Shipping USPS zip codes

[cactus441]

eBay has changed the USPS screens and I no longer can change the Post Office zip I am shipping from.   The mail delivery is from one post office, but I want to ship from the nearest post office, which has a different zip code.

The local Post Office gets credit for packages shipped but only from those where postage is purchased at the PO or the label indicates the PO's zip.

Why is this such a problem  for eBay to continue the practice I have used for years and PayPal still uses.  

Get those Algorithms fixed, back to what we used to have.

[alseyf-73]

Sorry, but you're wrong. USPS changed that requirement to require a full address, and not just a zip code, so eBay complied. You just have to learn where to click.

[nobody*s_perfect]

There has to be a full return name and address. But there can be a different "Shipping from" ZIP Code, which is used simply to ensure that the proper postage is collected.  Here's what the option looks like on USPS's own "Click N Ship" label preparation form:

[alseyf-73]

From now on, full addresses are compulsory.

Did eBay misspell that?

[points13]

I couldn't find it at first on the eBay page either but its there in the upper left where yours, the return and buyers address is. there should an edit button there to click that will pop up the screen shown above by alseyf-73. There you can change the ship from address. I did have to put in the whole street address of the post office I switched to but no biggie.

[nobody*s_perfect]

Full addresses might be compulsory on eBay's new form, but they are not compulsory with USPS.  That's the point I was trying to make by showing an image of the USPS's own label preparation form.

eBay has set up a requirement that is not a USPS requirement.  If you look at your eBay label, it will show only the alternate ZIP Code, not the full alternate shipping address that eBay has required you to enter.  You can put in the street address of the Post Office that you're shipping from, or literally any other address in that ZIP Code.

[Anonymous]

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@nobody*s_perfect wrote:

Full addresses might be compulsory on eBay's new form, but they are not compulsory with USPS.  That's the point I was trying to make by showing an image of the USPS's own label preparation form.

eBay has set up a requirement that is not a USPS requirement.  If you look at your eBay label, it will show only the alternate ZIP Code, not the full alternate shipping address that eBay has required you to enter.  You can put in the street address of the Post Office that you're shipping from, or literally any other address in that ZIP Code.

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Hi @nobody*s_perfect, I just wanted to add some clarification that the requirement for both the ship to and return address to be a full address is actually something that came directly from USPS. We met this requirement just over a year ago, and have worked to make changes to the label printing page based on feedback from the Community. One such example is the current phrasing of "My from and return address are different" is an improvement from our previous wording ("I need to calculate rates from a different location") and was put into place at the beginning of this year. If anyone has any other feedback they would like to share, we'll be happy to pass this on to our Shipping Team, no problem!

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@Anonymous wrote: ... I just wanted to add some clarification that the requirement for both the ship to and return address to be a full address is actually something that came directly from USPS....

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Yes, the return address must be a full address.  AFAIK eBay has always required this.  But if shipping from a different ZIP Code, the USPS only needs the different ZIP Code, so they can calculate postage.  They don't need a full street address for the alternate "Shipping from" location.

I provided a screen shot above, directly from usps.com, showing that they only require a ZIP Code not a full street address when you purchase postage from them through Click N Ship.   PayPal also only asks for a ZIP Code for the shipping from location, not for a street address; here's what PayPal's shipping page asks for.

[Anonymous]

trinton@ebay wrote: ...  I just wanted to add some clarification that the requirement for both the ship to and return address to be a full address is actually something that came directly from USPS....

Yes, the return address must be a full address.  AFAIK eBay has always required this.  But if shipping from a different ZIP Code, the USPS only needs the different ZIP Code, so they can calculate postage.  They don't need a full street address for the alternate "Shipping from" location.

I provided a screen shot above, directly from usps.com, showing that they only require a ZIP Code not a full street address when you purchase postage from them through Click N Ship.   PayPal also only asks for a ZIP Code for the shipping from location, not for a street address; here's what PayPal's shipping page asks for.

Hi @nobody*s_perfect, while I understand the experience may differ on other sites and USPS.com, the shipping team confirmed last year that this update is a request from USPS themselves. Whether this is specific to our platform or something that will be rolled out to everyone in the future I cannot say, but I can confirm that this change was put into place because of direction from USPS.

[nobody*s_perfect]

That makes no sense at all. I still maintain that there must have been some sort of miscommunication. How can USPS require eBay and its sellers to provide information that isn't in the requirements, isn't required of other providers, and imposes a significant net burden on the seller community?

[Anonymous]

That makes no sense at all. I still maintain that there must have been some sort of miscommunication. How can USPS require eBay and its sellers to provide information that isn't in the requirements, isn't required of other providers, and imposes a significant net burden on the seller community?

Hi @nobody*s_perfect, while I do not have any further clarification to provide, I'll be sure to share your feedback. 

[nobody*s_perfect]

Thanks.  Quite apart from the inconsistencies with official policy and with other sites, it just seems nonsensical to require that the sender must enter an address, but then they can provide literally any address in that ZIP Code, including the sending PO's street address.  There just doesn't seem to be any possible utility to that additional (street address) information.

[dare-2046]

We may have misunderstood, but brian.t@ebay was specific, saying:

I just wanted to add that the reason a full ship from address needs to be provided instead of just a zip code is due to a new USPS mandate. They are requiring that a full address be provided and will soon no longer accept just a zip code. To ensure we are ready for this mandate, the new label flow requires a full address.

[buyselljack2016]

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@nobody*s_perfect wrote:

Thanks.  Quite apart from the inconsistencies with official policy and with other sites, it just seems nonsensical to require that the sender must enter an address, but then they can provide literally any address in that ZIP Code, including the sending PO's street address.  There just doesn't seem to be any possible utility to that additional (street address) information.

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I have just been using "general delivery" rather than looking up the street address.  (suggested by another poster many months back)

It has been just fine. The 1st one I did street address, then added others with GD.

I have 4-5 alternate offices that I ship from, and have them saved, so it is just a one  time thing to look up the street address of the Post Office if the requirement has changed.

As has been posted before, in most instances, it is not a USPS requirement to even change the "ship from", but we know some offices almost flat out refuse, or get real cranky when the "ship from" is not theirs.

I like to do them so that, as the OP here stated, the office gets the credit.  As we know, with the correct zip the office gets the "financial" credit as well as the actual work load credit.

[a_c_green]

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@buyselljack2016 wrote:
I have just been using "general delivery" rather than looking up the street address.  (suggested by another poster many months back)

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<$ME_raises_hand> 

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@buyselljack2016 wrote:
As has been posted before, in most instances, it is not a USPS requirement to even change the "ship from", but we know some offices almost flat out refuse, or get real cranky when the "ship from" is not theirs.

I like to do them so that, as the OP here stated, the office gets the credit.  As we know, with the correct zip the office gets the "financial" credit as well as the actual work load credit.

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Sorry, no, the Ship From ZIP setting does not determine which PO gets "credit" for a shipment, regardless of how many counter clerks would like to think so. They get credit by scanning the package, so that the system knows that their PO did the Acceptance and subsequent handling of the package.

The Ship From ZIP indicates the source location from which the on-line postage was calculated. That ZIP designation just needs to indicate a location within the same zone as the office Accepting the package, so that the correct postage was paid. For example, if I ship a package from downtown Chicago, with Shipped from 60606 on the label, there are several post offices within that area that can handle it equally well, but the money that the USPS collected from me was sent to them on-line from my home in the distant suburbs, which has a significantly different ZIP code of its own. (i.e. The first three digits of my home ZIP are not 606.)