Shipping options--am i missing something?

[grumpus_otter]

So like most, I just LOVE the shipping page now! /sarcasm

Unfortunately, going back to classic label doesn't work for me anymore.  I got all excited one time when i got classic label--but it was only for an item going to an APO address.  Oh well. 

I have gotten more used to it, but am still having a problem navigating.  It seems that ebay estimates your item size and weight and then only offers shipping options that it THINKS will be the ones you might use?  But recently I wanted to ship something in a "medium flat rate box" and that was not offered as an option at all.  I did click on "show all shipping options" (or something like that) but only 4 things came up and none were what i wanted.  

I finally settled on a "Regional B Priority" option -- after measuring the box I had was in the size range -- and then double-checked with the clerk at the post office to make sure it was okay.  She wasn't sure--but scanned it in and sent it on its way, so fingers crossed! 

I've been doing this for a while now, and am pretty **bleep** good at knowing what shipping service will be the best value for me.  (I do free economy shipping on ALL items -- yeah, sometimes I pay the customer to ship, but overall it balances out and I just prefer the non-hassle of not worrying about calculating each item's shipping charge)

Anyway--this is sort of just a rant but--any ideas?  Is there some obvious option i am just missing when I go to ship that will unlock ALL shipping option?

Here's a screenshot of the only other options i got through the drop-down menu

[stanleysoverstock]

If I want a medium or large or whatever flat rate I have to choose the small flat rate box and there is a box to see other flat rate options. It's just a mess. I could go on and on but I already have on other post. In other words this is NOT an improvement. Grrrrrrrrrr, Andrew

[biss68-2012]

I still haven't figured it out, so I have to go to the library to print out each label. Maybe I'm getting too old for all these "new and improved" updates.

[fern*wood]

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@grumpus_otter wrote:

I finally settled on a "Regional B Priority" option -- after measuring the box I had was in the size range -- and then double-checked with the clerk at the post office to make sure it was okay.  She wasn't sure--but scanned it in and sent it on its way, so fingers crossed! 

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I would say your postal clerk was wrong and this might get caught along the way.

Have you tried clicking on "carrier packaging" rather than "custom size" and then scroll to bottom of those options and click "Compare all services".   Doing that brings up about every option you might want.  

I don't like the new label either, but am trying to make it work.

[bluebutterflycw34]

I agree that the new shipping page is awful.  I did hear an explanation: that the supervisor who originally designed the shipping page, left Ebay. No one left could figure out how it worked, so they turned things over to interns as a project.  This is what they came up with.  Classic mindlessness - don't try to understand a system that works, don't hire someone who knows what they're doing, just create something new and then try to sell it to us with flowery words about how great it is.

[cghprosp · Accepted solution]

I have been using the newer shipping page all along and haven't had any trouble until today. Today, I relisted a return, it was in the original medium flat rate box that i shipped it in originally, but when I went back in to print another label its not showing flat rate boxes at all, I tried bulk shipping and its telling me that 4.7 lbs is over the weight limit. I'm sure its just a temporary glitch. Luckily I don't have to print it till tomorrow....fingers crossed

[grumpus_otter]

I did that--didn't get a "compare all services" option.

[grumpus_otter]

Oh--then hopefully this is a temporary problem! This was my first serious issue, too.

[cghprosp]

Update: still no medium flat rate option (or others) as a workaround, I'm using  https://www.paypal.com/shiplabel/create/

then upload the tracking. Good thing its slow right now.....I guess

[cghprosp]

seems that dimensions in the custom size are the issue. if you change the custom package size to match the flat rate box it works,

[station_85]

We've sent multiple error reports to eBay about the missing flat rate packages since yesterday and nothing has happened.  We are now restricted to Regional Flat Rate A & B boxes at this point.  Which is irritating to say the least.  They should at least be able to allow us to use the "Classic Shipping Page", but they have removed that option as well.

Entering the package dimensions of a flat rate box didn't change a thing on my end....

[nptc]

This hit me today, and I generated a bunch of complaints, not that they're likely to do any good. I had the choice of Regional A or B, even though the item would fit in a substantially smaller flat rate box. It's asinine.
Going forward, I'll be buying postage on USPS.com instead of eBay.com if they can't fix it.

[electrola_man]

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@bluebutterflycw34 wrote:

I agree that the new shipping page is awful.  I did hear an explanation: that the supervisor who originally designed the shipping page, left Ebay. No one left could figure out how it worked, so they turned things over to interns as a project.  This is what they came up with.  Classic mindlessness - don't try to understand a system that works, don't hire someone who knows what they're doing, just create something new and then try to sell it to us with flowery words about how great it is.

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I'm glad to see from all the discussion here that my problem earlier this week appears to have been some kind of glitch.  I just eventually went to print my label for a MFRB on PayPal.  This quote above here describes what happens in so many situations.  When I was in the corporate world, where I was a long-timer, I'd see a group of short-timer big shots come through and make big splashy changes they could boast about on their resumes, then move onto a new corporate playground while the rest of us were left to deal with the mess of their unnecessary changes.  Printing shipping labels was never a problem, until the process was "improved."

[station_85]

OK, we've figured out how to use the other flat rate shipping labels.  If we enter the actual dimensions of the Medium Flat Rate box, we still couldn't get it to show up.  We had to change the dimensions to a much smaller package, for example 10" x 8" x 2" and then the option for choosing any Flat Rate Box shows up.  We had to actually go into all of our templates/profiles and make the default size of all of our items 10" x 8" x 2".  This is just a work-around and doesn't address why eBay's system can't just show us the flat rate boxes and automatically fill in the dimensions automatically....

[galfam]

I just went to print out my first box in awhile and ran into the same problem and it was going to cost my buyer an extra 10.00 to use them. - I didn't mess with it much - just went to paypal and printed there. Ebay will be missing that money they made off shipping labels if we all go to another shipping service. I use sixbit and may have to look into how they run theirs.