Scan sheets causing late shipments!!

[grasscarp]

Using SCAN sheets does NOT work - at least at my post office. I have had a lot of issues with this recently. When I had the scan sheets scanned,  tracking would show "acceptance pending". What is that ????

Then 2 days later tracking would show "in possession". Since I must ship in 1 day , this 2 day mess is just that - a mess. So I quit using scan sheets and the problem has disappeared. NO MORE SCAN SHEETS!!!! The clerk now scans each package individually which takes them much longer, but they understand that their system is BROKEN!!

[tsme35]

Yes, the USPS is broken. My mail lady will scan all packages but her sub(per rules) will only scan 5. St. Louis MO shipping hub had 2.5 MILLION late or non scan packages just in July alone. 1/3 of my packages don't even get scan until they reach the buyers PO. They raise rates 3 times a year, money more yet the service is getting worse.

[dhbookds]

@grasscarp 

Do those scan sheets "acceptance" show up on Seller Dashboard as late shipments?

Yesterday, at Ebay open.........the question came up and one of the shipping people said that the "acceptance" scan qualifies as a shipment proof for ebay, tho it doesn't register as such on the USPS site.  

[jonathanbrightlight]

We've had no problems with scan sheets, which are a must because between eBay and other platforms, we can drop off up to 200 packages at a time sometimes. I just checked a couple and while most of our orders we shipped yesterday have additional scans already, one has just the "SHIPMENT RECEIVED ACCEPTANCE PENDING" scan as it's most recent scan (which is from the Scan Sheet being scanned), and eBay marks it as "Carrier scan Aug 14".

In fact, for July and August, we have had zero packages marked as "Uploaded on time but no carrier scan" in the report from our Seller Dashboard.

[grasscarp]

YES!!! eBay considers them as "late shipments". Even if I ship within 1 hour of receiving an order.. I live 5 minutes from my PO. I can get an order at 10A.M., drop it off and have it scanned at 11A.M. same day and it will take 2 days to be "accepted" by USPS if I use a scan sheet. Then it may take 2-3 weeks to be delivered. Not good!

I have discussed this with the clerks at the PO. They have no clue as to why it takes their system 2 days to accept a package that they have had in their possession for 2 days and is hundreds of miles into its journey. They have looked at the tracking and cannot explain it. Of course eBay could change their "method" of determining time of shipment to match the USPS initial scan, but..........

[grasscarp]

Count yourself lucky. I hope it continues to work for you!!

[dhbookds]

 so how many late shipments show on your dashboard?  

@grasscarp 

[jonathanbrightlight]

@grasscarp 

No, eBay does not count shipments as "Late shipments" just because the first scan happens after your handling time.  Here's the way the policy is worded (and I can confirm the only shipment showing as late in our history meets both of these criteria, by an intentional decision because the customer asked us to ship late):

With tracking, we'll count an item as late when:

• The delivery scan is after the latest estimated delivery date AND
• There is no carrier scan within your handling time.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/seller-standards-policy?id=4347#late-shipment

So as long as it's delivered on time, being scanned late doesn't matter.

[toysaver]

If I want a guarantee my package is scanned I have to hand it to a clerk and watch them do it.

[grasscarp]

I guess I am pretty lucky. My PO is small, usually 1 clerk, and they will scan as many separate packages as I bring in. But the late deliveries are a pain! Yes, they keep going up on the rates - to make up for cheap (almost free)  Amazon and Chinese deliveries.  

[grasscarp]

Being "delivered" late and "shipping late" are 2 different things.  

Glad you are happy with your experiences.

[grasscarp]

Currently 6 late shipments. These are left over from before I stopped using the scan sheets. These will eventually disappear as eBay does their periodic reviews. 

[dhbookds]

@grasscarp   Thanks.............I was trying to verify what ebay said, which from what you say, is incorrect.

Has anyone else, using scan forms, run into the problem?  

[tobaccocardyahoo]

The recent changes at USPS which limit the number of trucks to the nearest distribution center are still being absorbed. This affects all POs which are 50 miles or more from the distribution center. A majority of POs. One trip per day.

Since most origin scans have not been done at the originating PO for years (even if it says it was scanned) this has affected all scans and scan forms.

The situation today is untenable and likely to change, hopefully for the better.

I recommend sellers increase their handling time. 

[itsjustasprain]

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@dhbookds wrote:

@grasscarp   Thanks.............I was trying to verify what ebay said, which from what you say, is incorrect.

Has anyone else, using scan forms, run into the problem?  

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That was NOT supposed to happen with Ebay. They have said in the past that the 'provisional' Acceptance scan made at the Self Serve Kiosk or via a SCAN sheet would be accepted by them as proof of mailing. If they have stopped doing that then that is a problem.

An Acceptance scan by SSK or SCAN sheet is regarded as Provisional until the package itself gets an in-network scan. The SSK scan is not considered in-network because the sender could scan it and then walk back out the door without dropping it off. The SCAN sheet is provisional because the clerk has only scanned the list of packages and not the packages themselves so it cannot be guaranteed that every package listed on the sheet is actually in the shipment.

So either case is Provisionally Accepted until the package gets a direct scan someplace. Ebay is supposed to accept the Provisional status as proof of mailing.

PS - Forgot to add: the 'provisional' status means that USPS will not pay off on a Missing Mail claim until they have their own in-network scan proving that the package is now in their possession. But otherwise Ebay has stated in the past that a provisional Acceptance is good enough for them to say that the item has actually shipped - not just had a label printed.