use it inside my packages to wrap things up in newspaper. 25 bucks, yeah, I have a bunch of stuff from them I won't ever use, but what the heck, it's free isn't it?

[uvmmmdu]

A suggestion: buy the bulk on the envelopes and sell the ones you don't want? Seems there are others that would like lesser amount like yourself.

[orangehound]

---

@piedmontvarietystorewrote:

In the past I have been pleased and thankful to get my $25 quarterly coupon to be used in the ebay shipping supplies store.  However, now the deal is not so good due to the lack of inventory and change to the products they are stocking.

---

The shipping supplies benefit was intended to ease the pain of the dramatic increase in store subscriptions ... like all things, though, prices have to come up or benefits have to come down.  The real reason why stock is being limited is to reduce the cost.

In a year, or two, the only thing you'll be able to get is a sheet of 6 eBay stickers for $25.95.

[nc-daydreamer]

---

@piedmontvarietystorewrote:

In the past I have been pleased and thankful to get my $25 quarterly coupon to be used in the ebay shipping supplies store.  However, now the deal is not so good due to the lack of inventory and change to the products they are stocking.  In the past I used my coupon to get  the 12"x12"x12" boxes but was told they were "discontinued as the buyer demand for this size was too low or they were cost prohibitive."  I also asked about getting some of the larger padded bubble mailers but only needed 50 (not the minimum 100 pack they sell).  I was told that they receive the mailers in packs of 100 from their supplier and can't break them down to sell to us.  On the smaller boxes I put my shipping labels on the side where the new big blue logo is now located.  I would think that the dark blue logo  would look horrible behind a white label (image bleed through).   Maybe ebay could give us a real coupon to use in a variety of stores that sell shipping supplies or just give us a $25 credit each quarter to use as we see fit. 

---

I agree - the value, selection, quantities and cost have become a joke.  Another example of the cliche - "All Good Things Must Come To An End" I suppose.  It was a good idea - a welcomed one; but now I am highly disappointed and disheartened. 

I also agree that if eBay can't do a better job with this task (they started out great - but are now failing not only you and me, but many others too) - they need to come up with a plan 'B' - like letting us use this 'coupon' with any vendor (you have a great idea!) - or bringing back useful products. 

These coupons could be for thousands of dollars - but are no good if there is nothing to spend the money on/for.  Surely, the overseers of this project must realize that if something sold - even if only 1 , then someone had a use for it.  I believe eBay has a responsibility to meet the seller's needs here.  If a seller only needs 20 envelopes and not 200 - they should be able to get them and in the sizes they need. 

Not every seller has the budget, storage space or  need for large quantities of supplies. Ok, so you were told that eBay  gets their deliveries in bulk - that is an expected 'given' fact.  Obvious they do have the budget, storage space and need.  But, we are talking eBay here, right? Not a company that can't afford  to hire someone to count out smaller portions and create a reasonable option for those of us less fortunate who don't  have millions of dollars in the bank. That excuse given you is lame - a very low-class excuse - in my opinion. "Cost prohibitive." Really? I hope eBay is not going bankrupt any time soon - they can't afford a delivery of 12x12x12 carton of boxes? Or someone to count them? Maybe the issue is my comprehension...

Since eBay seems to like surveys so much, why not expend some common sense and make one useful for a change and ask sellers what we need instead of them guessing - and then fill that need.  Would that be asking too much?  No reason for low demand - and no seller left behind/ignored.

I personally liked the idea of a variety pack... like I got last quarter... many sizes of envelopes in one listing.  I was hoping for more like things like that - even a padded envelope pack or/and a variety box pack.  I thought that grouping as it was offered was pure genius. I have not spent my coupon this time yet - as so far, there is nothing to spend it on.  Maybe this is the new strategy - if we don't spend them, then that would mean bigger profits for the big guy?  This whole scenario makes no sense to me.

How about it alan@ebay , or @Anonymous - please provide an explanation for this phenomenon. Does anyone have any reason for this program taking such a downward spiral lately? This is not the first post made about this problem, and likely not the last.  Is there a fix on the horizon that has not been announced? Or has the objective of this project changed so that it only should benefit the larger seller? Thanks for any reply.

[mvls1]

Ebay did already have a survey asking sellers what shipping products they would  use regularly. At the time of the survey the indication was that they would be adding more box sizes for sellers to choose from. We all know what happened with that ( there are now only 4 sizes available).

You are right in recognizing that there are thousands of dollars in coupons that may not be getting used, thus saving ebay a lot of money.  As sellers, we should make our dissatisfaction with the situation known by not allowing our coupons to go unused.

If Ebay's vendor of choice will not add back useful box sizes (8x8, 10x10, 12x12, 16x12x8, 18x14x12, etc.) in quantities that work for him then Ebay should replace him as their vendor. In any case, sellers, use your coupons even if you do not need the supplies. That is our money, allocated as part of the increase in store fees. Don't leave it sit there unused. If you don't need the supplies, give them away, resell them or throw them away. Just don't leave the coupons unused! Personally, I may choose to resell what I can't use just for the shipping cost to get rid of it, undercutting Ebay's vendor. If their bonehead vendor can't figure out how to adjust the quantities of the boxes they sell so we can get the sizes we need without them losing money shipping, then they deserve to be replaced.

[partial*eclipse]

---

@mvls1wrote:

---

 ... use your coupons even if you do not need the supplies. That is our money, allocated as part of the increase in store fees. Don't leave it sit there unused. If you don't need the supplies, give them away, resell them or throw them away. Just don't leave the coupons unused! Personally, I may choose to resell what I can't use ...

That seems to be a popular strategy.  Over 800 listings for the ebay tape!

[piedmontvarietystore]

I thought I would try to reach out to the ebay corporate offices to ask them if they could consider another vendor for fulfillment of shipping supplies offered through the $25 coupon.  Maybe they could find another company that would have more variety and better pricing/quantity options.  I contacted ebay through the Help and Contact link on the seller page and spoke to Robert.  After I explained the situation of there being little variety in the ebayshippingsupplies store, Robert told me that I could use the $25 coupon in a variety of stores on ebay that sell shipping supplies.  I found some other vendors on ebay that sold shipping supplies and tried to use my quarterly coupon but it did not work.  Robert finally agreed that it would not work also.  I asked Robert if he could provide a phone number for the corporate ebay office so that I could suggest that they consider another vendor other than the ebayshippingsupplies store.  He gave me the number of (408) 558-7458.  I called the number and it had been disconnected.  Not wanting to give up I contacted ebay again (through the Help and Contact link on the seller page) and spoke to Michelle.  She did some research and tried to call the number herself.  She said that Robert had given me a bogus phone number.  I asked her for the number for the ebay corporate office and she said that she would have to e-mail them and have them call me (don't call us, we'll call you).  That was yesterday (2/27/18) and I will wait to see if I get a call.  I have really enjoyed selling on ebay but I am beginning to suspect that the corporate offices don't want to be bothered by sellers and therefore they don't value our feedback.  Kind of feels like sellers are little ships on the big ocean of ebay but there are no lighthouses that can provide help when we need it.  

[electrola_man]

I try to use it to buy 6X4X4 boxes.  I use those for at least 50% of what I ship.  They're nice, and it's nice to get this deal on them as one small perk for being a store owner.

[ebbyisme]

If I remember correctly there was a contractual agreement between the shipping supply company and eBay that eBay took bids on. They paid eBay a lot of money for the right to make and sell eBay brand shipping supplies.... in exchange for sole right to be the seller of shipping supplies for the quarterly coupons. I don't think they are going to allow you to use another vendor to use your coupon.... when they have paid a lot of money for that right.

And the less people who use the coupon the less options they will provide.

If you are allowed to resell them, and someone would order shipping supplies (In my case the 6x4x4 boxes) I would gladly purchase them from a small seller... my allotment doesn't last a month sometimes.... if the price is right...... 

[piedmontvarietystore]

Never got a call back from corporate offices...

[mvls1]

Thanks for your effort, but does that really surprise you?