USPS First Class Letter not showing up in ‘Purchase Shipping Label’ options

[loved_again_resell]

I’ve just started selling TCG Cards, and yesterday I sold my first card that’s over $20, but now I’m having a problem printing a label. I had it pre-set for USPS First Class Letter 1oz (68¢) 1 x 7 x 4,  but when I go in to purchase the label, it defaults to ground advantage $4.02 being the cheapest option—First Class isn’t even showing up. I’ve reported the issue twice and have yet to get a response from eBay. I’m new to this, and can’t find any answers on eBay, YouTube, or the internet. Am I missing something or is this an issue happening on eBay’s side? I really need to get this out ASAP. Please help. 🙏🏻

[toysaver]

First Class letter does not show up because it is not an option for eBay shipping.   The PO would not be able to physically ship an item and provide tracking for that low of an amount.   There is a service called eBay standard envelope but I've not heard good results from its use.  

eBay standard envelope | eBay

[wastingtime101]

Because your card is over $20 you cannot ship with eBay Standard Envelope. That leaves you with 2 options: ship untracked with postage stamps or ship at the package rate which also means packing to meet the physical requirements of a package @loved_again_resell .

eBay allows sellers to offer a wide range of shipping services through their listings, but they don't offer every one of those services through their label purchase page.

A few examples include:
- Media Mail can only be purchased through eBay for select categories due to how much the service is abused. An item might qualify for MM even though eBay labels doesn't offer it for that category, but you can purchase it through any other online shipping provider that offers USPS or at the retail counter because there's no online discount for MM.
- eBay Standard Envelope has restrictions based on category and dollar amount so if the item doesn't qualify the seller that offered ESE will have to ship using another method like untracked with a postage stamp, or tracked with Ground Advantage.
- First Class Letter/Flat is an untracked service. Labels are not available through eBay. You can purchase postage at the post office, use regular postage stamps, or buy a label at Stamps.com.

The system will typically default to the first or cheapest shipping option on the list (often Ground Advantage or Priority Flat Rate Envelope).

Keep in mind: untracked services leave sellers vulnerable on item not received claims. The loss of seller protection is a risk, however in many categories the risk is minimal. If a seller has Top Rated Seller status, that can be impacted by too many transactions without tracking; view your seller dashboard to see where your account stands.

[kensgiftshop]

There was nothing to report.

You can't buy a label for first class letter.

[toysaver]

"Because your card is over $20 you cannot ship with eBay Standard Envelope."

My understanding is the service can still be used but the protection will only cover $20.  

[wastingtime101]

Your understanding is incorrect. The service will not appear as a shipping option on the label page if the single item is over $20. Well, technically the service may appear, but it will be at the bottom and grayed out, not selectable.

Edit to add the T&C info - see the Parcel restrictions section:

https://pages.ebay.com/sell/standarddelivery/termsofservice.html

Maximum $20 (not including Tax) item selling price

[loved_again_resell]

Thank you for your quick responses. Yes, I’ve sold a couple cards under $20 using ESE without any problems. If you can’t use USPS First Class Letter as an option (for over $20 items), it shouldn’t be available to be selected.. let alone allowing the seller to list with that selected. Under order details in the shipping section under the buyer’s address it has ‘Buyer Selected Shipping Service —————— USPS First Class Letter’. This is what is confusing. If that isn’t supposed to be an option, then it shouldn’t be able to be selected. I thank you again for your responses and I’ll call up to my post office and see how they can help me go forward with this. 

[wastingtime101]

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@loved_again_resell wrote:

If you can’t use USPS First Class Letter as an option (for over $20 items), it shouldn’t be available to be selected.. 

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As said above, you can use it, but you'll be using postage stamps and shipping untracked (no seller protection for non-receipt claims). Many sellers prefer this method and eBay allows it. eBay does not require tracking unless you want seller protections.

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@loved_again_resell wrote:

 I’ll call up to my post office and see how they can help me go forward with this. 

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They're either going to tell you to ship untracked with a postage stamp or pay for Ground Adv package service. You can save yourself time and choose one of those options yourself.

Another option is to ship with postage stamps but pay for Certified Mail service to get letter tracking, but that costs $4.40 on top of the postage so you'd be better off shipping as a Ground Adv package for $4.02.

[loved_again_resell]

Okay, thank you so much. 🙏🏻

[kensgiftshop]

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@loved_again_resell wrote:

Thank you for your quick responses. Yes, I’ve sold a couple cards under $20 using ESE without any problems. If you can’t use USPS First Class Letter as an option (for over $20 items), it shouldn’t be available to be selected.. let alone allowing the seller to list with that selected. Under order details in the shipping section under the buyer’s address it has ‘Buyer Selected Shipping Service —————— USPS First Class Letter’. This is what is confusing. If that isn’t supposed to be an option, then it shouldn’t be able to be selected. I thank you again for your responses and I’ll call up to my post office and see how they can help me go forward with this. 

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They give a seller more options, but some you can't buy online.

Just like when USPS had Retail Ground, you could offer it, but you couldn't buy a shipping label for it online, you had to buy it at the PO counter.

[loved_again_resell]

Okay, I see. Well lesson learned—I’ll definitely be listing differently. Thank you for helping. 

[rudy2828]

Yeah, but you can make it up in volume...

Marx