Shipping Label help needed

[wooddoc]

My local Post Office is short handed and a disaster! Packages sometimes sit for days before they are scanned. Therefore I wish to send my packages out from another Post Office that is just as close, but it is another zip code. So, my question is: How do I change my settings to allow for my ORIGINATION ZIP CODE to be different from my return address? Under the old system when using Paypal for labels, it was easy to change. Is it now possible while using Ebay funds for label payment. I cannot see how to do it. Thanks for any help!

[goodbrakes]

If you are printing the label it does not matter what Post Office you drop off the packages.

We drop off to three different Post Offices depending on what direction we are going on a given day.

[luckythewinner]

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@goodbrakes wrote:

If you are printing the label it does not matter what Post Office you drop off the packages.

We drop off to three different Post Offices depending on what direction we are going on a given day.

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Buy a Priority label from Georgia to Florida and try dropping it off in Seattle and see what happens 🙂

All joking aside ... 

As long as the postage is correct, I do not think they probably care. A clerk a few year ago suggested that as long as the first two digits were the same and the postage is correct, they will accepted them. 

I have to imagine that when they do the acceptance scan, it is smart enough to check the zip code and if it is different check the rates to see if there is postage due. 

[ebooksdiva]

No need to change anything. Just print your label as usual. Then drop off your packages to ANY post office. I do this all the time because the main post office here does'nt scan packages at all. So I go a town over to drop my packages and have no issues. 

[monroe67]

Your origination zip code would be the location where your items are before they are sold/packaged/collected by the USPS.  For many of us, that's our homes.  Maybe if you have a storage unit or work from a warehouse, that might be the origination zip code.  

As another poster has said, I can choose from two or three post offices that are not a far drive from my home.  There was one I used to go to but noticed that tracking, like, never got scanned until the package was "out for delivery" in Miami or Boston.  (I am in San Diego.)  

[monica-sells]

@wooddoc 

I also use a couple of different drop-off points (USPS)

I was told as long as I am within my originating zone, my preprinted label for calculated shipping would be accepted/accurate. Priority Flat Rate can be sent from ANYWHERE to ANYWHERE.....

this is what I was told....

(in fact, i have sent a preprinted ebay label flat rate envelope from Florida, well out of my zone)

[mtgraves7984 · Accepted solution]

Account Settings/Personal info/Addresses/Ship from address

[rfmtm]

You do this on the Create label page.  The option is under you return address on the right side.  Once you change the Origination Zip Code, it will stick until you change it back.  This setting is separate from your return address in your ebay Profile.

By using the correct Origination Zip Code you insure the postage calculation is correct and that post office gets credit for processing your mail, so you won't have clerks trying to give you a hard time about it.

[itsjustasprain]

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@rfmtm wrote:

By using the correct Origination Zip Code you insure the postage calculation is correct and that post office gets credit for processing your mail, so you won't have clerks trying to give you a hard time about it.

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Yes - the Ship from ZIP is for showing that the correct postage calculation was made for shipping from that location. It has nothing to do with a PO getting credit - that is what the tracking is for.

Clerks have been known to say that the Ship from ZIP is for getting 'credit' for handling the package but that is simply wrong. They get credit by scanning the package and that shows in their system that they were the ones who handled it. POs that do not scan packages have only themselves to blame if they cannot prove what their workload is.

[wastingtime101]

Hey @wooddoc. As long as the first three zip code digits of the PO you're shipping from are the same as the first three digits as your ship-from address zip code then you do not need to change anything. Just drop them off at the other PO.

[rfmtm]

@itsjustasprain  Well that certainly sounds more logical, that the tracking acceptance scan is the credit for processing and not the Origination Zip Code.  Would be nice to have an official link to that fact, as so many of us over the years have be told the opposite.

[itsjustasprain]

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@rfmtm wrote:

@itsjustasprain  Well that certainly sounds more logical, that the tracking acceptance scan is the credit for processing and not the Origination Zip Code.  Would be nice to have an official link to that fact, as so many of us over the years have be told the opposite.

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I agree; that old wives' tale (that the Ship From ZIP is supposed to be for getting 'credit') has been going around for YEARS. However - I dont think that the USPS has published anything in the category of correcting rumors. At least not on this topic. Although anyone who is into IT or database management will probably recognize how the tracking system works and what each scan can tell you.

For example - this idea about the Shipped From ZIP numbers printed on the label being responsible for giving the local PO 'credit' for the item would require someone squinting at each and every label to make sure it corresponds to the origin PO on its way in the door, and then -- if it doesnt match -- doing... what exactly? Rejecting the package? Pulling it out of the drop box and returning it to the sender? What about ZIP codes such as 60606 (downtown Chicago) that are served by MULTIPLE POs within the same downtown area? Who should get 'credit' when several POs are actually within the Zone?

The answer of course is that the Ship From ZIP printed on the label isnt how the PO gets 'credit' at all. They scan the package - and that not only logs its presence in the system but also notes EXACTLY which location has it and when.

The purpose of the Ship From ZIP is to show how the pre-paid postage was calculated. Thus the package can therefore be mailed from any post office whose origin zone matches that of the ZIP on the label. As someone has already mentioned - the rule of thumb is that if the first three digits of the Ship From ZIP match those of the origin PO - the pre-paid postage is correct for that location.